RUSSIAN MISSIION, Alaska, May 22 (UPI) -- An ice jam on the lower Yukon River in Alaska broke early Friday, sending floodwaters into downstream settlements, the National Weather Service reported.
The jam about 5 miles upriver from Pilot Station extended more than 40 miles. It caused flooding in Marshall and Russian Mission, two small communities.
Flooding during the spring breakup on the Yukon has been unusually heavy this year, the Anchorage Daily News reported. Earlier this month, the small and historic settlement of Eagle Village, near the Canadian border, was almost entirely destroyed.
In Russian Mission, the airport runways were still flooded Friday, the NWS said. The airport in Marshall was dry Thursday night but completely surrounded by water.
About five houses in Russian River were still flooded. On Wednesday, villagers successfully captured a 17,000-gallon gas tank that had come loose and was floating around town.
"Fortunately, there wasn't any fuel spilled or leaked," Phillip Duffy, a member of the village traditional council, told the News.
The Yukon was rising rapidly downstream Friday at Pilot Station and St. Mary's with ice moving downriver. A flood warning was in effect through late Saturday afternoon from Russian Mission to 30 miles below Mountain View.
