Atka bids farewell to Sarah Outen and Justine Curgenven on May 16. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

For the past three years, a British woman has been trying to travel around the globe using only her own strength. Sarah Outen is now in the Aleutian Islands, tackling some of the world’s wildest seas in a kayak -- and learning plenty along the way. 

A late-night smoke break led to an emergency response at the UniSea bunkhouses last week.

Unalaska's public safety department received reports of a fire at the Attu bunkhouse around 1 a.m. Friday. Fire volunteers arrived to find light-colored smoke pouring out of one of the bunkhouse rooms.

"The building had been evacuated, the alarms were going off, and the Shemya building had also been evacuated due to the proximity," says fire chief Abner Hoage. "The exterior walls are pretty close there."

It’s been more than six months since the F/V Arctic Hunter went aground outside Unalaska. Now, the boat's insurance company is almost ready to drag it off the rocks.

Insurance adjustor Jim Ronning says they’re expecting to sign a deal with a contractor by the end of the week.

That contractor will have to cut the Hunter into pieces and drag them out of the shallows, back to harbor.

Unalaska's city council tackled a litany of financial issues at this week's meeting -- everything from property taxes, to the upcoming budget, to one councilor's international travel plans. 

United States Senator Mark Begich is planning to visit constituents in the Aleutian Islands this month. 

Begich's press office confirms that the senator will travel to Unalaska and Cold Bay on May 25. He'll be joined by Rear Admiral Tom Ostebo, the outgoing commander of the Coast Guard in Alaska.

In Unalaska, the senator is planning to hold a one-hour public meeting at City Hall. Arctic development is at the top of his agenda, according to press secretary Heather Handyside.

Mt. Shishaldin seen from the air on May 7, 2014. (Courtesy of Meghan Bliss)

Shishaldin Volcano is rumbling to life in the Aleutian Islands.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory detected long tremors and an increase in surface temperatures at Shishaldin on Tuesday.

Those could be signs of an an eruption, says AVO geologist Robert McGimsey.

"Typical eruptions of Shishaldin have involved what we call Strombolian eruptions, which are gas-charged emissions," McGimsey says.

Unalaska’s finances for the upcoming year will come into focus at tonight’s city council meeting.

The council is scheduled to adopt a five-year plan for capital projects, and they’ll take their first vote on the 2015 budget.

It includes more $31 million in spending, including a $25.3 million operating budget.

That's an increase of about 3 percent over the current operating budget.

The CDQ group for the Aleutian and Pribilof islands is trying to get better returns on its investment in graduate students.

It's been a year since Unalaska started uncovering big problems with a major construction project in town.

Work is moving forward on the city’s new wastewater treatment plant.

But as KUCB's Annie Ropeik reports, staff are still trying to put a price on the damage done.