Late freeze on the Lower Kuskokwim produced ice conditions unsafe for travel in November.
Drivers need to stick to marked trails on the Lower Kuskokwim River, according to the latest update from Bethel Search and Rescue’s Earl Samuelson. There is a spot in front of Oscarville that has only 9 inches of ice, which Samuelson says is too thin to drive a truck on.
As fishing restrictions push salmon harvests on the Kuskokwim River later into the wet part of summer, families are seeking new ways to dry their fish and keep bugs away.
Unusually colored caterpillar in area identified as Bedstraw Hawkmoth (Hyles gallii)
Smelt caught in Bethel with fungal infection previously found in the Norton Sound region.
Starting Thursday, the Department of Transportation will begin repairing Chief Eddie Hoffman Highway. The warm winter has wreaked similar havoc on highways across Alaska.
Four teams had scratched as of 7 p.m. Saturday because of the icy conditions, said Kuskokwim 300 race director Madelene Reichard. "It's the same thing for all of them," Reichard said. "The dogs aren't used to running on the ice, and people were wanting to keep their dogs healthy."
Due to consistent above average winter temperatures, there are many known and developing open holes on the river. I was on the trail working at the Bogus Creek Checkpoint. Most of the trail had no snow cover, and the majority of the race was run on glare ice over the tundra.
For the first time, the race will run two laps to its halfway point and back. Mushers agree it’s the safest way to run the race, but it could present challenges.
How will climate change affect health in Alaska? Dangerous travel conditions could cause more accidents, warmer temperatures could spread new diseases and the topsy-turvy weather could worsen mental health. Those are some conclusions from a new state report released Monday. Listen now
The warm winter has made traveling on the river ice more hazardous than Bethel Search and Rescue ever remembers.
Sled dog racing season officially began on the Kuskokwim this weekend. Listen now
A father’s body has been recovered from the Kuskokwim River after he and his family fell through a marked, open hole the night of New Year’s Eve. Bethel
Melting permafrost and major storms are eating away at the coastal Alaskan village of Newtok. Residents are desperate to move, but the U.S. has no climate change policy that could help them.
In villages like Kongiganak, communities have stopped burying their dead because, as the permafrost melts, the oldest part of their cemetery is sinking.
"Our roads are slippery when there would be snow to where the children were out with their sled. Planes never cancelled as much as this year to where the flights were backed up to 3 or 4 days. Lately, we've been seeing grasses regrowing after it warms up out there."
The ice highway that residents are used to driving this time of year has yet to fully freeze. Bethel Search and Rescue calls the number of open holes on
Some local officials suspect water pollution killed the fish, but state officials offered an alternative explanation.
Smart started finding dead fish in his trap near Dull Lake about two or three weeks ago. Now there are hundreds and hundreds of them.Some local officials suspect water pollution killed the fish, but state officials offered an alternative explanation. According to the Fish and Game representative a local fisherman forgot to check a blackfish trap and may have dumped the dead fish in Dull Lake.
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