NOTN- Juneau officials are urging residents living within the Behrends avalanche path to continue evacuating and are advising the public to limit activity in the area as avalanche risk remains elevated.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the city continues to recommend that people avoid stopping or parking within the Behrends avalanche path, citing ongoing uncertainty about snowpack stability and limited visibility at higher elevations due to the rainy and windy weather conditions.
Barr emphasized that the avalanche path shown on CBJ maps represents the maximum modeled extent of a worst-case avalanche event.
“It is important to note that the Behrends avalanche slide path, as shown in the CBJ avalanche maps, represents the maximum extent of the largest model avalanche event, meaning it is unlikely than an avalanche would reach the outer reaches of the map, that includes Egan drive.” Barr Said.
While officials say it is unlikely that an avalanche would reach Egan Drive, emergency planners prepare for the most severe scenario.
“Our emergency programs and responders prepare for the worst.” Barr said, “That means having critical resources staged on both sides of town, as well as having plans for their partners to respond and care for emergency medical transportation and other needs, we also want to make sure that the public has all the information we have so that they can make their own decisions about their potential risk.”
Barr noted that forecasting avalanche risk remains complex, particularly because weather conditions have prevented crews from visually inspecting the snowpack near the top of the Behrends slide path. Barr said information about the volume and stability of snow in the upper reaches of the slide zone is limited.
“Predicting and forecasting risk is complicated and can be an exercise in making decisions with incomplete information.” Barr said.
City teams were monitoring conditions overnight, so far there has been no major release, and the evacuation advisory remains in effect this morning.
Officials said additional information will be shared once crews are able to safely access and visually inspect the snowpack, which could happen later this week depending on weather conditions.
