Avalanche evacuation advisory lifted except for Behrends area; CBJ facilities, schools open Monday except for MRCS

Centennial Hall remains open as emergency shelter; free parking at downtown CBJ garages ends Monday

Free parking in city garages downtown is scheduled to end at 8 a.m. Monday. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

An evacuation advisory in effect for the past two days for all known avalanche slide paths in Juneau was partially lifted Sunday evening, but remains in effect for the Behrends slide path beneath Mount Juneau.

"Slide paths outside of the Behrends area have experienced enough natural avalanche activity that forecasters no longer consider them an imminent threat," an update at the City and Borough of Juneau’s website states.

Centennial Hall will remain open as an emergency shelter for people in the Behrends area, according to CBJ. About 45 people and a dozen pets have stayed there the past two nights.

"Residents are advised to stay out of the Behrends pathway and to continue avoiding travel and recreation in the Flume Trail area," the update notes. "Capital Transit will not be making stops between the Federal Building and Bartlett Hospital until the evacuation advisory for this area is lifted."

City facilities will reopen on Monday after being closed most of the past two weeks due to record snow and rain storms. Free parking in the Downtown Transit Center garage and Marine Parking Garage will end at 8 a.m. Monday.

All Juneau Public Schools will also be open except for Mendenhall River Community School. "Roof clearing is complete at Mendenhall River Community School, but snow is still being cleared from the ground around the school," Kristin Bartlett, chief of staff for the Juneau School District, wrote in an email Sunday evening to parents and staff. "MRCS students and staff will transition to remote learning for tomorrow."

Harborview Elementary School and Juneau-Douglas High School Yadaa.at Kalé (JDHS) are not in avalanche runout or hazard zones, Bartlett noted.

Buses will run on normal routes, except there will be no school bus service on Thane Road or on Glacier Avenue/Glacier Highway between Highland Drive and Bartlett Regional Hospital, according to Bartlett. The Mendenhall Peninsula stop will meet at Engineers Cutoff on Glacier Highway.

A high wind watch is in effect Tuesday and Wednesday for much of Southeast Alaska. (National Weather Service Juneau)

CBJ Avalanche Advisor John Bressette, in a prepared statement, noted conditions remain unpredictable.

“This winter’s snowpack and weather patterns are unusual for this area,” he said. “While some monitored paths outside of Behrends show reduced hazard, the Behrends slide path continues to present significant risk.”

Rain and snow is expected throughout this week, according to the National Weather Service Juneau. A high wind watch with gusts up to 65 miles per hour is also in effect for most of Southeast Alaska between noon Tuesday and 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Bressette said the forecast calls for freezing levels above 3,000 feet later this week and two to three inches of rain, which may create conditions that can trigger larger avalanches at higher elevations.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.