Fairbanks AL by World Views

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Fairbanks /ˈfɛərbæŋks/ is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and third largest in the state, after Anchorage, and Juneau. It is the principal city of the Fairbanks, Alaska, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of the Fairbanks North Star Borough and is the northernmost Metropolitan Statistical Area in the United States, lying less than 120 miles (190 km) south of the Arctic Circle. According to 2012 estimates, the population of the city was 32,070, and the population of the Fairbanks North Star Borough was 100,343. Fairbanks is home to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the oldest of Alaska’s current universities. Captain E. T. Barnette founded Fairbanks in August 1901 while headed to Tanacross (or Tanana Crossing, where the Valdez-Eagle trail crossed the Tanana River), where he intended to set up a trading post. The steamboat on which Barnette was a passenger, the Lavelle Young, ran aground while attempting to negotiate shallow water. Barnette, along with his party and supplies, were deposited along the banks of the Chena River 7

miles (11 km) upstream from its confluence with the Tanana River. The sight of smoke from the steamer’s engines caught the attention of gold prospectors working in the hills to the north, most notably an Italian immigrant named Felice Pedroni (better known as Felix Pedro) and his partner Tom Gilmore. The two met Barnette where he disembarked and convinced him of the potential of the area. Barnette set up his trading post at the site, still intending to eventually make it to Tanacross. Teams of gold prospectors soon congregated in and around the newly founded Fairbanks; they built drift mines, dredges, and lode mines in addition to panning and sluicing. After some urging by James Wickersham, who later moved the seat of the Third Division court from Eagle to Fairbanks, the settlement was named after Charles W. Fairbanks, a Republican senator from Indiana and later the twentysixth Vice President of the United States, serving under Theodore Roosevelt during his second term. In these early years of settlement, the Tanana Valley was an important agricultural center for Alaska until the establishment of the Matanuska Valley Colonization Project and the town of Palmer in

1935. Agricultural activity still occurs today in the Tanana Valley, but mostly to the southeast of Fairbanks in the communities of Salcha and Delta Junction. During the early days of Fairbanks, its vicinity was a major producer of agricultural goods. What is now the northern reaches of South Fairbanks was originally the farm of Paul J. Rickert, who came from nearby Chena in 1904 and operated a large farm until his death in 1938. Farmers Loop Road and Badger Road, loop roads north and east (respectively) of Fairbanks, were also home to major farming activity. Badger Road is named for Harry Markley Badger, an early resident of Fairbanks who later established a farm along the road and became known as “the Strawberry King”. Ballaine and McGrath Roads, side roads of Farmers Loop Road, were also named for prominent local farmers, whose farms were located in the immediate vicinity of their respective namesake roads. Despite early efforts by the Alaska Loyal League, the Tanana Valley Agriculture Association and William Fentress Thompson, the editor-publisher of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, to encourage food production, agriculture in the area was never able to fully support the population, although it came World Views Guides | June 2014

close in the 1920s. The construction of Ladd Army Airfield starting in 1939, part of a larger effort by the federal government during the New Deal and World War II to install major infrastructure in the territory for the first time, fostered an economic and population boom in Fairbanks which extended beyond the end of the war. The presence of the U.S. military has remained strong in Fairbanks. Ladd became Fort Wainwright in 1960; the post was annexed into Fairbanks city limits during the 1980s. Fairbanks suffered from numerous floods in its first six decades, whether from ice jams during spring breakup or due to heavy rainfall. The first bridge crossing the Chena River, a wooden structure built in 1904 to extend Turner Street northward to connect with the wagon roads leading to the gold mining camps, washed out with regularity before a permanent bridge was constructed at Cushman Street in 1917 by the Alaska Road Commission. On August 14, 1967, after an unprecedented record rainfall upstream, the Chena began to surge over its banks, flooding almost the entire town of Fairbanks overnight. The results of this disaster eventually led to the creation of the Chena River World Views Guides

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Lakes Flood Control Project, which built and operates the 50-foot-high (15 m) Moose Creek Dam in the Chena River and accompanying 8-milelong (13 km) spillway. The project was designed to prevent a repetition of the 1967 flood by being able to divert water in the Chena upstream from Fairbanks into the Tanana River, thus bypassing the city. 1.

Topography

Fairbanks is located in the central Tanana Valley, straddling the Chena River near its confluence with the Tanana River. Immediately north of the city is a chain of hills that rises gradually until it reaches the White Mountains and the Yukon River. The southern border of the city is the Tanana River. South of the river is the Tanana Flats, an area of marsh and bog that stretches for more than 100 miles (160 km) until it rises into the Alaska Range, which is visible from Fairbanks on clear days. To the east and west are low valleys separated by ridges of hills up to 3,000 feet (910 m) above sea level. The Tanana Valley is crossed by many low streams and rivers that flow into the Tanana River. In Fairbanks, the Chena River flows southwest until it empties into the Tanana. Noyes Slough, which heads and foots off the Chena River,

creates Garden Island, a district connected to the rest of Fairbanks by bridges and culverted roads. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 32.7 square miles (85 km2); 31.9 square miles (83 km2) of it is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) of it (2.48%) is water. 2.

Climate

Fairbanks’ climate is classified as subarctic (Köppen Dfc), though it borders on a humid continental (Köppen Dfb), with long, cold winters, and short, warm summers, in which much of the annual precipitation falls. In Fairbanks, winter lasts from late September/early October until late April/early May. October through January are the snowiest, and snow is limited from February to May. On average, the season’s first snow falls in Fairbanks on September 21 and the first inch of snow accumulates by October 8. The snowpack is established by October 18, on average, and remains until May. Snow occasionally arrives early and in large amounts. On September 13, 1992, 8 inches (20 cm) of snow fell in the city, bending trees still laden with fall leaves. That September also was one of the snowiest on record, as 24 in (61 cm) fell, compared to a median

of only 0.3 in (0.8 cm) in the month. The average first and last freeze are September 9 and May 15, respectively, allowing a growing season of 116 days, although freezes have occurred in June, July, and August. Average winter low temperatures range from −15 to −25 °F (−26 to −32 °C), but extremes can range from −60 to −75 °F (−51 to −59 °C). In summer, temperatures typically range between 70 and 50 °F (21 and 10 °C). Between 1994 and 2009, Fairbanks did not record a temperature of 90 °F (32 °C). The highest recorded temperature in Fairbanks was 99 °F (37 °C) on July 28, 1919; this is just 1°F (0.6°C) shy of the record high temperature for Alaska which is 100 °F (38 °C), recorded in Fort Yukon. The lowest was −66 °F (−54 °C) on January 14, 1934. The warmest year in Fairbanks was 1981, when the average annual temperature was 32.0 °F (0.0 °C), while the coldest year was 1956 with an annual mean temperature of 21.3 °F (−5.9 °C). Low temperatures below 0 °F (−18 °C) have been recorded in every month outside June thru September. The record cold daily maximum is −58 °F (−50 °C) on January 18, 1906, and the record warm daily minimum is 76 °F (24 °C) on June 26, 1915; the only other occurrence of a 70 °F

(21 °C) daily minimum was wind, Fairbanks experiences June 25, 2013 in the midst of a a handful of other unusual particularly warm summer. meteorological conditions. In These widely varying summer, dense wildfire smoke temperature extremes are accumulates in the Tanana due to three main factors: Valley, affecting the weather temperature inversions, and causing health concerns. daylight, and wind direction. When temperature inversions In winter, Fairbanks’ low-lying arise in winter, heavy ice fog location at the bottom of the often results. Ice fog occurs Tanana Valley causes cold air when air is too cold to absorb to accumulate in and around additional moisture, such as the city. Warmer air rises to that released by automobile the tops of the hills north engines or human breath. of Fairbanks, while the city Instead of dissipating, the itself experiences one of the water freezes into microscopic biggest temperature inversions crystals that are suspended in on Earth. Heating through the air, forming fog. Another sunlight is limited because one of Fairbanks’ unusual of Fairbanks’s high-latitude occurrences is the prevalence of location. At the winter solstice, the aurora borealis, commonly Fairbanks experiences 3 hours called the northern lights, and 43 minutes of sunlight. At which are visible on average the summer solstice, Fairbanks more than 200 days per year in the vicinity of Fairbanks. receives 21 hours and 49 minutes of direct sunlight; after sunset, twilight is bright enough to allow daytime activities. During winter, the direction of the wind also causes large temperature swings in Fairbanks. When the wind blows from any direction but the south, average weather ensues. Wind from the south can carry warm, moist air from the Gulf of Alaska, greatly warming temperatures. When coupled with a chinook wind, temperatures well above freezing often result.

Since 1949 Fairbanks’s average winter temperature has risen by 6.9 °F (3.8 °C), average spring temperature by 3.9 °F (2.2 °C), and its average summer temperature by 2.3 °F (1.3 °C). During the same period, however, the average autumn temperature has only risen by 0.1 °F (0.056 °C). If only the years 1977–2012 are considered, Fairbanks’ average annual temperature has dropped by 1.7 °F (0.94 °C).

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1. 1.

People and culture Demographics

Historical population Census Pop. %± 1910 3,541 — 1920 1,155 −67.4% 1930 2,101 81.9% 1940 3,455 64.4% 1950 5,771 67.0% 1960 13,311 130.7% 1970 14,711 10.5% 1980 22,645 53.9% 1990 30,843 36.2% 2000 30,224 −2.0% 2010 31,535 4.3% Est. 2012 32,312 2.5%

The U.S. census Bureau estimates that the population of 2011 in the city was 32,036 people, 11,075 households, and 7,187 families residing in the city. The population density was 995 people per square mile (366.3/km²). There were 12,357 housing units at an average density of 387.9 per square mile (149.8/ km²). The ethnic makeup of the city was 66.1% White, 9% Black or African-American, 10% Native American, 3.6% Asian, 8% Pacific Islander. 9% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino. The population estimate for the Fairbanks North Star Borough was 99,192. The ethnic makeup of the North Star Borough was 78.2% White, 5% Black, 7.2% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander and 6.3% was Hispanic or Latino. Of the 11,075 households,

39.9% had children under the age of 18, 47.2% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 27.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.15.

2. Main

Media

article: Media Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks’ largest newspaper is the Fairbanks Daily NewsMiner, which also includes a weekly entertainment guide, Latitude 65. A few other periodicals also serve Fairbanks and the Fairbanks North Star Borough: The Ester Republic and the University of Alaska Fairbanks student Median age of the population newspaper, the Sun Star. was 28 years, with 9.6% under the age of 5, 26% under the age Fairbanks is also served by of 18, 14.7% from 18 to 24, television and radio. Leading 32.8% from 25 to 44, 16.4% radio stations include AM from 45 to 64, and 7.3% who Stations KFAR 660 talk were 65 years of age or older. radio, KCBF 820 ESPN For every 100 females there Radio Network, KFBX 970 were 105.3 males. For every talk radio and KJNP 1170 100 females age 18 and over, religious radio. FM stations include 88.3 popular Christian, there were 108.2 males. KUAC 89.9 National Public The median income for a Radio, KSUA 91.5 University household between 2007 and of Alaska, Fairbanks, KDJF 2011 was $55,409. Males had (“CHET FM”) 93.5 everything a median income of $30,539 country KXLR 94.3 Alaska’s versus $26,577 for females. new country KWDD 95.9 The per capita income for the classic rock KYSC 96.9 city was $19,814. About 7.4% soft rock, KWLF 98.1of families and 10.5% of the ”Wolf 98.1”, top 40, KJNPpopulation were below the FM 100.3 religious radio, poverty line, including 11.6% KAKQ-FM 101.1-”Magic of those under age 18 and 101.1” pop music, KIAK-FM 7.0% of those age 65 or over. 102.5 country music, KTDZ The percentage of high school 103.9-”K-TED” adult hits, and graduates or higher is 88%. KKED 104.7 rock music. 20.4% of the population 25 years and up had a Bachelor’s Fairbanks’ major television affiliates are KATN (ABC)degree or higher. (KYUR retransmission), World Views Guides | June 2014

KFXF (Fox), KUAC-TV (PBS)-”AlaskaONE” with some KMXT-LP-only programming, KTVF (NBC), K13XD-D (CBS), and UHF station KDMD-LP-(Ion)Fairbanks. Cable TV is available from GCI and Denali Television. 3.

Sports

played without artificial lights Rick Holmstrom, John Luther starting after ten at night on the Adams, and Jon Button. summer solstice. Susan Butcher, four time The city was briefly represented Iditarod winner, and husband in the Indoor Football League David Monson, winner of by the Fairbanks Grizzlies. the Yukon Quest, lived in Also, Fairbanks is a hub for Fairbanks. After Susan’s cross-country skiing in Alaska. death David kept on running It has hosted many different big their dog farm, Trail Breaker Kennels. ski events including the 2003

Junior Olympic Cross Country Fairbanks was home to the Ski Championship and the 2014 Arctic Winter Games 2008 and 2009 U.S. Cross from March 15–22, 2014. Country Distance Nationals The Carlson Center is home to It also has an annual 50k race University of Alaska Fairbanks called the Sonot Kkaazoot and the Fairbanks Town Series Nanooks men’s ice hockey. races which consists of four The Fairbanks Ice Dogs, a different races and the Chest junior hockey team in the North Medicine Distance Series races American Hockey League, which consists of only 3 races. play at the Big Dipper Ice Arena. Prior to the formation Fairbanks is also home to the of the Ice Dogs, the Fairbanks Yukon Quest, an international Gold Kings was formed as a 1,000 mile sled dog race league team by the Teamsters that is considered one of the Local 959 in 1974. The team toughest in the world. The took on a life of its own race alternates its starting and beyond local league play, and finishing points each year played out of the Big Dipper between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon. for many years until moving to Colorado Springs, Colorado (becoming the Colorado Gold 4. Notable people Kings) in 1998. Fairbanks, Alaska was the The Alaska Goldpanners and the Fairbanks AIA Fire are summer collegiate baseball teams, playing home games at Growden Memorial Park. The park is home to the annual Midnight Sun Game, an annual tradition since 1906, World Views Guides

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Lance Mackey, four-time winner of the grueling, worldfamous Yukon Quest and Iditarod sled dog races, lives in the Fairbanks area. Fairbanks was also the starting place for Daryn Colledge, an offensive guard for the Arizona Cardinals. Colledge played for the Green Bay Packers and helped the team gain their victory in Super Bowl XLV. Jessica Gavora is a conservative writer on culture and politics. She was the chief speechwriter for Attorney General John Ashcroft and a senior policy advisor at the Department of Justice.

The late John Drury Clark was born and raised in Fairbanks. He became a noted American rocket fuel developer, science birthplace of a significant fiction writer, and chemist. number of successful musicians. Some distinguished The late Bob Ross, artist and individuals are Kelly host of The Joy of Painting Moneymaker, Kevin Johansen, on PBS, made his home in Fairbanks. Kevin Lenear of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Vivica and Genaux, Lincoln Brewster, 2. Government

politics The Fairbanks area is sharply divided politically. The western part of the town centered on the University of Alaska Fairbanks is Democratic-leaning, while the downtown and the eastern parts near Fort Wainwright are Republican-leaning, and the North Pole area farther east is even more conservative. Thus, many residents have noted that a neighborhood’s position on the map of Fairbanks (west to east) mirrors its political orientation (left to right). However, Fairbanks is much more conservative than most mid-sized cities in the US, with even the Democrats being what are known as “union Democrats” (fiscally liberal or moderate, socially conservative). 1.

Federal

Presidential Election Results for the City of Fairbanks (Central/Downtown) 2004– 2008 Year Democrat 2008 39.3% 2004 35.2%

Republican

58.0% 61.5%

State

At present, the Fairbanks area comprises two entire districts, and most of a third district, in the Alaska Senate. The state senators for the Fairbanks area are Joe Thomas, Joe Paskvan (both Democrats) and John Coghill, Jr. (Republican). The

area comprises four entire districts, and portions of two other districts, in the Alaska House. Representatives for the Fairbanks area are Bob Miller, David Guttenberg, Scott Kawasaki (all Democrats), Steve Thompson and Tammie Wilson (both Republicans). Eric Feige, a Republican member of the House who lives in the MatanuskaSusitna Borough community of Chickaloon, represents Richardson Highway communities beyond the North Pole area but within the Fairbanks North Star Borough boundaries. Fairbanksans elected the first two Libertarian Party members to serve in a state legislature in the United States. Dick Randolph, who had previously served two terms in the Alaska House as a Republican, was first elected as a Libertarian in 1978 and re-elected in 1980. Ken Fanning was also elected to the House as a Libertarian in 1980. In the 1982 elections, Randolph ran unsuccessfully as the LP’s nominee for Governor of Alaska, while Fanning lost re-election to the House following redistricting. Fairbanks is a regional center for most departments of the State of Alaska, though the vast majority of state jobs are based in either Anchorage or Juneau.

Municipal

Fairbanks, unlike other larger cities in Alaska, still has a separate borough and city. The City of Fairbanks was incorporated on November 10, 1903. The city council held a special meeting at the Carlson Center on November 10, 2003 for the express purpose of denoting the centennial of incorporation. The Fairbanks North Star Borough, created by the Alaska Legislature under the Mandatory Borough Act of 1963, was incorporated on January 1, 1964. Facilities and services 4.

Utilities

City water, sanitary sewer, and electric systems are operated by private entities. Electricity is provided by the Golden Valley Electric Association. The Chena power site has four steam turbines fueled by coal and one oilfueled electrical generator. Interior Alaska is not connected to the electrical grid of the contiguous United States and Canada, but a transmission line constructed in 1985 connects Fairbanks with power plants in the coal producing area of Healy and the Anchorage area. Fairbanks currently holds the world record for the largest rechargeable battery, which weighs approximately 1,300 tons. The battery was installed World Views Guides | June 2014

to help bridge the gaps that services. occur during frequent power outages. The battery will 5. Health care provide power for 7 minutes to Local hospitals or health clinics about 12,000 homes. include Fairbanks Memorial The University of Alaska Hospital; Interior Community Fairbanks operates its own Health Center; Chief Andrew coal-fired generating station on Isaac Health Center; Bassett campus, providing electricity Army Community Hospital and steam heat to university (Fort Wainwright). buildings. Until 1996, telephone service was provided by the Municipal Utilities Service, a public company. In that year, telephone service was sold to Alaska Communications Systems, a private company. General Communications Inc. has competed against ACS in Fairbanks since 1997. Both companies offer mobile phone service in Fairbanks, as do national and local providers such as AT&T Mobility.

Economy Fairbanks offers a diverse economy, including city, borough, state, and federal government services; and transportation, communication, manufacturing, mining, financial, and regional medical services. Including Eielson Air Force Base and Fort Wainwright personnel, over one third of the employment is in government services. The University of Alaska Fairbanks is also a major employer. Approximately 325,000 tourists visit Fairbanks each summer. Taxes • Sales: None • Property: 20.777 mills (7.171 city/13.606 borough areawide) • Special: 5% alcohol tax (city only); 16% tobacco tax (8% city/8% borough); 8% accommodations tax

A pair of fiber optic cables provide long-distance telephone and Internet service. One parallels the Parks Highway and connects Fairbanks to Anchorage, while the other parallels the Richardson Highway and connects Fairbanks to Valdez. A third, spur fiber optic cable parallels the TransAlaska Pipeline and connects Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay. Broadband Internet access is 3. Transportation provided by GCI, ACS, Ace Tekk and a handful of satellite As the transportation hub for Internet and wireless Internet Interior Alaska, Fairbanks World Views Guides

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features extensive road, rail, and air connections to the rest of Alaska and Outside. At Fairbanks’ founding, the only way to reach the new city was via steamboat on the Chena River. In 1904, money intended to improve the Valdez-Eagle Trail was diverted to build a branch trail, giving Fairbanks its first overland connection to the outside world. The resulting Richardson Highway was created in 1910 after Gen. Wilds P. Richardson upgraded it to a wagon road. In the 1920s, it was improved further and made navigable by automobiles, but it was not paved until 1957. Fairbanks’ road connections were improved in 1927, when the 161-mile (259 km) Steese Highway connected the city to the Yukon River at the goldmining community of Circle. In 1942, the Alaska Highway connected the Richardson Highway to the Canadian road system, allowing road travel from the rest of the United States to Fairbanks, which is considered the unofficial end of the highway. Because of World War II, civilian traffic was not permitted on the highway until 1948. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of roads were built to connect Fairbanks to the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay. The Elliott Highway was built

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in 1957 to connect Fairbanks to Livengood, southern terminus of the Dalton Highway, which ends in Deadhorse on the North Slope. West of the Dalton intersection, the Elliott Highway extends to Manley Hot Springs on the Tanana River. To improve logistics in Fairbanks during construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the George Parks Highway was built between Fairbanks and Palmer in 1971. Until 1940, none of Fairbanks’ surface streets were paved. The outbreak of World War II interrupted plans to pave most of the city’s roads, and a movement toward large-scale paving did not begin until 1953, when the city paved 30 blocks of streets. During the late 1950s and the 1960s, the remainder of the city’s streets were converted from gravel roads to asphalt surfaces. Few have been repaved since that time; a 2008 survey of city streets indicated the average age of a street in Fairbanks was 31 years. Public transportation has been provided by the Metropolitan Area Commuter System, an agency of the borough government, since 1977. Bus service links much of the urban Fairbanks area, with most routes connecting at the downtown transit center. University Bus Lines, a private World Views Guides

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company, existed for several decades before MACS started. The company, which was owned first by Paul Greimann and later by Walt Conant, mainly linked downtown Fairbanks with the university campus and the military bases. Commercial airlines connect Fairbanks to the rest of Alaska as well as the lower 48 and select international destinations via Fairbanks International Airport. 1.

Rail transport

After large-scale gold mining began north of Fairbanks, miners wanted to build a railroad from the steamboat docks on the Chena River to the mine sites in the hills north of the city. The result was the Tanana Mines Railroad, which started operations in September 1905, using what had been the first steam locomotive in the Yukon Territory. In 1907, the railroad was reorganized and named the Tanana Valley Railroad. The railroad continued expanding until 1910, when the first gold boom began to falter and the introduction of automobiles into Fairbanks took business away from the railroad. Despite these problems, railroad backers envisioned a rail line extending from Fairbanks to Seward on the Gulf of Alaska, home to the Alaska Central Railway.

In 1914, the US Congress appropriated $35 million for construction of the Alaska Railroad system, but work was delayed by the outbreak of World War I. Three years later, the Alaska Railroad purchased the Tanana Valley Railroad, which had suffered from the wartime economic problems. Rail workers built a line extending northwest from Fairbanks, then south to Nenana, where President Warren G. Harding hammered in the ceremonial final spike in 1923. The rail yards of the Tanana Valley Railroad were converted for use by the Alaska Railroad, and Fairbanks became the northern end of the line and its second-largest depot. From 1923 to 2004, the Alaska Railroad’s Fairbanks terminal was in downtown Fairbanks, just north of the Chena River. In May 2005, the Alaska Railroad opened a new terminal northwest of downtown, and that terminal is in operation today. In summer, the railroad operates tourist trains to and from Fairbanks, and it operates occasional passenger trains throughout the year. The majority of its business through Fairbanks is freight. The railroad is planning an expansion of the rail line from Fairbanks to connect the city via rail with

Delta Junction, about 100 miles (160 km) southeast. 4.

Attractions and points of interest

The city of Fairbanks and the greater Fairbanks area is home to a number of attractions and events, which draw visitors from outside of Alaska throughout the year. Summer tourist traffic primarily consists of cruise ship passengers who purchase package tours which include travel to Fairbanks. Many of these tourists spend one or more nights at a local hotel and visit one or more attractions. Tourism the rest of the year is mostly concentrated around the winter season, centered upon the northern lights, ice carving and winter sports. In addition, other events draw visitors from within Alaska, mostly from the community’s trading area throughout Interior Alaska and the North Slope. Within city limits •

Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge

Fairbanks Curling Club • Golden Days Parade (July) • Midnight Sun Game (June 21) • Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race (March) •

• •

Pioneer Park World Eskimo Indian Olympics (July)

Outside city limits •

Birch Hill Recreation Area

• • •

Georgeson Botanical Garden Gold Dredge No. 8 World Ice Art Championships and

•

Riverboat Discovery

•

University of Alaska Museum of the North

Ice Park

IceAlaska

• Robert G. White Large Animal Research Station • Santa Claus House in North Pole • Sternwheeler Tanana Chief • Tanana Valley State Fair (August)

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Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) (IATA: EIL, ICAO: PAEI, FAA LID: EIL) is a United States Air Force base located approximately 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska and just southeast of Moose Creek, Alaska. The host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing (354 FW) assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force. The 354 FW primary mission is to support Red Flag – Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander–directed field training exercises for U.S. Forces, provides joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close-air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. Eielson AFB was established in 1943 as Mile 26 Satellite Field. It is named in honor of polar pilot Carl Ben Eielson. The 354 FW is currently commanded by Brigadier General Mark D. Kelly. 1.

Overview

Until 2007, Eielson was a front line base, deploying fighter and bomber units around the world as well as providing for the defense of Alaska. Taken off deployment status in 2007 as a result of BRAC 2005, today the primary mission World Views Guides

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of the base is to support Red Flag-Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commanderdirected field training exercises for U.S. Forces, provides joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close-air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. These exercises are conducted on the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range complex with air operations flown out of the two bases. Alaska’s size enables the military to have the largest air-ground training complex in America. 2.

Units

Squadron Combat Training Squadron

353d

354th Maintenance Group 354th Mission Support Group 354th Medical Group

• • • 354th 354th

Medical Operations Squadron Medical Support Squadron

Tenant Units • 168th Air Refueling Wing, Alaska Air National Guard (KC-135 Stratotanker) • Det. 460, Air Force Technical Applications Center • Arctic Survival School, Det. 1, 66th Training Squadron • Det. 632, Air Force Office of Special Investigations • Det. 1, 210th Rescue Squadron •

Eielson is home to the 354th Fighter Wing which is part of the Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF). The 354th Fighter Wing mission is “To train, deliver, maintain and support combat power across the globe while taking care of our people, their families and our infrastructure.” To accomplish that mission, the wing 3. History implements flying operations, mission support, maintenance 1. World War II and medical care functions and is host to 10 tenant units. On 7 June 1943, the Western • 354th Operations Defense Command ordered construction of a new Group (Tail Code: AK) airfield near present-day Fort 354th Operations Support Wainwright, then an Army Squadron airfield named after Major 18th Aggressor Squadron (F- Arthur Ladd. Because of 16) its hazard-free approaches 3d Air Support Operations

and relatively flat terrain, surveyor reports indicated a site a little more than twenty five miles southeast of Ladd Army Airfield to be the best in the vicinity for military aviation. The field became known as “Mile 26” because of its proximity to a US Army Signal Corps telegraph station and a Richardson Highway milepost marker using the same designation.

off for Russia. Mile 26 closed for USAF tactical and strategic when the war ended. units, as well as defend the base itself. 2. Cold War Headquarters USAF General

The base reopened in September 1946, once again as a satellite of Ladd Field. The first USAAF operational unit assigned to Eielson was the 57th Fighter Group, equipped successively with P-38 Lightnings, P/F-51 Mustangs, F-80 Shooting Stars, and F-94 A month later, contractors and Starfire aircraft. The 57th FG civilian crews from Ladd Field was inactivated on 13 April started laying out the new 1953. airfield. Actual construction On 1 December 1947 began on 25 August 1943. Strategic Air Command B-29 Crews built two parallel Superfortress bombers arrived runways, 165 feet (50 m) across at 26-Mile Airfield with and 6,625 feet (2,019 m) long. the deployment of the 97th Other facilities included an Bombardment Wing, Very operations building, housing Heavy, from Smoky Hill AFB, for 108 officer and 330 enlisted Kansas. The wing reported to personnel, and a ten-bed Fifteenth Air Force, Strategic dispensary. The garrison and Air Command (SAC), airfield totaled about 600 acres although the Yukon Sector of (2.4 km2). Completed on 17 the Alaskan Air Command October 1944, the 14-month controlled its operations. At the project cost about eight million end of the Alaskan deployment dollars. the wing returned to Kansas on Operational uses of Mile 26 12 March 1948. were few. Ladd Field served A year later, however, Eielson as the debarkation point for the moved from under the shadow Alaska-Siberia Ferry Route of Ladd Field when the Alaskan of the lend-lease program Air Command assumed and was the hub of activity. organizational control. Also Lend-lease aircraft would in the fall of 1947, Colonel occasionally land at Mile 26, Jerome B. McCauley assumed but there are no records to duties as commander. The indicate any lend-lease aircraft primary missions of Mile 26 ever used the airfield to take were to support Arctic training

Order 2, dated 13 January 1948, redesignated Mile 26 as Eielson AFB. It was named for Carl Ben Eielson, an Alaska aviation pioneer who was killed, along with his mechanic Earl Borland, in the crash of their Hamilton aircraft in 1929. Eielson and Borland were attempting a rescue flight to an icebound ship in the Bering Sea when they were killed. On 1 April 1948, the Eielson AFB Wing (Base Complement) was formed. The host-unit subsequently would be dubbed the Eielson AFB Bomb Wing, and finally, in January 1949, the 5010th Wing. Colonel John L. Nedwed, the third commander of the base since it fell under Alaskan Air Command fifteen months before, became the first to head the 5010th. For the next 34 years, the 5010th (alternately known as the Wing, Composite Wing, Air Base Wing, and lastly, Combat Support Group) served as hostunit at Eielson. Construction boomed at Eielson AFB during the 1950s. Many of the facilities still in use today were built at that time, including Amber Hall, the Thunderdome, Base Exchange, Gymnasium, Theater, some of the schools, and many of the dormitories. World Views Guides | June 2014

The 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, equipped with F-86 Sabres, was deployed to Eielson during 1954–55. The 720th was a part of the 450th Fighter-Bomber Wing stationed at Foster AFB, Texas. The 720th was replaced by the 455th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (323d FBW), stationed at Bunker Hill AFB, Indiana.

Iraq on 14 December 2006)

4157 SW on 25 March 1967, Today the 1st Brigade 25th relocating from Walker Air Infantry Division and the 4th Force Base, New Mexico after its closure. Brigade 25th Infantry Division can be found training there. The 6th SW flew RC–135 Also several important large strategic reconnaissance scale winter field problems missions with an assigned have been conducted here over squadron, and, with KC–135s the years as well, seeing large deployed to Eielson from numbers of not only U.S. Army SAC, AFRES, and the ANG, ground combat units from the conducted Alaska Tanker lower 48 states, but also U.S. Task Force (ATTF) missions Marine Corps units as well, to support reconnaissance and and even Canadian troops. numerous exercises for the Air Force and Navy. 3. 375th/58th Strategic The 6th SW remained at Weather Squadron Eielson AFB until 1992.

The Air Defense Command deployed interceptors to Eielson during the 1960s. Det. 3, 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron from Elmendorf AFB Alaska deployed F-102 The 375th Weather Delta Daggers and F-106 Delta Reconnaissance Squadron, Darts to the base between from the 308th Bombardment 1960–69. Group at Tinker AFB The Cold War seen the Oklahoma, arrived at Eielson use of Eielson’s expansive on 5 March 1949. The 308th reservation as a maneuver flew WB-29 Superfortresses. area for the U.S. Army. The The unit was redesignated 1960s 171st Infantry Brigade the 58th Strategic Weather (separate) and 172nd Infantry Squadron on 21 February Brigade (separate) both trained 1951 as part of the 303d here, both on a regular and Bombardment Wing at Davisextensive basis, not to mention Monthan AFB Arizona. units of the Alaska National The 58th Weather Squadron Guard. Later in the 70s mid remained at Eielson until 8 80s the 172nd Infantry Brigade August 1958. (the 171st Infantry Brigade was inactivated on 13 November 4. 6th Strategic Wing 1972), followed by the 6th Infantry Division when the In July 1960, the Strategic 172nd Infantry Brigade itself Air Command stationed the was deactivated on 15 April 4157th Combat Support 1986 (it was reactivated again Group (later Strategic Wing) in Alaska on 17 April 1998, at Eielson. The 6th Strategic only to yet again inactivated in Wing (6 SW) replaced the World Views Guides

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343d Composite Wing

Anew chapter for the base began 1 October 1981 when the 343d Composite Wing replaced the 5010th as Eielson’s host unit. Flying squadrons assigned to the new wing included the 25th Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) and the 18th Fighter Squadron (18 FS). The 25 TASS, at Eielson since 1971, flew O-2 Skymaster and OV-10 Bronco aircraft until its inactivation in 1989; the newly assigned 18 FS operated A-10 Thunderbolt IIs until it converted to F-16 Fighting Falcons in 1991. In 1984, the 343d Composite Wing was redesignated a Tactical Fighter Wing. Seven years later, in 1991, it was redesignated as the 343d

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Wing. Also that year, the 343d gained a second flying unit, the 11th Tactical Air Support Squadron (11 TASS), which flew OA-10s. 6.

354th Fighter Wing

Fighter Training Squadron was replaced by the 353d Fighter Training Squadron from the 354th FW. The 3d Fighter Training Squadron had its origins with the 3d Tactical Fighter Squadron at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, being formed in March 1973. The 3d TFS received its A-7D aircraft from the then deployed 353d Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing, deployed to Korat from Myrtle Beach AFB, South Carolina.

On 20 August 1993, the 354 FW replaced the 343d Wing. No personnel or equipment were affected by the change. Prior to its shutdown, the 343d was the oldest surviving air combat unit in Alaska, with a lineage dating back to the Aleutian Campaign. The 18 FS, whose history also dated back to World War II, remained 7. Previous names active, but the 355 FS replaced the 11th TASS. • Established as Mile Another change involved the 26 Satellite Field (of Ladd 3rd Fighter Training Squadron, Air Force Base) about 15 December 1943 which was replaced by the Mile 26 Field, 1 October 353rd Fighter Squadron (later • 1947 redesignated as a Combat • Eielson Air Force Base, Training Squadron). 13 January 1948–present Within the first year of its arrival the 354 FW hosted 8. Major Commands an Arctic combat search and Army Air Forces rescue exercise between the • United States, Canada, and Transport Command (June 1943 – November 1945) Russia. Ironically, these were Eleventh Air Force, the same countries that took • part in the search and recovery (November–December 1945) Alaskan Air efforts that followed the fatal • crash of Carl Ben Eielson and Command, (December 1945 – August 1990) his mechanic, Earl Borland, in Pacific Air Forces, 1930 as they were attempting • (August 1990–present) to fly relief supplies to the Nanuk.

Base operating units

• Stn No. 4, Alaskan Wg (AAFTC) (September 1943 – August 1944) • 1466th Army Air Force Base Unit (August 1944 – January 1945) • Satellite Fld 1466-1 Army Air Force Base Unit (January–June 1945) • HQ and Base Service Sq, 519th Air Service Group (November–December 1947) • 97th Airdrome Group (December 1947 – April 1948) • Eielson AFB Wing (Base Complement) (April– September 1948) • Eielson Bomb Wing (September 1948 – June 1949) • 5010th Composite Wing (June 1949 – January 1951) • 5010th Air Base Group (January 1951 – February 1953) • 5010th Composite Wing (February 1953 – October 1954) • 5010th Air Base Wing (October 1954 – January 1965) • 5010th Combat Support Gp (January 1965 – October 1981) • 343d Tactical Fighter Wing (October 1981 – July 1991) • 343d Wing (July 1991 – August 1993) • 354th Fighter Wing (August 1993–present)

Note: The 343d FW 3d World Views Guides | June 2014

10.

Major units assigned

6th Strategic Wing (March 1967 – June 1992) • 97th Bombardment Wing (December 1947 – •

40th Air Refueling Squadron

•

343d Tactical Fighter Wing (October

•

55th Weather Recon Squadron Det 1 58th Weather Recon Squadron

•

65th Fighter Squadron

• •

354th Fighter Wing (August 1993–present) 4157th Strategic Wing (July 1960 – March

• • • •

355th Fighter Squadron 375th Reconnaissance Squadron 455th Fighter-Bomber Squadron 720th Fighter-Bomber Squadron

• •

March 1948)

August 1993)

1981 –

1967) • 5010th Air Base Wing (April 1948 – October 1981) • 168th Air Refueling Wing (Alaska ANG) •

57th Fighter Group (September

1946 – April

•

11th Tactical Air Support Squadron

•

18th Fighter (later Aggressor) Squadron

• 71st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron Det 1 • 317th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron Det 3

•

5040th Helicopter Squadron Det 1

1953) • 5010th Combat Support Group

•

25th Tactical Air Support Squadron

11. • • • • • • • • • • •

A-10 Thunderbolt II (1981–2007) B-29/RB-29/WB-29 (1949–1956) WB-47 Stratojet (1960–68) WB-50 Superfortress (1960–68) VC/SC/C-47 Skytrain (1949–1969) C-123 Provider (1965–66, 1969–71) F-4 Phantom II Det DC (1970–82) F-16 Fighting Falcon (1991 – present) P-80 Shooting Star (1950–51) F-86 Sabre (1954–55) F-102 Delta Dagger (1960–69)

U-2 Spy plane (1962–1964) 4.

Superfund designation

Eielson Air Force Base was proposed to be a Superfund designated site on 14 July 1989, and was officially designated as a Superfund site on 21 November 1989. The groundwater contains lead and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene, xylene, and toluene. World Views Guides

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Aircraft • • • • • • • • • • •

F-106 Delta Dart (1965–69) H-3 Sea King (1970–80) Piasecki CH/SH/HH-21 (1960–1980) KC-97 Stratotanker (1959–61) KC-135 Stratotanker (1967 – present) de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver (1952–60) O-2 Skymaster (1971–89) OV-10 Bronco (1986–89) P-51 Mustang (1946–47) Boeing RC-135 (1962–1992) T-33 Shooting Star (1950–1981)

Several areas of subsurface petroleum-contaminated soil and floating petroleum product are the sources of continuing groundwater contamination. Ingesting or coming into direct contact with contaminated groundwater or soil may pose a potential health threat. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated fish were also found in the area.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there are 5,400 people, 1,448 households, and 1,414 families residing on the base. The population density is 40.1/km² (103.8/mi²). There are 1,531 housing units at an average density of 11.4/km² (29.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the base is 81.7% White, 9.4% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.2%

from other races, and 3.9% under the age of 18 and 0.0% from two or more races. 5.8% of those 65 and older are living of the population are Hispanic below the poverty line. or Latino of any race. There are 1,448 households out 6. Base Realignment and Closure, 2005 of which 77.8% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 92.4% are married couples living together, 2.7% have a female householder with no husband present, and 2.3% are non-families. 2.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 0.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.52 and the average family size is 3.55.

In the base the population is spread out with 40.8% under the age of 18, 16.6% from 18 to 24, 41.2% from 25 to 44, 1.2% from 45 to 64, and 0.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 22 years. For every 100 females there are 110.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 114.7 males. The median income for a household in the base is $35,938, and the median income for a family is $35,688. Males have a median income of $24,961 versus $21,432 for females. The per capita income for the base is $11,512. 6.0% of the population and 5.1% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 7.5% of those

On 13 May 2005, The Department of Defense proposed a major realignment of the base as part of the Base Realignment and Closure program.

• It was decided that Eielson Air Force Base was to remain open. • That the 354th Wing’s A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were to be redistributed to the Air Force Reserve Command’s 917th Wing (now the 917th Fighter Group of the 442d Fighter Wing) at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana (three aircraft); to the Air Combat Command’s 23d Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia (12 aircraft); and to backup inventory at AMARC at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona (three aircraft). This action was part of a larger effort to consolidate the A-10 fleet. The 355th Fighter Squadron (355 FS) was inactivated on 15 August 2007 when the last A-10 departed Eielson. • The 18th Fighter Squadron (18 FS) converted to the 18th Aggressor Squadron. This squadron trains in the same manner as

the aggressors at Nellis AFB, learning the flying styles and abilities of foreign air forces to train USAF pilots. Aircraft changes entail sending all 18 of its Block 40 F-16 Fighting Falcons to Kunsan Air Base, Korea, and receiving 18 Block 30 F-16Cs from Kunsan. The 18th Aggressor Squadron was officially established on 24 August 2007. • The Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Air Refueling Wing and its KC135 Stratotanker aircraft will remain at Eielson.

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