https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/05/19/red-cross-honors-igiugig-woman-for-helping-light-runway-during-late-night-medevac/ * TV + Schedule + Watch KAKM Live + AK Passport + Alaska Insight + American Portrait + In My Family + Indie Alaska + The Great American Read + Polar Playlists + Vietnam Echoes * Radio + KSKA Schedule + Stream KSKA 91.1 FM + Podcasts + Iditapod + 49 Voices + Line One + Addressing Alaskans + Midnight Oil + AK + New Arrivals + Alaska Interrupted + Outdoor Explorer + Algo Nuevo + State of Art + Arctic Entries + StoryCorps o Hear me now o Military Voices o StoryCorps Alaska + Community in Unity + Talk of Alaska + Hometown, Alaska + Traveling Music * News + Latest News + Alaska News Nightly + Alaska Economic Report + Alaska Politics + Alaska's Energy Desk + Coronavirus + Iditarod + Mental Health Focus + Rural Health Focus + Running 2021 + Solutions Desk * Education + At Home Learning + Race Matters + Ready to Learn + Kids Club + Molly of Denali + Learning Media + Parent Resources + Watch PBS KIDS + Workforce Development * Support + Donate Now + Sustaining Membership + Leadership Circle + Benefits of Membership + Will & Estate Gifts + IRA Charitable Rollover + Give Stocks + Sponsorship + Vehicle Donation + Ways to Give * About + AKPM App + Careers + Contact + Events + Funding + Organization + People + I.D.E.A. + Public Documents + Public Meetings + Accessibility Commitment * Donor Portal * Donate * AK Passport Search [ ] Alaska Public Media Alaska Public Media daily digest banner daily digest banner daily digest banner Alaska Public Media Alaska Public Media * TV + Schedule + Watch KAKM Live + AK Passport + Alaska Insight + American Portrait + In My Family + Indie Alaska + The Great American Read + Polar Playlists + Vietnam Echoes * Radio + KSKA Schedule + Stream KSKA 91.1 FM + Podcasts + Iditapod + 49 Voices + Line One + Addressing Alaskans + Midnight Oil + AK + New Arrivals + Alaska Interrupted + Outdoor Explorer + Algo Nuevo + State of Art + Arctic Entries + StoryCorps o Hear me now o Military Voices o StoryCorps Alaska + Community in Unity + Talk of Alaska + Hometown, Alaska + Traveling Music * News + Latest News + Alaska News Nightly + Alaska Economic Report + Alaska Politics + Alaska's Energy Desk + Coronavirus + Iditarod + Mental Health Focus + Rural Health Focus + Running 2021 + Solutions Desk * Education + At Home Learning + Race Matters + Ready to Learn + Kids Club + Molly of Denali + Learning Media + Parent Resources + Watch PBS KIDS + Workforce Development * Support + Donate Now + Sustaining Membership + Leadership Circle + Benefits of Membership + Will & Estate Gifts + IRA Charitable Rollover + Give Stocks + Sponsorship + Vehicle Donation + Ways to Give * About + AKPM App + Careers + Contact + Events + Funding + Organization + People + I.D.E.A. + Public Documents + Public Meetings + Accessibility Commitment * Donor Portal * Donate * AK Passport [ ][Search] Red Cross honors Igiugig woman for helping light runway during late-night medevac By Isabelle Ross, KDLG - Dillingham - May 19, 2021 vehicles shine lights on a runwayVehicles light Igiugig's runway on Friday, August, 28, 2020. Ida Nelson helped organize the effort so a plane could land and take a sick child to Anchorage. (Photo courtesy Ida Nelson) A medevac plane flew above Igiugig last August. It was late, around 11 p.m., but a child from the remote Southwest Alaska village needed to be transported to Anchorage for intensive care. Ida Nelson had just finished taking a steam when she heard the plane overhead. A woman in a green and navy blue shirt smiles for a photo.Ida Nelson. (Photo courtesy of Ida Nelson) "Somebody needed extended care, and the only way to get it is to get them on a medevac and out to Anchorage," she said during last week's Red Cross Real Heroes awards ceremony. When the plane didn't land, she went to the runway manager. The runway lights were out. "I was like, 'Well, can I light up the runway?'" Nelson said. "He was like, 'Well, you can try.'" But the light from her lone four-wheeler wasn't going to be enough. As they communicated with the LifeMed pilot, Nelson's neighbor started to get people to the airport. "She was busy calling everybody in the village, waking them up and asking them, 'Hey, run to the runway. We need to light up the runway so the plane can land,'"Nelson said. "Everybody came from the ages of like eight to 70 years old." Residents lined the runway with their vehicles to light the pilot's way. The plane landed, and the child who needed care was transported to the hospital. The story received international coverage. The Red Cross reached out to Nelson to offer her a Real Hero Award in the Alaska safety category. Nelson said that for her, lighting up the runway is just another example of the community coming together. "It's something that we in Igiugig do constantly, like almost every day," she said. "It's just normal for us to go run out and help somebody when they need help. You don't question the day or the time. If someone is in need you just go for help. That for us is -- to me, at least, it's normal. Someone needs help, they're calling for help, you get up and go." RELATED: The runway lights broke, but Igiugig guided in a child's medevac plane with headlights There are 10 different categories for Alaska's Red Cross Real Hero Awards, which started in 2000. Nelson was one of 10 people to receive awards around the state. 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