A rare, emaciated fin whale was found dead near Kodiak, Alaska, with the local Sun'aq Tribe conducting a necropsy. There isn’t enough data for biologists to declare a trend yet, but these whales are being found on the heels of an unusual mortality event for gray whales in the Pacific Ocean.
Two individuals were found deceased in a vehicle on Steese Highway, with recovery delayed by severe weather; no foul play is suspected.
This is the second reported roof collapse in Anchorage in two days.
Officials have been receiving reports of Steller sea lions hauling out on beaches in poor condition, but have been unable to retrieve the animals for research — largely because they are in remote areas.
The upper mountain at Eaglecrest Ski Area in Juneau was closed on Friday following a large avalanche Thursday morning. No one was hurt.
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.
A landslide in Wrangell, Alaska, killed three people, destroyed homes, and left three missing after heavy rainfall triggered the disaster.
Unseasonably cold air swept into Alaska’s largest city Thursday, and forecasters expect it to stay through the weekend. The cold is plunging south into Alaska all the way from the North Pole, pushing a band of snow through Southcentral.
Hunters in Central Southeast Alaska have reported a record harvest of 141 bulls during the month-long moose hunt, surpassing the previous record of 132 bulls set in 2021, with the majority of the harvest occurring on Kupreanof Island. A couple decades ago, there were very few of them in the region — and the hunt was almost entirely relegated to the mainland. But over the years, he said he’s seen more moose cropping up on remote islands.
Moose and other species have advanced north with warming temperatures. University of Alaska Fairbanks assistant professor of water and environmental research Ken Tape said movement of boreal species into far northern Alaska has corresponded over the last century with earlier snow-melt and river ice out.
A five-acre fire destroyed one home in Haines and spread to State Forest land Monday night. The National Forest Service is flying in Tuesday evening to aid the local volunteer fire department.
Southeast Alaska has suffered from a drought and warmer-than-normal temperatures for about two years now. The month of July broke more records.
A historically powerful storm slammed into Western Alaska Friday night and into Saturday, bringing major flooding and high winds to a huge swath of coastal communities. By Saturday evening, the state said it had received no reports of injuries or deaths related to the storm. But damage had torn across hundreds of miles of Alaska’s coastline impacting communities all along the way. Alaskans described water flooding homes and roads. Wind tore off roofs. Houses floated off their foundations. Boats sank.
Norton Sound residents have reported salmon die-offs in unusually large numbers during the last week. According to the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC), dead pre-spawned pink salmon were found in multiple river systems over the weekend.
After a cold winter and spring, high temperatures around the Interior prompted birch tree buds to burst, sending record-setting levels of pollen into the air.
Ketchikan became the first city in Alaska to hit 80 degrees this year on Saturday, as three other cities in Southeast Alaska also set temperature records.
The bear tore through a chain link enclosure around midnight on November 4, and killed a 125-pound mixed-breed dog belonging to Georgiana Smith — who immediately informed her Indian River-area neighbors of the incident on the Sitka Bear Report Facebook page.
Temperatures might be down in Kodiak, but that doesn’t mean bear problems are down too. Fish & Game has tracked down and shot three problem bears in town over the last week, and they’re reminding residents — not all bears hibernate in the winter.
Heavy seas caused an Offshore System Kenai (OSK) earth and fill dock, with fuel lines, to collapse. The U.S. Coast Guard says about 300 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled when fuel lines were ruptured.
This has become the new norm across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Late winters and sudden thawing have turned roads into slush and made rivers and sloughs, which are necessary for travel, less safe because they take longer to freeze.
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