Allakaket
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Draft study backs regional co-ops for rural Alaska tank farms, comments due Friday
The Denali Commission is taking public comments through Friday, Oct. 16, on a draft study that recommends regional cooperatives as the preferred way for rural Alaska communities to share bulk fuel purchasing, maintenance and training while keeping ownership of their own tank farms.
The draft study, dated Sept. 9 and prepared for the commission and the Alaska Energy Authority, asked whether pooling the work of rural Alaska's bulk fuel facilities could cut costs, extend their life and reduce spill risk. Its answer: "Yes. Working together can save money."
Its starting point is that the tank farms it examined aren't charging enough to replace themselves. Tank farms in the study's data charged an average of $7.68 a gallon. Its figures for independent operators come from nine publicly owned tank farms, including Allakaket, Ambler and Golovin. Without financing, a small facility operating on its own would need to charge $11.51 a gallon to cover routine upkeep and save enough to replace the facility when it wears out. In a regional cooperative, the study estimates, that figure would be $9.71.
Two things drive the difference. Cooperatives in the same regions buy fuel for about $4.84 a gallon, 13% less than the $5.58 individual operators pay, the study estimates. And the model assumes cooperative tank farms last 35 years, compared with 25 for facilities on their own or in looser partnerships. That longer life "has not been verified using observed facility-life data from cooperative communities," the study says. If cooperative facilities lasted 25 years too, a large cooperative facility would cost about 27 cents a gallon more than one in a looser partnership, according to the study's sensitivity analysis, though still less than the study's estimate for a large facility on its own.
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Stories on what’s next
Doyon, Limited Annual Meeting and Board Election
Doyon takes applications to fill board seat Geri Simon left to lead the Doyon Foundation
Doyon is taking applications through Nov. 9 from voting shareholders who want the board seat Geri Simon left in September to lead the Doyon Foundation.
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October 2026
House District 36 candidates back trawling limits at Tanana Chiefs forum
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A Doyon director steps off the board to lead its scholarship foundation
Geri Simon stepped down from the board of Doyon, Limited — Alaska's largest private landowner — to lead its scholarship foundation, leaving a seat to fill.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Fiber easement for four Koyukuk River villages grows to 96 acres, and comments close Oct. 12
Tanana Chiefs Conference expanded a fiber optic easement to 96 acres to bring high-speed internet to four Koyukuk River villages, with public comments due Oct. 12.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
An Alaska village-owned firm services a Queens federal building
A company owned by four small interior Alaska villages is keeping the AC running at a Queens federal building that mails Social Security checks to millions.
by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read
August 2026
Wildfire investigation opens near Tetlin at zero acres
A new wildfire is under investigation near Tetlin. The Mukluk Fire has burned over 7,000 acres and destroyed 20-plus homes, though evacuations have eased.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Fire activity slows eastbound Alaska Highway traffic near Tok
A wildfire is affecting eastbound traffic on the Alaska Highway near Tok Tuesday morning. The road is open, with minor delays and emergency vehicles expected.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Rain is coming to the Interior, and the small creeks will rise — but the big rivers are low enough to take it
Rain will raise the small creeks feeding the Koyukuk and Middle Yukon, but the big rivers are low enough to take it — a routine wet stretch, not a threat.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
A Fairbanks company owned by four Interior villages won a federal contract to replace a heat pump — in Boston
A Fairbanks firm owned by four remote Koyukuk River villages won a $30,780 federal contract to replace a heat pump, and the heat pump is in Boston.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago1 min read
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A village corporation for four remote Interior communities just won the contract to run San Diego's border crossings
A company owned by four remote Koyukon Athabascan villages on the Koyukuk River just won nearly $10 million to run San Diego's U.S.-Mexico border crossings.
by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Alaska and Canadian crews fight a wildfire across the border
Alaska and Canadian crews are fighting a 20- to 30-acre wildfire 3 miles south of the Alcan Highway, with no evacuations or highway impacts expected.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
July 2026
Konedsin Minnkohwin Fire burns within Kanuti refuge near Allakaket
Lightning sparked a 200-acre fire in Kanuti refuge near Allakaket, with firefighters protecting cabins and fish camps instead of suppressing the main blaze.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A wildfire is burning in protected caribou habitat in the Kanuti refuge
A lightning fire is burning in protected caribou habitat inside the Kanuti refuge near Allakaket. Crews are holding it in place; no communities are threatened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Siruk Fire reaches 50% containment near Allakaket allotments
The Siruk Fire near Allakaket reached 50% containment Saturday after burning 550 acres, with two Native allotments still at risk if thunderstorm winds breach control lines.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Holdover fire near Allakaket draws six smokejumpers as Kenai danger stays high
Six smokejumpers reached a holdover fire near Allakaket on June 29 that had smoldered in duff for days before flaring up, while the Kenai Peninsula faces the state's highest fire danger.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Crews on three Interior fires brace for a dangerous holiday weekend
Three western Interior wildfires near Ruby and Allakaket face a dangerous holiday weekend — 30-40 mph winds and critically low humidity that could drive fast spread.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
An Alaska village will own its solar power — and sell it back to the utility
A state grant puts village-owned solar and batteries in Allakaket, letting it sell power to its utility instead of buying diesel. A second grant expands a hydro project.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
About Allakaket
Allakaket (Aalaa Kkaakk’et) is a village on the Koyukuk River in the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area of Interior Alaska. It sits beside the Kanuti National Wildlife Refuge and is served by a state-owned airport.
Lightning fires burn in the Kanuti refuge near the village, and fire crews work to protect cabins, fish camps and Native allotments rather than suppress every blaze. Holdover fires, which smolder in the ground for days before flaring up, are a recurring concern for fire managers in the area.
Allakaket is moving away from diesel with village-owned solar power and batteries, which let it sell electricity to its utility. Regional projects tie it to neighboring Koyukuk River villages, including a fiber optic easement meant to bring them high-speed internet.
More from Allakaket
Interior Alaska's fire season is easing — but watch for the ones still smoldering
Interior Alaska's wildfires are winding down and crews are heading home — but managers are watching for holdovers, lightning strikes that smolder for days before flaring up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
June 2026
Rain offers Interior Alaska's fire crews a needed break
Rain and cooler air are headed for Interior Alaska this weekend — a real break for fire crews who've spent weeks protecting cabins, fish camps, and allotments.
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24 bottles of R&R, grounded short of Shungnak
Bargain whiskey, $400 a bottle: Fairbanks airport police seized 24 bottles of R&R bound for a dry village, street value $9,600.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min readFrom 
May 2026
State offers FAA two decades of free land at Allakaket Airport
Alaska DOT is offering the FAA 20 years of free land at Allakaket Airport for navigation equipment, locking out state revenue and limiting the village's ability to expand or reconfigure the runway through 2046.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago1 min read