Environment

  The Red Devil Mine is located on the Kuskokwim near the Red Devil Creek between Crooked Creek and Sleetmute.  Mining started in the 1930's, picked up steam in the 50's and 60's but has not operated since the 1970's. The problem is that there's mercury, arsenic, and antimony in the soils left behind by the mining, and the contamination is being released by erosion.

There are no reported injuries from a house fire that destroyed a home in Napaskiak on Wednesday.

A normal breakup is expected to return to the Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon Rivers this year with the usual cracking, jamming, and possible minor flooding.

While the Kuskokwim ice around Bethel is decaying, the ice in the middle part of the river is more stable, according to Mark Leary, Director of Development and Operations for the Native Village of Napaimute. Leary also works as a citizen observer, reporting ice conditions to the National Weather Service.

Conditions are deteriorating rapidly on the ice road, and Bethel Search and Rescue is asking residents to be careful and exercise sound judgment when traveling. BSAR President Mike Riley reports that, as of Tuesday evening, from the Bethel sandpit to Nick O Nick's fish camp, standing water lines the sides of the river, slushy snow covers the ice, and at some points, water sits beneath the snow. Across the island in front of Bethel, on the main river channel, deep water is covering the ice, and where there’s snow, water lies beneath.

The melting Kuskokwim ice road is becoming increasingly hazardous to drive on, and conditions are changing rapidly.

The Kuskokwim ice road's days are numbered. Though the ice is thick, the snow is melting fast.  

Deep snow and thick ice could mean a dramatic break-up on the rivers this year.