Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Pilot Point, AK

Pilot Point is a city in Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska, on the Alaska Peninsula, sitting on a high, ancient glacial moraine that abuts the eastern shore of Ugashik Bay, six nautical miles upstream from Smoky Point and eighteen nautical miles downstream from the village of Ugashik.

Its Alutiiq name is Agisaq.

Pilot Point first appeared on the 1940 census as an unincorporated village, was made a census-designated place in 1980, and formally incorporated as a city in 1992.

At the 2020 census Pilot Point had a population of 70, up from 68 in 2010, with 21 households and a median age of 36.0 years.

In 2020, 71.4 percent of residents were American Indian and Alaska Native, and every resident lived in a rural area.

The city covers about 155 square miles according to the 2020 Gazetteer, most of it water, with only about 24.6 square miles of land, and its ZIP code is 99649.

Pilot Point has depended for its existence on the seasonal returns of anadromous Pacific salmon, especially sockeye, which is the mainstay economic force of the entire region.

Over half of the residents depend directly on the salmon fishery for their livelihood, with a small remainder depending on tourism, sports fishing and hunting, and a few government jobs.

Of the city's 69 housing units in 2020, 69.6 percent were vacant, reflecting the seasonal character of the fishing community.

The St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church stands in Pilot Point, and the community's population peaked at 114 in the 1940 census.