Forecasters say they are expecting significant coastal erosion from Utqiagvik to Unalakleet from the second severe-weather event to hit the region in three weeks.
Two villages along the Lower Yukon River have begun evacuating their most vulnerable residents from a tundra fire.The fire late Thursday was burning less than eight miles from St Mary’s and nearby Pitkas Point, and wind continues spreading the flames closer to the villages with a combined population of over 700 people. Yute Commuter Service is sending all its planes to St. Mary’s to evacuate residents, and Grant Aviation is prepared to assist.
Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday after heavy rain drenched parts of the Northeast, washing out roads, forcing evacuations and halting some airline travel. One person was killed in New York as she was trying to leave her home. Officials say the storm has already wrought tens of millions of dollars in damage.
Michael Hamilton, who worked at Valdez Heli-Ski Guides, died Monday in one of numerous avalanches that have been occurring in the Southcentral Alaska backcountry recently. Several recent large wet slab avalanches reported throughout the Chugach are believed to be connected to a buried crust that formed around late October, she said. A warm storm system last week also weakened the snowpack because it added weight and heat.
The slide occurred at a time when forecasters in the region are cautioning backcountry skiers and snowboarders about the potential for warming weather to increase avalanche risk.
The man suffered four scratches to the top of his head and near his right ear, and declined medical assistance.
Environment Canada said the weather system shattered more than 100 heat records across British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon and Northwest Territories.
The 61-year-old man was flown to an Anchorage hospital for treatment of his injuries, troopers said.
Fairbanks resident Erin Lee, 40, was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital via helicopter where she was pronounced dead, according to the statement.
A Wales resident shot and killed the bear. With the loss of sea ice and the ocean staying open later in the year, polar bears have been spending more time on land, which increases the chance of human encounters.
The man was injured on his face and hands. Two members in the skiers party assisted with his injuries and communicate for help in 15 degree temperatures with sunset approaching. It was not immediately clear what triggered the mauling about 10 miles northwest of Haines.
The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
Hundreds of people have combed the terrain near Big Lake, but there’s still no sign of LaVerne and Van Pettigen.
“The fact that an otter attacked a person was certainly surprising,” said a wildlife biologist with Fish and Game, who added that it’s hard to know what the motivation behind the otter’s “unusual behavior” was.
The highway remained closed north of Willow after the fire jumped the road Sunday, authorities said. The fire started Saturday afternoon when wind blew a tree onto a power line.
Anchorage hit 80 degrees Tuesday night, beating a record set in 1979, according to the National Weather Service.
“Smoke concentrations will be such that they could impact public health at times, according to an advisory issued by the state Division of Air Quality.
Snow may have fallen at the lowest elevation ever observed in the state.
That hurts coastal communities that hunt on the ice. But colder weather may be coming, at least to some portions of Alaska. Ice should be hugging the coast near the village of Gambell, perched on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, said Mayor Susan Apassingok, on Tuesday. But ice isn't there.
Snowplows? The railroad? “Trumpets in the sky? The noise has been heard on and off for years, but no one appears to have a solid explanation.
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