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Vol. 49, Issue 269
In the news
Feds pick preferred oil development plan ANCHORAGE — The federal government has chosen a preferred development plan for a project that could significantly boost Alaska’s oil production, a report said. The ConocoPhillips Willow project could produce up to 130,000 barrels of oil daily, The Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. The federal Bureau of Land Management released a draft environmental report on the project in the northeastern National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The bureau will release a final report before a development plan is selected. The ConocoPhillips plan calls for five drill sites linked by seven bridges, an airstrip, 38 miles of roads and a processing facility to prepare crude oil for shipment. The plan also includes pipelines and a state application for a temporary island for barges. The project could last 30 years and produce about 590 million barrels of oil, while an average of 375 workers would be employed annually for a nine-year construction period beginning in 2020, according to the draft report. Oil production would begin in 2024 under the plan. The state would collect $1.7 billion in taxes, plus $2.5 billion in royalties related to the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska impact mitigation fund. The federal government would collect $4.4 billion in taxes and royalties, while the borough would receive $1.9 billion in property taxes. Alaska is producing an average 500,000 barrels of oil per day this year, officials said. Conservation groups condemned the project. Development would affect migrating caribou, fish, nesting yellowbilled loons, and Alaska Native subsistence hunters, Audubon Alaska said. “Wildfires this summer in the Arctic and around the world underline the urgent need to ramp down fossil fuel development, not permit more,” said Audubon Alaska Executive Director Natalie Dawson. See news, Page A3
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Golf
Trump boasts of ‘unity’ as summit closes
Forrest, Rose, Swisher taste victory at KPO
World / A5
Sports / A7
Partly sunny 68/43 More weather, Page A2
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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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$1 newsstands daily/$1.50 Sunday
Cooper Landing evac alert raised to ‘set’ By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Intensifying fire activity prompted emergency management officials to up the alert level to “set” for Cooper Landing on Monday evening. The alert — which was issued for all areas of Cooper Landing between Miles 46-54 — was upgraded from “ready” after the Swan Lake Fire became “increasingly active” and crossed the Resurrection Pass Trail at Slaughter Ridge, according to a 7:45 p.m. update from the Office of Emergency Management. By 10 p.m., however, the fire’s progression had stopped and was in between the “ready” and “set” lines, Bud Sexton, public information officer with the Kenai Peninsula Borough call center, said.
Inside ■■ With better weather conditions, firefighters are making progress in battling the Caribou Lake blaze. Page A2 Sexton said 160 firefighters were on the ground fighting the blaze Monday night, and an overnight watch was set to monitor fire activity in the area. A level 2 evacuation alert — or “set” — is not a notice to leave, but signifies that those in the area should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. Residents should get “set” by loading necessary items — such as people, pets, medication, important documents and personal items and a sevenday kit — into a vehicle. See fire, Page A3
Heavy smoke prompts unhealthy warning By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Heavy smoke rolled into the central peninsula Monday, with Soldotna experiencing some of the worst air conditions. The particulate matter measurementt for Soldotna was 185, which is considered unhealthy. Good air quality is particulate matter measured at 50 or
below. Cooper Landing measured the highest as of Monday evening, at 295. Tynoek measured at 127, Seward at 63 and Homer at 50. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation issued Monday an air quality advisory for Southcentral through 4 p.m. Wednesday. See smoke, Page A3
Photo courtesy of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management
Smoke from the Swan Lake Fire can be seen the Sterling Highway on Sunday.
State wildfire season extended By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Alaska’s statutory wildfire season was extended Monday — from Aug. 31 to Sept. 30 — due to high fire danger from continued warm and dry conditions, a press release from the state Department of Natural Resources said. As of Monday, 682 fires had burned more than 2.5 million acres this season.
The decision comes as teams continue to battle the nearly three-monthold Swan Lake Fire, which prompted. Gov. Mike Dunleavy to issue a state disaster declaration for the Kenai Peninsula Borough on Friday. Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Corri Feigen noted in her order extending the fire season that unprecedented fire risk conditions for the
Alaska salmon deaths blamed on record warm temperatures By Dan Joling Associated Press
ANCHORAGE — Add salmon to the list of species affected by Alaska’s blistering summer temperatures, including the hottest July on record. Dead salmon have shown up in river systems throughout Alaska, and the mortalities are probably connected to warm water or low river water levels, said Sam Rabung, director of commercial fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The department has not quantified past heat-related fish deaths because they tended to be sporadic and inconsistent, Rabung said. But department scientists this year will analyze fish deaths, summarize observation and record effects. “If we have a few years in a row like this, then I think we have a
Peninsula Clarion
The Recall Dunleavy campaign has collected 36,731 signatures since starting their efforts Aug. 2, according to a Thursday release from the campaign. Savoonga, a small island near Nome, collected 90 signatures during their one-day signing event — or about 10% of the island’s population, according to the release.
See season, Page A2
Flood advisory canceled By Victoria Petersen Peninsula Clarion
Peter Westley / University of Alaska Fairbanks
This July 2019 shows a carcass of chum salmon lying along the shore of the Koyukuk River near Huslia.
bigger issue,” he said. Spent carcasses of salmon that die after females lay eggs and males fertilize them are a common annual sight along Alaska streams and provide nourishment for scavenging birds and bears. Some carcasses this summer have been a concern because the dead fish were still full of eggs
as they bobbed downstream or washed up on gravel shorelines, with no signs of disease or parasites. The deaths should not be a surprise because climate models have for years forecast unhealthy Alaska river temperatures for salmon, said Peter Westley, See salmon, Page A3
Recall Dunleavy campaign collects more than 36,000 signatures By Victoria Petersen
Southcentral and Kenai Peninsula regions and the ongoing large project fires in these areas have created statewide challenges for wildland fire response agencies. “Any new fires will further stress the overall statewide response capabilities,” she wrote. Alaska’s statutory wildfire season normally begins
More than 300 signatures were collected the first day of the Alaska State Fair in Palmer, which began Aug. 22. Despite the campaign surpassing the required 28,501 signatures for phase one, efforts will continue until the last day of the state fair, Sept. 2, to compensate for any disqualifying signatures. Once phase one is complete, the signatures will be sent to the state for the director of the Division of Elections to either approve or deny an application and for the Superior
Court to rule on the matter. If the application is approved, then phase two begins, which will require the collection of 71,252 signatures. If 71,252 signatures are collected, then the director of the Division of Elections will announce a special election that must be held within 60 to 90 days of the petition approval. People who are collecting signatures must send in or drop off their signature sheets no later than Aug. 28.
Flood advisories for the Kenai River and Kenai Lake, which includes areas from Cooper Landing to Skilak Lake, were canceled Monday. The glacier-dammed lake event has ended and waters in Kenai Lake are falling, according to a National Weather Service advisory issued Monday morning. Small rises along the western Kenai River are still anticipated, but are not expected to reach flood stage. Flooding was due to the Snow Glacier dammed lake releasing, located in the headwaters of the Snow River near Moose Pass, which is an outburst event that occurs every couple of years, according to a Friday Kenai Peninsula Borough release. The event is known as jökulhlaup, an Icelandic term describing a sudden water release from glaciers or glacier-dammed lakes. Snow River flooding has also affected Alaska Railroad operations on the peninsula. The railroad stopped running trains between Moose Pass and Seward last week and will likely not restart service until at least Thursday. Stephanie Wheeler, Alaska Railroad regional communications officer, said the railroad was able to access damages and found several areas of washout. She said crews are repairing the track now and service may resume later this week. The Snow River flows from an 8-mile-long glacier in the Kenai mountains. The glacier dams a side valley that fills with rainwater and snowmelt that forms a lake half a mile long and up to 450 feet deep, according to information provided See flood, Page A3