Alaska
Here’s what it takes to build Alaska’s highways of ice
A couple of weeks in the past, Mark Leary and his crew started to plow the snow off the frozen Kuskokwim River in southwest Alaska. Yearly, as soon as the river freezes and the snow is cleared from the ice, dozens of vans, snowmobiles and different autos from greater than 17 totally different villages whiz backwards and forwards atop it. That is the Kuskokwim ice street, whose fundamental stem can lengthen over 300 miles, connecting the majority of the area’s inhabitants.
“Oh my gosh, you gotta see it with your individual eyes,” stated Leary, the director of operations for the street and a tribal member of the Native Village of Napaimute, the entity that leads the trouble to ascertain and keep it. “The site visitors on it’s big. There’s a gradual stream of autos all day lengthy going up and down on the ice street.”
There was an ice street of some type on the Kuskokwim River since autos first arrived within the area. However Leary stated the tribe noticed a necessity to start sustaining it a couple of decade in the past to facilitate transportation of wooden merchandise throughout the winter, and to maintain the route protected and clear for the hundreds of residents who reside alongside the river. Now, nevertheless, a altering local weather and extra erratic winter storms are making ice roads like this one much less dependable and more durable to maintain protected and satisfactory all winter lengthy.
“For the few months that it exists, it makes life far more handy and far, less expensive.”
Frozen rivers present a comparatively easy and strong hall for touring within the North. They’ve been used for hundreds of years and nonetheless join rural communities throughout the state. Right now, most residents and companies alongside the Kuskokwim use the ice street to hold mail and freight, get to the hospital or clinic, and even transport faculty basketball groups to video games in close by villages. There is no such thing as a different street connecting the communities; with out it, folks must depend on air journey, which isn’t at all times an possibility due to unhealthy climate or exorbitant prices.
“This can be a actual street,” Leary stated. “It’s actual, and it’s a necessity, not a novelty.”
Ice roads are additionally necessary for trade within the Arctic, particularly on Alaska’s North Slope, the place useful resource corporations use them so operators can keep away from driving on tundra when touring between base camps and exploration and improvement websites. “The ice roads you see on TV, they’ve an trade behind them — oil corporations and mining corporations,” Leary stated. “This street that we plow on the Kuskokwim River is for the individuals who reside right here. For the few months that it exists, it makes life far more handy and far, less expensive.”
Adrian Boelens, who has lived within the Yup’ik village Aniak her entire life, stated she makes use of the ice street loads. “I bear in mind a time when my little brother-in-law broke a tooth,” Boelens stated. “We’ve got a clinic (in Aniak), however their medical providers are restricted. Bethel” — a serious hub within the area — “has the following greatest hospital, and that’s best to entry. He needed to go down with a truck to get his tooth repaired so he didn’t lose the tooth.”
Boelens and her household additionally use the ice street to go ice fishing, go to associates, journey to close by villages for basketball tournaments, and drive to Bethel to purchase home equipment, leisure gear and uncooked supplies, like lumber. “Getting that stuff thrown in with air carriers is pricey,” she stated. “Using the ice street for that could be a big profit. We had a water pump exit as soon as, however we drove all the way down to Bethel with our truck to choose up a water pump as a result of it was simply cheaper and simpler.”
LEARY AND THE DOZEN or so folks on his crew keep the ice street with three graders and three plow vans. The annual value will depend on inflation, climate and what number of miles the crew can plow. In previous years, the Kuskokwim River ice street has value greater than $300,000 to keep up, Leary stated. This 12 months, he added, it might be extra, since gasoline has surged to about $9 a gallon, and the markers used to information drivers have doubled in value, from $16 two years in the past to $32 this 12 months.
For many of the final decade, upkeep prices have been lined by donations from residents, companies, metropolis governments, tribal governments, village firms and the regional company within the space. “We reached out to all people alongside the river to assist pay for it, and the assist was big,” Leary stated. “One time, it nearly made us cry. We had been plowing again to Kasigluk, 50 miles beneath Bethel. The folks of Kasigluk actually handed the hat, pitching in $5, $10, $20 every — no matter they might afford. After we acquired on the market in the course of the night time, they got here all the way down to the river with an envelope of their hand. Their contribution was like $300-something. It paid for one man’s wages.”
“We reached out to all people alongside the river to assist pay for it, and the assist was big.”
In recent times, Leary and his crew have advocated for extra state assist. Each state entity within the space makes use of the ice street, together with the Alaska State Troopers. Every time Leary noticed a trooper on the ice street, he took an image and emailed it to state officers. After that, Leary stated, the state contributed 4,000 uniform path markers — used to designate villages, hazardous areas and even scenic views — fulfilling the crew’s “longtime dream,” Leary stated. Earlier than, they marked the street with no matter they’d, together with tree branches. Now, folks can simply inform after they’re on the official ice street.
Final 12 months, the Alaska Legislature started giving the crew a grant to assist cowl the prices of sustaining the ice street. This 12 months, the crew can also be, for the primary time, receiving federal cash: Lawmakers included ice street upkeep funds, distributed via a state program referred to as Secure Ice Roads for Alaska, in a 2021 trillion-dollar federal infrastructure invoice. This system permits entities to use for as much as $500,000. Because of this, Leary’s crew is working on full public funding this 12 months.
However cash isn’t Leary’s solely fear. Unprecedented climate and warming from local weather change are shortening the ice street’s season and hampering its reliability; heat winter storms can thaw rivers in locations, making ice roads hazardous or impassable. Based on the Alaska Division of Sources, Division of Lands, the winter tundra journey season on the North Slope has shrunk from about 200 days within the Seventies to about 120 days within the early 2000s.
“What I’ve noticed is now we have misplaced our sample,” Leary stated. “There’s no dependable seasonal sample.” It was once that the river can be frozen by mid-October; not anymore. “There’s simply nothing that we are able to rely on. We don’t know from 12 months to 12 months. We simply don’t know. We watch and observe, and take care of it.”
Victoria Petersen is a contract journalist dwelling in Anchorage, Alaska. Beforehand, she was a reporting fellow at The New York Occasions and a Excessive Nation Information intern. Comply with @vgpetersen
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Alaska
Western Alaska storm and southerly flow drives warmth back into the state
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Gusty winds and heavy snow has begun to spread into Western and Southwest Alaska, with a surge of warmer air. Temperatures in Southwest Alaska is already 10 to 35 degrees warmer than yesterday morning. This warmth will spread across the rest of the state through the weekend, with some of the most pronounced warmth along the Slope. We’ll see many areas this weekend into next week remaining well-above average.
SOUTHCENTRAL:
Temperatures are slowly warming across Southcentral, with many areas seeing cloud coverage increasing. While we could see some peeks of sunshine today, most locations will see mostly cloudy conditions. While we can’t rule out light flurries for inland locations, most of the precipitation today will occur near the coast. Snow looks to be the primary precipitation type, although later this evening a transition to rain or wintry mix will occur. This comes as temperatures quickly warm across Southcentral.
We’ll see highs today in the upper 20s and lower 30s for inland areas, while coastal regions warm into the 30s and 40s. The southerly flow aloft will remain with us for several days, pumping in the warmth and moisture. As a result, Kodiak could see over an inch of rain today, with gusty winds.
While most of the precipitation this weekend remains near the coast, inland areas will see the best chance for wintry mix Sunday into Monday. Little to no accumulation is expected.
The key takeaways for this weekend, is snow transitioning to rain, with some gusty winds likely for parts of Southcentral this weekend.
SOUTHEAST:
Another fairly quiet day is expected across Southeast today, outside of some light snow near Yakutat. We’ll see a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures remaining on the cooler side. Parts of the Northern Panhandle may stay in the upper 20s today. The stretch of quiet weather will stay with us through the first half of Saturday, followed by an increase in precipitation and winds. This upcoming system may bring some heavy snowfall to Southeast, so be prepared for that potential this weekend. Temperatures warm into next week, back into the upper 30s and lower 40s for many areas.
INTERIOR:
While temperatures this morning have bottomed out as low as -30 near Fort Yukon, temperatures will warm into the weekend. A wind advisory for the Alaska Range goes into effect at 9 Friday morning, where winds up to 60 mph will warm the Interior. Temperatures today for many locations will warm into the single digits, with some of the greatest warming arriving Saturday through next week. It’s likely we’ll spend most of next week with temperatures in the 20s and 30s, with the warmest locations near the Alaska Range. While we will largely stay dry, there is a chance for some light snow arriving Sunday night into Monday.
SLOPE/WESTERN ALASKA:
Temperatures will remain slightly above average for parts of the Slope today, with warming winds to build into the Slope this weekend. This comes as our area of low pressure in the Bering Sea continues to move farther north. Be prepared for gusty easterly winds along the Slope, leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility. We’ll see temperatures quickly warm well above average, with highs climbing into the 20s and 30s along the Slope into next week. While some snow is possible through the weekend, the heaviest activity will occur for the Brooks Range. We’ll see the potential for 4 to 12 inches of snowfall, with the highest amounts occurring along the southern slopes of the Brooks Range near Kobuk Valley. Winds could gusts as high as 45 mph, leading to greatly reduced visibility.
Heavy snow is impacting Western and Southwest Alaska this morning, with winds gusting up to 50 mph. Numerous winter weather alerts, as well as a coastal flood advisory is in effect. The heaviest snow will fall for the Seward Peninsula and east of Norton Sound, where up to a foot or more of snow is to be expected. The heaviest amounts will fall today, with the activity set to lighten up through Sunday. In addition to the snow, gusty winds will lead to areas of blowing snow. Visibility could be reduced down to less than half a mile at times. As southerly flow continues to pump in warmth, we’ll see a transition from snow to rain later today into Saturday for parts of Southwest Alaska.
ALEUTIANS:
Gusty winds and heavy rain will fall through the Aleutians today, where up to .75″ of rain is possible. As the area of low pressure moves north, we’ll see a new low form just south of the Eastern Aleutians. This will lead to additional rain and winds into the weekend. Winds could gusts upwards of 50 mph through the Eastern Aleutians and through the Alaska Peninsula. With ridging to our east, more rain and winds remain with us into early next week. There is the potential that the Pribilof Islands see a return to snow Sunday, as colder air moves into the Bering Sea.
OUTLOOK AHEAD:
Well above average warmth will stay with us as we close out January. While one more short-lived cold snap is possible, we may have to wait until February before we tap into warmer conditions. Temperatures through the close of January will keep average monthly temperatures 5 to 12 degrees above average for much of the state. The overall trend still favors a wetter pattern, although with warmer weather the southern parts of the state will favor more rain or a mixed bag of precipitation.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend.
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Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Alaska governor, ally of Trump, will keep flags at full-staff for Inauguration Day • Alaska Beacon
Alaska will join several other Republican-led states by keeping flags at full-staff on Inauguration Day despite the national period of mourning following President Jimmy Carter’s death last month.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced his decision, which breaks prior precedent, in a statement on Thursday. It applies only to flags on state property. Flags on federal property are expected to remain at half-staff.
Flags on state property will be returned to half-staff after Inauguration Day for the remainder of the mourning period.
The governors of Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Nebraska, Montana and Alabama, among others, have announced similar moves.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, said on Tuesday that flags at the U.S. Capitol would remain at full-staff on Inauguration Day.
Their actions follow a statement from President-elect Donald Trump, who said in a Jan. 3 social media post that Democrats would be “giddy” to have flags lowered during his inauguration, adding, “Nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it. Let’s see how it plays out.”
Dunleavy is seen as a friend of the incoming president and has met with him multiple times over the past year. Dunleavy and 21 other Republican governors visited Trump last week in Florida at an event that Trump described as “a love fest.”
Since 1954, flags have been lowered to half-staff during a federally prescribed 30-day mourning period following presidential deaths. In 1973, the second inauguration of President Richard Nixon took place during the mourning period that followed the death of President Harry Truman.
Then-Gov. Bill Egan made no exceptions for Alaska, contemporary news accounts show, and no exception was made for Nixon’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., either.
A spokesperson for Dunleavy’s office said the new precedent is designed to be a balance between honoring the ongoing mourning period for former President Jimmy Carter and recognizing the importance of the peaceful transition of power during the presidential inauguration.
“Temporarily raising the flags to full-staff for the inauguration underscores the significance of this democratic tradition, while returning them to half-staff afterward ensures continued respect for President Carter’s legacy,” the spokesperson said.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
Alaska
Federal disaster declaration approved for Northwest Alaska flooding
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – President Joe Biden announced the approval of federal disaster assistance on Thursday for recovery efforts in areas that sustained damage from flooding and storms in October 2024.
Those areas include the Bering Strait Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA) and the Northwest Arctic Borough area where many structures were damaged by a severe storm from Oct. 20-23, 2024.
In a press release, FEMA announced that federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work to the state of Alaska, tribal and eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations.
The announcement comes just a few days after Biden released the major disaster declaration approval for the August Kwigillingok flooding.
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Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.
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