The waters in Nenana are going down.  We don’t know yet the extent of the damage.  We know some people have lost their homes.  Our street is still flooded but it appears the waters are down about 8-10 inches from their crest on Sunday morning.  Adam has stopped using his canoe because the water is too low in some of the intersections.  We have only ventured out to go to KIAM, stuffing our feet into garbage bags and then into an old pair of shoes.  On Sunday the water was up past our knees. 

At the height of the flood we had close to eight inches of water in the back shop behind the station where the FM transmitter is located.  Art, our engineer checked it out on Monday and said it appears no water got into the transmitter, so we should be able to turn it on again once we’re sure the water is low enough.  It appears we’ll have minimal damage to the building or to things in the shop.  The studios and offices are built up higher so no water damage happened there.  We’re thankful to God for sparing us from major damage.   

Monday, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin signed a disaster declaration which should allow residents in this region affected by the flooding to get asistance from the government. 

Saturday I mentioned we were having sewer problems.  That was a short lived problem fortunately.  Since then water and sewer have worked fine and that is a pleasant surprise to me with all the flooding. 

The Tanana River went below flood stage Tuesday morning and is now about a foot below the flood stage. We don’t know how long it will take for the waters in town to go down, but it was encouraging to see that they’ve gone down about six inches since yesterday.  Waters only decreased about an inch or two from Monday to Tuesday.  The forecast has rain in it almost every day through next Monday, and it appears that while the waters are going down, we won’t be totally dry here anytime soon. 

Brian         

What an adventure our lives are lately! We found a new way to get across the street to the radio station on Sunday morning.  Do not try this unless your street is under water–Ha! I used a pair of shoes destined for the trash and two trash barrel liners for my hip-waders.  We have seen some canoes and small boats being paddled up and down our street. The trucks aren’t out there any more: it is just too deep.

Please keep Nenana and KIAM in your prayers.  The flood waters are now well in Nenana. 

The Tanana River appears to have crested at 14.64 feet this morning at 6:45 Saturday.  That’s 2.14 feet above the flood stage but the waters in town have continued to rise. 

Though the river appears to have crested it is going down very slowly.  We have about two feet of water in the street in front of KIAM.  Water is 2 inches or so past the first step of the station.  About a foot of water is under the building.  Six inches or so of water is in the shop.  The FM transmitter has been turned off because the water is about an inch from the bottom of the rack where it is housed.  At this time the AM and the satellite network are still operational.   

Art (our engineer) has about three feet of water in front of his house and some flooding on the lower level of his house. 

Parts of Nenana have been evacuated.  Ship yard under three feet of water.  The Alaska Railroad has stopped operation since Thursday.  Part of the track has been washed out.  Some roads are impassible. 

How do we go to and from work?

Adam rode me over here on his four wheeler.  He’s wearing waders.  I’m thinking maybe I can make it across in a rough tote? Not surprisingly, toilets have backed up here. More rain has fallen today and more is forecast…even snow for the higher elevations.  It has been sort of a strange summer.

Brian