I am sending this post from Ft Wainwright lodging. Lynn, Snowball and I were evacuated early this morning. We had to travel to the airport via jet boat as all of the roads were under several feet of water. We were only able to take a few items from the house before the water rose… Continue reading Evacuated to town
Author: scottbetterton
Ice jam update
The ice stopped running yesterday evening and the water rapidly backed up into the lakes and creeks around town. Water level has been pretty stable all night. The elder center had to be evacuated yesterday when water started coming over the road but since then the water level has receded somewhat. The ice is jammed… Continue reading Ice jam update
Ice running on the Yukon 26 May, 2013
Here is a video I shot this morning when the ice was running.
High water level on the Yukon
The river has reached 125 feet which is the first stage at which we take action for flooding. People are starting to move out of the “Old Town” site in Galena to get to higher ground. The riverwatch team landed here and informed us of a large ice jam just downriver.
First flooding in Galena
The water at the pilings have reached 125 feet which is the first stage of flooding here. There is a large ice jam at Bishop Rock downstream and the ice run has slowed considerably.
The ice is moving!
The ice started moving here at about 5:30 this morning. So far the water level has been up to around 121 feet or so. When the ice started moving there were reports that three moose were crossing the river and got trapped on the ice. Not an unusual occurrence here. So far we have only… Continue reading The ice is moving!
Watching the ice melt
The river is breaking up upstream but still not much action here. That could change very soon. The latest reports have the ice running constantly about 15 miles upstream of Ruby. That would be about 67 miles upstream from here. There is a lot of water running along the bank but the ice is still… Continue reading Watching the ice melt
Heat wave!
The weather is really warming up here, temperature was up to 55 today and it could get up to the 70’s by this weekend. The upriver villages have been having a rough time with breakup this year. Eagle, Circle and Ft. Yukon have all experienced flooding when the ice went out. We are waiting our… Continue reading Heat wave!
Breakup is finally coming!
The ice went out in Nenana at 1541 local today. Usually this means we will have breakup here within a week. The ice is still very thick but water is running along the sides on top. Last couple of years breakup here has been pretty mild. This year could be different. I think I’ll get… Continue reading Breakup is finally coming!
Preparing for Breakup
They put the tripod up near the pilings a few days ago. When breakup gets closer they will attach a timer to the line coming from the tripod. As soon as the ice moves the timer will trip so we will know the exact time that breakup starts here.