Alaska has a large contingent of military forces.  Fairbanks is right next to Fort Wainwright Army post and forty miles south is Eielson Air Force base.  Anchorage is next to Fort Richardson Army post and Elmendorf Air Force base.

Immediately after the hijackings, all the military went on full alert.  What that means for residents of Fairbanks is that entering the military bases is a much more difficult thing to do.  Huge lines of cars waiting to enter Ft. Wainwright.  IDs were check and a visual examination underneath vehicles was conducted.  As a result there were a few traffic james and school buses were delayed.  Two hour waits were normal for entering the base.

I didn't notice any particular panic in people's behavior. Gas prices didn't rise extraordinarily and there were no runs at the grocery stores for food. I think a lot of people in Alaska normally keep a supply of food and water on hand in case of transportation interruptions and long stints of cold weather.  I know that I do.

One fall out from the air transportation freeze was that many hunters had been dropped off in the field.  When it was time for them to picked up, no planes were allowed to fly.  Some of the hunters called using their cell phones, but many others had no way of being informed.  Eventually this matter was resolved, and I didn't hear of anyone suffering from the delay.

Yesterday I heard on the news that the Seward military resort will be closed.  The reasoning is that the manpower required to run the resort can be better used elsewhere.