The slide occurred at a time when forecasters in the region are cautioning backcountry skiers and snowboarders about the potential for warming weather to increase avalanche risk.
The slides come near the end of an avalanche season experts say is notable both for its heightened danger and lack of deaths.
Alaska Railroad freight train derailed early Tuesday after plowing into avalanche debris south of Girdwood. The debris spread roughly 300 feet across the tracks.
No residents had been reported injured or missing, and power had been restored to most impacted homes. City officials had also carved a path so residents can travel in the area by snowmachine.
A storm that hit Southcentral Alaska on Saturday night led to flooding in Girdwood, a landslide on the Sterling Highway and left thousands of homes without power throughout the region on Sunday morning. More than a foot of rain fell in Girdwood by Sunday.
The Hatcher Pass Road has been closed since April 3 and will likely remain closed by the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities until at least April
Class 2 avalanche in Hatcher Pass closed down a section of the road between Mile 14 and 16. The nonprofit Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center warned that conditions in the area were dangerous and asked that people avoid the Archangel Road trail nearby.
No one was hurt when a slab avalanche buried one child and partially buried two others.
No one was injured when a car hit a 6-foot-by-8-foot rock that fell from cliffs next to the Seward Highway late Wednesday.
The highway closed after rocks covered the northbound lane at mile 111, near McHugh Creek. A second rock slide was reported near mile 106.5.
Rockfall along the Seward Highway near Beluga Point has been happening since wind and rain battered the area earlier this week.
City park staff have set up barriers in hopes of encouraging passersby to stay far away. Potential fixes could include putting up a wall and relocating the bike path or road.
Authorities warned that drivers should use caution in the area due to the potential for additional rockslides.
State transportation workers found wet ground may have contributed to the small landslide, despite the lack of recent rain.
Temperatures in the area were unseasonably high last week, reaching into the mid-40s, according to the National Weather Service. Then temperatures dropped below freezing Sunday and into Monday morning. "There's a lot of water flowing underground in this area," McCarthy said. The freeze-thaw "caused some instability and that made it slide."
The victim, identified as 28-year-old Alexander Hellweger, was part of a group of eight friends from Italy and Belgium vacationing in Alaska.
DOT spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said the weather this week -- alternately freezing and thawing -- was likely the culprit.
The avalanche north of Girdwood affected three lanes of traffic for several hours. Delays are expected Tuesday morning as crews attempt to thwart additional slides.
“This has been a very trying time,” mother Tanisha Charles said. “You don’t prepare for this. You think of fires, you think of earthquakes, but you never think of a mudslide in the middle of town.”
About 145 customers in the area were without power on Friday due to damaged equipment, according to Matanuska Electric Association. It’ll likely be at least several days before the road may be cleared.
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