winter survival guide

Eric Engman/News-Miner

WINTER22011

guideguide

The voice of Interior Alaska since 1903

Fairbanks, Alaska October 1, 2011

2 Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, October 1, 2011

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Winter Driving Tips

1) Know the conditions: • Weather conditions, visit: www.arh.noaa.gov/

hazards.php • Road conditions, visit 511.Alaska.Gov or call

511 from any phone. 2) Prepare your vehicle:

• Make sure your vehicle is winterized! • Check the following: tire pressure, defroster &

heater, battery & lights, motor oil, antifreeze, belts, hoses, filters, brakes, brake fluid, wiper blades and windshield washer fluid.

3) Reduce your speed: • Drive according to the conditions! • Remember that posted speed limits are for dry

pavement. 4) Drive with your headlights on. 5) Watch for snow removal equipment:

• Stay at last 200 feet back and don’t pass on the right.

• Remember that snow removal equipment can cause white out conditions when driving too close.

For more winter resources visit: www.dot.alaska.gov/winter-conditions.shtml

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Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities

By TIM [email protected]

When does winter officially start in Fairbanks?

According to the calendar, it’s Dec. 21, but anyone who has spent at least one winter in Fairbanks is smarter than that.

Winter arrives a lot earlier than that in Alaska’s second-largest city.

But when? Is it when the first snow falls? When the first snow sticks?

Or is it when the tempera-

ture drops below zero for first time? Or 20 below? Or 40 below?

“July 1,” meteorologist Scott Berg at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks said when asked when winter begins in Fairbanks. “We start our count for snow over on July 1.”

While the meteorological year does indeed start on that date, Berg said there is no official starting date for win-ter in Fairbanks.

“We define it as when we get an inch of snow on the

ground that stays there,” Berg said, speaking for the National Weather Service. “Once we start building our snowpack.”

According to weather ser-vice records dating back to 1930, the average date for the establishment of a snowpack of at least 1 inch or more at Fairbanks International Air-port is Oct. 18, but the date varies from late September in some years to early November in others.

The average date of the first measurable snowfall, meanwhile, is Oct. 1.

If it’s temperature that you’re using as a barometer for when winter begins, the average date the temperature drops below zero for the first

time is Oct. 28. If that’s not cold enough for you, the aver-age date of the first 20 below temperature is November 19.

Using the equinoxes/sol-stices as the start and end of winter is not very accurate in most northern latitudes because winter lasts longer than three months and sum-mer is shorter, meteorologist Rick Thoman said.

The darkest quarter of the year is the solstice, from Nov. 6 to Feb. 5, Thoman said.

The coldest quarter of the year in Fairbanks, based on the normal temperature, would be about Nov. 24 to Feb. 23.

For simplicity, meteorologi-cal winter is usually declared to be December through Feb-

ruary in the northern hemi-sphere, he said.

Another formula for defin-ing seasons in Fairbanks is to take the range in daily average temperatures in Fairbanks — minus 9 for the coldest and 64 above for the warmest in Fairbanks for a total of 73 — and divide that by 3.

That way, winter is defined as the coldest third of the temperature range and it doesn’t force the seasons to be the same length.

Using that method, winter runs from Oct. 27 to March 23 (average temperature from -9F to +15F); spring is March 16 to Apr 27; summer is April

Our winter begins when it gets hereThere is no set date in Fairbanks


Taking advan-tage of the fresh snowfall, UAF photojournalism student Josh Straub takes a snowboard run down the UAF Sledding Hill next to the Stu-dent Recreation Center in Octo-ber 2010.

Please see WINTER, Page 5

3Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, October 1, 2011

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The Woodway would again like to thank the Fairbanks, North Pole and surrounding communities for their continued loyalty over the last 33 years. Our community has continued to grow and change over the past few decades, and The Woodway has striven to adapt, improve and diversify to meet our customer’s needs.

In the last few years there have been all sorts of stores opening and closing that have sold different types of heating appliances. The Woodway welcomes new competition as it helps us to assess what we do more critically and enables us to offer the community even more.

This last year has afforded us the opportunity to help people take advantage of the Federal Tax Credit which enables a homeowner the ability to recieve up to

$300.00 on a qualifying wood or pellet stove. On top of this, the Borough is continuing its Woodstove Changeout Program by incentivizing eligible residents to upgrade their older woodstoves to cleaner solid fuel burning devices. These newer appliances, both wood and pellet, assist in cleaning up our air. These newer woodstoves help people to burn up to a third less firewood!

The Fairbanks North Star Borough Air Quality Improvement Program Wood Stove Exchange Program is going strong, and with the changes made to the program since June, more people are able to participate with more options within the program.

Specifically. Now, if you trade in your old non-EPA stove, (be it wood or coal), and upgrade to an efficient EPA certified wood stove, the payout is up to $2500 for the stove.

If you elect to remove a wood or coal stove, and agree not to use a wood stove for 10 years, the payout for the removal is $3000. You can install a wood pellet stove or pellet boiler if you want in its place, as pellet stoves and pellet boilers are considered exempt from the program.

If you have a rental unit or a commercial property with a wood or coal stove, and would like to participate in the replacement or removal program, now you can! Before, rentals and commercial properties were not allowed to be in the program, but the vote was unanimous to allow them to be able to participate. To apply for the program, you must live within the PM2.5 non-attainment boundary. (For more information on the Borough program, please call 459-1005).

Don’t forget The Woodway also has local pottery and art that is displayed throughout the year and new artists are featured along with refreshments throughout the winter months on the First Friday of every month starting in November. We also offer our “Light the Fire” classes free of charge on Saturday mornings where folks can come in and ask questions and learn how to start a fire properly and operate their stove as efficiently as cleanly as possible.

The Woodway would again like to thank the community for its trust over the years and look forward to keeping interior Alaska warm for many winters to come.

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28 to Sept. 24; and autumn is Sept. 25 to Oct. 26.

A modification of that for-mula is to make winter and summer be the bottom and top quarter of the range, and spring and fall everything in between.

By that method, winter is Nov. 3 to March 13; spring is March 14 to May 6; sum-mer is May 7 to Sept. 16; and autumn is Sept. 17 to Nov. 2.

FAIRBANKS WEATHER FACTSInformation below is based on

National Weather Service records dating back to 1930, with some earlier records included as noted.

AVERAGE DATE OF FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL

Oct. 1

AVERAGE DATE OF LAST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL

April 22

AVERAGE DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT OF WINTER SNOWPACK (1 INCH OR MORE)

Oct. 18

AVERAGE DATE OF LOSS OF WINTER SNOWPACK

(1 INCH OR MORE)

April 22

AVERAGE SNOWFALL

65.0 inches

AVERAGE SNOWFALL BY MONTH (LAST 30 YEARS)

• September — 1.8 inches• October — 10.8 inches

• November — 13.2 inches• December — 12.1 inches• January — 10.3 inches• February — 8.1 inches

• March — 4.9 inches• April — 2.9 inches• May — 0.9 inches

AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH MEASURABLE SNOWFALL IN FAIRBANKS

56.9

WINTERContinued from Page 2

AVERAGE TEMPERATURES BY MONTH (LAST 30 YEARS)

Month High Low Mean • September 54.6 35.1 44.9• October 31.9 16.5 24.2• November 10.9 -5.7 2.6• December 4.8 -12.9 -4.1 • January 1.1 -16.9 -7.9• February 10.0 -12.7 -1.3• March 25.4 -2.5 11.4• April 44.5 20.6 32.5• May 61.0 37.8 49.4

AVERAGE DATE OF FIRST LOW TEMPERATURE OF -20 OR BELOW

Nov. 19

AVERAGE DATE OF LAST LOW TEMPERATURE OF -20 OR BELOW

March 14

AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH A LOW TEMPERATURE OF -40 OR LOWER

11 (most in past 20 years is 18 in 2008-09)

AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH LOW TEMPERATURE OF -20 OR LOWER

47 (most in past 20 years is 61 last winter)

All temperaturesin Fahrenheit


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By ANDREW SHEELERFor the News-Miner

Remembering to plug — and unplug — your vehicle can be a hassle. But when the tempera-ture drops, the benefits to your health and wal-let can be worth the aggravation.

According to “Air Quality Fairbanks,” a publication released by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, vehicle exhaust contributes to as much as 30 percent of the fine particulate (PM 2.5) pollution in the Interior. In cold tempera-tures, high levels of PM 2.5 can become trapped low to the ground and become a breathing hazard, especially for the young, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions.

A review by the State of Alaska Epidemiol-ogy Bulletin found that as PM 2.5 levels rise, so too does the risk of stroke or respiratory tract infection in people under 65.

“This is Fairbanks, not some abstract concept,” said Cathy Cahill, a professor of atmospheric science at University of Alaska Fairbanks. Cahill said air quality in the winter can be a big deal, and by plugging in people can help decrease the PM 2.5 levels and their atten-dant risks.

If reducing your chance of stroke isn’t enough, there’s also a strong financial incen-tive to plugging in your vehicle when the temperature drops to 20 degrees or colder. For one, plugging in helps keep the engine warm. A warm engine prevents the oil from thickening, which can lead to hard starts and costly engine repair issues. Plugging in also helps prevent the engine from freezing and requiring a jump to be restarted.

On extremely cold days, it can be tempting to leave your car running when you run in to the store. Not only does this produce substan-

tially more pollution than if you were to turn your car off and then back on again, it also presents a prime opportunity for a car thief.

Fairbanks Police Chief Laren Zager said there is a correlation between cold tempera-tures in the Interior and incidents of car thefts.

“People are walking, they don’t want to be walking. They see a car running and they take it or they’ll sit in it,” Zager said. Zager cited the “underlying good advice” of not leaving keys in a vehicle because doors can be unlocked and windows can be broken.

“That’s getting easier and easier to do if you get an autostart,” said Colin Craven, of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center. He said there are some “simple rules of thumb for people to follow” when it comes to winter driv-ing. Craven stressed the importance of winter-izing your vehicle and making sure it’s in good running condition. He also recommended riding the city bus or carpooling with family whenever possible.

Winter and your car: It can affect your health, too


Extension cords fill almost every plug in the lower Com-mons parking lot at the University of Alaska Fairbanks as people make sure their vehicles will start in 40-below-zero Fahrenheit weather.

On extremely cold days, it can be tempting to leave your car running when you run in to the store. Not only does this produce substantially more pol-lution than if you were to turn your car off and then back on again, it also presents a prime opportunity for a car thief.


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By REBA [email protected]

It may sound counter-intuitive, but the farther North people live, the fewer snow days they come to expect.

In Fairbanks, school can-cellations because of weath-er are few and far between. Heavy snowfall, extreme low temperatures and icy roads are often expected and usu-ally only a combination of all conditions merit a can-cellation.

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School Dis-trict website states, “It is very unlikely that the school district will close schools simply because of cold weather.”

Rather than holding off

on getting kids out of bed while waiting on word of school closure, it might be more efficient to start planning warm outfits for children to wear outdoors at bus stops and during recess.

School recess is held out-doors until temperatures reach minus 20 degrees.

Layering is a good place to start when dressing kids for the cold. Long under-wear goes a long way to keep body heat close to its source. Sweaters and sweat-shirts can be removed in the warm classroom and added before going outdoors. Coats should be more than a shell, but having the waterproof layer is helpful in snowy conditions.

Snowpants or snowsuits

are not required by the school district, but they make long recess periods go by comfortably in the cold. Accessories like hats, mit-tens, scarves and boots can make all the difference in a matter of minutes in freez-ing temperatures.

During a short recess, students can think up all sorts of activities. They often run around sweating or spark up a wet snowball fight. The wetness seeps into materials like cotton and can make a person colder. Fabrics like wool, polypropolene or fleece stay dry and warm.

When it is too cold for the outdoors, the schools will hold indoor recess.

Contact staff writer Reba Lean at 459-7523.

School snow days are rare

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Bent birch trees covered in ice dot the forest in January at the Birch Hill Recreation Area.


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John Wagner/News-Miner

Sledders take advantage of record-breaking warm temperatures to ascend and descend the Beluga Field sledding hill in December on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus.


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By TIM [email protected]

• Originally published October 2010

The number of people cut-ting their own firewood to cut down on heating bills has increased dramatically in the last few years.

Not surprisingly, so have the number of house fires related to burning firewood.

“There was a definite increase last winter,” fire chief Mitch Flynn at the Steese Volunteer Fire Depart-ment said.

“The problems mostly revolve around chimneys not being cleaned enough and people using green firewood.”

Those two problems go hand in hand, Flynn said.

Burning green or wet fire-wood causes more creosote buildup in the chimney. Creo-sote is the black, tarry sub-stance that sticks to the side of the chimney. If the creo-sote ignites, which it often does, it causes a fire inside the chimney.

“When that heats up and gets out of control it damages the chimney,” Flynn said.

“That creosote builds up to a higher temperature than the chimney is designed for.”

That in turn weakens the chimney to the point that it allows too much heat to radi-ate out, causing a condition called pyrolysis, which is the slow decomposition of com-bustible materials like insu-lation and wood from heat, Ernie Misewicz, assistant chief for the Fairbanks Fire Department, said. Over time, the ignition temperature drops, making them more prone to igniting during a chimney fire.

The three main causes of fires related to any alter-native heating appliances, including woodstoves, are improper installation, improper use and improper maintenance, Misewicz said. One of the problems Mise-

wicz often sees is lack of proper clearance around a chimney when it’s installed. Most manufacturers require at least 2 inches of clearance around a chimney. Chim-ney need to be installed, inspected, used and cleaned according to the manufactur-ers specifications, both Flynn and Misewicz said.

Another common problem, Misewicz said, is people burn-ing green firewood, which results in creosote buildup.

That problem is often com-pounded when people don’t clean their chimneys, he said.

The best way to reduce creosote buildup is to burn dry wood, according to long-time Fairbanks chimney sweep Charlie Whitaker, own-er of A-Chimney Sweep.

“If you burn wet or green wood you don’t get a com-plete burn,” Whitaker said.

“You end up with a lot of creosote in the chimney.”

The general rule of thumb is not to burn firewood with a moisture content higher than 20 percent. Firewood should

be split and covered for at least one summer before it is burned.

Moisture meters are avail-able in wood stove shops around town for $30 to $40, Whitaker said. If you get one, be sure to split the wood and test the moisture in the mid-dle of the wood, not just the ends, he said.

How often the chimney should be cleaned depends how often and how the stove is used, and what kind of wood is being burned, Whita-ker said.

“It really depends on how hot the fires are, how efficient the stove is and how dry the firewood is,” he said.

If you’re burning hot fires with dry wood, little mainte-nance is required, Whitaker said.

If you burn slow, smolder-

Winter weather and burning wood go hand in hand

Please see WOOD, Page 11


HOME WEATHERIZATION

The weatherization program provides weatherization work on houses, apartments, &

mobile homes for qualified households.

Renters and homeowners with low to moderate income may be eligible for thermal doors, windows, insulation, air-sealing, weather-stripping and heating system repair at absolutely no cost. Save money on your fuel and electric bills! The paperwork is extremely simple!

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By DANNY [email protected]

You can spectate or partici-pate when it comes to several activities in the winter In the Fairbanks area.

For example, if you want to sit in the stands and enjoy a hockey game, there’s the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League and the Alaska Nanooks of the Central Colle-giate Hockey Association.

The Ice Dogs are the defending USA Hockey Rob-ertson Cup national cham-pions for Tier II Junior A hockey and they play their home games at the Big Dip-per Ice Arena.

The Ice Dogs have 28 home dates scheduled at the Big Dipper for the 2011-12 season, starting with a two-game series against the Odessa (Texas) Jackalopes on Oct. 7-8. The games begin at 7:30 each night.

For information on tick-ets, call 452-2111 or visit the team’s web site at www.fairbanksicedogs.pointstreak-sites.com.

The Nanooks, the NCAA Division I hockey program for the University of Alaska Fair-banks, play their first home

games against Mercyhurst College and the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the Brice Alaska Goal Rush on Oct. 14-15 at the Carlson Center. The Mercyhurst contest starts at 8:05 p.m. on Oct. 14 and the Nebraska-Omaha matchup gets underway at 7:05 p.m. on the final day.

The Alaska Anchorage

Seawolves are also participat-ing in the tournament but the Nanooks won’t face their intrastate rival that weekend.

The Rush is among 17 home dates for the Nanooks at the Carlson Center, includ-ing their CCHA opening series against Western Michi-gan on Oct. 21-22 and their regular-season and Alaska

Airlines Governor’s Cup Series finale against Alaska Anchorage on Feb. 25.

For ticket information, call 474-NOOK (6665) or visit www.alaskananooks.com.

For adults who desire to skate on an odd-man rush or deliver shots from the high slot, there is the Fairbanks Men’s Hockey Association and the Fairbanks Women’s Hockey Association.

The men’s organization is conducting its winter reg-istration and the women’s association’s next registra-tion session is scheduled for December.

For more information on the men’s organization, visit its web site at www.fair-banksmenshockey.com and for the women’s association, go to www.fairbankswomen-shockey.pucksystems.com.

The area’s ski trails and slopes will soon be filled with snow and there’s plenty of opportunities to stride on a trail or carve a turn on a slope.

The Nordic Ski Club of Fairbanks is an abundant resource for Nordic (cross country) skiing in this part of the state, particularly infor-mation about lessons, area trails, trails conditions and upcoming events. Member-ship also is avaiable in the organization and more infor-mation can be found at its site, www.nscfairbanks.org.

Among the popular Nordic venues in Fairbanks are the Birch Hill Recreation Area, the Creamer’s Field trails and the West Ridge Trails at the University of Alaska Fair-banks.

Downhill ski lovers and snowboarders have three

facilities to satisfy their ap-petities — the Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area on Fort Wainwright; Moose Mountain Ski Resort; and Mount Auro-ra Skiland.

The Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area also offers tubing, ski lessons and night skiing and snowboarding. Information about times, rates, rentals and snow con-ditions are available by call-ing 353-7053 or visiting its web site (www.ftwainwright-fmwr.com/birchhillski.html).

Moose Mountain, located off Moose Mountain Road near the intersection of Mur-phy Dome Road, possesses more than 1,250 feet of verti-cal terrain that ranges from the bunny slope at Moose Meadow to the steep and deep North Slope.

The resort offers runs for all ability levels and a lift which consists of capac-ity turbo-charged terrestial trams. Call 459-8132 or visit www.shredthemoose.com for more information.

Mt. Aurora Skiland is located at Cleary Summit by taking the Steese Highway to Fairbanks Creek Road and turning right on Skiland Road.

The facility is open Satur-days and Sundays, whenever enough snow is available. It offers beginner to advanced slopes for skiers and snow-boarders and features the Silver Star Double Chairlift, the farthest north chairlift in North America. More infor-mation is available by calling the Skiland office at 389-2314, its lodge at 389-3624 or going to www.skiland.org.

Winter is the pinnacle of our sports season

John Wagner/News-Miner

A member of the Face-Off Club helps assemble the large inflatable mascot of the Alaska Nanooks prior to a game against Union College during the Brice Alaska Goal Rush at the Carlson Center.

Please see SPORTS, Page 11

11Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, October 1, 2011 11386318 10-1-11 W

S

ing fires with green wood, the chimney will need to be cleaned on a regular basis to prevent creosote buildup.

“You can have the most efficient stove made and if you don’t use it properly it won’t do any good at all,” Whitaker said.

Anyone with questions regarding chimney or wood-stove installation should call their local fire department.

The North Star VolunteerFire Department in North

Pole will perform woodstove safety inspections for hom-eowners in that service area, said fire prevention officer Lt. Charles Potter.

The department also offers free use of chimney brushes to

clean chimneys, Potter said.Wood burners should

inspect their chimneys before they start using them in the fall.

“Look down there with a flashlight,” Flynn said. “Make sure you don’t see any abnor-malities.”

Do not spray water into a chimney to douse a chimney fire, Flynn advised.

“Sometimes that causes warpage and failure,” he said.

The best thing to do in the event of a chimney fire is to shut off the air flow to the stove and call the fire depart-ment, Flynn said.

Contact staff writer Tim Mowry at 459-7587.

WOOD: Proper burningContinued from Page 9

WOOD BURNING WISDOM• Follow manufacturers specifications when installing,

using and cleaning a woodstove and chimney.• Burn only well-seasoned wood, i.e. wood that has been

split and covered for at least one summer.• Don’t store any combustible items around a woodstove

or chimney, such as firewood, newspaper or clothing.• Inspect and clean your chimney before and during the

winter.• Don’t burn slow, smoldering fires. The hotter the fire,

the less creosote buildup.• Don’t burn trash and newspaper in the wood stove.• Anyone with questions regarding chimney or woodstove

installation should call their local fire department. The North Star Volunteer Fire Department in North Pole will perform woodstove safety inspections for homeowners in that service area.

The department also offers free use of chimney brushes to clean chimneys.

The Fairbanks Snow Travelers offer rides and events for snowmachine lov-ers and its web site (www.snowtravelers.org) features a trails database.

Registration is required for the web site.

The organization has a membership meeting sched-uled for 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at the Noel Wien Library.

For those who want a winter activity in liquid water rather than on or with frozen water, the Fair-

banks North Star Borough operates swimming pools at the Mary Siah Recreation Center and Hamme Pool, both of which are near Lathrop High School, and at the Wescott Pool in North Pole.

Information about fees, times and activities can be found by clicking the Facili-ties link on the borough’s Parks and Recreation web site (www.co.fairbanks.ak.us/parksandrecreation/) or calling 459-1070.

Contact staff writer Danny Martin at 459-7586.

SPORTS: Out on the iceContinued from Page 10


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Cabin fever can become an epidemic in Fairbanks’ winter months. As the hours of sunlight dwindle, people’s energy tends to drain along with it.

The darkness can confuse your brains into believing you’re tired all the time. Sometimes, the effect can have even more serious consequences. Seasonal Affective Disorder symp-toms include lethargy and overeating. People’s sleeping schedules can be thrown off and their moods worsened because of it.

Sharon Hollansbe at the University of Alaska Fair-banks encounters a lot of students with depression issues.

Many of them know that the lack of light dur-ing winter months affects their mood, while others are unclear why they feel depressed. In some cases, Hollansbe recommends those students check out a light-box that is said to simulate sunlight and help improve moods.

She also recommends get-ting outside while there is daylight, but, “there is not much motivation sometimes when they’re depressed.”

She notes that any exer-cise is important for stu-dents, but it is hard to tell for sure whether the small

amount of daylight outdoors helps her patients.

Jamie Marschner, presi-dent of Alaska Skijoring and Pulk Association, thinks it is important to get as much sunlight as possible in the winter.

“I make a point to get out between 10 and 2 every day,” she said.

As a result, she believes it helps ward off the symp-toms of SAD. She notices the effect darkness has on people in the area, including her husband. She says if people don’t get their daily dosage of sun, they tend to dislike Fairbanks and move after just a couple years.

One way to make sure to get some sunlight in a day is to use lunch breaks to head outside. An hour-long lunch break in the height of Fair-banks’ winter sun is perfect for a short walk or chilly run.

If more time is available, set up a schedule and force yourself to catch some rays each day.

At Running Club North’s website, information on run-ning in cold weather men-tions “when the city and surrounding low areas are blanketed with ice fog, it’s a psychological lift to run in the hills where you can at least see (but not feel) the sun.”

Breaking free from cabin fever may mean extreme temps, but it also may give you a better chance of avoid-ing depression.

Even in the winter, be sure to seek the sun

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John Hagen/News-Miner

A snowplow clear berms on the Steese Highway near Eagle Summit. The plow must clear this section of the road several times per day to keep it clear from blowing snow. Visible under the snow plume is a car that was stuck in the snow from the previous night.


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Dogs, cats and other pets face a difficult season. People who might be worried about whether or not their car will last through the cold or if their pipes will freeze should also consider their pets that normally spend time out-doors.

Dr. Val Stuve at Aurora Animal Clinic can think of many issues pet owners face with winter approaching.

Cats that normally spend a lot of time outdoors in the summer eating mice and voles should get checked for worms, and the same goes for dogs. Stuve said that there are new topical medicines that make it easy to remove parasites.

Antifreeze for cars is a major attractant for animals; its sweet taste is hard to

ignore but is extremely dan-gerous to consume. Pets can end up with kidney block-age, which is difficult to both diagnose and treat.

Owners should be aware, especially if they’re located farther away from town, that winter is trapping season.

Animals that get caught in traps can have severe loss of circulation to their extremi-ties, creating a huge risk of frostbite. Sometimes amputa-tion is the only option.

Outdoor dogs need ade-quate housing and extra

nutrition. Stuve recommends that when checking a dog’s weight by feeling its ribs, check without gloves on.

“You should be able to barely feel the ribs,” he said.

If fingers can fit between the ribs, the dog is most like-ly malnourished.

While outdoor pets are the major concern for pet own-ers, indoor pets need a little extra consideration in the winter months, as well. Fall is the best time to help the animals prepare for the real onslaught of cold.

At Blue Ribbon Grooming in Fairbanks, Beverly May has winter preparation for pets down to a science. She has noticed that a lot of peo-ple bring their pets in for a shedless treatment in the fall.

“Shedding can be an issue when you have your pet inside more,” she said.

May also said that people tend to be more concerned with pet odor with the pres-ence of their animals inside more often, so she often has customers who want a clean-ing.

“You want them more pleasant to be with,” she said.

On top of shedding and odor, owners should be con-cerned with their pets’ nail lengths.

Nails tend to grow longer during the winter months, when the rocks and dirt that normally keep the length down have disappeared underneath snow.

May advises pet owners to keep their pets’ regular appointments with groomers.

Some people believe that letting their pet’s hair grow out in the cold months will keep them warmer but May disagrees.

Houses are normally kept at warmer temperatures in winter, and come January and 40 below temperatures, pets whose hair has grown out and become matted need help, and shaving is often the only way to fix the situation. Pets walking away with a thin coat of fur in the coldest time of year is not a smart solution.

Giving an indoor or out-door pet an extra thought this season could make it much more comfortable or even save its life. Many cold-weather informational bro-chures are available at local veterinary offices.

Contact staff writer Reba Lean at 459-7523

Don’t forget your pets when it comes to the coldPet owners should be aware, especially

if they’re located farther away from town, that winter is trapping season. Animals that get caught in traps can have severe loss of circulation to their extremities, creating a huge risk of frostbite.

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By ELANA ASHANTI JEFFERSONThe Denver Post

Before you get slammed with a yule-tide to-do list that’s longer than Santa’s on Christmas Eve, make sure your home is tucked in tight against winter abuse. Taking simple steps now to safe-guard your home against seasonal wear and tear will save time and money in the future, as well as ensure the safety of all who pass over its threshold.

Another reason to winterize? Heating costs this season are expect-

ed to rise about 20 percent, according to the Department of Energy. The Denver Post chatted with Paul MacGregor, a radio personality known as Mr. Fix It,

about cold-weather home care.

Windows and doorsOld, cracked or shrinking caulk is a

top reason warm air escapes from the home. Products like Thermwell Door Weather Stripping, available for less than $10 at hardware and home-improvement stores, can increase energy efficiency by about 20 percent. Leaky windows can be covered with shrink-to-fit plastic.

RoofInspect for damage and leaks.

“You’re looking for obviously damaged or curling shingles, or sandy granules on the roofing materials,” MacGregor says. Call a roofing contractor for any-thing serious. Some will survey a roof

for free; others charge a nominal fee. MacGregor says unless there’s been a hailstorm, roofs can go without profes-sional care for five to 10 years.

InsulationMacGregor says many homes, even

new construction, are poorly insulated. This leads to indoor chill and high util-ity bills. A good insulation company can look inside walls to make sure the insu-lation is up to snuff. It usually is free for a professional’s opinion.

GarageIn homes where the garage is

attached, check the adjoining wall to make sure it is sufficiently insulated for energy efficiency and to prevent auto-

mobile fumes from wafting into living spaces. Never store anything of value on the floor.

Pipes and sprinklersFailing to drain sprinklers before

they freeze can lead to broken valves, burst pipes, frozen faucets and water damage to the house. Garden hoses split when they are left attached to faucets during the winter. Swamp-cooler water lines and sprinkler systems should be drained.

Driveway and sidewalksStanding water seeps into driveways,

sidewalks and steps, freezes, expands and then causes them to crack. Outdoor surfaces also deteriorate

Protect your home against the ravages of winter


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studs are serious Finnish business. When legislation instituted harsher restrictions on road wear in Europe, Nokian refused to hang up its cleats. Instead of abandoning their studded line of tread, Nokian responded by developing a lightweight carbide-titanium stud that lasts and grips, as well as satisfies DOT demands. NON-TOXIC NON-TOXIC

Nokian’s 70-year romance with arctic safety doesn’t stop with driving. Health has become a focus. Nokian is the first company in the world to have fully eliminated high-aromatic (HA) oils in its production. HA oils are the by-products of oil refining and are classified as carcinogens.

Nokian has developed a way to replace HA oils with natural oils such as canola in the manufacturing process. This move by Nokian not only benefits them in Finland where the tires are produced, it benefits every community in which the tires are consumed. As tires wear, hundreds of thousands of pounds of tire compound are released into the air and soil. Nokian has found a way to make this by-product of the commuting habit both non-toxic and non-

carcinogenic. HIGHER MPG HIGHER MPG

The tire industry has developed a term known as “rolling resistance.” Low rolling resistance translates to broad fuel savings over the life of a vehicle.

In plain English, "rolling resistance" refers to the amount of energy it takes to smash a round piece of rubber flat for an instant, as a tire grips the road. This momentary deformation of the tire, and the amount of energy it requires, can be regulated with smart structural and material choices in tire design.

The downside of creating a tire with low rolling resistance is that it focuses on getting rid of the connection between the tire and the road. Through creative chemistry, metallurgy and design, Nokian has developed the leading ice and snow tires with the most economic rolling resistance in the industry. NORDIC SMART NORDIC SMART

Nokian has done one thing for over 70 years: Manufacture tires for people who live near the Arctic Circle. They have never branched out to find other markets. They

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Made in Finland, Nokian Tires are one of the few things made specifically for Fairbanks.

See the research and full line of tires at Metropolitangarage.com.

18386399 10-2-11

winter survival guide

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