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Pandemic prompts scaled-back Christmas tradition in Alaska Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press © Edward Eagerton, AP In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, soldiers from 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, unload gifts from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter Dec. 11 in Nanwalek, Alaska, during Operation Santa Claus. ANCHORAGE, Alaska  -  On a tiny speck of a frozen runway on the north bank of the Yukon River, nearly a hundred miles northwest of Fairbanks, Christmas was delivered in a most unusual way.  An Alaska National Guard helicopter descended through a rot...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — On a tiny speck of a frozen runway on the north bank of the Yukon River, nearly a hundred miles northwest of Fairbanks, Christmas was delivered in a most unusual way. An Alaska National Guard helicopter descended through a rotor-whipped cloud of snow in Stevens Village, a tiny community of about 30 people. Townspeople rushed to the airstrip on their snowmobiles after seeing the helicopter land and then watched as Guardsmen wearing flight helmets unloaded boxes containing wrapped gifts for just about everyone in the community. Then they flew off. This year’s edit...

Pandemic prompts Alaska National Guard to scale back Operation Santa Claus December 15, 2020 Soldiers unload gifts from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Nanwalek, Alaska, during Operation Santa Claus, on Dec. 11, 2020. (Edward Eagerton/U.S. Army National Guard via AP) ANCHORAGE, Alaska — On a tiny speck of a frozen runway on the north bank of the Yukon River, nearly a hundred miles northwest of Fairbanks, Christmas was delivered in a most unusual way. An Alaska National Guard helicopter descended through a rotor-whipped cloud of snow in Stevens Village, a tiny community of about 30 peop...

COVID-19 pandemic prompts scaled back Christmas tradition in Alaska This year's edition of Operation Santa Claus didn't have the pomp and grandeur of previous incarnations, but the mission of delivering gifts to Alaska villages was completed with COVID-19 safety precautions in place. Social Sharing The Associated Press · Posted: Dec 15, 2020 11:57 AM CT | Last Updated: December 15, 2020 Chief Master Sgt. Winfield Hinkley Jr., command senior enlisted leader of the Alaska National Guard, left, Makayla Hikley, middle, and Maj. John Brackenbury, divisional commander with the Salvation Army, Al...

Pandemic prompts scaled back Christmas tradition in Alaska by Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press Posted Dec 15, 2020 1:20 am EDT Last Updated Dec 15, 2020 at 1:26 am EDT In this photo provided by the Alaska National Guard, a CH-47 Chinook helicopter departs Bryant Army Airfield, Dec. 11, 2020, on its way to Nanwalek, Alaska, to deliver Christmas gifts to the children of the village for Operation Santa Claus 2020. The Alaska National Guard and the Salvation Army were able to provide and deliver gifts for the program's 65th year, but had to scale back distribution parties that are normally hel...