Kuskokwim River

UPDATE: The National Weather Service has canceled the flood warning for Kalskag.While the river ice in front of Bethel has officially broken up, a flood warning remains in place until the evening of May 7 roughly 90 miles up the Kuskokwim River at Kalskag. An ice jam has sent water over the road connecting the lower and upper sections of the community.

Bethel’s Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod tripped the clock at 4:10 p.m. on May 5, 2025, marking breakup in Bethel. That’s three days earlier than breakup at Bethel last year.

Just hours after residents reported ice moving out in Aniak on Wednesday (April 30) evening, a large run arrived from upriver and jammed up just below the community. As of Thursday (May 1) evening, no flooding had been reported.

The pace of breakup remains around five days ahead of the normal schedule, though widespread low water could still lead to ice jams, according to a hydrologist with the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

Although most people outside of the Bethel region have never heard her name, Diane Carpenter’s contributions to Alaska — especially to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta — were immense. The arrival of her collection back in Alaska was six years in the making and made possible by a dedicated team of friends and family in both Alaska and Mexico, and of course, by Diane herself.

Just five days after the official start of breakup in Nikolai, social media reports confirmed the ice had gone out more than 200 miles downriver in Sleetmute and Red Devil. According to the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center, that puts breakup around five days ahead of schedule.

Ice in front of the upper-river community of Nikolai broke during the 8 a.m. hour on Tuesday (April 22), according to community reports and confirmed by the Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

The Kuskokwim Ice Classic tripod is once again up on the river in front of Bethel. It’s part of an annual nonprofit fundraiser with a hefty grand prize that marks the arrival of spring with the breakup of the river. This year, it’s inspired by a three-legged dog.

The hydrokinetic turbine pilot project, scheduled to launch in June, is a partnership between the Native Village of Napaimute, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and Oregon-based company BladeRunner Energy.

The wide-open sky and super-flat tundra expanses of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta might not immediately seem connected to elite skiing, but training on the Kuskokwim River led one Bethel man to a podium finish in a unique world championship event.