Alaska
Interior Alaska Wildfire update: Thursday, Aug. 3
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – As expected, the increase in temperatures have brought an increase in active fires burning in Alaska.
As of Wednesday, Aug. 3 there are 140 active fires in the state and 54,594 acres have burned, according to the Alaska Div. of Forestry and Fire. A majority of the fires burning are located in Interior Alaska.
Fires burning north of Fairbanks include the Olnes Pond Fire, Sargent Creek Fire, Treasure Creek Fire, Our Creek Fire, Lost Horse Creek Fire, and Murphy Creek Fire. Information provided by the Elliot Group Fires Div. of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Fire behavior increased Wednesday, to the Lost Horse Creek Fire burning north of Old Murphy Dome Road and 3.5 miles east of Mile 18 on the Elliot Highway. 1,900 acres have burned.
Neighborhoods in the Upper Haystack Subdivision were issued a “GO” evacuation notice from the Fairbanks North Star Borough Wednesday evening. Areas affected include Upper Haystack Drive, Sharmon Court, and all of Middle Fork Road. Two retardant tankers, two Super Scoopers, and Fire Bosses along with aerial supervision were dispatched to moderate the fire’s activity and slow its growth.
The Anderson Complex fires have burned over 8,000 acres with over 211 personnel assigned to the fires. Evacuation level 3 “GO” status remains in place for all residents along the Teklanika River and all residents in the Clear Sky Homestead area including those next to Rose Hip Creek. Evacuation level 2 “SET” remains in place for all residents of Anderson and all residents that use any road west of the Parks Highway between mile 270 and the Rex Bridge. The Incident Management Team Great Basin 3 is working the fires while the Midnight Sun Hotshots and Lassen Hotshots continue to protect structures and allotments along the Teklanika River corridor. A JBER Task Force and Nulato Hills crew is inspecting and improving fire breaks around the town of Anderson.
The Pilot Spot fire is a new fire that was spotted Wednesday afternoon and is burning north of the Anderson Complex fires. The Incident Management Team Great Basin 3, is responding to the new fire, according to Alaska Div. of Forestry and Fire.
The Anderson Complex fires includes the Teklanika River Fire, Birch Creek Fire, Pilot Spot Fire, Kobe Road Fire, Nenana River Fire, and Nenana River Fire 2. More information on the Anderson Complex fires is available on the Denali Borough website or via their Facebook page.
The McCoy Creek Fire burning in Salcha between river mile 3 to 40 has consumed 5,000 acres and is currently moving away from the Salcha River and properties. Evacuation levels of “GO” are still in place for the Lower Salcha River area and “SET” for the Middle Salcha River. Response to the flames ramped up on Tuesday with additional firefighter personnel sent to the type 2 incident team.
The Shaw Creek Flats area fires that are burning north of Delta, as of Thursday, Aug. 3, include the Pogo Mine Road Fire, Keystone Creek Fire, 6 Mile Pogo Fire, Shaw Creek Flats Fire, and Corda Creek Fire. Information provided by Shaw Creek Flats Div. of Forestry and Fire Protection.
The Pogo Mine Road Fire has consumed 15,838 acres. Tanana Chiefs Crew and Dept. of Forestry personnel continue working to protect Pogo Mine Road, the Pogo Gold Mine, and Quartz Lake area, according to Alaska Fire Info.
Additional fires include the Mosquito Fire burning 5 miles east of Harding Lake and the Standard Creek Fire which is burning 7 miles west of Fairbanks. Fire crews are working both fires.
To report a wildfire in Alaska call 1-800-237-3633 or you can call 911.
For information on how to be prepared for an evacuation, visit Ready, Set, Go: preparing for evacuations.
Copyright 2023 KTVF. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport busy with holiday travelers
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) -Many of the people arriving to and departing from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Sunday agreed that Anchorage’s main airport isn’t as tough to navigate as most right now.
On Dec. 22, three days out from both Hanukkah and Christmas, travelers at the airport were lined up, checking in, waiting for baggage, or going through security; all of those, demanding a wait. However, several travelers told Alaska’s News Source about their experiences and what they were expecting during their flights.
Matt Howard departed from Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina around 5 a.m. “It was the busiest I’ve ever seen it,” Howard said. He estimated he touched down in Anchorage around 6 p.m., adding Ted Stevens was much “less frantic” than the other airports he was at, but thought the evening time frame might have been a contributing factor.
Flying in from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia, Kimberly Lamar said she visits her mother in Alaska at least once a year.
“It was pretty overwhelming, trying to get through from Atlanta,” she said. “Then I got to Seattle; it was hard to get through to the gates of Seattle. And finally, this is the easiest airport I’ve actually been in all day.”
Born and raised in Alaska, Gideon Mahoney was traveling to Colorado where he recently relocated. “I’m actually really surprised, right now it’s easy and we were a little late, so…” Mahoney said, glancing at the line for security.
Growing up in Alaska, Mahoney said flying into Denver International Airport can be overwhelming at times.
“We’re working on figuring out how to deal with that,” he said. “We’re getting it.”
As for travelers who haven’t left just yet, Lamar’s advice was aligned with a prepared statement from Alaska Airlines: both said arriving early is the key for holiday travels.
“If you’re flying, make sure you leave early because those lines are crucial,” Lamar said.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Alaska
Hydroponics provide year-round growing for Alaska farmers
On a recent December afternoon, Soldotna farmer Taylor Lewis preps for a day of harvesting crops. She walks to a tray filled with ripe lettuce and snips a head of it by the stem.
It’s just one of about 900 plants that Taylor and her mother-in-law Jayme Lewis will harvest and process this week – despite freezing temperatures and slushy snow outside. That’s because the duo works for Edgy Veggie, an indoor farm that grows produce year round.
“In the summer, a lot of our business drops off because folks are gardening at home. But in the winter, they’re not, because it costs money to heat your greenhouse,” Jayme said. “It costs a lot of money to heat your greenhouse.”
The company is a hydroponic farm, meaning they grow plants without soil. Hydroponic systems recycle and reuse nutrient-filled water, which minimizes waste. Specially made lighting and climate controlled conditions make it possible for Edgy Veggie to grow indoors during the winter months.
Around Thanksgiving, the company harvested 150 pounds of lettuce, enough to make about 800 salads. That took two days and was one of their biggest hauls of the year. Although not a typical harvest for the company, Jayme says she does see an uptick in business during the winter when Alaska’s produce is almost exclusively shipped up from the Lower 48.
“If you go to the grocery store and pick up a head of lettuce right now, by the time you get it home it will be wilted,” Jayme said. “That’s sad. Literally, that’s sad.”
Jayme says some local restaurants have sourced their vegetables from Edgy Veggie because they last longer and are fresher than grocery store produce.
Nestled between two train cars-turned-restaurants on the other side of town, Henry Krull walks inside his shipping container farm. He points to a wall that’s growing hundreds of bunches of butter lettuce.
Krull is the owner of fresh365, another Kenai Peninsula based hydroponic farm. Just like Edgy Veggie, the farm operates entirely indoors.
“The advantage of growing indoors, in a container like we have, is that we can control the environment,” Krull said. “We can grow no matter what’s going on outside. It can be 30 below outside, but it’s always 70 degrees or so inside.”
fresh365 also sees an uptick in direct-to-consumer sales in the winter. Otherwise, most of their sales go to other businesses, like local restaurants.
And while indoor farming means fresh, local produce year-round for Alaskans, it faces a number of challenges. Krull says growing in a hydroponic setting is much more expensive than traditional farming methods. So, to offset his farm’s energy costs, he installed solar panels, which were partially funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP.
But, Krull says the property doesn’t get much sunlight in the winter.
“The sun is a very valuable commodity, it’s valuable for not only producing electricity, but it helps to lower the energy costs,” he said. “And the energy costs of the farm containers we have is actually very, very high, because we can’t take advantage of the sun.”
Edgy Veggie, on the other hand, doesn’t even have solar panels. Jayme says their energy costs are high year round.
“Electricity, especially, is outrageous,” she said. “I wish that the state had some sort of option with the electric companies to help support farming. We’re providing a service to the community, honestly. We’re trying to, but it might run us out of business.”
Other challenges to hydroponics include faulty pumps and timers, ventilation issues and water leaks. Like traditional farming, hydroponic farmers say it’s backbreaking work.
But, for farmers like Taylor Lewis, offering fresh and local produce year round is a labor of love.
“Being able to supply our community with anything fresh is great,” Taylor said. “What we have as options in the grocery store – it’s not cutting it.”
“These belong in every community,” Krull said. “We’ve been able to prove that as a business model, it works. You can make a profit doing it, you can provide a good service to your community, and I think we can really do good for our community by providing something that is not readily available on a year-round basis.”
According to the U.S Department of Agriculture, only 5% of food Alaskans consume is grown locally. The state also has very short growing seasons.
Alaska
Nature: Northern Lights above Alaska
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