Disaster and Emergency Procedures in Alaska Prisons and Jails

Alaska is the most seismically active region in the United States. The state faces earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, extreme winter weather, coastal storms, and flooding. When a disaster threatens an Alaska Department of Corrections facility, the remoteness of the state, the limited number of facilities, and the harsh climate all complicate evacuation and family communication. Unlike many states, Alaska has published regulations that require each facility to maintain an emergency evacuation plan.

This article covers what happens during Alaska disaster emergencies, the published evacuation regulations, how families can prepare, what to expect during a crisis, and what to do in the aftermath.

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PART 1 - ALASKA DOC DISASTER AND EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

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OFFICIAL EMERGENCY PROCEDURES (PUBLISHED REGULATION)

Unlike many states, Alaska has a published administrative regulation governing prison emergency evacuations: 22 AAC 05.050 (Plans for emergencies and the evacuation of prisoners), part of the Alaska Administrative Code, Title 22 (Department of Corrections), Chapter 05 (Adult Facilities), Article 2 (Security).

The regulation requires:

(a) The superintendent of each facility shall prepare, with the approval of the commissioner, plans to deal with a catastrophe or a declared state of emergency that necessitates the evacuation of the facility. The superintendent shall ensure that evacuation routes are clearly marked and posted and that all facility staff members are instructed in their duties to implement the plans.

(b) If, as the result of an emergency, the commissioner orders the evacuation of a facility, prisoners must be transported under guard, except that the following may be released on their own recognizance to report to a designated location at a designated time:

(1) prisoners solely charged with or convicted of a misdemeanor

This is a stronger baseline than most states, which do not publish any emergency evacuation requirement at all. The regulation establishes that every Alaska DOC facility must have an evacuation plan approved by the commissioner, with marked routes and trained staff.

What is NOT published: The detailed contents of each facility's specific evacuation plan (which receiving facilities, transport methods, timelines). These are not made public, likely for security reasons.

EVACUATION PROTOCOL

When a disaster threatens a facility, the superintendent activates the facility's emergency plan. If the commissioner orders evacuation:

- Prisoners are transported under guard (buses, vans)

- Exception: misdemeanor-only prisoners may be released on their own recognizance to report to a designated location

- Evacuation routes are pre-planned and marked

Decision authority: The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections orders facility evacuations. Facility superintendents activate local plans.

Coordination: Alaska DOC coordinates with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM), which operates the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) as the central hub for earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, and severe weather.

CHALLENGES UNIQUE TO ALASKA

Remoteness: Alaska's facilities are spread across vast distances. Some facilities (Nome, Bethel/Yukon Kuskokwim) are in remote regions accessible mainly by air. Evacuation by road is not always possible.

Limited facilities: Alaska operates roughly 13 state correctional facilities. There are fewer "receiving facilities" available for evacuees than in larger-population states, which constrains evacuation options.

Climate: Extreme winter weather (excessive snowfall, extreme cold), combined with disaster events, complicates transport and communication.

Historical out-of-state housing: Alaska has historically housed some inmates in out-of-state private facilities (e.g., Arizona's Florence Correctional Center, where roughly 30 percent of the state's inmates were held as of 2005). This means some "Alaska" inmates may be located far away, and emergency situations can involve interstate logistics.

FAMILY NOTIFICATION

Alaska does not have a publicized statewide family notification system comparable to Florida's VINE. Family notification depends on:

- Alaska DOC press releases (Office of the Commissioner)

- DHS&EM statewide emergency updates (ready.alaska.gov)

- Local media

- Direct contact with the facility or DOC offices

How to receive notification: Families must proactively monitor:

- Alaska DOC website (doc.alaska.gov) and press releases (doc.alaska.gov/commissioner/press-releases)

- DHS&EM (ready.alaska.gov)

- Local news

- Direct phone contact with DOC

COMMUNICATION DURING EVACUATION

Phone systems: Typically offline during evacuation. Restored within 24-72 hours once inmates are processed into receiving facilities (longer in remote regions).

Finding your inmate: Alaska DOC does not provide a full online inmate search comparable to other states. Families must:

- Call DOC Anchorage office: 907-269-4361 or toll-free 844-934-2381

- Call DOC Juneau office: 907-465-4652

- Call the specific facility directly

- Use inmate query line: 907-465-3313 or 907-465-3485

Visitation: Suspended during evacuation and for several days after. Resumes once the facility is stabilized.

Email/messaging: Systems typically go offline during evacuation; service restores after inmates are processed into receiving facilities.

PERSONAL PROPERTY, COMMISSARY, COURT DATES

Personal property: Inmates take minimal belongings during evacuation; most property stays behind. Recovery can take weeks to months, with risk of loss or damage.

Commissary/trust accounts: Freeze temporarily during evacuation; funds remain but are not accessible until receiving facility systems are operational.

Court dates and release dates: Release processing may pause during evacuation and resume once the inmate is stabilized. Court dates are typically postponed.

CLIMATE AND GEOGRAPHIC VULNERABILITY

Alaska's major disaster risks:

EARTHQUAKE-VULNERABLE FACILITIES (Alaska is the most seismically active state):

- Anchorage Correctional Complex (Anchorage) - in the Southcentral seismic zone; near the epicenter region of the 2018 M7.1 earthquake

- Hiland Mountain Correctional Center (Eagle River, near Anchorage) - Southcentral seismic zone

- Goose Creek Correctional Center (Point MacKenzie, Mat-Su) - near the 2018 earthquake epicenter region

- Mat-Su Pretrial (Palmer) - Southcentral seismic zone

- Point MacKenzie Correctional Farm - at/near the 2018 epicenter

- Spring Creek Correctional Center (Seward) - coastal Southcentral; earthquake and tsunami exposure

TSUNAMI-VULNERABLE FACILITIES (coastal facilities in subduction zone):

- Spring Creek Correctional Center (Seward) - coastal community on Resurrection Bay; tsunami inundation risk

- Lemon Creek Correctional Center (Juneau) - coastal Southeast Alaska

- Ketchikan Correctional Center (Ketchikan) - coastal Southeast Alaska

- Anvil Mountain Correctional Center (Nome) - coastal western Alaska

WILDFIRE-VULNERABLE FACILITIES (interior/boreal forest):

- Fairbanks Correctional Center (Fairbanks) - interior Alaska, boreal forest wildfire zone

- Goose Creek and Mat-Su facilities - wildland-urban interface risk

FLOOD / SEVERE WINTER WEATHER:

- Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center (Bethel) - remote western Alaska; river flooding and extreme winter risk

- Interior facilities - extreme cold, excessive snowfall

NOTE: Alaska's seismic risk is the defining hazard. The state experienced the second-largest earthquake ever recorded (M9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964) and a major M7.1 quake near Anchorage in 2018. The state sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire along the eastern Aleutian subduction zone.

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PART 2 - ALASKA COMMUNITY JAILS DURING DISASTERS

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Alaska's local jail structure is different from most states. Instead of large county jail systems, Alaska operates a network of small community jails contracted with municipalities, plus the state DOC facilities (which handle both pretrial and sentenced populations across the state).

Community jails are located in towns such as Bristol Bay Borough (King Salmon), Cordova, Craig, Dillingham, Haines, Homer, and others. These are small facilities, often in remote coastal or interior locations, and are highly exposed to local disasters (coastal storms, flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis).

What families should know:

- Community jails are small and resource-limited

- In a disaster, the community jail may transfer detainees to a state DOC facility, or coordinate with local emergency management

- Contact the specific community jail or the municipal police department for emergency procedures

- Remote communities may experience longer communication blackouts due to limited infrastructure

For a loved one in an Alaska community jail: contact the local jail or municipal authority directly, and monitor DHS&EM (ready.alaska.gov) and local updates.

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PART 3 - FEDERAL CUSTODY IN ALASKA

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Alaska is unusual: it has NO Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) institution located within the state.

Federal inmates from Alaska are typically:

- Held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex or other state facilities under contract for pretrial detention, OR

- Designated to BOP facilities in other states (often in the Pacific Northwest or beyond) to serve their sentences

What this means for families:

- A federal defendant arrested in Alaska may be held locally (often at Anchorage Correctional Complex) during pretrial proceedings

- After sentencing, a federal inmate is usually transferred OUT of Alaska to a BOP facility in another state

- During a disaster affecting the holding facility, the same state DOC procedures apply while the person is in Alaska

Federal inmate locator: bop.gov/inmateloc/ (for those designated to BOP facilities outside Alaska)

BOP Emergency Operations: 202-307-3198

Because federal sentenced inmates are housed outside Alaska, an Alaska disaster generally affects them only while they are in pretrial custody in-state. Once transferred to a BOP facility in another state, that state's disaster profile applies (see the relevant state article).

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PART 4 - WHAT FAMILIES SHOULD DO (BEFORE, DURING, AFTER)

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BEFORE DISASTER SEASON (EARTHQUAKES YEAR-ROUND; WILDFIRE SUMMER; WINTER STORMS WINTER)

Register and update contact information:

- Call the facility your inmate is in and update your phone, email, and mailing address

- Sign up for community emergency alerts where available

- Monitor DHS&EM at ready.alaska.gov

Know your inmate's current facility:

- Call DOC: Anchorage 907-269-4361 / toll-free 844-934-2381; Juneau 907-465-4652

- Inmate query line: 907-465-3313 or 907-465-3485

- Write down: inmate name, DOC number, current facility, location

Know the facility's evacuation plan exists:

- Under 22 AAC 05.050, each facility must have an approved evacuation plan with marked routes

- Ask the facility general questions about emergency procedures (specific plans are not public)

Create a family emergency communication plan:

- Assign one person to try reaching the inmate first

- Establish how to share updates among family

- Write down DOC phone numbers and the facility's direct line

Save account information:

- Trust account login/details

- Prepaid phone account details

- Copies of legal documents

Understand Alaska's disaster risks:

- Earthquakes: year-round, no warning; the dominant hazard

- Tsunamis: coastal facilities (Seward, Juneau, Ketchikan, Nome) after major quakes

- Wildfires: summer, interior/boreal regions (Fairbanks)

- Winter storms / extreme cold: winter, statewide, especially remote facilities

- River flooding: spring breakup and heavy rain (Bethel and river communities)

DURING A DISASTER THREAT

Monitor official sources:

- DHS&EM: ready.alaska.gov (note the SEOC level posted on the site)

- National Tsunami Warning Center (Palmer, Alaska) for coastal tsunami alerts

- National Weather Service

- Local news

Do NOT call the facility repeatedly:

- Staff are managing the emergency; lines will be overloaded

- Wait for official updates

For earthquakes: there is typically NO advance warning. Be prepared for sudden communication loss.

DURING THE DISASTER

Do NOT contact the facility:

- Communications may be offline

- Staff are focused on safety and security

Monitor official channels only:

- Alaska DOC website and press releases

- DHS&EM (ready.alaska.gov)

- Local news and tsunami warning center

Expect communication blackout:

- 24-72 hours typical; longer in remote regions or after major earthquakes

- Infrastructure damage (power, communications) can extend blackouts

IMMEDIATELY AFTER (WITHIN 24-72 HOURS)

Call DOC to locate your inmate:

- Anchorage 907-269-4361 / toll-free 844-934-2381

- Juneau 907-465-4652

- Inmate query: 907-465-3313 / 907-465-3485

- Give them inmate name and DOC number

Once you know the facility status:

- Ask when phone service will be restored

- Confirm your inmate is accounted for and safe

- Ask about property and account status

Do NOT call the original facility if evacuated:

- Staff are managing damage assessment

- Your inmate may be elsewhere

SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM AFTERMATH

- Expect phone delays even after service is "restored"

- Ask about personal property location, shipping, and any loss

- Verify trust/commissary account and phone balances

- Confirm court date and release date status

- Document any property loss and file a claim through the facility

- Property recovery can take weeks to months, especially across Alaska's distances

- Provide feedback to DOC if notification or procedures failed

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PART 5 - HISTORICAL CONTEXT: ALASKA DISASTERS AND PRISONS

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2018 ANCHORAGE EARTHQUAKE (NOVEMBER 30, 2018)

Magnitude 7.1 | November 30, 2018, 8:29 a.m. AKST

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Southcentral Alaska, with an epicenter near Point MacKenzie, about 10 miles north of Anchorage, at a depth of roughly 29 miles. It was followed minutes later by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock and thousands of subsequent aftershocks (more than 2,400 by January 2020). Shaking was felt as far away as Fairbanks.

What happened:

Damage: Maximum intensity MMI VIII (Severe). Roads buckled and collapsed (including a widely photographed collapsed onramp near the airport), buildings sustained structural and interior damage, ceilings collapsed, and store shelves were emptied. 117 injuries were reported.

Tsunami warning: The National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska - itself inside the quake zone - issued tsunami warnings for Cook Inlet and the Kenai Peninsula, later cancelled.

Widespread disruption: Schools (which serve as community shelters) were damaged, the National Park Service regional office was evacuated, and many public buildings closed for assessment.

Prison/facility context:

The epicenter near Point MacKenzie placed several DOC facilities in the strongly-shaken zone, including Goose Creek Correctional Center (Point MacKenzie), Point MacKenzie Correctional Farm, Anchorage Correctional Complex, Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, and Mat-Su Pretrial (Palmer). Public reporting did not document a full inmate evacuation, which suggests facilities sheltered in place and were structurally sufficient to withstand the quake, but the event demonstrated that Alaska's largest concentration of correctional facilities sits squarely in a high-intensity seismic zone.

Family impact:

- A major earthquake strikes without warning, so families had no advance notice

- Communication infrastructure (cell, landline, internet) was disrupted across Southcentral Alaska

- Power outages and road damage complicated any contact

- Families experienced the same communication blackout as the general public, with the added uncertainty of not being able to reach facilities

Lessons from 2018:

- Alaska's prison cluster around Anchorage/Mat-Su is in a severe seismic zone

- The published evacuation regulation (22 AAC 05.050) means each facility is required to have a plan, but a sudden earthquake allows no evacuation lead time

- Sheltering in place is the realistic response to earthquakes; structural integrity of facilities is the key safety factor

- Tsunami risk is real for coastal facilities after major quakes

1964 GREAT ALASKA EARTHQUAKE (MARCH 27, 1964)

Magnitude 9.2 | Historical benchmark

The 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake was the second-largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded in the world (M9.2), centered in Prince William Sound. It caused massive ground failure, landslides, and a destructive tsunami that devastated coastal communities including Seward, Valdez, and Kodiak.

Relevance to corrections today:

- Spring Creek Correctional Center is now located in Seward, one of the communities devastated by the 1964 tsunami

- The 1964 event is the benchmark for what a maximum-magnitude Alaska earthquake and tsunami can do to coastal communities

- It is the reason tsunami inundation mapping and warnings (via the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer) are central to Alaska emergency planning

- Coastal correctional facilities must account for both the earthquake shaking and the subsequent tsunami threat

While the modern DOC facility network did not exist in 1964 in its current form, the event defines the worst-case scenario that Alaska's coastal facilities must be prepared for.

2002 DENALI FAULT EARTHQUAKE (NOVEMBER 3, 2002)

Magnitude 7.9 | Interior Alaska

The 2002 Denali Fault earthquake (M7.9) was the largest on-land earthquake in North America in nearly 150 years. It struck interior Alaska along the Denali Fault. Damage was concentrated in less-populated areas, but it was a powerful reminder of the seismic hazard across interior Alaska, including the Fairbanks region where Fairbanks Correctional Center is located.

ALASKA WILDFIRE CONTEXT

Interior Alaska (the boreal forest region around Fairbanks) experiences large wildfires during summer. Alaska routinely records some of the largest wildfire acreage in the nation in active fire years. Smoke, road closures, and occasional evacuations affect interior communities. Fairbanks Correctional Center sits in this wildfire-prone interior zone.

ALASKA WINTER AND FLOOD CONTEXT

Extreme winter weather (excessive snowfall, extreme cold) is a recurring hazard statewide and is especially dangerous for remote facilities like Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel. Spring river breakup and ice jams cause flooding in river communities. These slow-onset events usually allow more warning than earthquakes but can isolate remote facilities and disrupt supply and communication for extended periods.

BROADER ALASKA DISASTER CONTEXT

State emergency management: The Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM) operates the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), coordinating response to earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, severe weather, and public health emergencies. The SEOC posts a current operating level on ready.alaska.gov.

Seismic reality: Alaska is the most seismically active region of the United States, bordered by the Pacific Ring of Fire along the eastern Aleutian subduction zone. Damaging earthquakes are not a question of if, but when.

Published evacuation requirement: Alaska's 22 AAC 05.050 places it ahead of many states by requiring every facility to maintain a commissioner-approved evacuation plan with marked routes and trained staff, even though the plan details are not public.

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