A frigid ocean, enormous tidewater glaciers, and toothy mountain ranges stand between the rural communities of Southeast Alaska. The farthest-flung towns like Yakutat, in the northern reaches of the Inside Passage can’t be reached by road; they’re only accessible by boat or plane. Isolation, however, didn’t keep COVID-19 out.
The region, home to just over 70,000 people, has seen 3,000 cases and a dozen deaths to date. The pandemic’s economic impacts have been even more startling. Instead of bringing in an expected 1.5 million visitors, the cruise industry collapsed overnight last spring. Nearly 20 percent of the region’s jobs evaporated. Additionally, local fishermen had one of the worst commercial seasons on record due to dismal harvest levels and less demand for fish, making the southeast the hardest-hit region in the state.
Dispatches from a Surf Camp in Southeast Alaska outsideonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from outsideonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.