Sterling Highway

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.

A truck stopped near Homer for not having outside rear-view mirrors led to two arrests Friday by Alaska State Troopers, who say the driver was under the influence of “Spice” synthetic marijuana and his passenger had violated drug-related probation conditions. According to a Monday AST dispatch, troopers pulled over the 1997 GMC Jimmy at about 4:45 p.m. Friday, at roughly Mile 169 of the Sterling Highway. In an email to Channel 2, AST spokesperson Megan Peters says Homer man Samuel Reece, 19, was behind the wheel.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says razor clams are plentiful but could be smaller on Ninilchik and Clam Gulch beaches this season, after thousands of clams were displaced and killed in a winter storm. Based on a preliminary survey of a one-mile area of southern Ninilchik Beach, it's estimated that the area contains almost 1.2 million clams at least 80 millimeters in diameter -- up more than 600,000 from the last survey in 2005. Fish and Game plans to survey the beach's northern section at low tides beginning May 14 to determine whether it should change the current razor-clam bag limit, which is 60 per day and 120 in possession on beaches from the Kenai River south to the tip of Homer Spit.

Restrictions on king salmon fishing on the Kenai River go into effect Friday, according to the AK Department of Fish & Game. State officials say in an effort to meet early-run king salmon minimum escapement numbers, the department is restricting the sport fishery to catch-and-release/trophy king salmon fishing only beginning Friday, June 15. In a press release, Fish and Game advised anglers on the Kenai River that the department is...

Alaska king salmon shortages produced emergency orders Tuesday from federal and state authorities, closing the Kenai River to fishing for kings and restricting fishing on the Kasilof River until at least the end of the month. An emergency order from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service closes the Kenai downriver of Skilak Lake to subsistence fishing for kings, effective from 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 22 through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 14. “Through June 18, all indices used to assess the abundance of early-run Chinook salmon in the Kenai River indicate a run that is well below average and lowest on record,” wrote USFWS biologist Doug Palmer.

The lower Kenai River saw fresh bait and hook restrictions imposed by state officials Wednesday, the latest in a series of drastic steps statewide to protect poor king salmon runs. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, bait and multiple hooks are banned on the river from its mouth upstream to the Sterling Highway bridge in Soldotna, effective Thursday through Wednesday, Aug. 15. Anglers may only use single unbaited hooks. While king salmon fishing on the river -- including catch-and-release fishing -- remains closed, Fish and Game emphasized the importance of not harming kings while fishing for other species.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has put restrictions on king salmon fishing on portions of the Kenai River to protect the early run. Assessments on the river show that the run is well below average. The restrictions are for the Kenai River drainage from the Fish and Game regulatory marker located approximately 300 yards downstream from the mouth of the Slikok Creek, upstream to the outlet of Skilak Lake, and in the Moose River from where it meets up with the Kenai River through the northern-most edge of the Sterling Highway Bridge.

Shortly after 7:40 p.m. Saturday, Central Emergency Services responded to a structure fire at 48494 Sandhill Crane Loop in Kasilof. In ten minutes the first CES unit arrived and reported that a house was fully engulfed in flames. 911 Dispatch told responding units that a male resident had escaped the burning home and was injured. There was a second person in the house, a 52-year-old female, who escaped uninjured. While firefighting crews prepared to make a fire attack, medical personnel tended to the injured male.

I'd always felt a bit guilty driving the stretch of blacktop between Turnagain Pass and the right turn towards Sterling Highway. Really, all I ever expected was a nice view from the car while on the way to someplace else. Sure, it's gorgeous, but could we find enough to keep a small child and his parents busy?  Yes, over and over. Our few days spent exploring the miles yielded not only up-close and personal relationships with those craggy mountains, but also with the people who live and work below them and sustain the experience for the rest of us.  After a last-minute cancellation of a previously planned trip, our family, now presented with four now-nebulous vacation days hemmed and hawed about where to go. Maps and Milepost guide spread out on the dining room table, AK Dad and I pored over the roadways and attractions, waiting for inspiration to strike.

The Department of Fish and Game announced that the Kenai River will open to catch-and-release and limited harvest of king salmon starting at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, June 12. The Kenai River has recently been closed to king salmon fishing due to a low run. Anglers will be allowed to harvest kings less than 20 inches in length and greater than 55 inches in length in some areas. Fish in between 20 and 55 inches in length must be released immediately. Regulations as set by Fish and Game are: From June 12-30, from the mouth of the Kenai River to the Soldotna Bridge, king salmon greater than 20 or less than 55 inches may not be possessed, retained or removed from the water, and must be released immediately.