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Ken Smith/Turnagain Times These dogs enjoy a jaunt on the mudflats at Bird Point on Turnagain Arm. The mudflats can be a dangerous place to walk, trapping unsuspecting hikers in quicksand-like conditions. |
Although the water and mudflats of Turnagain Arm may look inviting on a sunny Alaskan summer day, they pose many dangers. Unlike a sandy beach, the mudflats turn to quicksand when covered with water. Several times a year the Girdwood Fire Department responds to reports of people stuck in the mud or stranded on the mudflats.
Turnagain Arm mud consists of microscopic particles of glacial silt and powdered rock mixed with ocean water. Undisturbed, the mud is relatively solid and will support a fair amount of weight. However, if it is subjected to vibration, it quickly liquefies and anything on top of it rapidly sinks below the surface.
When a person sinks below the mud, the air around the body is displaced and any attempt at removal creates a suction that is nearly impossible to overcome without help. The mud is also cold due to the low water temperature and heavy leading to exhaustion and hypothermia. A fisherman or duck hunter standing in one place for an extended period of time will rapidly get stuck and need assistance.
The Girdwood Fire Department has pressurized air and water tools for mudflat rescues if they can respond in time. Given the tremendous force and height of Turnagain Arm tides, a mud rescue often turns into a rush to beat the tide. Once the incoming tide covers the mud around a person, it hardens like concrete making a rescue virtually impossible.
While it’s best to stay off of the mudflats, Girdwood Fire Chief Bill Chadwick offers the following recommendations if you do use Turnagain Arm for recreation.
1. Don’t go onto the inlet or mud unless you are experienced in wilderness travel.
2. Be informed and don’t travel alone. Leave a travel plan with friends or relatives. Wear proper clothing and carry a cell phone to call for help if necessary.
3. Check the tide tables and travel during the outgoing tide.
4. Keep moving, don’t stand or fish in the same spot, watch your boots for signs of sinking.
5. Stay away from low spots and channels with running water. The mud in the channels is just like quicksand.
6. Don’t run wheeled or tracked vehicles on the mud.
7. If you do get stuck, call or send for help immediately.
8. Don’t run open watercraft on the inlet, water depth is impossible to judge. The tide can run six inches deep at 20 miles per hour. If you swamp or overturn in this situation your boat will fill with mud in seconds and your chances for survival will be poor at best.
9. Never surf alone.
Local fire officials also request that you be careful with any kind of fire this summer as any kind of wildfire could be devastating in the dry summer weather.