It's in the Russian Far East, where there is no real legal framework or enforcement. The chances of saving them are pretty grim. First light brings welcome news. The skies are clear. The fog has lifted.
Seas are calm, and the mosquitoes are swarming.
The smoky, cast-iron wood stove heats coffee. Fresh-baked bread is cut and smothered with cheese and jam. There is no time to waste. Good weather doesn't come often and may not last long at the Pil'tun lighthouse camp overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk, also known to the native population as the Sea of Death. There are no cars or roads, just pathways through the sand and scattered patches of tundra.