Aerial view of Cape Liburne AFS taken during the summer of 1976. Note 5,000 ft. gravel surfaced runway along water`s edge. Two orange tanks are fuel tanks and two white tanks across the road are water storage tanks. Total water capacity was approximately 500,000 gallons with about 300,000 of that amount dedicated to fire reserve. Water was pumped into the tanks from the bed of the stream running perpendicular to the ocean at the bottom of the photo from the spring thaw in June through the fall freeze in September. Water rationing was necessary most of 1976 because of equipment failures in 1975 and 1976. One arctic shower was permitted per week. An arctic shower was one minute of water to get wet, turn off the water and lather up and one minute of water to rinse. Also, the dining hall and NCO Club used paper/plastic in place of china plates, etc. Only glasses and silverware were washed.

AT the top center of the photo, the search radar and tropspheric scatter microwave antennae can be seen. Beyond the far end of the runway an abandoned tramway is barely visible and beyond that, and not visible, is a small cemetery of native Alaskans. The town of Wevok existed at this location until 1931 when a smallpox epidemic decimated the town. The survivors left the area and only the cemetery remains to documetn their presence at the site.

Photo of the Chukchi Sea taken from the main building`s second story weather observation tower during the summer of 1976. Note the ice floes in the foreground and the solid line of ice in the distance. As the sun never set from late May through late July, this picture was probably taken in August. That autumn the Chukchi Sea froze from the shoreline to about a quarter mile out to sea in ten hours.

No smog here! The moon shines brightlyover "Top Camp" at Cape Lisburne.

The site played host to many visitors, some human and some not. These polar bear cubs are loosely tied to their mother on an ice floe not far from the site. She is tranquilized and is becoming a statistic in a study to determine the migratory habits of polar bears. When she recovers, the loose tether will pull away and the cubs and mom will go on their way. One polar bear, recently weaned from its mother, decided to dine in the site dumpster rather than hunt seals and had to be tranquilized by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game and hauled out to sea in a sling hung from a helicopter. By 1976, hunting polar bears was illegal except by native Alaskans. Looking through the site logs, it was interesting to note the number of general officers who found it necessary in previous years to visit Cape Lisburne during polar bear hunting season. Just a coincidence, don`t you think?

Polar bears have not natural enemies and figure anthing that moves is good eating. A second polar bear which decided to take up residence at Cape Lisburne tried to take a bite out of the tire of the Wein Airlines Twin Otter (the "Weenie Bird") as it taxied up to the site terminal. That bear was shot by an Eskimo from Point Hope who happened to arrive at the site while the bear was in the "courtyard" in the center of the compound. Ironically, the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game people were in Kotzebue awaiting a flight to Cape Lisburne to tranquilize and deport the bear out to sea.

In the autumn of 1976, the caribou migrated inland rather than taking their normal route along the coast. That change made the barren ground grizzly bears living nearour site very hungry and our dining hall dumpster became their favorite bistro. Fortunately, our two site mascots, Huskies named Nikki and Bad Ass would warn us of the bears` approach and an announcement over our PA system would caution everyone to stay inside until the bears left.