Volcanic Ash Falls on Kodiak Monday;
Eyewitness Says Volcano Still Erupting
A small mountain near the Val
ley of Ten Thousand Smokes has
been pinpointed as the center of
activity for Alaska’s latest erupt
ing volcano.
Heavy clouds hung over Kodiak
Monday. Eerie in appearance, they
prevented a strong sun from pene
trating its rays earthward, except
for brief intervals and for small
areas at a time. Lava dust began
to fall, and everyone then knew
a volcano had once again erupted.
Gil Jarvela, pilot for the Kodiak
Airways, was the first to report
the eruption. On a routine flight
to Larsen Bay, he ran into the
clouds of lava dust. Hampered in
his flying by extremely turbulent
air and poor visibility, he was un
able to determine which of the
several mountains was erupting.
He reported clouds of ash and
smoke at least 30,000 feet in the
air. The ash was being carried by
a strong wind towards Kodiak,
mainly following across the Island
on the Shelikof Straits ride.
Port Bailey was reported as well
covered with volcanic ash. On the
Naval Station, the ash was quite
heavy, with a noticeable amount
over cars, roads and buildings,
penetrating even inside the build
ings. A thin layer covered the
ground here, also. It was mainly
felt by people walking, as it pene
trated their clothing. A smarting
of the eyes was fell.
A Coast Guard plane left Kodiak
about Monday noon on an observa
tion flight over the area of the
Katmai National Monument. It
flew at 8.500 feet altitude, but
found lava dust and smoke clouds
up to 15,000 feet. The plane stayed
to the north of the area, and flew
down to 1,000 feet above, hoping
to find an open spot. The turbu
lence was so great, however, the
pilot had to regain altitude.
It was not learned until Wed
nesday which volcano of the group
had actually erupted. Alf Madsen,
local guide and outfitter, left here
early in the morning on Wednes
day, equipped with movie and
other cameras, bound for the vol
cano area.
The mountain, identified by
Madsen as Old Katmai, lies be
tween Martin Mountain and Mt.
Mageik, to the northwest of the
Monument area. He reported it
still erupting, with a continuous
stream of lava flowing to the val
ley below. He described the flow
of lava as a blaekishjbrown sub
stance almost dark purple in ap
pearance. As he flew 1,000 feet
above it, he stated the volcano
would emit huge black clouds of
sulphur-filled smoke and ash. He
said at intervals of about 15 min
utes, he would hear a hissing noise
and huge white clouds, resembling
an atomic blast, would emerge.
“It was quite a sight,” he said.
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The biggest lava flow, Madsen
said, was towards Katmai Bay
situated on the Shelikof Straits.
The lava flow meandered down
the side of the mountain, a lesser
peak in the group, about 4,000
feet £igh, to the valley below.
The countryside in the area.
Madsen said, is indescribable. “It
is like being in another world,”
he stated, as he described the
effect of the volcanic ash on vege
tation, plant and tree growth.
The wind had shifted since it
first began erupting, when the lava
ash was carried to Kodiak. Wed
nesday, the wind shifted, and a
northwesterly carried the ash to
the Westward down the Alaska
Peninsula.
GEORGE W. SCHWEIZER
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A three
week summer training cruise at
the Naval Air Basic Training Com
mand in Pensacola, Fla., was com
pleted August 11 by Midshipman
Second Class George W. Schweizer,
son of Cdr. and Mrs. E. G. Schwei
zer of Kodiak.
■—
Ronald Hinkson, PH2, pictured above, rubs his eye which has been
irritated by the lava ash that fell on Kodiak Monday.
Kediak Designated Customs Port
Kodiak has now become offi
cially a Customs Port of Entry,
according to a wire received by
the Kodiak Mirror from Sen. E. L.
Bartlett.
A U. S. Treasury draft of the
decision designating Kodiak as a
customs port of entry was acted on
favorably.
No objections to the notice of
propo-al designating Kodiak as
such had been received, according
to a letter to Sen. E. L. Bartjett
from D. D. Strubinger, Acting
Commissioner of Customs. The de
cision was in process of review,
according to a recent letter.
The letter from Sen. Bartlett
was in answer to a query from
Rep. Pete Deveau.
“Some politicians are like cats.
They lick themselves with their
tongues.”—Changing Times.
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