Alaskan village loses power in blizzard
(CNN) -- Officials in Alaska's North Slope late Monday were waiting for a break in a brutal blizzard to ferry power crews and generators into the remote village of Kaktovik, without power since Sunday.
"We're just concerned about one of our villages that's got no power," said George N. Ahmaogak, the mayor of the expansive North Slope Borough, which includes Kaktovik.
Attempts to fly linemen from Barrow into the village to help restore power failed Monday because of high winds, poor visibility and drifting snow. Barrow is about 300 miles northwest of Kaktovik.
"The blizzard was so bad we couldn't get in there for now," Ahmaogak said, noting winds of 80 mph (70 knots) and a wind chill index reaching 70 below zero. According to the mayor, the power-generation system is still working, but the winds have knocked out the distribution lines to the 300 residents of Kaktovik.
With the assistance of Alaska's Division of Emergency Services, the borough was to fly power crews from Barrow to Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage in the south, where they would board a military helicopter that officials hope will have a better shot at landing on the snow-drifted runway of the village. The trip from Barrow to Elmendorf to Kaktovik covers roughly 1,500 miles and could have assistance to the community by Tuesday, including additional power generators until distribution lines can be reconnected.
Ahmaogak said the snow has been whipped into drifts up to two stories high by the winds. The power outage complicated matters by knocking out runway lights at the airport.
Kaktovik is on Alaska's northeastern coastline, roughly 90 miles west of the Canadian border.
Despite the severe conditions, Ahmaogak said he had no reports of fatalities and just one person who was being treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
"Everybody's in good shape for now," he said. "The village clinic has temporary generators."
While its citizens were weathering the storm, the village infrastructure was taking a beating, the five-term mayor said. A two-year-old, $28 million sewer and water system has frozen solid, bursting pipes.
Ahmaogak said he may have to declare a state of emergency if the damage is severe enough.
"This is a very unusual storm for the middle of the winter," the mayor said. "Seventy knot winds are rare."
