Unalaska, AK – The Aleutian village of Nikolski has run out of fuel, and the remote community is now without phone service or electricity. Few details were available from Nikolski today, because all phone lines to the village were down. Officials at the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association were looking into the situation, but had little information available as of this afternoon.

Fuel suppliers in Unalaska who deliver to Nikolski said that the village had been calling them about a delivery. But bad weather conditions are forecast for the next few days, and are expected to keep fuel barges from reaching the community before the end of the week.

Delta Western Fuels has delivered a small amount of fuel by plane for use in the Nikolski Village School, which is believed to have enough fuel for the next day or two at this point.

Nikolski is on Umnak Island, west of Unalaska. The village is home to about 34 mostly Native residents. Some archaeologists believe Nikolski to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the world. Like many subsistence-based villages in Southwest Alaska, it's been hit hard by rising fuel prices.

But APIA President Dimitri Philemonof, who spoke with Nikolski community leaders today, says that this fuel shortage was a logistical problem, and not related to financial issues.

[Correction: The fuel delivered to Nikolski on Monday was delivered by Pen Air, not Delta Western. The fuel was purchased from Delta Western.]