The river break-up is almost here

This is from www.bethelsar.org which you should check out if you ever want to know what's going on up here besides on our blog. 

Friday May 10 - Tuluksak Bluffs jam turns into a monster

Like Godzilla. 

Sometime on Thursday, the miles-long Birch Creek Crossing jam between Aniak and Kalskag broke and its debris and water surge flowed quickly downriver to join the large jam at the Tuluksak Bluffs, turning it into a ham of a jam. Islands around the Bluffs disappeared under water and ice, and the countryside is now inundated with water.

Some people say the water might go going backwards (upriver), due the amount of water that can't go downriver. Water escaping nonetheless is causing water levels to rise at Tuluksak, so it's 'under the gun' now and emergency evacuations are being prepared if needed when the Hoover Dam at the Tuluksak Bluffs finally breaks free. Hopefully, there'll be few more jams before Tuluksak so it doesn't reach the village all at once.

Elsewhere, near familiar locations below the Bluffs--such as the Bogus Creek, Wise's Camp, Nelson Island, Tuluksak, Mishevik Slough, Mikey's Island, and Cauneq (just above Akiak)--the ice is either deteriorating or shifting, with leads or open-water areas.

The ice at Akiak moved about a quarter-mile downriver, as did ice just above Kuskokuak Slough, blocking the channel to Akiachak. Ice at Akiachak also moved down and is "stacking" (long pieces turned sideways). In the Kuskokuak Slough, ice moved about a quarter-mile below Wass Evan's camp, as did ice below Kwethluk.

Even the tributaries--the Tuluksak, Kisaralik, Kasigluk and Kwethluk--although free of ice, are experiencing near-flood stage high water. This won't be good news for the village of Kwethluk, which had floods in the past from its own river.

With this high water we're having, continued shifting of ice and/or jamming anywhere along the lower Kuskokwim will cause water to rise in villages from Bethel to Tuluksak. Some water rise could be sudden, as in the case of Crooked Creek last year.

From the Akiachak/Kwethluk Fork to Bethel to Napakiak and Oscarville, the ice is still intact with no apparent cracks. But it's changing from white to darker or grayer colors, meaning that water is now seeping from the bottom to the top of the ice, and is expected to begin fracturing at anytime.