Southcentral Alaska

Floodwaters on Rabbit Creek have begun to recede after submerging a bridge in South Anchorage, flooding at least one home and leading at least three to be evacuated, according to Anchorage police. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says emergency responders confirmed that the creek's waters had leveled off as of noon Friday. "It looks like it's subsiding a bit," Myren said. Police were informed at about 9:30 a.m. that a bridge at 140th Avenue, about half a block south of DeArmoun Road, was under water.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, June 24, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A minor earthquake was felt throughout Southcentral Alaska Thursday evening. According to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, the 5.1 magnitude quake occurred at 8:59 p.m. Thursday. It was centered 50 miles northeast of Palmer, at a depth of 26 miles.

The Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center is predicting a high risk of avalanches in areas south of Anchorage. They say deep snow along Turnagain Arm, and the Chugach and Kenai mountains is resting on early-season weak snow pack. Alaska Department of Transportation crews used large cannons to mitigate the avalanche risk along the Seward Highway Wednesday. Officials say the small slides they create can prevent the formation of a large, uncontrollable avalanche. “What we're delaying with is, we got a bunch of cold, dry-faceted snow with a lot of warm dense slabby snow on top," said Matt Murphy, an avalanche specialist with DOT. "So we're trying to stay ahead of the game and do some preventative maintenance in our avalanche paths before the next storms come in.” The Chugach information center predicts that avalanche danger will increase with warm weather as several feet of new snow settles into dense slabs.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a stream of emergency orders Thursday restricting sport fishing in many areas of Southcentral Alaska, following low statewide salmon runs in 2012 and similar state action. In a statement summarizing most of the orders, Fish and Game said they were issued in response to “low king salmon abundance over recent years, a below-average outlook for the upcoming season, and uncertainty over how quickly king salmon abundance may rebound.” Last year, the state imposed a series of restrictions on fishing due to lower-than-expected salmon runs across Alaska.

Expect hundreds of motorcycle riders in Southcentral Alaska starting next week. They're part of a cross-country race from Florida to the Last Frontier called the Hoka Hey Challenge. The race has some law-enforcement agencies on edge, and there are warnings for drivers. As summer roads stretch out in front of motorcyclists, it's easy to see why hundreds of them decided to ride from Florida to Homer. "This is their big adventure, it's a big vacation," said Craig "Blue" Breshears with Alaska Bikers Advocating Training and Education.

Southcentral Alaska's premier backcountry distance race, the Crow Pass Crossing, kicked off its 29th annual challenge Saturday, July 21st. Claiming the title for the men was Scott Patterson with a time of 3:05.16 and for the women, the 2011 champion Kiersten Lippmann at 3:40.27. The race is approximately 24 miles, starting in Girdwood and moving along the Crow Pass Trail through the Chugach mountains, and finishing at the Eagle River Nature Center.  The total gradient is 5,959 feet, and a peak elevation gain of 3,888 feet.   

April 15 is still Tax Day across the U.S., but another deadline set to fall on the same day -- Alaska's date for the removal of studded tires from motor vehicles -- is now three weeks away throughout the state. According to a Tuesday statement from Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen, an emergency order from Department of Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters has extended the deadline to May 1 for all roads in Alaska, due to recent snow and road conditions. Under state law roads north of 60 degrees latitude, as well as the Sterling Highway, always fall under the May 1 deadline.

With longer daylight and more comfortable temperatures spreading across Southcentral Alaska -- what are   you   most ready to do on a consistent basis? It won't be long now and you'll likely do many (if not all) of these activities . What's your favorite summer pastime? We created this poll to find out . Click over and let us what you're looking forward to. You will be rewarded for persevering through another Alaska winter and what always seems like a short, often disappointing spring.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center reports a minor earthquake occurred about 26 miles north of Anchorage on Thursday. The earthquake occurred at 11:42 a.m. Thursday and had a preliminary magnitude of 3.9. It struck at a depth of about 19 miles.     The center reports the temblor was felt in Southcentral Alaska, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.     The quake was centered 3 miles southwest of Meadow Lakes; 4 miles northwest of Knik-Fairview; and 4 miles southeast of Houston.

Floodwaters on Rabbit Creek have begun to recede after submerging a bridge in South Anchorage, flooding at least one home and leading at least three to be evacuated, according to Anchorage police. APD spokesperson Dani Myren says emergency responders confirmed that the creek's waters had leveled off as of noon Friday. "It looks like it's subsiding a bit," Myren said. Police were informed at about 9:30 a.m. that a bridge at 140th Avenue, about half a block south of DeArmoun Road, was under water.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will restrict fishing on several south central Alaska streams and part of Cook Inlet in the coming weeks, as part of a continuing bid to protect poor king salmon stocks. According to Fish and Game spokesperson Ryan Ragan, emergency orders released Wednesday will see parts of the Anchor River, Ninilchik River, Deep Creek and Stariski Creek closed to all sport fishing through July 15. An indefinite closure, taking effect at 6 a.m. Friday, will also bar sport fishing on the Susitna River near a fish weir operated by Fish and Game.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for areas of Southcentral Alaska and the Anchorage Fire Department is urging residents to be careful of "predicted extreme fire danger conditions. " According to the NWS, gusty winds along the Turnagain Arm and the Anchorage Hillside are expected by this afternoon. AFD officials say the winds coupled with low humidity could pose challenging firefighting conditions. "Firefighting resources can be stretched thin in a matter of hours with multiple wildland fire responses," said AFD Operations Chief Jim Vignola.

Workers are plowing a 32-mile swath through rugged Alaska wilderness outside Big Lake. The site will eventually be a foundation for an Alaska Railroad extension between the main line in Houston and Port MacKenzie. The purpose of the $88 million project is to expedite the transport of minerals from the Interior to tidewater in Southcentral Alaska. "Our state is young, we need investment in transportation infrastructure, and that's what this is,” said Mat-Su Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan.

With longer daylight and more comfortable temperatures spreading across Southcentral Alaska -- what are   you   most ready to do on a consistent basis? It won't be long now and you'll likely do many (if not all) of these activities . What's your favorite summer pastime? We created this poll to find out . Click over and let us what you're looking forward to. You will be rewarded for persevering through another Alaska winter and what always seems like a short, often disappointing spring.

It's springtime in Southcentral Alaska and the steelhead are running -- as is Channel 2's Kari Bustamante, who heads to Kasilof for this week's Fishing Report. We met up with the guys of Alaska's angling addiction down on the Kasilof River to get in fly-fishing form by picking out some flies -- and maybe even catch something too. “They're eating -- the ones that are like post-spawned fish, that are backing out of the river,” said Paul Tornow with Alaska's Angling Addiction.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a stream of emergency orders Thursday restricting sport fishing in many areas of Southcentral Alaska, following low statewide salmon runs in 2012 and similar state action. In a statement summarizing most of the orders, Fish and Game said they were issued in response to “low king salmon abundance over recent years, a below-average outlook for the upcoming season, and uncertainty over how quickly king salmon abundance may rebound.” Last year, the state imposed a series of restrictions on fishing due to lower-than-expected salmon runs across Alaska.

On Sunday night, lawmakers in the Alaska House and Senate finished 90 days of work right before midnight on the final day of the legislative session. “I look forward to being able to tell my kids years from now, that I was a part of the legislature that did the things that we did in this session,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Lance Pruitt, R-Anchorage. Those things include passing Senate Bill 21, an oil tax reform bill introduced by Governor Sean Parnell early in the session.  Supporters say it will stem decline in the pipeline, which is directly contributing to Alaska's revenue woes.  Similar legislation stalled in the Senate last year, Democrat Bill Wielechowski was a part of the Senate Majority in the 27th Legislature.  This year, he's in the Minority, where his colleagues fought an uphill battle to reach a compromise on oil tax reform.

April 15 is still Tax Day across the U.S., but another deadline set to fall on the same day -- Alaska's date for the removal of studded tires from motor vehicles -- is now three weeks away throughout the state. According to a Tuesday statement from Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen, an emergency order from Department of Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters has extended the deadline to May 1 for all roads in Alaska, due to recent snow and road conditions. Under state law roads north of 60 degrees latitude, as well as the Sterling Highway, always fall under the May 1 deadline.

Tsunami Info Stmt: M4.2 030Mi NW Anchorage, Alaska 1305AKDT Mar 10: Tsunami NOT expected #WCATWC - NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_WCATWC) March 10, 2013 An earthquake jolted areas in Southcentral Alaska, including Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley, on Sunday afternoon. The quake hit around 1:05 p.m. Sunday and had a preliminary magnitude of 4.2, according to the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The Palmer-based center said there was no tsunami danger due to the earthquake.