2023 in Alaska

← 2022 2021 2020 2023 in Alaska → 2024 2025 2026
Decades:	2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Alaska Historical outline of Alaska List of years in Alaska 2023 in the United States

The following is a list of events of the year 2023 in Alaska.

Incumbents

State government

• Governor: Mike Dunleavy (R)

Events

• January 11 – The launch of an unmanned ABL Space Systems RS1 rocket fails at the Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska in Kodiak. The rocket crashes during the launch, damaging the launch platform and destroying the rocket and its cargo.[1]
• January 17 – A polar bear attacks and kills a woman and her son in Wales, after charging several others, in the first fatal attack since the early 1980s. The bear is shot and killed following the attack.[2]
• February 10 – 2023 Alaska high-altitude object: The White House's spokesperson John Kirby announces that the United States Air Force shot down a high-altitude object over territorial waters in Alaska, just days after shooting down a Chinese balloon over the Atlantic Ocean. The object was ordered to be shot down by U.S. President Joe Biden because it posed "a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight".[3]
• April 27 – 2023 Alaska mid-air collision: Three United States Army personnel are killed and another is injured when two AH-64 Apache helicopters collide over Healy, near Fort Wainwright.[4]
• May 29 – One person is killed and four others are missing after a chartered boat sinks near Sitka.[5]
• July 16 – A 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes off the coast of Alaska, causing a tsunami warning to be issued for the region.[6]
• August 10 – Alaska reports its worst air quality in recorded history after extreme amounts of smoke enter the state due to the Canadian wildfires.[7]
• November 20 – An avalanche kills three people and leaves several others missing in Wrangell.[8]

See also

• 2023 in the United States

References

1. Dobroth, Kirsten; January 11, KMXT Updated; January 11, 2023 Published. "Rocket crashes after liftoff from Kodiak spaceport, damages launch pad". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
2. "Polar bear kills woman and boy in Alaska village". 2023-01-18. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
3. "US shoots down another 'high-altitude object' over Alaska". February 10, 2024.
4. "Three killed when U.S. Army helicopters collide in Alaska". Reuters. April 28, 2023.
5. "1 dead, 4 missing after fishing charter boat sinks near Sitka, Alaska". AP News. 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
6. "7.2-magnitude earthquake strikes near Alaska Peninsula, prompting brief tsunami warning". ABC News. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
7. "Timelapse Shows Wildfire Smoke Blanket Central Alaska as Air Quality Drops". Yahoo News. 2023-08-09. Retrieved 2024-10-15.
8. "Search continues for the missing after landslide leaves 3 dead in Alaska fishing community". AP News. 2023-11-22. Retrieved 2024-10-15.