Haines and Skagway have suffered through weeks of bitterly cold temperatures and several feet of snow.
Snowfall in Haines has been so heavy that residents are worried about roof loads. Community members are caring for each other in these extreme conditions with shovels and the Internet.
When the National Weather Service reported snow depth of 36 inches over the weekend, Haines resident Sheri Loomis started making a list on Facebook.
She said people were returning from travel to find their vehicles buried.
“There’s not a shovel in their car,” she said. “It wasn’t that way when they left. And so requests started being put on social media, ‘Can someone help dig my rig out at the ferry terminal parking lot?’ And pretty soon, these other requests started coming on social media.”
Those requests vary from shoveling off roofs to clearing paths for heating fuel deliveries. Loomis organizes the list items and marks them when they are complete. Community members are rallying to tick off items, but as of Monday afternoon, 19 structures are requesting a service and Loomis expects the number to grow with more incoming bad weather.
“I just had the daughter of a 91-year–old woman contact me with a house right downtown that the roof needs clearing, and they’re very concerned of structural failure,” Loomis said. “Another one out at Lutak … The carport is in danger of collapsing on two vehicles. It just goes on and on.”
Haines Mayor Tom Morphet said that while this isn’t the most snowfall Haines has ever received, the timing has been brutal. It’s on top of the five feet of snow that fell last month.
“I think what we’re seeing is people who are exhausted, people who are burning up their fuel supplies or their budget for oil, now having to get out and shovel till they’re eating a lot of ibuprofen,” he said. “And just a lot of sustained stress. And that’s understandable completely, considering that this cold snap is one of the longer cold snaps I remember in my 40 years in Haines. It’s gone on now more than a month.”
And while everyone is hoping for a warm up, too much melting snow carries the risk of an avalanche.
“We’re kind of standing by and hoping and praying that when the thaw comes, it’s a gradual one and not a rapid one,” Morphet said.
While Skagway’s snow depth on Jan. 3 was 13 inches, nearly two feet less than Haines, residents have been having their own issues. The intense cold has caused numerous frozen pipes and broken furnaces. Skagway has no plumber, so residents reach out to whoever is available to help.
Fuel is burning faster than normal, so Skagwegians are reminded to frequently check their heating oil levels, even if they recently had a refill. On Sunday morning, shortly after midnight, the Petro Marine Services truck was out making emergency deliveries.
Morphet cautions residents to keep their heating vents clear. And the Haines Fire Department asks residents to find their closest hydrant and shovel it out.
“We understand, I think, in the north, that weather can be fatal,” Morphet said. “And it’s a serious thing.”
But so far, he said, the Upper Lynn Canal is doing okay.
Sheri Loomis asks that other Haines residents continue to keep her abreast on what tasks are completed so she can update the request list.
“I’m just really overwhelmed with and have so much gratitude for the people that are helping others right now,” Loomis said. “It could be a matter of saving someone’s house. And it’s wonderful how people get together in times like this and put everything else aside.”
The forecast calls for snow continuing through Thursday and then turning to a mix of rain and snow next weekend.
