Valdez takes possible terrorist threat seriously
Security increased around loading area for oil tankers
ANCHORAGE - Isolated and sparsely populated Alaska seemed far removed from terrorist threats until Tuesday, when U.S. officials said al-Qaida operatives could target remote sites such as oil facilities in the state.
Officials in Washington cautioned they have not corroborated a report about an al-Qaida threat against the oil terminus in Valdez, where tankers load Prudhoe Bay oil destined for the Lower 48. But they said they were treating the information seriously and have increased security at the Port of Valdez, where armed Coast Guard patrols were more visible.
Some Valdez residents were on edge as word spread through the Prince William Sound community of almost 4,200 people.
"You have this almost false sense of security because 'I'm in Alaska, I'm safe,' " said Stacey Nease, 39, a cashier at Cap'n Joes Tesoro gas station. "You think, 'Who's going to target us?' Your heart starts beating fast, you're kind of in a panic mode. It's scary."
Federal and state officials said they were not at liberty to discuss specifics. But Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, said national security officials told him that only general threats have made.
"The bulk of evidence about al-Qaida points more and more to areas that have significant infrastructure dealing with the national economy - and we have two in Alaska, the Port of Valdez and the airport in Anchorage," Stevens said. "That's two among hundreds in the nation."
However remote the possibility of a terror attack, the unsettling report prompted Valdez officials to review the town's emergency plan and Mayor Bert Cottle to prepare a late-afternoon statement for local broadcast stations, explaining the elevation in the nation's terror threat level. Cottle said an "influx of state and federal resources" would arrive in the next few days in response to the elevated security level.
"The city of Valdez has no specific threat information other than general mention and information currently available nationwide," Cottle said. "There is no reason to change travel plans or alter your holiday activities as a result of these recent events."
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Alaska disaster officials identified the pipeline, which carries 17 percent of the nation's domestic oil supply - as the only real terrorist target that could have national implications.
There are 18 storage tanks in Valdez with a capacity to hold 9.1 million barrels of oil.
In a November 2001 confidential report obtained by The Associated Press, then-Adj. Gen. Phillip Oates noted the Valdez oil terminal, the Port of Anchorage and Nikiski Terminals in Cook Inlet could be potential targets.
The 26-year-old pipeline follows an 800-mile route from the Arctic's Prudhoe Bay south to Valdez. More than half of the steel pipeline lies above ground along remote but easily accessible terrain.