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The LEO Network is a worldwide network of observers and experts that share their observations of environmental change.
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Observations

DOT to evaluate cracks on Kivalina evacuation road
Kivalina residents report cracks on the sides of the recently built evacuation road which connects the village to the storm refuge site and the school. The team with the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities plans to visit the village and assess the damages at the end of August.
Kivalina, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

"Small" landslide occurs downtown; one home impacted, no injuries reported
Officials evacuate nearby homes, caution residents in high-slope areas.
Juneau, Alaska, United States
Juneau Empire

More than 271 structures impacted by Lahaina fire
More than 271 structures have been impacted by the Lahaina fire, the U.S. Civil Air Patrol and Maui Fire Department reported after flyovers of Lahaina town on Wednesday..
Lahaina, Hawaii, United States
mauinews.com

Wildfire smoke, climate change affecting N.W.T. berry pickers and their harvest
Cathy Pope, a berry picker from Norman Wells, N.W.T., said there has been an abundance of blueberries this year, and that she's "never seen it like this." Despite the ample availability of fruit, thick wildfire smoke — some of the worst in the country, at times — has made it hard for Pope to go out and pick.
Norman Wells, Northwest Territories, Canada
CBC

Baby walrus, rescued from Arctic tundra, receives 24-hour cuddle care at Alaska SeaLife Center
A wayward walrus calf, just one month old, was rescued from the North Slope. Workers on the North Slope spotted the baby walrus on tundra, about four miles inland from the Beaufort Sea.
Utqiaġvik, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Insect on cloud berries
Is the abundance of insects unusual? Updates from around the state with picking and weather impacts.
Trapper Creek, Alaska, United States

Warm temps and wind fan Interior fires
An evacuation alert was also issued Friday for residents of the Lower Salcha River, from river mile 3 to 40. The Middle Salcha remains under a SET status, from river
Salcha, Alaska, United States
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Scientists say Tongass trees could bounce back from budworm infestation
Scientists with the U.S. Forest Service believe that the blackheaded budworm, whose numbers surged over the past three years, is now in decline.
Chichigof Islands
Alaska Public Media

Mountain biker dies after helping save dehydrated hikers in Jacumba
A mountain biker died Saturday after trying to help dehydrated hikers in an eastern San Diego valley, officials said.
Jacumba, California, United States
NBC 7 San Diego

Tsunami warning canceled following strong earthquake off Alaska Peninsula
The magnitude 7.2 earthquake initially triggered sirens and evacuations in communities including Sand Point and Kodiak.
Sand Point, Alaska, United States
Alaska Public Media

Cabins lost in wildfire near Tulita, N.W.T., as smoke forces some residents to leave
At last measurement, the fire had burned about 14,000 hectares and remains within 10 kilometres of Tulita, but is on the far side of the Mackenzie River.
Tulita NWT
CBC

Residents prepare to flee wildfire burning off Alaska Highway in the Yukon's Ibex Valley
Takhini River resident Georgina Widney said she is packed and ready to go if the evacuation alert for her area in the Ibex Valley changes to an evacuation order.
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
CBC

There's a whole lot of potholes along Yukon's highways this summer
Motorists say potholes on some of Yukon's highways are the worst they've seen. They're calling on the Yukon Government to fill them before a serious accident occurs.
Dawson City, Yukon, Canada

Wildfire smoke affecting millions of Canadians expected to linger for at least 2 days
Smoke from Canadian wildfires will make breathing outdoors difficult today for millions of people across the six largest provinces and into the United States.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

More people contact us about viper bites
A Norwegian viper.snake (European adder) can make individuals very ill while others do not notice anything, Viper bites have doubled from 2022 to 2023 in the month of May in Norway.
Norway
NRK

Hatcher Pass Road opens for summer, but with winter lingering
The Hatcher Pass Road in Alaska has opened for the summer season, but deep snow remains at higher elevations, with crews spending the last week digging out the road over the pass before opening it.
Palmer, Alaska, United States
Anchorage Daily News

Huge landslide misses Swiss mountain village of Brienz ‘by a hair’
Rockfall buries access road but stops just in front of hamlet, which had been evacuated in anticipation.
Brienz, Bern, Switzerland
the Guardian

Compare the size of the Donnie Creek wildfire to other historic blazes and major North American cities
Hot weather will continue to challenge firefighters in B.C. this week, as statistics released Monday confirmed that the 2023 wildfire season has already broken some records.

Highwater brings dramatic erosion
The river in Noatak is slowly cutting away parts of the road. This is an on going problem and the observation by Jeffrey Luther provides the latest in a series about erosion and related impacts.
Noatak, Alaska, United States
Sarah Yoder, Jason Norris, Chris Dankmeyer, Jeffrey Luther, Richard L Thoman Jr, Jacqualine Schaeffer, Max Neale

Heatwave hit Europe’s Arctic coast
Few places in Europe were warmer than the Finnmark region on Tuesday. Nyrud in the Pasvik valley measured a peak at 25.3 degrees Celsius (77 F), actually higher than the Mediterranean coast of Spain and Italy.The normal chilly winds along the coast of Finnmark in Norway and Kola Peninsula in Russia were replaced by very warm air.
Lakselv, Finnmark Fylke, Norway
The Independent Barents Observer

Erosion Impacting Vegetation and Roads
This post is an update on the river erosion situation in Noatak, where a new channel is being cut by the Noatak River.
Noatak, Alaska, United States
Jeffrey Luther, Max Neale, Crane Johnson, Anna Liljedahl

'No relief in sight' from N.W.T. wildfire near Hay River, Kátł'odeeche First Nation
Shane Thompson, the N.W.T.'s minister of Environment and Climate Change as well as Municipal and Community Affairs, gave an update on the out-of-control wildfire burning near Hay River and the Kátł'odeeche First Nation since Sunday.
Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada

Spring melt reveals vole tracks
I have never seen so many little tunnels on my lawn before.
Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Drought in the Saanich Peninsula
“We spent the weekend outdoors camping on the peninsula and notices shoreline grasses has dried and shriveled.”
North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada

Alaska fire season begins with almost two dozen human-caused blazes
Twenty-three of the 25 fires so far this year were ignited by human activity. While this year’s heavy snowpack and cold spring pushed back the start to fire season in many parts of the state, climate change is generally causing an earlier snowmelt, said climatologist Rick Thoman.
Alaska, United States
Kavitha George, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage

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