The boardwalk to excessive floor in Hooper Bay was wiped away by floodwaters. (Picture by Will McCarthy/KYUK)
The state of Alaska lately obtained $38 million from the Division of Housing and City Improvement with the intention to ease the burden of local weather change.
Margaret Salazar is HUD’s Northwest Regional Administrator. She oversees HUD packages in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Final week she attended Arctic Encounter, the most important annual arctic coverage occasion within the nation, the place she made the announcement.
Salazar says the brand new funding is to assist villages get forward of pure disasters.
“We’re serving to people work upstream with issues like technical help to start out planning forward for housing growth, versus simply funding the sticks and bricks a part of housing provide,” she mentioned.
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The cash was made accessible by means of the Group Improvement Block Grant Catastrophe Restoration Program. These funds are aimed toward serving to communities higher rebound from presidentially declared disasters, however Salazar says the state shall be allowed to allocate the brand new funds for preventative measures.
“Now when the state of Alaska, who’s our grantee, once they get these {dollars}, they’ll use a few of them for that planning work,” she mentioned. “That is brand-new coverage that we’ve rolled out.”
Salazar says she hopes to fund plans earlier than pure disasters occur.
“Village relocation, and rising water ranges and soil erosion are forcing people to make some not possible selections about relocating their properties,” she mentioned. “And one of many thrilling alternatives we now have proper now could be the chance for HUD to align and be part of forces with our different federal company companions.”
A few of the departments she listed embrace the Environmental Safety Company, the Division of Vitality, and the Division of Transportation.
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However local weather change isn’t the one challenge Alaskans face in relation to housing. Not like communities on the highway system, people in bush Alaska can’t commute for work, so housing generally is a limiting issue for progress.
Salazar mentioned her journey to Kodiak final week gave her a brand new perspective on the problems Alaskans face when in comparison with their rural counterparts within the decrease 48.
“What we see and what we heard right this moment in Kodiak was simply the dearth of with the ability to increase financial alternatives due to an absence of housing,” she mentioned. “So if we are able to’t discover methods to accommodate our people, we are able to’t discover methods to increase job alternatives and it turns into a cycle.”
However growing new housing is very troublesome for communities that aren’t straight linked to Anchorage. Rural communities usually face excessive prices for delivery, problem accessing constructing provides, and even discovering employees to do the development.
To cut back among the obstacles native governments face, Salazar says HUD additionally accepted new grants to assist them work out rules that forestall housing growth.
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“Whether or not it’s issues like zoning or constructing codes or allowing course of, we generally is a associate by way of federal {dollars} however we wish to ensure that the native people are doing their work to have a plan able to have shovel prepared filth in order that after we can funding housing growth, we are able to get that carried out shortly,” she mentioned.
And whereas she praised native entities just like the Kodiak Island and Cook dinner Inlet Housing Authorities, Salazar says there’s nonetheless extra work to do and appears ahead to persevering with partnerships with entities round Alaska.
Alaska Airlines has announced the addition of two new destinations in Mexico to its international network, set to launch this winter. The carrier will introduce nonstop flights from Los Angeles to La Paz and Monterrey, expanding options for U.S. travelers seeking warm-weather getaways.
Starting Nov. 20, 2024, Alaska Airlines will become the only U.S. carrier offering service to La Paz, a coastal destination in Mexico’s Baja California Sur. The airline aims to provide travelers with access to this less-frequented Mexican locale known for its beaches and marine life. Flights will be offered two- to three-times weekly.
Additionally, beginning Feb. 13, 2025, Alaska Airlines will launch daily nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Monterrey. This new route will make Alaska the sole U.S. airline providing daily nonstop service to the industrial hub in northeastern Mexico.
“During the winter months, our guests search for warm-weather travel destinations,” stated Alaska Airlines in a press release posted to the airline’s website. “Our new nonstop service to La Paz (LAP) and Monterrey (MTY) caters to that demand by offering our guests the perfect escape to sunny skies, a vibrant city experience and warm hospitality.”
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The airline encourages early booking for winter vacations, with tickets available for purchase starting now on the Alaska Airlines website.
Editor’s Note: This article was generated by AI, based on a press release distributed by Alaska Airlines. It was reviewed by a TravelAge West editor.
It has not been announced by the U.S. Court in a press release, but it shows up on the court’s website: Alaska’s U.S. District Court Judge Joshua Kindred has resigned, effective July 8.
Kindred was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019 to serve as a judge for the District of Alaska. He is a graduate of University of Alaska Anchorage and Willamette University College of Law, graduating in 2005.
The move is sudden, unexplained, but came in a letter of resignation offered by Kindred, who is 47 years old.
Head of the McDonald Fire as seen from Aerial Reconnaissance flight taken on July 3, 2024 photo by Liliana Lopez
The McDonald Fire is at 172,236 acres and has 75 assigned personnel on Thursday, July 4 2024.
Size: 172,236
Personnel: 75
Start Date: June 8, 2024
Cause: Lightning
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – The McDonald Fire received wind from the west-southwest Wednesday, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Fire behavior was moderated due to the higher humidity yesterday and smoke was present on the highway over the course of the day. A reconnaissance flight found heat along the northern edge with most of the heat in the northeast corner, which aligned with the wind direction. There was minimal perimeter growth with the gain in total acreage attributed to the fire consuming unburned pockets in the interior.
Crews have secured roughly 50 feet of depth along most of the line in the 5 Mile Creek Area and will continue with mop-up operations and securing the fires edge. Several crews reported trees falling over in the areas where they were working. The potential for fire-weakened trees to fall is high and firefighters must be alert to these dangers while working on the line. Rain is in the forecast today for the area, so operations will be weather and safety dependent. Crews will monitor fire behavior for any potential spotting or flanking beyond the perimeter. A module is staffing several lookouts and engines are patrolling the ridge and lookout areas as well as the Richardson Highway to provide information to crews on the ground.
Weather: Rain is expected today with winds from the southwest at 5 to 7 mph. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 50s to 60s. This should reduce fire activity.
Burn Permits: The Division of Forestry and Fire Protection has issued Burn Permit Suspensions for Fairbanks, Salcha, Delta, Tok, and Railbelt areas. The fire danger in these areas remains HIGH. Please check https://dnr.alaska.gov/burn/fireareas or call the burn permit hotline for the Fairbanks Area Forestry at (907) 451-2631 for the most current updates.
Air Quality: Cooler temperatures and rain forecast today and into the weekend should help moderate smoke production. This should continue the overall trend of improving air quality. However, due to the amount of fire on the landscape and wind, there may be periods of increasing smoke until significant wetting rain arrives. Winds will continue to be from the southwest today, pushing smoke northeast. Lingering smoke may enhance any fog that forms and impact visibility. Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (1650 Cowles St.) has clean-air rooms available for people impacted by smoke open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Find information on how to protect yourself from wildfire smoke at the Smoke Management page on https://akfireinfo.com/smoke-management/.
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Evacuation Notices: A Level 2: SET evacuation notice is in effect for the approximately 20 cabins near the fire’s southeastern edge west of the Tanana River. The communities east of the Tanana River are in READY status, including the Johnson Road neighborhoods, Canaday, Harding Lake, Salcha, the lower Salcha River, Hollies Acres, and south to Birch Lake. Find more information and an interactive map of these areas on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Emergency Services website.
Temporary Flight Restriction: New temporary flight restrictions were put in place on July 1; for more information, see: 4/6081 NOTAM Details (faa.gov).
-BLM-
Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service, P.O. Box 35005, 1541 Gaffney Road, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703
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The Bureau of Land Management Alaska Fire Service (AFS) located at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, provides wildland fire suppression services for over 240 million acres of Department of the Interior and Native Corporation Lands in Alaska. In addition, AFS has other statewide responsibilities that include: interpretation of fire management policy; oversight of the BLM Alaska Aviation program; fuels management projects; and operating and maintaining advanced communication and computer systems such as the Alaska Lightning Detection System. AFS also maintains a National Incident Support Cache with a $18.1 million inventory. The Alaska Fire Service provides wildland fire suppression services for America’s “Last Frontier” on an interagency basis with the State of Alaska Department of Natural Resources, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Military in Alaska.
‹ Crews on the Montana Creek Fire continue to secure the perimeter and achieve 53% containment on the fire.
Change in weather contributes to the decreased levels of evacuations on the Grapefruit Complex ›
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, BLM Alaska Fire Service
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