Fred Meyer closed indefinitely after Tuesday night evacuation due to roof concerns from heavy snow
- Mark Sabbatini
- Jan 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 8
Some gas pumps operating Wednesday, after station was closed last week when canopy partially collapsed
By Mark Sabbatini and Laurie Craig
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
Fred Meyer is closed indefinitely after the store was evacuated Tuesday night due to concern about the snow load on the roof, a spokesperson said Wednesday.
"Out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to temporarily close the Juneau Fred Meyer while we undergo building maintenance and snow removal," Tiffany Sanders, a spokesperson for Kroger Co., the parent company of Fred Meyer, stated in an email to the Juneau Independent. "We will reopen as soon as possible."
It is the second closure of the store during the current series of storms, with the first occurring last Thursday afternoon and lasting until Sunday. In addition to concerns about the store’s roof, a canopy at the gas station partially collapsed earlier on Thursday.
Some of the gas pumps were operating on Wednesday, with the area where the collapse occurred cleaned up and cordoned off.
A portion of the gas station at Fred Meyer remains closed, left, while other pumps are open on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, following the partial collapse of a canopy last week. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Independent)
Tuesday’s closure happened at about 7 p.m. Edwina John, a Juneau resident, said she was at the customer service door entrance when she was asked to leave.
"They said the weight of the water was weighing down the snow and it might collapse," she said.
Storms that dumped a record amount of snow on Juneau during the final days of December, along with more heavy snowfall the past couple of days, have resulted in numerous closures of businesses and other facilities, including the Nugget Mall. Rain on Tuesday added to the weight load on snow-covered roofs, with KTOO reporting the roof of the unoccupied Bill Ray Center downtown Juneau collapsed Tuesday.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306. Contact Laurie Craig at lauriec@juneauindependent.com.
