A pilot rescued with two young family members after they survived a night on the wing of an airplane partially submerged in a Kenai Peninsula lake is a student pilot who was not authorized to fly with passengers, according to a U.S. official and federal aviation records.

A 16-year-old snowmachiner was fatally buried in an avalanche in Turnagain Pass when a juvenile triggered the slide, prompting emergency rescue efforts.

This is Alaska’s first fatal avalanche reported this season. It is also the country’s deadliest since February 2023.

The State Department of Fish and Game has closed king salmon fishing on the Kenai River and surrounding Cook Inlet areas for the third consecutive year due to alarmingly low forecast returns.

A window of cold and clear weather has drawn hundreds of people to skate, bike and walk on the lake ice in recent days.

Due to a diminished snowpack on the central Kenai Peninsula, the Ski for Women event at Tsalteshi Trails near Soldotna, Alaska has been canceled, though organizers remain hopeful about the upcoming Tour of Tsalteshi.

Strong winds in Portage, Alaska destroyed a deer shelter at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, used for Sitka deer. Fundraising efforts to rebuild have nearly met the $30,000 goal.

Heavy rains and melting glaciers are making landslides in the area more common, says a geologist.

An avalanche on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula killed one backcountry skier and injured two others, prompting warnings for people to stay away from steep slopes as warm weather and high winds raise the risk of more snowslides around the state.

Chugach Electric acknowledges the high frequency of winter power outages in Cooper Landing and Moose Pass, attributing them to heavy snowfall and considering solutions like local maintenance crews.

The Kenai River has been running high ever since two glacier dammed lakes emptied into the river over the last few days. In the Kenai Keys subdivision near Sterling, the river is lapping at the doorsteps of the hundred or so homes that line the river. Longtime resident Frank Turpin said although he’s seen worse flooding, this one is significant. The road leading into the gated subdivision is flooded in numerous places although some vehicles can still make it through. Neighbors who live on higher ground have offered their yards for people wishing to store cars or other items until the waters recede.

Usually, the Snow Glacier and Skilak lakes release every two or three years. Both at the same time is unprecedented.

Stand up paddle boarder near miss with humpback whale in Prince William Sound.

Kenai National Wildlife Refuge staff say the bird is leucistic, lacking pigment in some feathers due to an absence of cells that produce melanin.

A culvert collapse closed the road at Mile 8 from 9 p.m. Friday until one lane reopened at 10 a.m. Sunday. The culvert was washed out by heavy snowmelt.

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 slides come near the end of an avalanche season experts say is notable both for its heightened danger and lack of deaths.

The reason for the uptick in human-triggered avalanches this winter: persistent weak layers in the snowpack.

The female seal pup — estimated to be around six months old — was seen swimming “erratically” near the shore in Sitka last month, according to a press release from the center. Worried Sitka residents then reported the pup to the center’s 24-hour stranding hotline.

Alaska Railroad freight train derailed early Tuesday after plowing into avalanche debris south of Girdwood. The debris spread roughly 300 feet across the tracks.