BETHEL – A flyover of the Kuskokwim River on Tuesday found more than 50 open holes in a 50-mile stretch -- reason for residents to stay off the still-freezing river for now, Bethel Search and Rescue said Wednesday.
"With warm temperatures, strong southerly winds, and rain stalling winter again, the Lower Kuskokwim River is no place to be traveling right now," the group said in an online post Wednesday.
Retired trooper pilot Earl Samuelson flew Bethel-based volunteers over about 60 miles of the Kuskokwim, from Napaskiak below Bethel to Tuluksak upriver. This week's Bering Sea storm brought overflow to parts of the river affected by tides, the group said. The river becomes a Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta superhighway in winter, with cars, trucks, SUVs and tractor-trailers all traveling along it. But first it must freeze.
"Major Danger," the group said, posting a picture showing open holes circled in red at Straight Slough near Bethel.
From the air, volunteers spotted numerous dark spots of open water surrounded by ice chunks and freezing slush. Glare ice with water on top makes the dangerous spots hard to see from ground level.
"There are many of these smaller open areas scattered all throughout the river. A little cold weather will finish closing them up," Bethel SAR said. Once the small holes close in, volunteers will start marking the big holes that take longer to freeze up.
Travel between villages on the river is too risky for now, the group said. Some residents are ice fishing, which is fine as long as they stick close to home, said Mark Leary, one of the Bethel SAR volunteers. Three people were killed last December when their four-wheeler slipped into a hole near Kwethluk. They were traveling at night along the Kuskokwim and had been drinking.
"Please be patient and if you must travel use the back trails," the group said.