Alaska
Wet weather expected over McDonald Fire today
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/.
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.
Categories: Active Wildland Fire, BLM Alaska Fire Service
Alaska
Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt
On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.
According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”
Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.
Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”
If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.
Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.
Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.
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Alaska
Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him
The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.
The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.
None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.
Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.
The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.
The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.
Despite these internal issues, Fisher claims Boeing deliberately shifted blame towards him and his first officer.
Lawyers for Boeing in an earlier lawsuit wrote that the company wasn’t responsible for the incident because the plane had been “improperly maintained or misused by persons and/or entities other than Boeing.”
Fisher’s complaint alleges that the company’s statement was intended to “paint him as the scapegoat for Boeing’s numerous failures.”
“Instead of praising Captain Fisher’s bravery, Boeing inexplicably impugned the reputations of the pilots,” the lawsuit says.
As a result, Fisher has been scrutinized for his role in the incident, the lawsuit alleges, and named in two lawsuits by passengers.
Spokespeople for Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Alaska
FIRST ALERT: Heavy snow incoming to Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska
ANCHORAGE, AK (Alaska’s News Source) – A large winter storm is not only bringing heavy snowfall, but warmer temperatures are approaching! The most impacted areas will include Southcentral, Southeast, and Southwest Alaska, with close to a foot of snow accumulation likely through Tuesday afternoon.
Anchorage will receive a trace of snow overnight and into the early morning hours with about 1 to 3 inches of snow by early Monday afternoon. Close to 5 inches of snow will fall across the Kenai Peninsula and Copper River Basin by Monday afternoon before Tuesday morning brings closer to a foot of snow accumulation across the region. Anchorage and Mat-Su snow totals by Tuesday morning will likely reach 8 to 10 inches.
www.alaskasnewssource.com/weather/alerts/
Juneau will most likely get the heaviest rounds of snow from this storm system with close to a foot of snow likely to accumulate by Monday afternoon with even more snow Tuesday morning. Across Southeast, snow total will vary but Sitka and Ketchikan will receive near 3 to 7 inches. Brace for a few days of heavy snowfall with wind gusts up to 30 miles per hour. Rapid snow accumulation will add hazard to roads and rooftops so be vigilant and weather aware.
Download the free Alaska’s News Source Weather App.
This storm is already making landfall from the Kuskokwim Delta to Bristol Bay. Expect 8 to 16 inches of snow by Monday night as the heaviest rounds will pass over late Monday morning. Wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour will add blizzard-like conditions with reduced visibility. The Aleutian Chain is bracing for high winds as the gusts up to 70 miles per hour are likely tomorrow. Light rain will pass through as a result of residual moisture of the tail-end of this storm.
The Interior will remain mostly dry tomorrow with mostly cloudy skies stretching over the Brooks Range and into the North Slope. Overnight lows are still quite chilly, sitting near 50 and 60 below zero. Coldest temperatures of the season were record Sunday morning at -50 degrees in Fairbanks, being the coldest temperature since February 2024 which was also -50 degrees. Light snow is possible Tuesday, but otherwise, very calm and quiet weather remains across central and northern Alaska.
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