The Atchuelinguk Fire, an 800-acre tundra blaze near Marshall, Alaska, extinguished naturally. Ipsen said that the fire occurred in an area where blazes are allowed to play out when not threatening known sites of value or people. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Less snow than usual fell in the area this winter. It melted early, exposing the tundra. A steady wind has dried the vegetation, and hardly any precipitation has fallen since early March. Thoman said that with no rain and abundant sunshine, the tundra has remained brown and dry. The fire still is not threatening the community of Kwethluk or any Native allotments.
The Alaska Division of Forestry deployed 12 smokejumpers on an estimated 100-acre wildfire burning near the village of Akiachak in southwest Alaska Tuesday afternoon to protect a fish camp and Native allotments surrounding the fire.
Dynamic breakup conditions are causing ice jams and flooding in Kuskokwim river communities, and significantly damaging infrastructure.
Akiak City Administrator David Gilila says the village is in danger of becoming an island in the Kuskokwim River.
Above average snowfall at the headwaters of the Kuskokwim, and early break up, led to higher than average river flows past Aniak. The river banks are eroding, threatening community infrastructure.
The loss of frozen ground in Arctic regions is a striking result of climate change. And it is also a cause of more warming to come.
Unusually rainy year for Lower Kalskag this year.
Thawing all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail.
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