ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The residents of the quirky Alaska tourist town of Talkeetna were asked to evacuate Friday because the nearby river continues to rise after heavy rains.

Gov. Sean Parnell toured the area by helicopter and landed to talk to some Talkeetna-area residents who had left their homes.

"It's beginning to look like an island," resident Renamary Rauchenstein told The Associated Press by telephone Friday afternoon. "It's rising pretty fast."