While Northwest Arctic residents encounter bears year-round, such sightings are not common in Kotzebue this time of year, Cantine said. Charlie Henry Jr., an Elder from Kotzebue, agreed: “That is so strange — brown bear in the middle part of the coldest months.”

A 36-year-old woman was seriously injured in a suspected brown bear attack near her home on Chinook Drive in Kenai early Tuesday. Authorities are searching for the bear and urging residents to stay vigilant and secure attractants.

Unusually strong winds in Point Hope, Alaska, caused widespread power outages, prompting over 200 residents to seek shelter at a local school, while poor weather conditions delayed the arrival of a lineman to restore power.

Up to 1,000 gallons of water used in mining operations reached a creek and tundra, as an estimated 400,000 gallons spilled into containment areas and a gravel road.

It appeared that the plane had landed near a glacier on the partially frozen lake, broke through the ice as it rolled to a stop and then began to sink. It wasn’t known if the pilot landed intentionally on the lake thinking the ice was more solid than it was, or whether a mechanical issue forced the plane down.

Two people were swept under the ice on the Big Susitna River on Thursday morning while three others were able to reach safety, Alaska State Troopers said.

Authorities in New Delhi shut schools, halted construction and banned nonessential trucks from entering the city after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season.

A window of cold and clear weather has drawn hundreds of people to skate, bike and walk on the lake ice in recent days.

The Revilla Road slide came Sunday evening after heavy rains and initially trapped six vehicles with eight people inside, local officials said. Cleanup continued Monday.

The second-worst flood on record in the Interior Alaska community of Manley Hot Springs began to recede on Sunday, but dozens of residents were displaced and cut off from power. Flooding is also reported in Sleetmute, Red Devil and Georgetown on the Kuskokwim River and Circle on the Yukon River.

“It almost looks like a tornado came through, because the wind was just ripping the trees down and across things. So there’s one house that was completely obliterated. Several, several trees. We can’t even get to it to see how many… landed on it,” said resident Tyler Magart.

A die-off last year at St. Paul Island, the first compelling case of fatal saxitoxin poisoning in marine mammals, comes as more harmful algae is found farther north

The slide occurred at a time when forecasters in the region are cautioning backcountry skiers and snowboarders about the potential for warming weather to increase avalanche risk.

Seismic stations more than 600 miles away picked up the rumbling as a mountainside collapsed upon South Sawyer Glacier and into the ocean at the head of Tracy Arm.

A power line fell on a car in Portland, killing three people and injuring a baby during an ice storm that turned roads and mountain highways treacherous in the Pacific Northwest.

The vessel remained afloat as of Thursday morning, and images gathered by the U.S. Coast Guard showed it was still “alight with smoke emanating” from it.

Forecasters say they are expecting significant coastal erosion from Utqiagvik to Unalakleet from the second severe-weather event to hit the region in three weeks.

The Iditarod Trail Committee announced that poor snow conditions made the traditional southern route untenable, forcing organizers to move the start nearly 300 miles north, from Willow to Fairbanks. The novel 1,128-mile route passes through Interior Alaska with a loop on the Yukon River. “We are all rookies,” Big Lake musher Nicolas Petit joked.

The Tsunami Warning Center recorded waves of less than 1 foot above normal as a result of the earthquake.

A Houston man was injured by a moose near his home, an unusual event linked to increased moose aggression due to harsh winter conditions.