KUAC - Fairbanks

A mudslide hit an Alaska Railroad train Wednesday near Cantwell.

The slide came down about 4:30 a.m. near track mile 322, hitting a northbound freight train, Alaska Railroad spokesman Tim Sullivan said.

“The train did not derail. There were no injuries,” Sullivan said. “And at this point the train is moved out of that spot and we are currently clearing it out with excavators.”

Passenger trains were delayed Wednesday and some railroad passengers were moved by bus, Sullivan said.

The University of Alaska is reporting a security breach.

An email issued Tuesday says UA became aware of the cyber attack several months ago, and there’s no evidence that personal information was accessed or stolen.

It says the breach occurred at the university’s Mat-Su campus, and that more than 5,400 names and social security numbers were on the hacked system.

Individuals whose information was vulnerable have received letters detailing protections being offered through Oregon-based “ID Experts,” including insurance reimbursement for any possible fraudulent charges.

The UA email said university employees and faculty will be required this fall to participate in Information Security Awareness training, which will include education on what lead to the recent security breach.

Cleanup work continues today near Birch Lake where a tractor-trailer tank loaded with 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel overturned Monday, spilling the fuel into a ditch that runs between a small wetland and the Richardson Highway.

The workers are trying to keep fuel from seeping into the wetland or the lake.

Alaska state environmental officials say a fuel spill from an overturned fuel tank off the Richardson Highway totaled more than 3,500 gallons, the Associated Press reported.

The Department of Environmental Conservation said Wednesday the cleanup continues at mile 306 of the highway, where the accident involving the Big State Logistics tank occurred Monday afternoon.

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on-site coordinator Tom DeRuyter said workers Tuesday suctioned just more than 11,000 gallons of fuel-and-water mix from a ditch just south of the roadside pulloff to the Birch Lake State Recreation Site.

they also plugged some culverts that runs under that stretch of the Richardson Highway to prevent contaminated water from flowing in to Birch Lake, DeRuyter said.

“No oil has been seen on the lake,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Is there oil infiltrating underneath the roadway? I suspect there is.”

Workers pushed up dirt berms to limit fuel from flowing into the wetland. He says the marshy area sits a bit higher than the lake, so he thinks the fuel is more likely to flow downgradient in the other direction.

“It all goes toward the lake,” he said, “and that’s why the culverts are plugged and … we’re watching those to make sure no oil gets into the culvert system.”

Tests will be conducted to determine whether diesel leaked into the wetland or lake. DeRuyter said the first priority is removing fuel and contaminated soil, which is why workers began building a roadway Tuesday to enable equipment to get in to the area to begin excavating.

“We still have pure fuel that’s leaking out of the vegetative mat and is forming pools on-site,” he said. “We need to get rid of that and the heavily contaminated soil and the vegetation that’s hold the oil and allowing it to leak out slowly. And that’s really the first step in this process.”

DEC and Alaska State Troopers both are investigating the spill and the equipment failure that apparently led to it.

Troopers say there were no injuries.

DEC says it hasn’t received any reports of wildlife being affected by the fuel.

A Trooper spokesperson couldn’t yet provide specifics, but said it appears the driver was not speeding.

Photos taken by DEC show what appeared to be jagged edges around the tip of the tongue that connected the rear tank to the tanker truck – which was carrying another 9,000 gallons of diesel.

Troopers said the Big State Logistics tanker was just rounding the bend of the long curve along the southern shore of Birch Lake about 1 p.m. Monday when somehow the trailer in tow broke loose, hit the ditch and overturned.

ADEC said the tank had multiple punctures and that most if not all of the 5,000 gallons of diesel in the tank quickly leaked out.

Mark Lockwood says he saw the tanker approach as he was sitting in his truck at the intersection of Lost Lake Road, waiting to get onto the highway and get back to Fairbanks.

“The fuel truck got past me,” he said, “I looked again, nobody was coming, pulled out. And the fuel truck was pulling over to the side of the road – sans trailer, and a hitch dangling. And so I just missed seeing that happen.”

A DEC news release says crews and equipment will be working around the cleanup site today, and that flaggers will be controlling traffic along that stretch of the highway around milepost 306.

Fairbanks police fatally shot a man yesterday.

FPD spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch said officers were called to a robbery and assault at the Alaska Motel on South Cushman Street.

She said a man, later identified as James Robert Richards, 28, of Fairbanks, was reported to have aimed a gun at a woman in a motel room.

“A short time after that, it was late. Officers said a shot was fired,” McCulloch said. “And once the officers got there, they found the suspect leaving the Alaska motel, still armed on foot, so they followed him.”

McCulloch said officers repeatedly ordered Richards to drop his gun, but he refused.

“The police deployed their tasers, but those were ineffective, and at oe point, the armed suspect grabbed an elderly man waiting at the bus stop and was trying to put him between himself and officers. So, at a last resort, the suspect was fatally shot.”

McCulloch said the officer who shot Richards has been placed on administrative leave. His name will be released in 3 days. McCulloch said the incident was captured on video.

“Most of the officers on scene had body cameras on and we have in-car cameras also,” McCulloch said.

McCulloch said the recordings and other case evidence will be reviewed by the State Office of Special Prosecution.

A search continues for an overdue hiker in the hills surrounding Chena Hot Springs Resort.

Resort employee Anatoliy Balko, 19, left on what was he anticipated to be a two-day hike Friday morning, said Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters.

“It was told last that he left the resort at approximately 9:30 Friday morning, and he was going to hike Far Mountain and back via the Charlie Dome area,” Peters said. “It’s about a 30-mile hike. He was supposed to be back at work on Sunday at 9 and did not show up.”

Troopers are part of a multi-agency search effort, Peters said.

“We’re involved with Wilderness Search and Rescue, and we got our helicopter up and we’re working with the University of Fairbanks,” Peters said. “They have a drone that’s gonna help us hopefully search the area.”

Balko is thought to have a pink backpack and be using a blue tarp for shelter, Peters said, and asks anyone in the area to be on the lookout for him.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly passed a resolution last Thursday asking Gov. Bill Walker to protect Denali National Park wolves and other predators on state land along the park’s northeast boundary.

Denali wolves commonly use the strip of state land near the Stampede Trail, west of Healy, and several have been trapped or shot there in recent years.

That’s contributed to a broader decline of the park’s wolf population to record lows and fewer visitors seeing the animals.

Much of Denali National Park’s wolf decline has occurred since a 10-year harvest ban was ended by the State Board of Game in 2010.

Wildlife advocates have unsuccessfully pressed the state to re-implement protections.

The North Star Borough assembly resolution lends weight to the effort, but revealed sharp contrasts in public opinion.

Fairbanks resident Heather Koponen asked the assembly to pass the resolution, citing the value of Denali wolves.

“The decision by the Board of Game not to reinstate this limited buffer zone has caused serious setbacks in wolf research as well as damage to the draw for tourists,” Koponen said.

That sentiment was countered by commenters like Mark Knapp of Fairbanks, who cautioned that wildlife management is outside of borough government purview.

“The state has a mandate to manage wildlife for sustained yield,” Knapp said. “The state has in place professional biologists and wildlife managers to manage wildlife based on sound management practices. The Borough should leave management of wildlife to those qualified to do it.”

Others testified that state management is heavily bent toward consumptive uses because the Game Board is solely comprised of hunters and trappers.

Resolution sponsor assembly member Van Lawrence said he brought the measure forward out of concern for the local economic impact of Denali National Park visitors who come to see wolves and other predators.

“Economic development is a power of this Borough, and Denali Park is a major economic engine for the state and for this Borough,” Lawrence said. “Almost 600,000 people visited it last year and more than that will visit this year. And at least half, if not more of those visitors, end up coming through Fairbanks.”

Lawrence acknowledged that harvest of wolves in the contested area is not the main reason for their decline, but said it is contributing to decreased wolf viewing in the park entrance area, where visitation is concentrated.

Assembly member Diane Hutchison cited tourism promotional information, noting that wolf sightings are not billed as a primary draw.

“Nowhere is the wolf number one in any of these tours and I don’t think any of these tours are getting people here because they are guaranteed a wolf sighting,” Hutchison said.

Hutchison, and members Lance Roberts and Matt Cooper voted against the resolution, while members Lawrence, Janice Westlind, Christopher Quist, Guy Sattley, Katherine Dodge and John Davies voted in favor.