SAND POINT

KUCB's Maggie Nelson, Kanesia McGlashan-Price and Theo Greenly take a look back at major events this past year in Unalaska and beyond.

A fire broke out at Sand Point’s Peter Pan Seafood Co. facility Wednesday morning. Edith Mejia, the office manager and a dispatcher for the small Aleutian town’s police department, said the fire likely started between 7 and 8 a.m.

The telecommunications company said their crews were finishing construction in King Cove and Sand Point, the two largest communities in the Aleutians East Borough.

After 200 years of obscurity, the niĝilax̂ has returned. Four communities have built the traditional boat this year, after studying historical documents, sketches, and artifacts to learn how they were made.

The telecommunications company said in a statement that Sand Point, King Cove and Akutan are hooked up to their fiber optic cable, hailing it a “major milestone” in closing the digital divide between urban and rural communities.

The Alaska State Troopers arrested Christopher Mitchell, a 36-year-old Washington resident, for an outstanding warrant as he was traveling to Sand Point, at which time they say they found nearly $100,000 worth of fentanyl and methamphetamine.

The new regional airline, which is operated by Sterling Airways, announced Wednesday that they’re starting a route between Anchorage and two Alaska Peninsula communities: Sand Point and Cold Bay. According to company spokesperson Ashley Hammers, starting in May, flights will be offered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with some increased availability.

Sand Point upgraded its travel lift at the Robert E. Galovin Small Boat Harbor. Also known as a boat gantry crane, the travel lift hoists boats out of the water for repairs or storage. Jordan Keeler is the city administrator for the Eastern Aleutians community. He said the former travel lift was about 40 years old and needed to be replaced.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued three hunters near Sand Point on Wednesday after the group's boat sank on the southern end of Popof Island.

GCI crews began construction in Unalaska Tuesday in preparation to bring fiber optic broadband to the island.