False flares cause stir at Hoonah

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Hoonah
Type: Suspicious circumstances
On 2/15/11 at approximately 1735 hours, Hoonah Wildlife Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard and members of Hoonah volunteer fire department responded to and investigated two separate reports of aerial flares being seen in the area between the Hoonah airport and Spasski harbor northeast of Hoonah. At the time of the incident the Icy Strait and Hoonah area were experiencing gale warnings with freezing spray. The USCG launched a helicopter out of Sitka, and responders from Hoonah investigated by truck and snowmobiles. It was determined that an unidentified and very irresponsible party had fired three expired flares from the Hoonah dump area, causing this case to be initiated. The Alaska State Troopers would like to remind people that flares or any other type of distress signal should not be used unless in an emergency, or under some type of training scenario where local search and rescue authorities are notified before the training exercise.