The nearly abandoned Valdez Airport grew out-of-control in 1989.
Meanwhile the news worsened, it began to look like the oil spill could be huge, something no one had ever dealt with in the cold Alaskan waters. I showed up at the empty airport where more and more people appeared with clipboards, most were looking for telephones. This was before cell phones. It was clear we needed telephones and a few desks and chairs…my job was assigned by necessity–to get this place operational. The tiny co-op, Copper Valley Telephone, was overwhelmed. Being a local person, I knew people and was able to get the existing phone lines activated on priority. It still took time, at first we had only one live jack and one phone on the floor in an empty room, my office. People were lined up to use it. I started making lists in my sketchbook, we needed note pads, pencils, pens, scotch tape, the needs were endless. The local stores soon sold out. Supplies had to be flown in from Anchorage. Meanwhile we scrounged any way we could.
Our job was to help manage airspace. It seemed that every private and commerical pilot in Alaska was in the air to see the wreck. Curious. The airspace over the tanker became a dangerous place, planes flying low and slow, near misses everywhere. Soon the FAA set up an office near ours at the airport and worked with our group to develop regulations for the air space in Valdez and over Bligh Reef. It was wild, like the last frontier. I spent all my time trying to locate paper clips, finding a way to make copies…we needed to find a copier. And, there were only a very few sectional aeronautical maps of the area available, we coveted the few we had. We located a copier and simultaneously had power, we used it to barter with others for supplies. Do you have maps, we’ll trade for copies. You want copies, we will trade for chairs. We began to put an office together this way. By hook and by crook. Most of the time I sat on the floor by the copier and telephone, calling, copying, calling, and calling again.
A new issue arose. We were assigned a telephone number, but no one knew what it was. At the same time multiple other offices were being set-up all over town demanding the same services. More numbers, more phone lines, the operators were overwhelmed. Someone needed to circulate a list of the new agencies with phone numbers. The city was buried under the immense demands, more and more public arrived by the hour. Some curious, some seeking jobs, others looking for ways to benefit from the disaster. I was shocked.
At the same time VECO told all of us we were no longer employed and that EXXON had taken over management of the clean-up and would be bringing in the big guns from Texas. We were told that EXXON would no doubt keep us, but we were all a bit uneasy for awhile. If I remember correctly, this was only the third day…..
More tomorrow.
Gail Niebrugge, Alaska artist
Dear Gail, This is all so interesting to read a first hand account of the clean-up. I didn’t know you had done that. What an experience!
Dot, it is certainly valuable to keep journals, so many interesting times in our lives are lost without them. Thank you, Gail