Snow dumped on Southcentral Alaska this weekend, with more than 8 inches falling in the Anchorage area and about 5 inches in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. A Climatologist says this weekend has led to a record amount of snowpack this late in the season.
A drainage culvert beneath the street failed, causing the sinkhole.
Three young dogs were euthanized this week after testing positive for parvovirus, an Anchorage Animal Care and Control official said.
This is the second reported roof collapse in Anchorage in two days.
The roof collapsed at a South Anchorage gym during a fitness competition. The Anchorage Office of Emergency Management cautioned residents that the city has had near-record snow conditions this winter, and residents should consider the snow load on their roofs. Officials also warned that property owners should exercise extreme caution if removing snow from their roofs themselves.
Just this month, more than 23 inches of snow have fallen in Anchorage, 17.5 inches above normal. A weekend storm clogged Anchorage streets, creating hazardous road conditions. The Anchorage School District closed school buildings and canceled after-school activities, calling a remote learning day.
Road crews say they’re still working to fully carve out the streets and haul snow away, after the city was hit with a trio of major storms this month. Some of Anchorage’s roads are maintained by the state of Alaska, and others by the city.
Anchorage and Mat-Su Borough schools and state offices are closed Thursday as a third major winter storm this month coated the area with snow overnight Wednesday. “In the past 11 days, we’ve had 41.1 inches of snow which is a lot for Anchorage,” Baines said.
All schools in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Borough are closed Wednesday due to slick roads across the region, as snowfall continues. “This is the heaviest snowfall the Anchorage area has seen in over 20 years,” said state Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Shelby. “Our crews are keeping up as best they can.”
The fire also comes as the state of Alaska enters its second highest level of fire preparedness, based on the high number of wildfires burning statewide and the possibility for more.
The creek slide is the latest environmental incident to strike the Kenai Peninsula this week: a massive landslide in Seward on May 7 continues to block Lowell Point Road, a wildfire broke out near Sportsman’s Landing on May 8 and a separate wildfire broke out on May 10 near Wildman’s.
Scott Keenan and his wife Ashlie moved to Anchorage from Sydney, Australia four years ago, and found there were no other apps to help them safely navigate around the new types of wildlife they started to encounter in Alaska. Repawts can help people share important information about wildlife sightings and receive safety alert notifications for anyone hitting the hiking trails, campsites and fishing spots around Alaska.
Carmichael pointed to a tree that fell across one of the riverside campground spots, taking out a fence. There’s another on the opposite side of the path, branches strewn across an open patch of snow. They’re among the 1,000 high-priority trees the city wants to remove due to safety concerns.
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.
Auto shops are seeing more business because of damaged tires, and drivers are often inching through a messy maze of bad road conditions. Road crews are making headway but still catching up from unfavorable weather last month.
Because of the risk to public safety, efforts will be made to locate this group of river otters and remove them, Fish and Game said.
"The first snowfall of this year happened so early that the leaves on the trees had not fallen yet. The weight of the snow on top of the trees that had not shed their leaves caused the trees to incur damage."
A red fox roams a popular recreation outlet in Anchorage, and gets quite close to people. Treat encounters with caution, as foxes can carry rabies and other diseases.
A wildlife biologist believes a lynx that recently approached a young girl may have been a juvenile. The girl’s father said he’s now on higher alert after the encounter.
The repeated run-ins with the bear were part of the reason that one children's camp decided to move out of Russian Jack to another park.
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