09/28/2026
The runway lights failed. The village didn't.
✈️🛻🚙🚚
Late on August 28, 2020, a child in the remote Alaska village of Igiugig needed an emergency flight to Anchorage. A LifeMed Alaska plane was on its way, but the runway lights wouldn't turn on.
Ida Nelson had just stepped out of a steam bath when she heard the aircraft overhead. It was after 11 p.m. She looked toward the airport and saw darkness where the lights should have been.
She got on her four-wheeler and headed to the runway. A neighbor began calling for help — 32 calls, reaching almost every household in the small village.
People got out of bed. Some were still in their pajamas. They brought cars, trucks and ATVs, coordinating by phone and radio while the pilot circled above.
They positioned their vehicles along the runway, using headlights to illuminate the way.
And when the plane landed, nobody left.
They held their positions while the child was brought aboard. They stayed as the aircraft taxied down the runway and took off for Anchorage.
It wasn't a new lighting system. It was a community using what it had, refusing to let a family face an emergency alone.
That night, “it takes a village” wasn't just a saying. It was a runway lit by neighbors who showed up.
Sources: KTOO / Alaska's Energy Desk; CNN; Associated Press, via Daily Mail.
Photo credit: Courtesy Ida Nelson, via KTOO.
Has your community ever come together for someone in an emergency? 🚨
