NOTN- City officials issued a high-risk avalanche evacuation advisory today as worsening weather conditions raised the likelihood of avalanches across all known slide paths.
The advisory, updated at 10:30 a.m., urges residents in at-risk areas to evacuate as increased snowfall, warmer temperatures and several inches of rain forecast at higher elevations are significantly heightening avalanche danger.
Officials stressed that the situation is rapidly evolving and could escalate further as weather conditions deteriorate.
Emergency response crews are staged and prepared to respond in the event of an avalanche at Thane road where DOT was scheduled to close the road at the avalanche gates at noon.
An emergency shelter is available at Centennial Hall, where the American Red Cross is prepared to provide mass care services, including meals, once formally activated. City officials said resources are in place to support evacuees should conditions worsen.
Pet sheltering is also available at Centennial Hall. Juneau Animal Rescue is offering additional emergency pet sheltering through its Safe-Keeping Program, and JAR and KTOO have created resources to help pet owners prepare for emergencies.
“‘It’s a substantial portion of downtown.” Said Deputy City Manager Robert Barr, “Downtown is the area that that we’ve been able to map. That doesn’t mean avalanche doesn’t exist elsewhere. folks should just be aware.”
Authorities urged residents to take precautions during the period of elevated avalanche risk, including avoiding travel beneath known avalanche paths, following all road and trail closures, and not stopping in avalanche runout zones. Residents were also advised to closely monitor official alerts and updates.
After storms or avalanche activity, officials warned people to stay clear of debris piles and runout areas and to wait for official reopening notices before resuming normal travel. Any observed avalanche activity should be reported to authorities.
Rep. Nick Begich, R-Alaska, speaks during the commissioning ceremony for the Coast Guard icebreaker Storis on Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 230-196 on Thursday to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years and reverse massive cost increases that went into effect with the new year.
The reversal must still be approved by the U.S. Senate and President Donald Trump before becoming effective.
Alaska’s lone member of the House, Republican Rep. Nick Begich III, voted against the extension, as did 195 other Republicans.
Seventeen Republicans voted for the extension of subsidies that were enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, joining all of the chamber’s Democrats.
The House’s Republican leaders opposed the extension, but a handful of Republicans signed a petition in December to force a vote.
Begich did not sign that petition, and on Wednesday, he joined other Republicans in an unsuccessful procedural vote intended to block Thursday’s decision.
In a written statement explaining his vote on Thursday, Begich said extending subsidies would not fix the problems he sees with the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. “The health insurance system created by Democrats under Obamacare has proven completely unaffordable for the American healthcare customer,” the statement said. “An extension of Obamacare COVID subsidies does not fix what is broken.”
He said he would like to see reforms to the Affordable Care Act, without which he said the extension “has no credible pathway forward in the Senate.”
In December, Begich voted in favor of a Republican-proposed alternative to the extension. That alternative, which focuses on drug costs, would not stop or reverse the new cost increases and has thus far been rejected by the Senate.
The Congressional Budget Office reported that the alternative would reduce health insurance premiums for insured Americans but would also reduce the number of Americans who are insured.
“I remain committed to working on reforms that lower costs, expand access, and improve outcomes for all Americans,” Begich said in his statement. “Temporary extensions without meaningful reform are not the solution. Real reform that puts patients first is.”
In December, Alaska’s two U.S. Senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan — both Republicans — joined Senate Democrats in an unsuccessful attempt to advance a condition-free extension similar to the one passed by the House on Thursday.
That was a change in position for Sullivan, who had previously opposed extensions that were not coupled with changes to the Affordable Care Act.
Begich and Sullivan are each up for election this fall. Sullivan does not have a Democratic Party-backed opponent yet, but former U.S. House Rep. Mary Peltola is widely expected to enter the race this month.
Begich is being opposed by Anchorage pastor Matt Schultz. Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft said by email that Thursday’s vote will be a campaign issue in the fall.
“After allowing lifesaving ACA tax credits to expire on December 31, Nick Begich doubled down on his betrayal of Alaska families and blocked the extension of these credits,” he wrote. “We cannot afford these health care price hikes, and we won’t forget about Nick Begich’s betrayal this November.”
NOTN-Eaglecrest Ski Area officials say the resort continues to operate even with the extreme winter weather, closures, infrastructure problems and leadership turnover.
One of the most significant operational challenges for Eaglecrest has been a major water system failure beneath Fish Creek Lodge. Officials said the break was caused by aging infrastructure, not freezing, but repairs were complicated when a separate heating-system water line was damaged during initial work.
Contractors are now scheduled to install a supplemental water line, with hopes of restoring service next week. Water testing will be required before potable use can resume.
Mountain operations crews are continuing grooming and trail preparation as the snowfall allows, though mechanical issues with snowcats have slowed the progress.
Contractors are on site assisting with repairs. Plans are also being developed for snowmaking improvements and the possible return of night skiing.
According to the managers report released after the meeting last night, Eaglecrest has seen access improvements. For the 2025-26 season, the City and Borough of Juneau assumed responsibility for maintaining Fish Creek Road.
City crews are currently widening the road to improve traffic flow to the ski area.
Despite the continuous operational hurdles, the report discussed strong participation in snowsports programs. The ski area hosted three holiday camps with 125 students and launched its first multi-week programs in early January.
Thursdays meetings also brought notable leadership changes.
First reported by the Juneau Independent, General Manager Craig Cimmons resigned, after taking up the position on September 30 of 2024.
Board chair Hannah Shively stepped down for health reasons. Erin Lupro, a longtime employee and former acting general manager, was appointed interim general manager, with Cimmons assisting in the transition for up to 30 days.
Eaglecrest has faced financial strain as well, including a reported 40% drop in season pass sales and major projected deficits in the years leading up to the proposed gondola project.
On January 5, a report was presented during a Special Finance Committee Planning Meeting that shows Eaglecrest is facing mounting budget deficits.
Eaglecrest entered the current fiscal year with a budget deficit of $691,600, with the lowest previous fund balance in fiscal year 2006.
Under the current projections, the report estimates the fund balance could reach between negative $2.5 million and negative $3.0 million at the start of fiscal year 2027.
The mountain’s long-term financial planning is tied heavily to the proposed gondola project, but the first potential gondola related revenue is only expected in the final two months of fiscal year 2028.
Officials said additional updates on operations, infrastructure repairs and leadership transitions will be shared as the season continues.
NOTN- All Juneau School District (JSD) schools will be closed today January 9, due to the weather.
A statement was released by JSD yesterday evening saying that for the safety of students, staff and families all classes, meetings and activities are cancelled.
City and Borough of Juneau engineers are continuing to monitor the roofs at CBJ facilities during the closures.
Thane Road will be closed at the avalanche gates beginning at noon today due to a high risk of avalanches. An avalanche advisory for all known slide paths also went into effect yesterday evening, and officials warn that hazardous conditions are expected to intensify over the coming days.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced the emergency closure for Thane Road, the closure is scheduled to be re-evaluated at 8 a.m. Saturday.
“The avalanche hazard is expected to remain high over the next few days,” DOT said in their social media post, “If a natural avalanche reaches the roadway, it is unlikely DOT&PF will be able to safely remove the avalanche debris until the hazard can be minimized from mitigation work or once the hazard has decreased naturally.”
At the same time, the City and Borough of Juneau warned that avalanche risk across the Mount Juneau slide paths remains high and is expected to significantly increase over the next few days.
An atmospheric system bringing warmer air and precipitation has raised concerns about destabilizing the deep snowpack that has built up over weeks of heavy snowfall. While the situation does not currently warrant an evacuation advisory, city officials said preparations are underway.
Officials said an emergency alert would be issued if an evacuation advisory is called.
Authorities are continuing to monitor avalanche conditions closely and emphasized that public safety remains the priority.
The city is bracing for heavy rain and potential the for more flooding of roadways and storm drains as an atmospheric river is expected to impact much Southeast Alaska into the weekend, weather officials are saying Juneau will see a transition to rain later today.
Photo courtesy of Mendenhall River Community School
NOTN- Students and staff at Mendenhall River Community School were relocated to Thunder Mountain Middle school today out of an abundance of caution after engineers raised concerns about the snow load on the roof in the gymnasium, according to a statement released by Juneau School District.
According to the statement, engineers conducted a walk-through inspection of the school and initially cleared the building for occupancy. However, during a second inspection the recommendation was made to relocate students and staff to TMMS.
District officials said all students and staff are safe.
Students were transported by school bus with their classes and teachers to TMMS, where families can pick them up after 1 p.m.
The tundra surrounding Bethel, Alaska turns red and gold in the fall. October 10, 2023. (Photo by Claire Stremple/Alaska Beacon)
A national support line for Native survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault has begun work to launch an Alaska-specific service.
Strong Hearts Native Helpline is a Native-led nonprofit that offers 24-hour, seven-day-a-week support for anonymous and confidential calls from people who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault.
The line is staffed by Native advocates, but Strong Hearts Deputy Executive Officer Rachel Carr-Shunk said there are not yet any Alaska Native people answering phone calls.
That is set to change soon.
“Even though we’re a Native organization and all of our advocates are American Indian, we do recognize that there is a difference for our Alaska Native relatives who experience violence in that context, whether they live in a rural village or they just live in Alaska, which is a different experience,” she said.
Carr-Shunk expects the organization to launch the Alaska-specific line within the next calendar year, after building partnerships in the state.
“When Alaska Native survivors reach out, we want them to trust that they’re going to have someone who understands their experience as an Alaska Native person, or who understands that identity,” she said.
To that end, the organization has hired Anchorage-based Minnie Sneddy, who is originally from Hooper Bay. Sneddy is tasked with explaining Alaska’s regional differences and specific needs to the organization, as well as helping create a database of Alaska resources.
Sneddy has years of experience in behavioral health work and said that her career and life experience have shown her the lack of resources for people who face domestic violence and sexual assault — and how many of those people need mental health support.
“The years I lived in Hooper Bay, and here in Anchorage and Alaska, there’s so many (people) that need help and want help, but they feel like if they do come forward and get help, they get in trouble — not only with their families, but with OCS, Office of Children’s Services,” she said. “I feel like Strong Hearts Native Helpline can help at least allow a person to be heard, because the majority of time, people want to be heard. Everyone just wants to feel seen and be heard.”
Sneddy said she is reaching out to resources that already exist in the state, and Strong Hearts is working with the Alaska Native Women’s Resource Center to build out its state-specific service.
“We don’t have a voice, really, in the villages,” Sneddy said, adding that when abuse happens: “There’s no help for an individual. And if a woman decides to do something about it, she’s seen as a bad person.”
The Strong Hearts Native Helpline is available now for Alaskans, even though there are not yet Alaska Native advocates on the other end of the line. A full list of Alaska shelters and victim’s services providers can be found in the state directory at law.alaska.gov.
Audience watches a dance group perform at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in October 2018 at the Dena’ina Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska. (Photo from video by Joaqlin Estus/ICT)
State demographer David Howell said on Wednesday that the state estimate isn’t expected until at least Jan. 28 due to the lack of required data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The estimate is typically published in the first full week of January by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development and reflects information as of July the previous year.
While the department uses Permanent Fund Dividend data to hone its guess, it also incorporates Census data published annually. That data, normally available by the start of the year, isn’t expected until Jan. 27, Howell said. That means the state’s estimate can’t be finalized.
The estimate is a barometer of the state’s economic and social health: When the state’s economy is booming and the Lower 48’s economy is stagnant, in-migration surges. When the opposite is true, more people leave the state than arrive.
Last year’s estimate showed 741,147 residents, the highest population since 2017, in part due to an unexpected surge in the estimated number of people moving to Alaska from outside the United States.
If the new estimate is on par or above last year’s figure, it could be a sign that the state’s decade-long economic malaise is ebbing.
This year’s estimate is also expected to incorporate an increase in military residents in and near Fairbanks, which could boost the Golden Heart’s population.
In the long run, Alaska’s population is expected to drop because a lack of new arrivals has caused the state’s average age to rise.
That leads to a drop in the number of new births and a rise in the number of elderly Alaskans. By 2050, the agency expects the state’s population to drop by about 2%.
Capital Transit, submerged in pooling water, photo courtesy of CBJ
NOTN- Winter is far from over, and the next phase of Juneau’s extreme winter weather is coming in the form of an atmospheric river, which is expected to bring heavy rain to Southeast Alaska through the weekend, and this is raising concerns about flooding as rain falls on to an already deep snowpack that has clogged storm drains, flooded roads and pooled on highways and strained local infrastructure.
The system is forecast to arrive late tonight and persist through early Saturday morning, according to the National Weather Service Juneau.
In Juneau, forecasters are predicting the storm will begin as snow and transition to rain Friday morning, totaling roughly 1 to 4 inches.
The rain will fall on the already deep snowpack across much of the central and northern Panhandle, increasing water pooling in streets and low-lying areas where blocked storm drains prevent proper runoff, there is also increased risk of possible isolated landslides for the southern panhandle.
Governor Mike Dunleavy has verbally approved Juneau’s disaster declaration, activating the state’s public assistance program.
Under the declaration, the state is assisting Juneau with clearing snow from roofs of critical public facilities, including schools, water treatment plants and Bartlett Regional Hospital.
Crews will also help dig out storm drains and fire hydrants to reduce flooding and maintain emergency access. However, officials emphasized that the assistance does not extend to private homes or businesses.
Emergency managers said conditions will continue to be monitored closely as the storm develops and additional updates will be issued as needed.
The deadly landslide that crashed through the outskirts of Wrangell on the night of Nov. 20, 2023, is seen from the air on the following day. The landslide killed six people and blocked a major road, the Zimovia Highway. The slide was triggered by heavy rain carried north by an atmospheric river. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)
Future assessments of U.S. landslide hazards could include the study of risks posed by atmospheric rivers, which caused extreme precipitation that was linked to recent deadly slides in Southeast Alaska.
The added focus on atmospheric rivers is one of the main updates in a bill that would reauthorize the National Landslide Preparedness Act. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, passed the U.S. Senate on Monday and is now to be considered by the U.S. House.
Atmospheric rivers are long and transitory bands of moisture and heat, likened to rivers in the sky. They carry that moisture northward from more southern latitudes, and they can dump vast amounts of rain for several hours or even days.
“You can very rapidly saturate soils in the right conditions,” said Rick Thoman, a scientist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Preparedness at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
When such large amounts of warm southern moisture hit the steep mountainous regions of Southeast Alaska, they can cause sudden downhill flows, Thoman said.
“It’s really that intense amount of rain that atmospheric rivers deliver that’s the link to landslides,” he said.
Numerous landslides in the United States have been triggered by atmospheric rivers’ extreme precipitation. Those events include the 2023 slide in Wrangell that killed six people, the 2020 slide in Haines that killed two people and the 2015 slide in Sitka that killed three people.
Extreme precipitation events from atmospheric rivers are tied to shallow-seated landslides such as the deadly events that struck Southeast Alaska in recent years. Other types of Alaska landslides are caused by more deep-seated slope failures triggered by glacial retreat, permafrost thaw or a combination of those forces.
Also passed on Monday by unanimous consent in the Senate was another Murkowski-sponsored and disaster-focused bill, the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act. That bill, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, supports the federal program that maintains earthquake measurement resources and equipment and equipment and early warning systems.
“Earthquakes and landslides are active threats that have taken lives and damaged property across Alaska in recent years,” Murkowski said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Our passage of these bills puts us on track to ensure that federal agencies have the resources they need to help keep communities safe both back home and around the country. I thank my colleagues for working cooperatively to pass these measures and urge the House to take them up and send them to the President as soon as possible.”
Update: Following an emergency declaration by the City and Borough of Juneau and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida, Governor Mike Dunleavy declared a state disaster, unlocking emergency and operational support as Juneau prepares for an incoming atmospheric river.
Officials say funding and staffing are urgently needed to reduce roof snow loads, clear drainage systems, access hydrants, and monitor avalanche risks, particularly at schools and other public facilities. The National Weather Service is forecasting up to two inches of rain on Friday alone and rapidly warming temperatures later this week, which will increase the risk of avalanches and landslides.
State Emergency Operations Center staff and partner agencies have already begun mobilizing resources to assist Juneau.
City Manager Katie Koester says the winter storm impacts are unprecedented, noting the community is exhausted and winter is far from over. The Juneau Assembly is scheduled to consider ratifying the disaster declaration at a special meeting this evening, with public participation available both in person and online.
Original Story:
Juneau has declared a local emergency to bring in additional help to clear snow from public facility roofs as the prolonged heavy snowfall followed by rain is raising concerns about roof loads and public safety.
“Our city crews have been busy doing snow removal and now hauling away snow. Our personnel are getting tired, and we’re getting low on personnel. So what’s coming up next, especially with the rain, is shoveling our public facility roofs.” Said Mayor Beth Weldon, “That’s the city roofs, and also the tribal roofs. The state is already sending public facility crews to help out with that, but in order to do that, we needed to have an emergency declaration.”
The emergency declaration, issued this evening, was made jointly by the City and Borough of Juneau and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida.
The declaration allows the state to deploy public facilities crews to assist with clearing snow from city and tribally owned buildings, digging out fire hydrants and conducting avalanche monitoring as needed.
Weldon stated that the additional resources will be used only for public infrastructure and not for private properties.
“These crews are coming in to help with the government, that’s what they do with an emergency, so they will not be helping with individual private roofs or private driveways.”
The emergency declaration also makes it possible to request help from the Alaska National Guard.
“At this time, we’re not sure if the National Guard will be coming or not. It will depend on what these public facility crews can do. So there’s potential that they will come, but at this time, we’re not sure if they will come or not.” Weldon Said. “Between our crews and the public facility crews, if we can get the roofs shoveled off, especially now with the rain, then we don’t need the National Guard. If we do need the National Guard, especially shoveling out hydrants, then they will bring those in also. We’re not 100% sure what that looks like yet. This is hot off the press.”
Weldon said the city had not previously declared an emergency because conditions were manageable, “We just want to make sure that the public is aware why we’re declaring one now, now that it’s raining and the snow is getting a little heavier, we’re getting concerned with our roofs, although right now, structurally, we are fine.”
The emergency declaration does not change how the city is handling street plowing. Weldon said city crews will continue working on roads, but snow berms left by plows on private property will remain the responsibility of property owners.
“I’m not saying that the city crews at some time can’t help a little bit with the berms that unfortunately end up being on private property, We’re very aware that berms are very hard to shovel, but we don’t have the manpower right now to take away the berms.”
Juneau has been dealing with record-breaking snowfall in recent weeks, taxing local resources and prompting repeated closures of schools and city facilities.
