Millions of pounds of lumber rebuild Western Alaska

Above left, Jeff Jenkins (left) and Pete Iulio, of Bering Marine's Bethel ground crew, unload wood and steel. Right photo, other crew members include, from left Jeff, Tom Burke, Shannon Lindsey, James Gregory, and Zach Rice. Not pictured are Steven Carter and David Gregory.

When Typhoon Halong devastated Western Alaska last year, the Lynden companies responded in force with marine, ground, and air support. Today, the work continues to rebuild boardwalks and infrastructure in the villages with loads of lumber and other construction materials being transported in record numbers.

"Lynden Air Cargo, Lynden Logistics, Alaska Marine Lines, and Bering Marine Corporation have all stepped up to keep the loads moving. The pace has been relentless," says Matt Hise, Lynden Air Cargo Director of Cargo Operations. "It was a challenging weather year in both Anchorage and the Kuskokwim region, yet our teams showed up every day and fought through it. I am so impressed with their performance and how hard they worked."

From October to March, Lynden teams moved almost 13 million pounds of lumber and construction material to Bethel and Kipnuk. The highest month for relief activity was March with 4,349,138 pounds in 121 flights to Bethel and Kipnuk. In six months, crews offloaded 12,971,837 pounds of relief material in 405 flights, on top of the normal cargo flights adding 6,833,995 pounds of mail and regular freight and 51 more flights. According to Matt, a normal October to March timeline is around 130 flights and approximately 5 million pounds of cargo.

Month-to-month relief supply volumes handled by the combined Lynden team:

• Oct – 258,997 pounds

• Nov – 1,426,362 pounds

• Dec – 1,231,309 pounds

• Jan – 2,624,615 pounds

• Feb – 2,729,565 pounds

• Mar – 4,349,138 pounds

The project has been a true Lynden effort with LTI, Inc. drivers picking up lumber loads in Canada and coordinating with both the shipper and delivery locations. Lynden Logistics manages customs for international shipments as well as serving as ground handler in Anchorage. "The Lynden Logistics team has been running a 24-hour warehouse operation in Anchorage. Between 7:30 a.m. and 11 p.m., they receive 8- to 22-foot-long bundles of treated lumber on barge flats from the Seattle barge, and have been ground central for coordinating almost 13 million pounds of cargo," Matt says.

Lynden Transport and Alaska Marine Lines have transported lumber loads to Anchorage via barge and truck, and Bering Marine Corporation's Bethel crew receives Herc flights for offloading from early morning well into the evening in difficult operating conditions.

"It's been a Herculean effort from all Lynden companies," says Lynden Air Cargo President Scott Hicks. "I'm sure AML and Bering Marine Corporation will be moving cargo throughout the summer as the Kuskokwim River ice leaves and the barges start moving. We are thankful for the opportunity to continue to assist this region as they rebuild and very proud of the effort and performance of the Lynden teams."

Bering Marine Corporation President Steve Isaacs concurs: "Our teams have really been clicking these past few months and keeping the mail moving to boot. Flight operations and customer service have been exceptional as well. No let up, just Lynden folks gettin 'er done."