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Monday, February 23, 2026

Tag: alaska
March 14, 2025
News

These Two U.S. Volcanos May Be About to Erupt.

Scientists have issued warnings about potential volcanic eruptions at two sites in the United States, including one near Anchorage, Alaska. Mount Spurr, approximately 80 miles west of the city, has been exhibiting heightened volcanic gas emissions, as reported by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) earlier this week. Recent aerial surveys over the volcanic mountain have documented this increased activity.

The AVO communicated that elevated seismic activity, gas emissions, and surface heating might precede an eruption, though such changes are not definitive indicators. An eruption can also occur without prior warning, making it particularly dangerous for those near the area or flying over it.

Meanwhile, Mount Adams, in Washington state, is also under closer scrutiny, as it experienced a series of minor earthquakes toward the end of last year. The 12,000-foot volcano poses a significant risk due to the potential for landslides and mudslides, particularly affecting residents in South Central Washington.

Although the uptick in seismic events around Mount Adams does not definitively predict an imminent eruption, it is notable. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), nine earthquakes ranging from magnitude 0.9 to 2.0 were recorded near the volcano between September and October 2024. Typically, this area experiences only one quake every two to three years.

According to USGS, the principal threat is the risk of avalanches and landslides—phenomena capable of sending rock, ash, and ice down the mountain, irrespective of eruptive activity. Though the frequency of seismic events around Mount Adams has diminished since October, experts remain vigilant for any resurgence.

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Scientists have issued warnings about potential volcanic eruptions at two sites in the United States, including one near Anchorage, Alaska. Mount Spurr, approximately 80 miles west of the city, has been exhibiting heightened volcanic gas emissions, as reported by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) earlier this week. Recent aerial surveys over the volcanic mountain have documented this increased activity. show more
February 7, 2025
News

Rescuers Still Searching for Aircraft Lost Over Alaska.

A search is ongoing for a Bering Air plane carrying 10 people that vanished amid a severe winter storm in Alaska. The aircraft, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, was bound for Nome, best known for the famous Nome serum run of 1925, from Unalakleet. when it was reported missing at approximately 4 PM local time Thursday. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the plane was about 12 miles offshore over Norton Sound when contact was lost.

The ongoing search is grappling with harsh weather conditions, including snow, strong winds, and fog leaving rescuers facing “zero visibility conditions. The alarming disappearance follows two recent deadly crashes that have heightened concerns about air safety. A mid-air collision in Washington, D.C., between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. military helicopter resulted in 67 fatalities last week. Additionally, a medical jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia claimed seven lives two days later.

Before the latest disappearance, the pilot of the missing Bering Air flight informed Anchorage’s air traffic control about plans to enter a holding pattern due to a runway closure at Nome. The total flight time from Unalakleet to Nome is typically about 55 minutes.

Efforts to find the missing plane continue with a focus on land searches due to the hazardous ice conditions in Norton Sound. A water landing for the aircraft is considered to be the worst-case scenario.

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A search is ongoing for a Bering Air plane carrying 10 people that vanished amid a severe winter storm in Alaska. The aircraft, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, was bound for Nome, best known for the famous Nome serum run of 1925, from Unalakleet. when it was reported missing at approximately 4 PM local time Thursday. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the plane was about 12 miles offshore over Norton Sound when contact was lost. show more
October 18, 2024
William Upton
News

A New York Prisoner, Hailing from New Jersey, Could Swing Alaska’s U.S. House Race… You Read that Right.

Eric Hafner, a 33-year-old New Jersey resident who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for threatening and menacing local elected officials, could play a determining role in the race for Alaska’s at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Alaska’s elections use a ranked-choice voting system, which arguably cost Republicans the U.S. House seat in a September 2022 special election following the death of longtime Congressman Don Young (R-AK).

The November ballot in Alaska will feature just one Republican candidate, Nicholas Begich, who hails from a longtime political dynasty based in Anchorage. During the 2022 special election, Begich and former Governor Sarah Palin both appeared on the ballot, leading to a degree of confusion, with some voters leaving their second-choice ranking inadvertently blank. Meanwhile, the incumbent, Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK), will have to contend with a second Democrat in Eric Hafner, who is known in the federal prison system as Inmate 00932-005.

A perennial candidate who has run for office in various states, including Hawaii and Oregon, Hafner’s Alaska candidacy has survived two Democratic Party-brought court challenges. He qualified for the state’s August primary ballot, where he finished in sixth place out of twelve candidates with 467 votes. However, after the third and fourth-place primary finishers—both Republicans—dropped out of the race, Hafner qualified as a candidate on the state’s general election ballot as a top four vote-getter.

“The chances of Eric Hafner having an impact on this election are legitimate and real,” Republican strategist Matt Shuckerow told the New York Times. The form campaign manager for Dan Sullivan added: “This is an extremely tight race, and every vote will count.”

Democrats worry Hafner could draw several percentage points of Democratic Party voters during the November election. Even if a fraction of those leave their second choice blank instead of choosing Peltola, the Congressman could very easily lose her re-election bid.

Image by Richard Martin.

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Eric Hafner, a 33-year-old New Jersey resident who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in New York for threatening and menacing local elected officials, could play a determining role in the race for Alaska's at-large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Alaska's elections use a ranked-choice voting system, which arguably cost Republicans the U.S. House seat in a September 2022 special election following the death of longtime Congressman Don Young (R-AK). show more
May 28, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Culture
News

Construction Crews Were Told to NOT Fly The American Flag. So A Convoy on Patriots Descend on the Site.

A “patriotic convoy” gathered at Denali National Park in Alaska this weekend after reports surfaced that construction crews in the area were instructed not to display the American flag. The convoy, consisting of dozens of cars and trucks adorned with American flags, departed from Fairbanks on Sunday and rallied at the park’s entrance to protest the alleged flag ban.

The Alaska Watchman claimed that Denali National Park Superintendent Brooke Merrell had told crews working on a 475-foot-long bridge project to cease flying flags due to complaints. The story rapidly gained attention. “It is absurd and defies all logic that a federal contractor, working on a project funded by American taxpayers, in a National Park — the week before Memorial Day — is prohibited from flying the American flag,” said U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan.

The National Park Service (NPS) has claimed the reports of a flag ban were “false.”

“At no time did an NPS official seek to ban the American flag from the project site or associated vehicles,” NPS spokesman Peter Christian said. He also claims the NPS is not administering the bridge project and lacks “the authority to enforce terms or policies related to the contract or contractors performing the work.”

HALF-TRUTHS. 

The Alaska Watchman stands by its reporting, describing the NPS response as disingenuous and out of line with workers’ experience of the situation on the ground. They say their source has “reiterated that [a] Federal Highway Administration official told the Granite Construction project manager that Park Superintendent Merrell wanted the flags removed from all construction trucks that were driving through the park, whenever they were outside of the confined construction area.”

Another contractor involved in the project also attributed the incident to Merrell’s leadership, noting she is the first female superintendent in the park’s 105-year history. “When these liberals get in charge of these parks, that’s how it is,” the contractor told the Alaska Watchman.

Keith Fons, who organized the patriotic convoy, expressed frustration that the NPS did not address the issue earlier. “They could have nipped this in the bud right from the get-go. But they decided to be quiet until they realized, ‘Oh no, these people are actually organized,'” he argued.

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A "patriotic convoy" gathered at Denali National Park in Alaska this weekend after reports surfaced that construction crews in the area were instructed not to display the American flag. The convoy, consisting of dozens of cars and trucks adorned with American flags, departed from Fairbanks on Sunday and rallied at the park's entrance to protest the alleged flag ban. show more
June 1, 2023
Jake Welch
News

China Spies Attempt Entry to U.S. Military Sites Posing as Tourists.

US officials believe that a number of Chinese spies masquerading as tourists have been collecting information on military facilities in Alaska, reports USA Today.

According to one Army officer, “[n]ot everyone who appear to be tourists in Alaska, are, in fact tourists… instead they are foreign spies,” such as one incident involving Chinese citizens with a drone driving past a security checkpoint at Fort Wainwright.

Alaska hosts three military bases – Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, and Fort Wainwright – and is regularly used by the Pentagon for military exercises over land and sea, making it a prime target for international espionage.

One major concern for security officials is, according to David Deptula, a retired Air Force general, now dean of Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Power Studies, Chinese spies leaving behind “sensors that could pick up sensitive communications.”

“There is no doubt that the greatest long-term threat to our nation’s ideas, our economic security and our national security is that posed by the Chinese communist government,” argued the Director of the FBI Christopher Wray in April this year.

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US officials believe that a number of Chinese spies masquerading as tourists have been collecting information on military facilities in Alaska, reports USA Today. show more