ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The synthetic opioid fentanyl is an escalating problem in Alaska, and it’s leading to a significant increase in deaths, state authorities said Tuesday.

“It is a scary problem,” Alaska State Trooper Capt. Michael Duxbury said at a press briefing on the state’s opioid crisis. “Fentanyl is by far the biggest concern.”

Jay Butler, the state’s chief medical officer, said 2017 statistics have not been finalized, but there were at least two dozen fentanyl-related deaths, compared with five or six such deaths the previous year. Altogether, opioids were invol...