onto the tracks, making work difficult for crews assigned to repair the rail line. The incident severed rail traffic between Fairbanks and Anchorage until May 7, when track repairs were completed and the railroad resumed service. Yukon River Eagle and Eagle Village On May 3 and May 4, ice on the Yukon River near the Alaska/Canada border began to break up. Open water was seen near the town of Eagle, which is just west of the border. On May 4, a large ice jam developed about 10 miles downriver of Eagle. The high-flowing Yukon, fueled by snowmelt from the high temperatures of the previous week, soon flooded the town. Large chunks of ice were carried over the town's riverbank retaining wall and smashed into stores and buildings. The Alaska Native settlement of Eagle Village was severely flooded and virtually destroyed by marauding blocks of ice. In Eagle itself, floodwater lifted buildings off their foundations and caused havoc for the town's 120-plus residents. Middle Yukon The high water released by the break-up of the Eagle ice jam reached Circle, the next significant town downriver from Eagle, in early May. The river surge hit Fort Yukon on May 7 and early in the morning of May 8. Although the flood reached above flood stage, it did not top the town's Yukon River levee. Areas outside the levee received minor flooding, and some residents were evacuated to the village school and to Fort Yukon Air Force Station. Lower Yukon The surge of water released from the Yukon River near Eagle in the first week of May reached the lower Yukon villages of Grayling, Holy Cross, and Nulato by May 16. Response Initial responses to the flooding were organized by people and organizations closest to the separate disasters. Most efforts were focused on assisting residents of Eagle, but notable help was given to other affected communities, including Akiak and Stevens Village. On May 3, National Park Service employees from the headquarters of the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve in Eagle moved to support residents of the town who had been flooded out of their homes. Supplies of food and water were delivered to old Eagle Village on May 5, and the next day, officials from the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management arrived to manage the response from a headquarters set up at Eagle's school. By Thursday, May 7, National Park Service helicopters