Tag: update
Funny River Fire Update
by Brenda Ahlberg
123,649 acres with 20% containment
On Saturday strong southwesterly winds associated with Red Flag Warning weather conditions tested containment lines and pushed the fire’s size to 123,649 acres by 11:30 PM. The lines held and firefighters successfully halted the fire’s northward progress at a fuel break by Brownes Lake, which is south of Sterling and the Funny River Road. Firefighters will continue building and securing fire lines along the fire’s northern edge. Two Air National Guard Black Hawk helicopters arrived and are assisting firefighters with water drops.
On the fire’s western edge near Kasilof, firefighters kept the fire from crossing the Intertie power line that parallels the Sterling Highway. Crews will continue working on extending containment lines on the fire’s west side. Structure protection crews with fire engines are active in areas potentially affected by the fire. No structures have been lost and the fire has not crossed the Kasilof River.
A successful burnout operation took place to protect the remote Bear Creek Subdivision on the shore of Tustumena Lake. Two other burnout operations took place on Saturday and successfully held the fire. Governor Sean Parnell, State Forester Chris Maisch, and Fire Program Manager Tom Kurth will be touring the fire Sunday. The Governor is scheduled to attend the 1:30 PM media briefing at Skyview High School in Soldotna.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Community Emergency Services expanded the Evacuation Watch for the Pollard Loop Subdivision area to include the east side of the Sterling Highway to Funny River Road, and the south side of Funny River Road. This advisory encourages residents to prepare in case they may need to leave their homes. Vegetation remains extremely dry on the Kenai Peninsula. Residents and visitors are urged to use extreme caution with anything that could ignite a fire. Weekend visitors to the area and residents are reminded that fire crews, air and ground equipment are working in close proximity to the Sterling Highway and Funny River Road.
Information about current smoke conditions is available from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation at http://dec.alaska.gov/air/am/smoke.htm
Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Services has set up a call line to help homeowners with fire preparedness. Residents can call (907) 714-2495. Information is available at http://www.borough.kenai.ak.us/emergency-mgmt/fire
HEA Taking Precautions as Funny River Fire Grows
by Joe Gallagher
May 24, 2014 – 4:00am – As the Funny River Fire continues to expand, Homer Electric Association (HEA) is taking precautions to protect its transmission lines and continue to provide power to its members.
Friday evening, the fire was very close to two transmission lines that are located between Kasilof and Soldotna, just west of the fire and east of the Sterling Highway.
As a precautionary step, HEA de-energized the transmission line closest to the fire perimeter on Thursday. Prior to the action, HEA reconfigured its electrical system so de-energizing the line had no impact on service to HEA members.
The second transmission line is located closer to the Sterling Highway and further from the fire. However, on Friday evening the fire advanced quickly and it was necessary to de-energize a section of that line between Kasilof and Soldotna. The proactive decision to de-energize the line before the fire potentially burned into it was made in consultation with the Incident Management Team.
The work required a brief ten minute outage at 3:01 am on Saturday that affected the City of Soldotna, Funny River Road, K-Beach Road from Soldotna around to Helmsman Avenue, and the Sterling Highway in Soldotna to just past Skyview High School.
The switching work went smoothly and power was restored to all the affected areas by 3:11 am.
Fire conditions will determine future decisions and HEA will continue to work cooperatively with the Incident Management Team.
HEA will provide updates on its web site, Facebook page, and local media outlets while fire suppression efforts are underway.
For additional information, please call Joe Gallagher at 907-283-2324 jgallagher@homerelectric.com
Repair Work will Create Power Interruptions for South Kachemak Bay
by Joe Gallagher
Residents in Nanwalek, Port Graham and a small area in Seldovia will experience a short power outage in the morning and again in the afternoon on Tuesday, August 6th.
The outages are necessary so that HEA crews can repair power lines between Seldovia and Port Graham that were damaged last winter.
Weather permitting, the morning outage on August 6th will occur at approximately 10 am and the afternoon outage will occur at approximately 3 pm.
The outages will last about 20 minutes.
The power interruptions will affect all HEA members in Port Graham and Nanwalek.
In Seldovia, the area that will see the power interruptions is along Willard’s Way, Eider Street, C Street, B Street, A Street and Backers Island Lane.
AS ALWAYS, PLEASE TAKE PRECAUTIONS TO PROTECT SENSITIVE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT AND REMEMBER TO STAY AWAY FROM ANY DOWNED POWER LINE.
THE LINES ARE VERY DANGEROUS AND CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH.
Joe Gallagher
Public Relations Coordinator
Homer Electric Association
Kenai, AK 99611
907-398-3478 (cell)
HEA Update – Thursday 7:45pm – Partial Power Restored
by Joe Gallagher
Homer Electric Association crews energized the main power line between Seldovia and Six Mile Jakolof Bay Road at approximately 7:15 pm Thursday evening.
The area is now being served by the Gerry Willard Generation Plant in Seldovia.
The majority of meters (201) between the plant and Six Mile now have power, but there are still sections of line that remain de-energized. 46 consumers on South Boone, McGill Street, Lund Road, Barbara Creek, and Beckford Avenue are still without power.
HEA crews need to visually inspect those lines to ensure they are safe to energize. In addition, there are 132 meters between Six Mile and McKeon Flats that are without power at this time.
HEA crews plan to work in the area until 10:00 pm and then resume restoration efforts in the morning.
As a precautionary measure, the emergency generator in Port Graham has been put on line to ensure power continues to be provided to Port Graham and Nanwalek should a problem arise with the generator in Seldovia.
If you do not have power, please call HEA’s outage reporting hotline at 1-888-8OUTAGE (1-888-868-8243).
Please remember to always stay away from down power lines. The lines are extremely dangerous and getting too close to a line can cause serious injury or death.
For more information, please contact Joe Gallagher at 398-3478
HEA Thursday Morning Update – 9:45am
by Joe Gallagher
Homer Electric Association crews are enroute to Big Tutka Bay this morning to make repairs to a damaged power line. The crew originally planned to access the area with a boat, but determined that by taking a helicopter they will be able to reach the damaged line prior to high tide.
An additional HEA crew from the Kenai area has been sent to assist in the restoration work.
The outage, which is affecting 352 HEA meters along Jakolof Bay Road to Big Tutka Bay, began on Monday morning, December 24th, after a heavy snowfall in the area damaged the power line.
HEA crews have made repairs to equipment along Jakolof Bay Road, but the system still indicates there is a problem on the line between Seldovia and Six Mile on Jakolof Bay Road. The situation prevents HEA from energizing the line from the Gerry Willard Generation Plant along Jakolof Bay Road because an unexpected fault would result in damage to the generation plant and create a widespread outage in the area. The generation plant is currently providing power to Port Graham, Nanwalek and parts of Seldovia.
The goal today is to make repairs to the main line at Big Tutka Bay and then energize the line in sections from Big Tutka Bay into Seldovia.
If you do not have power, please call HEA’s outage reporting hotline at 1-888-8OUTAGE (1-888-868-8243).
Please remember to always stay away from down power lines. The lines are extremely dangerous and getting too close to a line can cause serious injury or death.
For more information, please contact Joe Gallagher at 398-3478
Ferry Just Docked in Homer – 6:30pm
by Jenny Chissus
Update – AMHS ferry just docked in Homer, and most likely won’t be arriving into Seldovia until 9:30 or 10:00pm as explained by the Homer AMHS office. It is going to be a late night for Homer bound travelers!
Seldovia Time
