High fuel costs particularly painful in rural Alaska towns

Throughout rural Alaska, the summer’s fuel barges arrived with loads of diesel, heating fuel and a big bill for cities and boroughs.

Away from Alaska’s road system and along western and northern coasts that freeze in winter, fuel arrives by barge or plane once, twice or a handful of times per year. This year, those deliveries are coming with prices near record highs.

While consumers are paying at the pump directly, there is the growing potential for a second financial hit as towns, villages, cities and boroughs absorb high fuel costs in their budget.

The results have yet to play out, but exper...