Olivia Ebertz, KYUK - Bethel

Olivia Ebertz, KYUK - Bethel
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Closeup of a child using an ulu to clean a salmon.

With the salmon collapse on the Yukon River, families are losing a vital food source and way of life

During the second year of a sudden salmon collapse on the Yukon River, residents of traditional villages are facing food insecurity and a loss of culture.
a piece of heavy equipment tears into a burned building

Witnesses say responders came unprepared to fight Bethel apartment fire that killed 3

On Aug. 12, a fire tore through a Bethel apartment complex, killing three people and injuring six others.
a firetruck outside of an apartment

All charges dropped against man accused in Bethel apartment fire that killed 3

According to court documents, Bethel Police Department Investigator Skyler Smith had relied on the testimony of just one fifteen-year-old eyewitness who said he saw Andrew start the fire.
a firetruck outside of an apartment

Man charged with second-degree murder, arson in Bethel apartment fire that killed 3

Police have charged 35 year-old Adam Andrew with 11 felony counts and six misdemeanor counts. Among the most serious charges are three counts of murder in the second degree and one count of arson.
a woman in a blue shirt stands in an empty smokehouse

How Alaskans on the lower Yukon River are faring 2 years into the chum salmon crash

Without salmon, people say they’re eating less protein and spending far more on groceries.
Exterior: salmon hanging up to dry

‘We don’t want more food stamps, we just want our way of life’: Low chum numbers disrupt Yukon River residents’ lifestyles

As the Yukon River begins to switch over to fall management, fishermen along the river say that they’re having to rely increasingly on expensive store goods and food stamps to meet their caloric needs.
Exterior: Metal boats beached on a riverbank

As chum salmon numbers in the Y-K Delta tank, Area M fishermen are catching as many as ever

At the core of this debate is a question of who the fish belong to.
Exterior: a man in a boat looks out at a net in the water.

Who does the salmon in Area M belong to?

In the wake of chum salmon crashes in Western Alaska, subsistence fishermen have been pleading with the state to restrict commercial salmon fishing near the Alaska Peninsula. Commercial and subsistence fishermen have been using fish genetics to bolster their claims to the fish.
two people grab fish out of net

Area M: the place in the sea where Alaska commercial and subsistence interests collide

In the wake of chum salmon crashes in Western Alaska, subsistence fishermen have been pleading with the state to restrict salmon fishing near the Aleutian Islands. Subsistence users say that commercial vessels are taking fish bound for their rivers.
Skiffs pulled up on a riverbank

Chum salmon counts are lower than ever in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

Fish and Game says chinook counts are well below average too.
A portrait of a woman outside in a white jacket

St. Mary’s school superintendent Dee Dee Ivanoff is helping community stay safe as the surrounding tundra burns

As Alaska’s largest tundra fire in 15 years has burned behind her home village, Ivanoff has become one of the key organizers of the response effort.
smoke on the tundra

Half of Pilot Station is without running water as tundra fire nears

By Monday, the fire burned about 12 miles from the village, and the Pilot Station mayor said that he may soon have to turn off running water to the entire community.
A boy hugs a woman in a kitchen

St. Mary’s residents pitch in to keep their village from burning

A historically massive wildfire is threatening four villages on the Yukon River.

A large tundra fire is burning 12 miles away from St. Mary’s

The fire has been burning since the tundra was struck by lightning on May 31, and it is now within 12 miles of the community.

Some Tununak residents have been living without internet for over 3 months

Without internet, residents say it's been hard to carry out everyday tasks like uploading documents or ordering necessities online.
A woman wearing a headset and flying a plane

Dolena Fox is one of the world’s first female Yup’ik commercial pilots

Only about 6% of American professional pilots are women.

The Lily is a ghost barge, and she is floating down the Kuskokwim

Last fall, Alaska Logistics left two barges to freeze in Y-K Delta rivers. One has dislodged and become a free-floating ghost barge, winding down the Kuskokwim River.
The three candidates sit at a table onstage

At Bethel forum, US House candidates address Roe v. Wade, salmon and public safety

Three Alaska Native candidates running in the special primary election for Alaska’s U.S. House seat came to Bethel for a candidate forum last Friday.

Mayor of Pilot Station dies after falling through Yukon River ice on a snowmachine

Nicky Myers was a mayor, a deacon, a father, a grandfather, a husband, a firefighter and a search-and-rescue member.