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Firefighters Lift 700-Pound Boulder to Rescue Man Pinned Face-Down in Frigid Alaska Creek

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Firefighters Lift 700-Pound Boulder to Rescue Man Pinned Face-Down in Frigid Alaska Creek


Rescue of Kell Morris (in brown hat) Credit: Jason Harrington / Seward Fire Department – released

Rescuers described it as an avalanche of boulders—and Kell Morris was lucky to have survived it.

The 61-year-old was hiking with his wife in the Alaskan wilderness south of Anchorage last month, when a single step sent a succession of rocks crashing down the terrain.

Morris fell with them and, when he landed, he was pinned face down in an icy creek by a 700-pound boulder.

“It all came loose… and I was sliding with it,” Morris told KTUU News in Alaska. “Then it was a blur. I went tumbling. ”

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“I could hear the noise that large rocks make as they’re rolling over each other. I landed face-down in the river, and then I felt the rock hit me in the back and pin me down.”

Morris’s left leg and hip were pinned tightly to the rocks, but his shoulders were still above the frigid water. Other rocks kept him from getting flattened by the huge boulder, so he still had a chance.

His wife, Joanna Roop, a retired Alaska State Trooper, immediately sprung into action, running to find a cell phone signal about 300 yards away to call 911—and emergency crews used GPS coordinates to organize a rescue attempt.

Fortunately, volunteer firefighter Sam Paperman happened to be working his tourism job in a nearby helicopter and diverted to the scene after the rescue call came in. More responders arrived a few moments later—and they were just in time.

The water level continued to rise in the creek, which was fed by glacier ice fields. Morris’s speech was slurring and he was fading in and out of consciousness as hypothermia set in. His wife continued to hold his head above water.

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Emergency crews inflated two airbags typically used for vehicle extractions to help lift the boulder off of Morris, according to a media statement from the Seward Fire Department.

And then, it was time for teamwork.

“It just became an all-hands, brute force of ‘One, two, three, push,’” Seward Fire Chief Clinton Crites said in a quote from CBS News.

“Seven guys were able to lift it enough to pull the victim out.”

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Morris spent two days in a hospital for observation, but thanks to the quick actions of his wife, a whole bunch of good fortune, and the efforts of dedicated rescue workers, he pretty much walked away from the 700-pound boulder battle relatively unscathed.

“Every star was aligned,” said Chief Crites, citing the good weather, number of rescuers, cellular service, and the private helicopter tour company that was willing to help.

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“You couldn’t have made the stars align any better for this guy.”

HAIL THESE FIREFIGHTERS By Sharing the Rescue on Social Media…

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Alaska

Watch My Buddy Matt Not Get Eaten by Bears in Alaska

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Watch My Buddy Matt Not Get Eaten by Bears in Alaska


I’m typically pretty wordy. But just watch the video.

Disclaimer: Matt Addington is a professional. These bears grazed toward him from 100 yards away while he held tight. Do not try this ever, under any circumstances, or you will likely spend the rest of your time on this earth as bear poop.

Matt Addington is an incredible professional photographer, and I can say that from personal experience. He’s captured images of me in rough shape and somehow made them stunnin’. The Minnesota-based photographer and filmmaker has built a career telling outdoor stories, and his latest bear video proves he knows exactly where to point a camera.

Places like Katmai National Park in Alaska (where this video was taken) can offer unusually close encounters with brown bears, thanks in part to abundant food and tightly managed visitor access. That doesn’t make encounters like this casual or safe to imitate.

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Addington is an extremely experienced outdoorsman, and he was photographing with professional guides Scott and Jackie Stone. For people hoping to photograph bears this way, a guided wildlife photography tour is one of the safest ways to do it. Do not try this in Yellowstone or your local national forest.

The bears were grazing nearly 100 yards away when the group set up. They stayed put as the animals continued feeding and gradually moved closer, resulting in some incredible footage and a once-in-a-lifetime photo.

I can only hope he wore his brown pants under his waders.





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Black bear breaks into Alaskan mall, eats a peach and relieves itself on floor before leaving: video

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Black bear breaks into Alaskan mall, eats a peach and relieves itself on floor before leaving: video


Can bearly believe it!

A black bear was caught on camera seemingly running errands at a local shopping mall in Anchorage, Alaska over the weekend.

A black bear in Alaska strolled through the automatic doors of the commissary mall on the military base on Sunday. Kory Godbout

The bear entered the commissary mall at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson around 9 a.m. Sunday, KTUU reported, citing a JBER spokesperson. 

Wild footage shows the young cub strolling through the commissary’s automatic doors and exploring all that the mall had to offer.

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Barber shop employee, Kory Godbout, saw the black bear approach his store and ran to the break room. Joint Base Elmendorf Exchange

The hungry bear stole and ate a piece of fruit before emptying its bowels on the hallway floor on its way out of the building.

Kory Godbout, who works at the barber shop on the military base, was waiting for his first customer of the day when he spotted the furry intruder traveling through the automatic doors.

“My coworker, who is cutting hair in front of me, she yelled, ‘Bear!’” Godbout recalled. 

The grizzly bear decided to “use the restroom in the hallway” of the shopping mall. Kory Godbout

“And I looked up from my phone and the bear was walking into the barber shop right in front of me,” the barber said. “And we all ran into the break room and shut the door behind us.”

After a few minutes, Godbout and his coworkers emerged from the break room and followed the out-of-place bear into the commissary, where it took a peach from the grocery store and ate it. 

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The barber recalled that a few onlookers were “going big to try and scare” the bear out of the grocery store.

The bear cub stole a peach and ate it while exploring all that the commissary had to offer. Joint Base Elmendorf Exchange

But all of a sudden, the black bear returned to the barber shop.

“By that time, we were able to run back to the shop and then lock the door,” Godbout said. 

The bear cleared its bowels on the floor before leaving the shopping mall. Facebook

“And then we were watching him from the window and then that’s when he decided to, you know, use the restroom in the hallway.”

Officers from Conservation Law Enforcement attended the peculiar grizzly scene and were able to direct the wild animal towards a river and into the woods, according to the JBER spokesperson.

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JBER’s wildlife program manager Colette Brandt said in a press release that the bear had triggered the automatic doors and that Sunday’s events were entirely incidental, KTUU reported.

While there has been a decline in bear-related calls since the military base installed bear-resistant dumpsters, seven bears have been put down at JBER for public safety over the past year.



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Fatal crash closes Glenn Highway southbound lanes near Eagle River

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Fatal crash closes Glenn Highway southbound lanes near Eagle River


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway were closed Thursday morning near the S-curves due to a fatal crash, according to the Anchorage Police Department.

Police confirmed shortly after 11 a.m. that at least one person was dead. As of 12:45 p.m., one southbound lane is now open to traffic.

The southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway were closed July 9, 2026 near the S-curves due to a fatal crash, according to the Anchorage Police Department.(Alaska’s News Source)

An Alaska’s News Source reporter on the scene said the crash took place near the Eagle River Loop Road. Video from the scene shows multiple vehicles took damage in the incident.

This is a developing story. It has been updated with new information.

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See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.



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