A Kenai Peninsula village is rapidly running out of water. Low snowpack and little rainfall has led Nanwalek to declare a water emergency.
Persistent high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska and Bristol Bay has kept most storms well away from the lower Kenai Peninsula. At Homer, total rainfall June 1-August 16 was only 53% of normal, making this the driest since 2004. The City of Seldovia has issued a "City Water Conservation Notice" on August 20th. The notice doesn't ban any specific water use but requests residents make an effort to use less water by minimizing watering lawns and washing cars and to take shorter showers.
"Nanwalek was in an emergency drought, we had to have water flown in for 60 households."
"Jakolof Creek is dry almost all the way up to the switchbacks and continues to recede. The early run of red salmon may have made it to the lake, but that is probably the only run that has."
It’s official: the Kenai Peninsula is in a moderate drought. After months of warm weather and little rain, the United States Drought Monitor designated the region abnormally dry. The drought is creating a crisis for farmers who are having to water their crops more often while at the same time their wells are drying up. There are roughly 260 farms on the peninsula.
Hoverfly larva (possibly Dasysyrphus) found out in the open. Usually, they are found in stagnant water, on a decomposing animal carcass, or in rot holes of trees.
Large groups of loons are rarely observed in the summer on Homer's Beluga Lake. Over a dozen were observed calling back and forth on Beluga Lake.
Local residents debated whether a massive release of spruce pollen, which accumulated on every surface—including car bonnets, picnic tables and the nearby Kachemak Bay—amounted to a “golden sheen” or a “yellow scum”. The fine dust turned the surface of the sea the colour of butter and left a bright, lemony line on shore that marked the extent of high tide and gave off a sickly sweet smell. This huge release of pollen might be yet another symptom of a rapidly changing environment.
As lower Kenai Peninsula temperatures have soared recently, local farmers and gardeners have concerns about how June’s lack of rain and steady warm temperatures will affect their businesses in the weeks ahead.
The latest update put the Swan Lake fire’s size at 23,530 acres.
We did not see a single sea star in the Kachemak-side tide pools, and boulders we visit each year all looked a little vacant, with a lot of empty, critter-free space.
The Alaska Division of Forestry is warning Alaskans in the Southcentral region of the state about high fire danger.
The Homer Tribune - Offering news of the people, places and events of Homer and the lower Kenai Peninsula
Dead sea otter (Enhydra lutris) found on the beach with no obvious sign of injury although it did show signs of hair loss.
Large egg case found on beach, perhaps belonging to a Big Skate (Raja binoculata)
Sea Nettle (Chrysaora melanaster) jellyfish washed up on the beach.
Squid are becoming more common on the shoreline over the past few years.
Spruce branch girdling causing discoloration in tree.
Grasshopper seen in area with typically few sightings
On this occasion he did not just vomit once, but over and over, combined with severe diarrhea and fatigue.
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