Volunteers Fly Thousands Of Miles To Help Alaskan Church

It will be a very merry Christmas for Nome Covenant Church.

The church in a town of under 4,000 where the average temperature stays well below zero is on the far reaches of the Alaskan frontier. The church met in a building that was 75 years old and was literally being held together by cables.

The church’s pastor lived in fear of the church collapsing.

“Our old church was 75 years old, it was built with available materials at that time,” Pastor Harvey Fiskeaux told Fox News. “I was actually fearful it was going to fall in.”

The church found an outpouring of Christian love from Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian organization known most for their Operation Christmas Child outreach.

The group flew 140 volunteers from all over the country to help the church build a brand new church and outreach center next door to the old church building.

“As a church we are there to help the infrastructure of family, children, and youth,” said Fiskeaux. “We are trying to help people’s lives.”

Alaska Volcano Eruption Disrupts Flights

Pavlof Volcano, after weeks of spewing ash and lava, erupted with a new intensity Tuesday launching cinders 5 miles into the sky.

The ash has covered the town of King Cove, 30 miles south of the volcano. The ash plume has not risen beyond 28,000 feet so it doesn’t impact jetliner traffic but has forced lower-flying aircraft to divert to other flight paths. Continue reading

Whole Lotta Shakin’ On The Ring of Fire

The Pacific “Ring of Fire” is doing its impression of Jerry Lee Lewis with a “whole lotta shakin’ going on” over the last day. Four earthquakes of a magnitude of 6 or greater shook three points on the “ring.”

The first struck in Chile with a magnitude 6.8 quake. The quake centered about 24 miles north of Vallenar and was felt as far away as the capital city of Santiago. One woman died of a heart attack that local officials attributed to stress brought on by the strong quake. Continue reading

Anchorage Shaken By 5.8 Earthquake

An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale shook Anchorage, Alaska and was felt for 175 miles from the epicenter according to the US Geological Survey.

The epicenter of the quake was approximately 30 miles northwest of downtown Anchorage. Despite the strength, the tsunami warning center reported no threat to the coastal areas. Continue reading

Earthquakes Rock Western US

California and Alaska have been rocked with multiple earthquakes in the last 24 hours.

Yorba Linda, California was struck with three earthquakes in just over one hour. The first, a magnitude 4.5, struck at 9:33 am local time, less than a mile and a half from the city center. The second hit 18 minutes later and measured 3.4 on the Richter Scale. The quake centered 2½ miles from the city. Continue reading