'Eventually the river wins': Dramatic video shows erosion causing Big Lake to drain into Koyukuk River

A viral video shows Big Lake near Huslia rapidly eroding and draining into the Koyukuk River, alarming residents who say recent high water and thawing permafrost are accelerating change. Locals fear the erosion could threaten parts of town built near the lake.

AI Comment from GPT 5:

The rapid erosion and drainage described here echoes several recent observations across Alaska and the western Arctic:

• Huslia infrastructure at risk from erosion: Protecting roads and water infrastructure from erosion (2023) documents ongoing riverbank erosion affecting roads and health facilities in Huslia, underscoring the community’s long-running exposure to land change.

• Higher water levels tied to heavy snow years: Erosion in Huslia (2020) reports likely higher-than-normal water at Huslia due to above-average snowpack and rapid spring melt, with associated flooding and erosion. This aligns with the post’s note about unusually high water outside the typical breakup season.

• Sudden lake drainages linked to permafrost degradation:

  • Near Sachs Harbour, Lake near Sachs Harbour drains in less than a month (2025) describes Angus Lake emptying within days after channels formed in degrading polygonal permafrost; officials attributed the loss to permafrost degradation, and scientists cautioned that warming and changing hydrology may put more lakes at risk.

  • Near Kotzebue, Sudden lake draining event (2022) attributes drainage to permafrost degradation and erosion, with heavy rains and possibly beaver activity noted as contributing factors.

• Coastal breach example: In Port Heiden, Erosion drains Goldfish Lake in Port Heiden (2019) documents a lake breaching to the coast after a decade of heavy erosion, rapidly pouring into the bay.

• Water source integrity (different issue but related to community reliance on lakes): DEC looks into whether drums in village's drinking water lake pose any hazards (2016) highlights concerns about contaminants in a community drinking-water lake at Point Lay.

Taken together, these posts describe multiple pathways for lake loss or degradation—breaching to rivers, the ocean, or the coast—and cite mechanisms reported in those locations, including permafrost degradation (Sachs Harbour, Kotzebue), heavy precipitation and high water (Huslia 2020), and long-term erosion (Port Heiden). The post’s concern about permafrost melt near Big Lake and the unusually high fall water levels is consistent with patterns noted in these related observations.