Taking a load off: 3 million pounds of snow shoveled just from CBJ’s roofs after record storms

One planeload of people, another plane full of shovels, and new avalanche monitoring equipment to observe Mt. Juneau flown in to help mitigation efforts, city manager says

Workers remove snow from the roof of Mendenhall River Community School on the night of Jan. 8, 2026. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

More than 200 people on one plane and a load of shovels on another were flown in to help Juneau remove more than 3 million pounds of snow from municipal facilities and schools following record storms, City Manager Katie Koester told the Juneau Assembly at its meeting Monday night.

"It turns out we don't have that many snow shovels in Juneau, especially during a snowpocalypse," she said.

Koester also said new equipment to monitor avalanches on Mount Juneau has been installed as an evacuation advisory for the Behrends slide area beneath it remains in effect. Another major storm with up to three inches of rain and winds gusting to more than 65 miles per hour is forecast between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday, which will increase risks on snow slopes, according to the National Weather Service Juneau.

"We kind of have three different scenarios in front of us," she said. "One, I think the best scenario is that some of that precipitation at elevation and that wind would trigger multiple small slides on Behrends, and that would release pressure and allow residents to return to their homes. Another option that could happen — and this is not an exact science and we're operating with limited information — is that moisture could stabilize the snowpack, and then it would just kind of sit up there."

"And then the third option, of course, is the least favorable and that it triggers a large slide, and we would have damage to homes," she added. "So that's really why we're continuing a high level of awareness."

A shelter at Centennial Hall remains available for people in the evacuation area, Koester said.

"Our census at that shelter, at its peak was just under 50 individuals," she said. "With Behrends Avenue being the only path open now it's down to about 12, and that shelter will remain open as long as we have an evacuation notice in effect and we are not turning anyone away from that shelter."

The city’s cold-weather emergency shelter in Thane will remain in its same location on Tuesday night, according to Jennifer Skinner, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul Juneau, which operates the shelter. The turnoff to the facility is located just shy of a section on Thane Road that will be closed between noon Tuesday and at least 6 a.m. Wednesday by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities due to heightened avalanche risk.

The cold-weather shelter was relocated to Sitʼ Eeti Shaanáx̱ Glacier Valley Elementary School on Friday night due to avalanche concerns in the Thane area, prompting concerned comments from some residents. Koester said access was limited to the gym and other precautions were taken to ensure the temporary shelter wouldn’t be disruptive or damaging to the school.

"We had increased JPD patrols, we had cold-weather shelter staff monitoring that event and that was only for one night," she said.

The Behrends evacuation advisory means Capital Transit buses are not making stops between the Federal Building downtown and Bartlett Regional Hospital. It also means

"Our advice is you can transit through that area," Koester said. "It's just not good to stand around for a long time and so that's why, until that evacuation order has been lifted, Capital Transit will not be making stops on Glacier Avenue."

Koester said more than 200 people to shovel snow and perform engineering assessments on roofs were brought in via the city’s insurance company. All told, including city and other workers, "over 237 people shoveled 3 million pounds of snow from city facilities," she said.

"We did hire multiple contractors to help us get rid of snow," she said. "As you all have experienced, because you live in Juneau, there are not a lot of places to put the snow. And so this becomes a very labor-intensive exercise in taking snow blowers or loaders and filling up duck trucks and dumping that snow."

"We do have a snow dump at Thane and a snow dump and in the Valley. We did receive permission from DEC to dump that snow into the channel under specific conditions — making sure it's clean snow, it's not contaminated — just because of the sheer volume of that snow. So we thank the state for that."

Also brought in recently was an avalanche monitoring system known as an Avymonster, which has been installed at the Alaska Electric Light & Power substation on Douglas Island, Koester said.

"That will tell us the moment that we have an avalanche, even a very small one," she said. "And so that piece of equipment is going to be really critical in helping us understand when it's safe. We also will be flying a helicopter up there as soon as weather allows and that will will will give us a lot more information."

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