Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area
RSSNews from the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
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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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A river dropped just in time to save the cabins near Chicken
The Polly Fire smoldered near Chicken for a week — but the real obstacle was the river. When the Fortymile finally dropped, crews rushed in to wrap the cabins in sprinklers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A landslide has closed the Dalton Highway, the main road to the North Slope
A rain-triggered landslide closed the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot on Monday — blocking the main road to the North Slope and the freight bound for the oil fields.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Nome Airport Crossing Permit
A dull state permit reveals something distinctly Alaskan: a Nome resident wants to taxi his plane from his own yard onto the airport — the kind of access rural life runs on.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Tanana Chiefs Conference reshuffles its leadership
Tanana Chiefs Conference staffed up this week — a former lobbyist to lead advocacy, a new tribal-priorities director, and a split of its top health job as the system keeps growing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Rain stalled the two wildfires near Ruby, but Tuesday's winds are a risk
Sunday's rain stalled both fires near Ruby, holding them at 260 and 1,000 acres, but Tuesday's winds could dry things out again. No outdoor burning, officials warn.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A boat trip made Interior Alaska's needs visible. Who's responsible for them is the harder question.
A Tanana Chiefs boat trip showcased four remote villages' needs. Who's responsible for meeting them is a tangle of federal, state, corporate and tribal roles.
by Alaska News3mo ago3 min read
Peltola tours the Interior on fish and costs — into a contested field
Peltola toured Interior Alaska on salmon and cost-of-living — but it's a campaign swing, not a coronation: Sullivan works the same ground and the same bycatch issue.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
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.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Jade Fire reaches 40% containment near Ambler; Whakatna Fire controlled
Jade Fire near Ambler is 40% contained with unburned ground between the fire and the community landfill, while 22 smokejumpers freed from two controlled fires are now fighting new ignitions near Ruby.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Smokejumpers battle two wildfires near Ruby as smoke reaches village
Smokejumpers and aircraft are battling two wildfires near Ruby that together cover 660 acres and are currently pushing away from the village and nearby Native allotments.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska opens 10 wildfire investigations in 24 hours
Alaska opened 10 wildfire investigations in 24 hours across the state, from the Kuskokwim to the Brooks Range, all under an acre and still under investigation.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
New fire near Bettles strains crews
Twelve smokejumpers dropped on a new fire near Bettles — one more blaze stretching Interior crews thin as lightning keeps the dry north lighting up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anderson's mandatory evacuation is lifted, but the Starry Fire isn't out
Anderson's mandatory evacuation is lifted as the Starry Fire hits 60% containment. It's not out — crews are still mopping up, and the town is told to stay ready.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Storm-hit Alaska businesses have until July 22 to seek recovery loans
Small businesses and nonprofits in 13 storm-hit Western and Northern Alaska communities have until July 22 to apply for low-interest federal disaster recovery loans.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
On the wild Alatna, a guide makes his case to the state
A Fairbanks guide wants the state's OK to run commercial trips on the Alatna — a Wild and Scenic river so remote the only way in is by floatplane.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Moves to Keep One of the World's Last Fire Outposts
Alaska wants to keep the McGrath Fire Base — one of the last forward firefighting outposts on Earth, guarding 66 million roadless acres with a crew that's mostly temps.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Alaska Is Selling Off Pieces of Itself — to Alaskans First
Alaska is auctioning 152 pieces of itself — residents only, no warranties, sometimes no road, and the state reserves the right to give your remote dream lot some neighbors.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Robots are fighting Alaska wildfires near Nenana right now — on their own
Near Nenana, robots are autonomously fighting fire for an $11M prize — tested on tame controlled burns while the real Interior fire season rages a short flight away.
by Melinda Communities.News3mo ago2 min read
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 3mo ago2 min read
Defending Yukon Fish Camps From Fire
Smokejumpers are guarding Yukon River fish camps and Native allotments from a creeping wildfire — right in the middle of the season families count on to fill their freezers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Starry Fire forces Anderson evacuations; 75 personnel battle 688-acre blaze
The Starry Fire forced Anderson evacuations Saturday and burned 688 acres 80 miles south of Fairbanks; 75 personnel are holding lines to push it toward the river.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Interior's First Big Smoke Event Drifts Toward Fairbanks
The season's first real smoke has arrived in the Interior, and the borough's advice is blunt: if it's hazy and smells like smoke, don't wait for the monitor's permission to head indoors.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska DFFP battles 4 wildfires across Interior, Southcentral, Southwest
Twin Bear Fire near Fairbanks drew 23 firefighters and helitack crews to a lightning-caused blaze in black spruce with cabins nearby. • Joaquin Fire southwest of McGrath and Vanderpool Fire east of McGrath prompted aerial response due to native allotment and private property. • Matanuska Fire on Glenn Highway was contained within two hours at under half an acre. • Red Flag Warning through Sunday evening cited 30 percent humidity and 40 mph wind gusts near thunderstorms across Central Interior.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Five wildfires under investigation overnight in southcentral Alaska
Five wildfires broke out overnight in southcentral Alaska's Susitna basin as a Red Flag Warning takes effect Saturday, with burn permits suspended statewide.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Rain gives Canyon Fire crews window to protect Native allotments
The Canyon Fire near Rampart is at 409 acres. Crews are protecting a cabin 3 miles out — that's a hedge against the fire making a run.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Seven village schools could lose internet June 30 over a federal funding dispute
Seven Alaska village schools could lose internet June 30. Federal rules say pick the cheapest. The cheapest doesn't work out there.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Interior Alaska Native groups set aside a day to repair elders' homes — and couldn't meet the demand
Bit off more than we could chew, how about you?
by Melinda Communities.News4mo ago1 min read
High Water Threatens Alaska's Only Road North
A rain-fed surge down the Koyukuk could wash out the Dalton Highway — the lone road feeding the North Slope oil fields — the same way 2015's flooding shut it for 28 days.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Smokejumpers and the Chena Hotshots are protecting Native allotments from the Canyon Fire
Alaska's natural fire policy gets interrupted when a Native allotment is in the way. Canyon Fire is what that looks like.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Flood Watch: Koyukuk rises threaten Coldfoot, Wiseman, Bettles
National Weather Service issued a Flood Watch through Tuesday evening for the Upper Koyukuk Valley after heavy rain and snowmelt pushed steep water rises toward Wiseman, Coldfoot, and Bettles along the Dalton Highway.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Second Fire in Two Weeks Ignites Near Ambler on Kobuk River
A second wildfire ignited Sunday near Ambler on the Kobuk River, less than two weeks after a landfill fire burned 1,447 acres in the same area.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Parks Highway blasting, 24-hour pilot cars through Nenana Canyon
Alaska Department of Transportation is blasting rock cuts and running 24-hour pilot cars on Parks Highway between Nenana Canyon mileposts 319 and 325, creating extended delays on the main Anchorage-Fairbanks route.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska Native tribes have month to apply for federal energy grants
Alaska Native tribes have until July 16 to apply for federal energy grants of up to $450,000 to build the legal and business structures needed to develop their own power systems and reduce reliance on expensive diesel fuel.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Nenana vandalism spree under investigation; one suspect named
Alaska State Troopers are investigating three vandalism incidents in Nenana on June 12, including one case classified as first-degree burglary with extensive property damage and one suspect named in a rock-throwing incident near Market Street.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
Alaska logs 13 new wildfire investigations in 72 hours
Alaska fire agencies opened 13 wildfire investigations in three days as a Red Flag Warning and burn permit suspensions took effect across Interior Alaska due to strong winds, low humidity, and dry fuels.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Iron Dog race expands route to Huslia, Shungnak, Ambler
Iron Dog snowmachine race will expand its 2,500-mile route through Huslia, Shungnak, and Ambler after federal wildlife officials reversed a prior denial, clearing permits to cross three national refuges and parks.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks landowners can claim 50% reimbursement for salmon habitat
Fairbanks-area landowners can get 50 percent reimbursement for streambank fixes that help salmon habitat on Chena, Salcha, Tanana, and other Tanana Watershed streams. Proposals due July 14.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Utqiaġvik records second-coldest May high in 105 years
Utqiaġvik recorded its second-coldest May high in 105 years at 29°F while most of the Arctic ran warm, triggering river ice jams that flooded Holy Cross and its airstrip in late May.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
FAA adds navigation aids to Chefornak Airport under 18-year lease
The FAA is installing weather and navigation systems at Chefornak Airport in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta under an 18-year lease extension through 2044 at no cost to the state.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read