TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Daily Sitka Sentinel

September 18, 2020, Community Happenings

Repairs to be Made

At Sealing Cove;

Cars Must Move

Sealing Cove parking lot will be repaired the morning of Monday, Sept. 21. The first six parking spots that are marked in the front row close to the restrooms must be vacated by the evening of Sunday, Sept. 20, the city said.

 

Those with questions can contact the Harbor Department at 747-3439.

 

Al Gross for Senate

Event Saturday

Local volunteers for the Al Gross for U.S. Senate Campaign will host a socially distanced block party 3-7 p.m. Saturday at the Crescent Harbor shelter.

They will have yard signs, provide online assistance for registered voters who would like to request their absentee ballot, and discuss Gross’s policy platform.

 

Masks will be required, and social distancing is to be maintained by attendees, organizers said. More information is at dralgrossak.com.

 

Climate Connection

By Callie Simmons

Even though this summer’s rainfall was record breaking, we can expect to see even more relentless rain in our future. Research indicates that atmospheric rivers (or rivers in the sky) are projected to increase in both amount and intensity with climate change—bringing more intense rain to the region. Atmospheric rivers (ARs) are long, meandering columns of water vapor that often originate over tropical oceans and bring precipitation to the west coasts of North America. When ARs move inland and contact steep slopes, the water vapor rises and cools, creating snow or rain. And with that, comes a greater risk of landslides, flooding, and avalanches. 

Landslides, flooding, and avalanches all have devastating impacts on human life and safety, property, food security, and community infrastructure. Increased precipitation also impacts access to traditional subsistence gathering of food. This substantial increase in precipitation has real consequences for communities in Southeast Alaska. 

Landscape threats are often driven by extreme weather in Southeast. Approximately 97% of the extreme precipitation in Southeast is due to atmospheric rivers and usually occurs during September and October. Not all ARs are created equal however—some are weak systems that provide beneficial rain and important snowpack to Southeast, but climate change threatens to make the occurrence of ARs more frequent and intense. This is because warmer oceans have the capacity to release more moisture into the air and a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture – all of that additional moisture is then carried by ARs until it hits land and is released as rain or snow. 

While ARs are a natural process, the amount and intensity projected to occur with climate change threaten to disrupt a natural balance. Which could make the likelihood of landscape threats more probable in future conditions. A recent paper in the Journal of Hydrometerology found that 31% of avalanche fatalities between 1998 and 2014 in the western United States occurred during AR conditions (Hatchett et al 2017). What makes ARs worrisome is how variable the conditions can be once they make landfall. For example, a few weeks of cold, dry conditions met with heavy precipitation can lead to an increase in avalanche risk. When an already weak snowpack is hit with heavy precipitation it makes snow less stable and more likely to slip. In 2008 conditions like these led to a massive avalanche that cut Juneau off from its hydropower source in Port Snettisham. In addition, if droughts are abruptly ended by downpours the likelihood of flooding increases. Research in British Columbia and Southeast Alaska has found that the number of ARs has increased since 1947, but average rainfall has not increased. This means that our rain is occurring during more intense storms which then translates to flashier stream flows—i.e flooding, which can scour salmon streams. More research is needed to understand how ARs are impacting Southeast Alaska.  

Landslides, flooding, and avalanches are all a natural part, sometimes devastating part, of living in this part of the world. However, the amount and intensity of extreme weather events that might trigger these threats is heightened by climate change. Atmospheric rivers in a changing Southeast might bring too much of a good thing: rain.  

---

Callie Simmons is the Research Coordinator at the Sitka Sound Science Center and a member of Citizens Climate Education 

 

UAS Lecture Series

Continues Tonight

The annual UAS fall lecture series continues 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, with a virtual presentation by Derek Sikes, curator of insects and professor of entomology.

His talk, “Climate Change Impacts on Insects in Alaska and Globally,” will review studies relevant to understanding the impact of climate change on the global arthropod fauna and that of Alaska.

He said although Alaska is known for its iconic megafauna, its microfauna contains rich examples of fascinating, but often very poorly known, diversity with immense ecological importance.

This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Fall Lecture Series events will be offered virtually using Zoom. Each talk has a free registration link listed below, and also available on the UAS Juneau campus calendar uas.alaska.edu/calendar. After completing the registration, a confirmation email is sent with information on how to join the meeting.

 

 

Future speakers in the series include: Sept. 25, Zachary Brown, executive director of Inian Islands Institute, “The True Nature of the Climate Crisis”; Oct. 2, Libby Bakalar, attorney and author, “Global Plastic Pollution Reaches Juneau”; Oct. 9, Dr. Sonia Nagorski, UAS assistant professor of geology, “Global Plastic Pollution Reaches Juneau”; Oct. 16, Jim Baichtal, forest geologist, “The Glacial and Sea Level History of Southeastern Alaska: An Update on Continuing Research”; Oct. 23, Kate Troll and John Neary, board members of Renewable Juneau, “Making Juneau Alaska’s Model City of Sustainability”; Oct. 30, Tania Lewis, wildlife biologist, “Unraveling the Mystery of the Glacier Bear”; Nov. 6, Dr. Michael Yellow Bird, “The Neuroscience of Decolonization”; Nov. 13, topic and speaker to be announced; Nov. 20, Irene Dundas, “Repatriation of Clan Objects and Human Remains”; and Dec. 4, “Juneau During COVID-19: a Study of Resilience, Leadership, and Community Courage.”

 

Public Lands Day

Event at SNHP

Sitka National Historical Park will  join the nationwide celebration National Public Lands Day with a park/beach cleanup event 12:30-3:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

Trash bags and gloves will be provided. They can be picked up at the cleanup station outside the park visitor center at any time after 12:30 p.m. Trash collected will need to be taken back to the station by 3:30 p.m.

‘‘Please wear boots/shoes suitable for walking in the park and on the beach and follow physical distancing guidelines while participating in this event,’’ the park said.

A short ranger-led program about marine debris will be offered at 2 p.m. 

For additional information visit the park’s web page https://www.nps.gov/sitk/planyourvisit/calendar.htm or call 747-0110. 

 

 

Al Gross for Senate

Event Saturday

Local volunteers for the Al Gross for U.S. Senate Campaign will host a socially distanced block party 3-7 p.m. Saturday at the Crescent Harbor shelter.

They will have yard signs, provide online assistance for registered voters who would like to request their absentee ballot, and discuss Gross’s policy platform.

 

Masks will be required, and social distancing is to be maintained by attendees, organizers said. More information is at dralgrossak.com.

 

ANS to Meet

On Sept. 21

Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp 4 will hold an in-person meeting 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the ANB Founders Hall.

The meeting will include the second round of nominations for ANS officers. Anyone wanting to know more about ANS and how to serve the community is welcome to attend the meeting. 

The ANS mission is ‘‘to better the lives of Native people and their families; to fight for civil rights and land rights for all Native people; to share the cultural knowledge, wisdom, and artistic beauty of Native tribal societies, and to strive for a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood among all people.”

 

Membership dues are $12 a year. For information call or text Nancy at  907-227-9102.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.


50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.

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