The Tanana Valley State Fair starts up on Friday and runs through August 7th. It’s a Fairbanks favorite, and people seem to be raring to get out and go. I’ll be curious if attendance numbers get up to pre-Covid levels.
For the first time in decades, the fair will not feature any poultry in the 4H Barn, due to avian flu concerns. The fairgrounds are near the Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, which has documented cases of avian flu.
This year’s fair theme: Sheepherder in Paradise
This year’s featured flower: Sunflower
And the featured fruit/vegetable is a fan favorite: Pumpkin
This week is the anniversary of the Katmai Bearcam. It went online 10 years ago as a partnership between The National Park Service and explore.org.
This access to the Brooks Falls Bears has led to the worldwide celebration of Fat Bear Week, and has certainly brought awareness to the rather independent lives of these bears of Katmai.
15,393 people went through NPS orientation at Brooks Falls in 2021. That same year, 10.9 million people tuned into the bearcam online.
Drying salmon in Lake Clark National Park; Photo credit: NPS
Alaska has two very different salmon stories being told in 2022. In one, the Bristol Bay Fishery is booming. Last year the salmon harvest set a sockeye record in Bristol Bay, and the region has already topped that record in 2022. Over 73.7 million sockeye salmon have returned to their spawning grounds in and around Bristol Bay, with over 56 million harvested.
The Yukon River basin, however, is headed for its worst run ever. The sonar station has never recorded such a low number of Chinook salmon, and the run for the entire drainage-wide system may only hit 50,000. Not one tributary is expected to make their escapement goals. Salmon fishing for the entire drainage, which includes the rivers in and around Fairbanks, has been closed for the entire season.
The chum salmon run, which starts in late summer, is also expected to be bad. The season will start out closed for fishing, with a hope that enough chum return to open for a fall season. No one is expecting it to open.
The months of May and June in 2022 were the driest, statewide, on record. The period of January through June was the fifth warmest on record. Amazing, considering the staggering amount of snow we had, up to New Year’s. The tap was simply shut off.
The Clear Fire; Photo credit: Alaska Fire Service
So far in the 2022 fire season, Alaska has seen 2.74 million acres burn. The Clear Fire, near Anderson, Alaska and the Clear Air Force Base, is now pushing 70,000 acres and is right up to the Space Force Base boundaries. It is one of three fires that account for most of the smoke driven towards Fairbanks.
Fires over 50,000 acres; Map credit: Alaska Fire Service
With the 2.74 million acres burned, we have passed the entire 2019 fire season, and 2022 is already the 8th largest season in acres burned.
Water drop over the Clear Fire; Photo credit: Alaska Fire Service
I included the final photo simply because I love the image. Kudos to the Fire Service Photographer who captured it.
Wrangell, Alaska is hosting their annual Bearfest on July 27-31. It is a celebration of all things Bear. Everything from symposiums to art and photography workshops; as well as hikes and a marathon. Wrangell, Alaska is the place to be for all Bear Lovers. There will also be some salmon tasting, of course.
Wrangell is located in Southeast Alaska in the heart of the Tongass National Forest, and sits at the mouth of the Stikine River. The population of Wrangell Island was 2400 in 2000. Like the entire Southeast, Wrangell is a fishing paradise.
Wildlife in the Tongass include brown, black and the elusive glacier bear, as well as mountain goats, sitka black tailed deer, wolves and bald eagles. Orcas and humpback whales are often seen swimming the straits.
Alaska Airlines services Wrangell daily, weather permitting. The (mostly decimated) Alaska Marine Highway System also services Wrangell, at least in theory.
Current wildfires over 100,000 acres; Map credit: Alaska Fire Service
The state of Alaska currently has over 225 wildfires burning within its borders and over 1000 firefighters battling the blazes. So far this fire season, over 2 million acres have burned, which is the earliest date to hit that milestone in the past two decades.
Wildfire acreage; Graph credit: ACCAP
A red flag warning has been in effect throughout Interior Alaska, and fireworks were banned over the weekend. The Borough implemented a $1000 fine for anyone caught setting off fireworks, which did make for a relatively quiet 4th of July.
Nature ignored the fines however, as we have had a very active few days of lightning. Between June 28 and July 4th, the state had 25,000 strikes, and Tuesday alone saw another 4500 lightning strikes, which started 13 new wildfires.
I have not seen the final numbers for June, but the month was expected to contend with the driest Junes on record statewide. Which is saying something, as it’s a pretty big state.
