Lots has happened here at the CRD since I last wrote an update.
Most notable has been the weather. It has been 19 years since I have seen such a prolonged cold spell here in AK. The frigid arctic air mass settled in just after Christmas, covering the entire interior of the state and significantly affecting many coastal communities, including Anchorage (which is somewhat inland but on the east side of Cook Inlet where a near-record cold spell has paralleled the one here. It is not the coldest one I have seen for this area, although there have been some frightening readings in other communities. Chicken Creek recorded minus 68 yesterday. Nearby Northway and Tok have experienced similar readings.
Along the Klutina River the temps have tended to hover around minus 51, usually not varying by more than a degree or two for days at a time. On one of those days at about 5:30 am the power went down and stayed down for 4 1/2 hours, causing considerable problems for most everyone in the service area, including me. I nearly lost the entire hot-water circulating system which keeps the entire compound except for the bar itself alive. Had that gone down fully, the underground water system would have been destroyed. I believe we saved it with not more than 1/2 hour to spare. I was outside all day running around trying to isolate the problem and fix it while it was still possible from the time the power was restored about 10 until 6PM when we finally isolated and fixed the main problem and repaired one broken main. It never rose above minus 45 that day. The well at the bar froze, but I was able to bring that back up the next day. Even before the power loss we here in the valley were approaching an emergency situation because the frost is driving deep into everything now due to the persistent cold spell. Fortunately, there is some indication that relief is coming. As of a few minutes ago (about 6PM) the temp reading was minus 28. Earlier it was minus 42–warmer than yesterday but still well below safe operating conditions.
Both nearby rivers are fully frozen over, of course. And that may be the source of the next problem. Often protracted low temperatures result in river overflows that cause ice buildup and then flooding. The entire ice mass on the Klutina has already risen considerably, so the danger is definitely there.
That’s the external situation for the moment. Now I will see about some brief updates on the layout, which has been shut down since late September. It is time for me to go open the bar. Hopefully, there will be some business tonight. That has been very sparse lately, partly due to extreme weather conditions but also due to the economic slowdown.
More to follow.
