Homer Mayor Rachel Lord declared a local emergency after water and debris washed over the Homer Spit last weekend, damaging parts of the road and forcing closures.

Area biologists recommend securing attractants as warmer weather leads to earlier bear activity on the Kenai Peninsula, prompting calls for caution among residents.

Flooding from an ice jam on the Anchor River led to water flowing over Anchor Point Road, but no damage was reported.

Sea star wasting syndrome was first documented in Kachemak Bay in 2014, but it wasn’t until last summer that the mysterious infection began killing sea stars in large numbers.

A recent study estimates permafrost coverage on the peninsula has decreased by 60 percent since 1950. Permafrost is usually associated with Northern and Interior Alaska, but it also occurs in isolated pockets in wetlands on the Kenai Peninsula.

An ice jam caused by warming spring temperatures near the village of Buckland has left most of the town underwater and cut off access to the airport road. Residents of the village of about 400 people are preparing to evacuate by boat if water levels continue to rise.

Mayor Clyde Ramoth says frozen pipes are a chronic problem due to issues with the initial installation of the above-ground water system. The warming climate isn’t making things any easier.