Kenai Peninsula

Bryan Quimby/Gannett Glacier Fire Crew
Part of the hose line has been laid around the perimeter of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire to help firefighters extinguish any hot spots that are found, photographed on Thursday.

Loon Lake Fire 70% contained

The 102-acre fire was first reported on Saturday evening and is the result of lightning.

Bryan Quimby/Gannett Glacier Fire Crew
Part of the hose line has been laid around the perimeter of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire to help firefighters extinguish any hot spots that are found, photographed on Thursday.
A boat is lifted out of the water at Northern Enterprises Boat Yard on Kachemak Drive. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)

Northern Enterprise Boat Yard in Homer expands business

The largest privately owned dry dock marina in Alaska is expanding its docks and boat-lifting capabilities

A boat is lifted out of the water at Northern Enterprises Boat Yard on Kachemak Drive. (Photo by Sarah Knapp/Homer News)
An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Swan Lake is in the background to the right. (Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry)

Loon Lake Fire 30% contained

The fire covered about 102 acres as of Wednesday.

An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, 2021. Swan Lake is in the background to the right. (Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry)
Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry
An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Swan Lake is in the background to the right.

Burn suspension in effect as firefighters work to contain Loon Lake Fire

The fire, about 10 miles northeast of Sterling, had grown to just over 100 acres as of Tuesday.

Kale Casey/Alaska DNR-Division of Forestry
An aerial photo of the 102-acre Loon Lake Fire footprint taken at approximately 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Swan Lake is in the background to the right.
Cheechako News file photo from KPC’s Kenai Peninsula Historical Photo Repository
Joe Faa, who in 1965 sold 10 acres of his Soldotna homestead as a construction site for a new hospital, poses here in about 1961 with his prize horse Danny. Faa’s horse corral and hay fields are the reason for the name Corral Street in Soldotna.

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 5)

It had been almost five full years since the start of a project to establish a hospital for the central Kenai Peninsula.

Cheechako News file photo from KPC’s Kenai Peninsula Historical Photo Repository
Joe Faa, who in 1965 sold 10 acres of his Soldotna homestead as a construction site for a new hospital, poses here in about 1961 with his prize horse Danny. Faa’s horse corral and hay fields are the reason for the name Corral Street in Soldotna.
Smoke can be seen rising from areas scarred by the Swan Lake Fire on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 at Mile 10 of Skilak Loop Road, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Study finds scientific evidence of “zombie fires” in Alaska, Arctic

Zombie fires in boreal forests are associated with hot summers and deep burning into organic soil.

Smoke can be seen rising from areas scarred by the Swan Lake Fire on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2019 at Mile 10 of Skilak Loop Road, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon. (Photo via Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Sockeye fishing opens Friday

The run might be a little slow the first week.

Sockeye salmon. (Photo via Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
Furie Operating Alaska’s Julius R Platform, installed in 2015 in Cook Inlet, is seen in this courtesy photo. (Furie Operating Alaska/courtesy)

State sells oil and gas leases covering 21,000 acres of Cook Inlet

Furie Operating Alaska, LLC, HEX, LLC and Strong Energy Resources, LLC were all identified as bidders.

Furie Operating Alaska’s Julius R Platform, installed in 2015 in Cook Inlet, is seen in this courtesy photo. (Furie Operating Alaska/courtesy)
People participate in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s BARK ranger program on June 5, 2021 for National Trails Day in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo provided by Michelle Ostrowski)

Refuge celebrates National Trails Day with visitor center reopening

The refuge’s visitor center has been closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

People participate in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge’s BARK ranger program on June 5, 2021 for National Trails Day in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo provided by Michelle Ostrowski)
Homer Halibut Tournament logo

Homer Halibut Tournament scheduled Sept. 24-25

The Homer Chamber of Commerce is hosting the first annual Homer Halibut Tournament Sept. 24-25

Homer Halibut Tournament logo
This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 4)

Dr. Paul Isaak, Soldotna physician and a founder of the hospital project, believed that centrality of location was crucial.

This is an early promotional photo of Merrill Mael, an enthusiastic Anchorage radio personality with a Hollywood background. Mael was hired by the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Association as its hospital project manager in the fall of 1963. (Photo from www.theradiohistorian.org)
Shawn Dick of Talkneetna carries a fresh catch out of the water while dipnetting on the Kenai Beach on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

Online reporting required for personal use fishing

Harvest and participation reporting must be done online by no later than Aug. 15, 2021.

Shawn Dick of Talkneetna carries a fresh catch out of the water while dipnetting on the Kenai Beach on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Mount Redoubt is seen from the Kenai Bluff on July 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)

Kenai tourism granted more than $400,000 for summer marketing campaign

The grant is designed to encourage Alaskan communities to promote COVID-safe travel in the state this summer.

Mount Redoubt is seen from the Kenai Bluff on July 20, 2020, in Kenai, Alaska. (Clarion file)
A fried egg, crushed seaweed paper, green onions and sesame seeds top this classic Korean kimchi dish. (Photo by Tress Dale/Peninsula Clarion)

On the strawberry patch: A meal to change your life

Kimchi fried rice a taste features the most iconic of Korean staples.

A fried egg, crushed seaweed paper, green onions and sesame seeds top this classic Korean kimchi dish. (Photo by Tress Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)

Burn suspension lifted on Kenai Peninsula

Burn permits were suspended on May 24 because of weather conditions.

The Swan Lake Fire can be seen from above on Monday, Aug. 26, 2019, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Alaska Wildland Fire Information)
Kids take part in Boys & Girls Club summer activities in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula)

Grants issued for youth summer camps

Many summer camps on the central Kenai Peninsula were either scaled back or canceled altogether because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Kids take part in Boys & Girls Club summer activities in this undated photo. (Photo courtesy Boys & Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula)
Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.

A hospital is born, slowly (Part 3)

All did not go as planned.

Photo courtesy of Gloria Wisecarver
Dr. Robert Struthers, Kenai’s third resident physician, and Kenai dentist Dr. Charles Bailie converse in Struthers’ office in Kenai in July 1966.
This photo taken Beryl Air pilot Stephanie Greer on Friday, May 21, over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit shows the mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)

Plankton bloom brings red hues to Kachemak Bay

Though plankton turned Kachemak Bay pale red, the bloom isn’t harmful, scientists say.

This photo taken Beryl Air pilot Stephanie Greer on Friday, May 21, over Grewingk Glacier and Glacier Spit shows the mesodinium rubrum bloom to the left as contrasted with the normal ocean water of Kachemak Bay near Homer. (Photo courtesy of Stephanie Greer/Beryl Air)
The Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management offered the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Soldotna Prep School on Friday, May 14, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)

Alaska COVID-19 cases reach lows not seen since last summer

The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services announced 45 new cases on Thursday.

The Soldotna Professional Pharmacy and Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management offered the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccines at the walk-in clinic at Soldotna Prep School on Friday, May 14, 2021. (Camille Botello / Peninsula Clarion)
Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Wildlife Refuge to open its doors for summer

The refuge has been closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic for over a year.

Tthe Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Soldotna, Alaska, is pictured on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)