July 9, 2026, Seward Folly

In a scene that could only happen in Alaska, the Seward Highway was shut down Friday night after a semi truck hauling two trailers packed with salmon jack-knifed and overturned.

The truck, loaded with about 60,000 Cook Inlet salmon packed in ice, was headed from Silver Bay Seafoods in Homer to the company’s Seward processing plant. Homer’s facility buys fish but doesn’t process them, so the salmon were getting a quick road trip before their final destination. Silver Bay Seafoods had hired a trucking company, whose name hasn’t been disclosed, to make the run. But at mile 15, near Primrose, things went sideways.

Alaska State Troopers dispatched to the scene around 10 p.m. found the semi jack-knifed and overturned, salmon, diesel, and oil scattered across the pavement. Troopers closed the highway in both directions, warning motorists that there was no way around and cleanup would take hours. According to authorities, the driver was simply going too fast for the conditions. No alcohol was involved, just one of those classic Alaska mishaps.

Both people in the truck were transported to Seward Providence Medical Center with minor injuries, but the real chaos was on the road. Thousands of sockeye salmon covered the highway, creating a spectacle that’s almost unthinkable anywhere else. It’s not every day the 4th of July traffic jam is caused by fish.

Cleanup crews from Silver Bay Seafoods and the non-disclosed trucking company worked through the night to clear the mess and reopen the highway. By 5 a.m., the road was finally open and the Mount Marathon crowd could continue on to Seward. Their fishing tall tale was all true – no need for exaggeration, no fishing rod, and definitely no ocean required.

Photos taken with permission from Luke Ballou FB video