Alaskans are taking advantage of rare ice skating conditions on alpine lakes in Chugach State Park, with hundreds of people hiking into the backcountry to skate on smooth ice in the shadow of iconic peaks.
Oil from a nearby fuel container leaked through the water system in the lake most likely due to heavy rains of the past month. Cleanup efforts were ongoing this week. It’s not clear when the park will reopen.
The second-worst flood on record in the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs began to recede on Sunday, but dozens of residents were displaced and cut off from power. Flooding is also reported in Sleetmute, Red Devil and Georgetown on the Kuskokwim River and Circle on the Yukon River.
“It was a beautiful event that we were lucky to have survived,” Andrew Hooper said.
The school district plans to transport fuel from a group of 10 tanks into three new tanks expected to be placed in the Napakiak school parking lot further inland.
Drained lake basins make up more than half of the Arctic coastal plain, but the complete drainage of a lake is rarely witnessed by people.
Alaska transportation officials believe there’s a low risk that anyone could be harmed in an outburst, but they say they’re acting swiftly to prevent another road closure.
The flooding started when large chunks of ice jammed at Deneki bridge, according to an advisory issued by the National Weather Service.
Two popular rivers are being closed to fishing because almost no cohos are making it upstream.
The sea lions have posed a long-running conundrum for wildlife officials, pitting mammals protected under federal law against protected — and valuable — fish runs.
For the first time, the race will run two laps to its halfway point and back. Mushers agree it’s the safest way to run the race, but it could present challenges.
According to the Weather Service, the Chena River is at 25 feet around Chena Lakes and 21.4 feet at the Mile 40 Bridge near Two Rivers.
“When I first started six years ago, icebergs like this were more common,” says a tour boat captain on the lake near Anchorage.
Danny Foster and Mike Hawley of Kivalina were ice fishing outside of town when they came upon something they’d never seen before. Incidentally, similar ice balls or ice eggs were reported on an ocean beach in Finland on the same day.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Kenai Lake and the Kenai River near Cooper Landing.
In the earliest breakup since the contest began in 1917, the Nenana Ice Classic Tripod fell early this morning.
The pair were hoisted from 140 feet above, according to Guard officials. Flooding continues to be a concern in the area.
A September storm caused damage in Utqiagvik, and Gov. Bill Walker declared a disaster there last month.
As of Tuesday, the wells at Chignik Lagoon, population 150, are completely dry.
Portions of the Matanuska River’s banks near Butte were “beginning to show signs of breeching” Sunday night, leading Mat-Su Borough officials to ask that area residents prepare for potential evacuations.
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