A resident of Hyder, Alaska, holds a protest sign as people from that community and nearby Stewart, British Columbia, protest the nighttime closure of the border between the two towns April 1. (Courtesy Sylvia Alderton/The Terrace Standard)
Canadian officials say the small Southeast Alaska town of Hyder will continue to have 24-hour-a-day access to emergency health care.
The Canada Border Services Agency began closing the road to nearby Stewart, British Columbia, on April 1. The cost-cutting measure locks the border gate from midnight to 8 a.m.
Hyder residents depend on Stewart for health care and mainland road access. They demonstrated against the closure last week, saying it would hurt business, as well as emergency services.
Agency spokeswoman Jennifer Bourque says ambulance, fire and police agencies have been given gate keys to continue all-day access. Residents can also call the agency.
“The protocol is only for emergencies,” she says.
Canadia border guards unlock the gate between Hyder, Alaska, and Stewart, British Columbia, after its first nighttime closure. (Courtesy Sylvia Alderton/The Terrace Standard)
Ketchikan State Rep. Dan Ortiz, whose district includes Hyder, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski contacted Canadian officials to argue against the closure.
The Alaska city of fewer than 100 residents is about 75 miles northeast of Ketchikan. Stewart, a few miles away, has about 500 people.
The closure comes at the start of the area’s tourist season. Business owners say it will scare away bear-viewers, photographers and anglers who head out in the early morning hours.
Link: Hear an interview about Hyder from APRN’s “300 Villages” series.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this report did not include the border agency’s plan for maintaining emergency access.
