Unseasonably warm, dry weather in a large section of the state set the stage for a roughly 20-acre wildfire near Palmer and kept authorities across Southcentral and Interior Alaska busy putting out backyard fires despite ongoing warnings against open burning.

4-29-14 Sea ice rescue - Barrow, Alaska, USA

In Anchorage, the city logged 68 bed bug complaints in 2013, a decrease from the 84 in 2012. There was just one complaint in 2007 and 2008 combined, according to city data.

Increasing winds may drive the air quality to become "unhealthy to hazardous," said a statement from Eileen Probasco, planning director with the Matanuska-Sustina Borough.