Alaskan Villagers on Brink of Freezing

[desert rat]

http://desertblog.blogspot.com/2005/01/ ... orced.html

"Blowing snow forced two rescue helicopters to turn back Tuesday while trying to carry emergency help to an Arctic village whose electrical generator failed during a weekend blizzard that sent the temperature to 20 below zero."

[R-Dub]

That is crazy cold! Last time I checked a few hrs ago Fairbanks was -44 degrees BRRRRRRRRR!

[Chris the Weather Man]

Yes, 1947 was colder though, -81F in Snag Yukon!

[gunner1551]

hey 1947 was a very cold and snow filled year i have a news paper clipping from that year in Regina Sask and the snow banks were at the cross members on the telephones poles.! and we worry about when we get a little cold -10 or so. my knee always knows when the real cold is coming. it tends to seize up as do alot of old timers knees. lol well i am hoping that the snow is not tardy in Feb

[W13]

Yes, 1947 was colder though, -81F in Snag Yukon!

I think that was also the year the Prospect Creek, Alaska hit a record low of -80 F.

By the way, the -81 F temp in Snag, Yukon territory was never made official, since it was based off of a outdoor thermometer that only went to -80 F, so they had to draw in -81 F, thus it was never made official.

[Stormsfury]

Saw a report earlier of -56ºF in East Central AK today ... actually, that exact point, just deeply inhaling that kind of air could cause some damage, and exposure on skin would cause frostbite in just mere minutes ...

SF

[Scorpion]

I can't fathom that kind of cold. I think the coldest I have been in was 10 degrees and that was plenty cold to me. How many layers do people wear up there?

[Chris the Weather Man]

Yes, 1947 was colder though, -81F in Snag Yukon!

I think that was also the year the Prospect Creek, Alaska hit a record low of -80 F.

By the way, the -81 F temp in Snag, Yukon territory was never made official, since it was based off of a outdoor thermometer that only went to -80 F, so they had to draw in -81 F, thus it was never made official.

Nope, that year was 1971.

[simplykristi]

I have had relatives who lived on the Kenai Peninsula in AK. The cold air up there is different from down here in the lower 48 states.

Kristi

[cajungal]

I can't even begin to imagine that kind of cold. Down here in southeast Louisiana, we whine like babies when the temps hit 40 degrees. If I lived in Alaska, I would never want to leave my home. I would be homebound in front of a warm fire. Makes me happy to live in the deep south.

[HollynLA]

I was in Alaska this past June. Beautiful place but very harsh climate. I would love to experiene that kind of cold just once. Sounds crazy to some, but my curiosity gets the best of me. Here in LA, we are dying if it gets below 30. What would I do at -40?

Alaska is still worth it even if just to see McKinley. When we were there, it was a rare clear day and the mountain was visible from over 200 miles away. My kind of place!

[R-Dub]

Coldest I have ever experienced would be about 2 degrees when I was very young, about 24 yrs ago. The last several years the coldest I have been in would be 8 degrees back in 1998, I though that was freaking cold, but nothing compared to -50's

[frankthetank]

adn. com

Rescue chopper reaches isolated Kaktovik
NOT OVER: Weather still may withhold desperately needed power


By JOEL GAY
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: January 11, 2005)

adn.com story photo


Click on photo to enlarge
adn.com News Update An Alaska Air National Guard helicopter crew landed Tuesday in storm-wracked Kaktovik, delivering the first wave of workers and equipment needed to restore power and start thawing the frozen village.

North Slope Borough officials hoped to drop off a second, larger crew tonight or Wednesday to kick the relief effort into high gear.

But winds gusting to 65 mph continued to stymie their efforts to land cargo airplanes on the village runway, and could force a slow-moving relief “Cat train” to set out overland from Prudhoe Bay.

Help can’t come quickly enough to the village of 300, said borough disaster coordinator Rob Elkins. “It’s getting pretty grim,” he said.

Fuel tanks are almost dry, homes are freezing up and one case of carbon monoxide poisoning has been reported.

“We have some major problems now,” Elkins said, “but we’ll have some really major problems if the weather doesn’t cooperate” and supplies can’t start pouring in.

The storm that slammed Kaktovik hasn’t loosened its grip since Saturday. For four days, winds have blown steadily at 35 to 50 mph and gusted up to 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures have dropped as low as minus 20 degrees. Blowing snow has limited visibility and formed Matterhorn-like drifts 10 to 20 feet tall trailing off every building in town, residents say.

The village’s electrical system began shutting down Saturday night when high winds brought down power lines all over town. Circuit breakers blew and transformers failed, leaving more than half the community in the dark. In the following days, auxiliary generators have also failed or run out of fuel. Dozens of buildings have frozen solid, including the school.

By Tuesday, about 65 people had congregated in the borough public works shop, Elkins said, one of two public buildings with light and heat. Power had been restored to the village health clinic, but the temperature inside was just 60 degrees, he said.

Winds gusting to near-hurricane force prevented relief helicopters from landing Monday, and appeared likely to stymie another attempt Tuesday. But around 1:30 p.m., an HH-60 Pavehawk from Kulis Air National Guard Base in Anchorage landed behind the public works building and dropped off two electric linemen and about 600 pounds of tools and supplies, including portable lights.

The linemen were impressed by their flight, Elkins said. “They really praised the abilities of those pilots to get in there. They said the weather was frightening.”

After the technicians assess the damage and determine how best to energize the electrical system, the borough will send in a larger team and more equipment to start fixing things.

If weather allows, perhaps even as early as Tuesday night, a C-130 cargo plane would fly in another nine linemen and technicians, spare transformers and parts.

The flight depended on having a clear runway, which presented a separate challenge. Kaktovik road personnel would have to clear snow and drifts 15 feet and higher along more than 2 miles of road, then grade the tarmac itself. If they could accomplish that, the portable lights flown in by helicopter Tuesday would illuminate the runway, and the pilots would use night-vision goggles.

If the C-130 can’t land or if the flying weather deteriorates, the borough was also prepared to send the same group of technicians and supplies overland from Barrow, perhaps as early as late Tuesday afternoon. A combination of bulldozers and rubber-tired “rollagons” would haul trailers, including a heated trailer for the workers, on an 18-hour, 110-mile trip along the Beaufort Sea coast.

Said Elkins, “Were still keeping all of our options.”

But time was running out, said borough chief administrative officer Dennis Packer. The village fuel tanks and delivery truck are buried under snow, leaving only a day or two worth of fuel.

“That’s one of our priorities,” he said. “We need to get fuel there.” The borough may have to fly it in to keep the generators running and buildings warm.

Even when village-wide power resumes, homes could flood because of broken pipes or valves. The borough may have to evacuate residents to Barrow if they can’t be housed in Kaktovik, Packer said.

No one was evacuated from the village on the first helicopter flight, though one minor case of carbon monoxide poisoning was reported.

Residents of the storm-bound village appear to be holding up well, said borough police officer Richard Holschen. Every time he calls the public works shop, where about 65 people are staying, “All I hear is laughing,” he said. “It sounds like we’re missing a party.”

Holschen was pinned down in his duplex with his wife and five young children, several of whom could be heard howling when he spoke Tuesday morning. His family had food and warm clothes, he said, but he was growing nervous about the duration of the storm and about his home freezing.

In his part of town the power comes on sporadically, he said, lasting a few minutes to nearly an hour. Each time it’s on, they turn on the electric oven and open its door. Their furnace won’t kick off much heat until it can run for several hours, he said.

But after venturing out several times during the storm, Holschen said he wouldn’t think about moving to warmer quarters. When he went out Monday to a neighbor, “I couldn’t get farther than 50 feet,” he said. Visibility was almost zero, and he needed his hands to climb the snow drifts that rose up to 15 feet high along the way.

If he tried to move his children, ages 1 to 6, Holschen said, “They’d blow away like little leaves.”

[rainstorm]

-56?? yikes

[simplykristi]

I have been out in -15 to -20 below weather here in KC for just a fleeting minute. That was in Dec. 1989.

Kristi