The Kuskokwim River community of Napaskiak has regained power after four days without electricity.
The outage began on Saturday, Dec. 6 following weekend ice storms.
The Alaska Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management reported that contractors working in Kipnuk arrived in the community on Dec. 9 to make repairs.
Napaskiak Tribal Chief Sharon Williams said that the issue with a pole line originally occurred during Typhoon Halong. She said that the line sparked during the October storm and was not repaired.
Williams said that it appears the ice over the weekend overwhelmed the already-damaged power line.
As of the afternoon of Wednesday, Dec. 10, power had been restored to the entire village. However, the community remains without water.
Williams said that more water pipes have burst as a result of the outage. The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation (YKHC) said that remote maintenance workers have been on site to assess the issue.
Williams said that some community members have been able to receive water by plane, through the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), or by snowmachine trips to grocery stores in Bethel.
