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When Clarise isn't working, you can find her skijoring with her dog, Bloon, or climbing up walls at the Rock Dump.
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A warm front and waves of heavy rain are on the way to Juneau this weekend after two winter storms dumped more than 60 inches of snow over the last two weeks.
Spencer Fielding, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said one to two inches of rain are forecast each day, starting on Friday and lasting through at least Monday.
Temperatures are also expected to slowly rise to the 40s or even 50s leading into next week.
Fielding said the rain could mean flooding in places where snow is blocking drains.
“The big concern is that with the snow melting, there’s no place for it to run off,” he said. “So, it’s going to choose the path of least resistance which will be flowing down streets and trails.”
Tom Mattice, the city’s emergency programs manager, said the rain will likely mean heavier snow loads on houses and boats — and it will increase the potential for avalanches in Juneau.
“We expect to see continued activity. It could border on the urban front, but we hope that it’s small enough that we don’t have to worry about that in the urban environment,” he said.
On Wednesday, at least two avalanches came down on Basin Road and Behrends Avenue. But Mattice said there are still dry and weak layers deep in the snowpack that could give way and release an avalanche from the stress of the rain soaking the upper layer.
“It definitely adds a lot of mass to the equation,” he said. “So anything that does get hit, gets hit with tremendous force.”
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities announced Thane Road will close Friday at 6 p.m., and Mattice said that closure could continue through the weekend. He encourages residents to limit their time in avalanche terrain if possible.
Nine puppies at Juneau Animal Rescue — all named after different Paw Patrol characters — were waiting for their forever homes last week. And they weren’t the only ones looking for new homes. The shelter is, too.
Kevin Ritchie, a member of the shelter’s board of directors, said that when the current shelter was built back in the 80s, it was designed to warehouse animals — not as a place where they could thrive.
“We want the animals in the facility to have as many advantages as possible, keeping them safe and calm and happy so they can have a good experience while they’re here and they can be at their best when people see them to adopt them,” he said.
He said the need for a new shelter became more urgent after the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspected the facility in 2021. The group said Juneau’s shelter had extensive problems and didn’t meet national standards.
Rick Driscoll, JAR’s executive director, said the shelter housed more than 420 cats and 360 dogs in the last year alone. It also provides critical medical services, like spaying and neutering. And it houses Juneau’s animal control services.
With limited space for dogs and cats, Driscoll said the shelter often finds itself at or near capacity, especially in the summer.
“We have no housing really for animals that are not a cat or a dog. So we basically use a hallway right now for, you know, birds, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, that sort of thing,” he said. “And that’s a stressful environment for small animals to be in.”
He said the building’s roof needs repairs, and parts of the floors are beginning to sink. The growing number of animals coming into the shelter means less storage space and less separation between types of animals.
The board’s wish list for a new facility includes a larger outdoor area with a roof and better ventilation to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. They also want double-sided cages for easier cleaning.
“To clean an animal’s cage, you literally have to somehow get the animal out of the cage, down the hall into another cage,” Ritchie said. “It can be somewhat dangerous, and certainly time-consuming.”
The estimated cost for a new building is $15 to 20 million for construction, not including a new site. The land of the current shelter’s site was donated, and Ritchie said they hope that will happen again for the new one — which needs to be at least 2.2 acres.
“Using a facility that exists always sounds like a great idea. But basically, this would be not on the level of a hospital, but that specialized,” he said.
Ritchie said they plan to fundraise in the coming months and work with the city to find other funding sources. He said the project’s timeline will depend on how quickly they can raise the funds.
Another Domino’s Pizza restaurant is coming to the Juneau area soon, despite opposition from some residents.
The city’s planning commission unanimously granted a permit to build the restaurant — which will be on Clinton Drive near Safeway in the Mendenhall Valley — during an online meeting Tuesday night.
Some neighbors wrote letters of opposition, and the board of the nearby Vintage Park Condominium Association asked the commission to deny the permit, citing concerns about traffic.
Hilliard Lewis, who lives across from the proposed Domino’s, said at the meeting that he’s worried about noise and light pollution.
“Most of that area is shut down by 6 p.m. or 7 p.m., and a Domino’s Pizza is going to be open to 9 p.m. at the earliest and probably midnight,” he said. “I don’t think that we’re going to have any sort of peace with traffic going through all of that time.”
He said the restaurant would be out of character for the neighborhood and urged the commission to vote against the permit. He also asked if there was a way to block headlights from shining toward the condos.
Rob Worden, the applicant with R&S Construction LLC, said the site’s lot doesn’t allow them to change the drive-through. But he said he isn’t concerned about light pollution because of the condominium’s layout.
Planning Commissioner Travis Arndt agreed and said the application fits the area’s zoning.
“The intention of our zoning district is commercial applications. So to say this is not a proper use for the area is incorrect — this is exactly what the area is zoned for,” he said.
This will be Juneau’s third Domino’s — there’s already one near Foodland IGA, and another in the Valley near Pipeline Skatepark.
The developer did not share a timeline for the new restaurant’s construction and did not respond to requests for more details.
The stands at Thunder Mountain High School’s gym were full on Saturday as the Skagway Panthers and Hoonah Braves varsity basketball teams faced off in Juneau’s first annual Elizabeth Peratrovich Women’s High School Basketball Invitational.
The teams were battling to see who would be crowned the tournament’s first champions. Ultimately, it was the Panthers who took home the title with a 29-8 win.
Thunder Mountain girl’s varsity basketball coach and event organizer Andy Lee said the tournament is meant to showcase the deep pool of talented female athletes in Alaska and to honor Alaska Native culture in Juneau.
“I’ve always thought of Elizabeth Peratrovich, hearing the stories about her and her impact on the civil rights movement and the legislation that she’s impacted and the people she’s influenced — what a great role model,” he said.
Peratrovich’s activism was a driving force behind the Alaska legislature’s passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945. That bill was signed nearly two decades before the federal Civil Rights Act.
Lee said it was only right to choose one of the most influential women in Alaska’s history as the tournament’s namesake. He said it was important to choose someone for the girls who can inspire them.
Keidre Hartman, a senior on the Thunder Mountain girl’s team, said she really enjoyed the tournament and having the teams come play on her home court.
“I really like helping build up the community, and Native culture is definitely a big part of Juneau, and so I like being able to support that,” she said.
The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska was the tournament’s main sponsor. Tlingit and Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson was in the stands to watch the championship game.
He said the tournament is special because it lifts up young women in the sport and honors basketball’s deep roots in Alaska Native culture.
“I think it’s just exciting to see young ladies given the center stage and to do it in honor of Elizabeth Peratrovich makes all the more sense makes it a thing to be excited about,” Peterson said.
Lee said he hopes the tournament will become a tradition for the young high school.
“I want things to live on, beyond the people that are here and the message. And I want it to resonate with young women who play — and I hope there’s a 50th-annual,” he said.
Lee said plans are already underway to expand next year’s tournament.
Juneau schools are closed Tuesday. Students will have a remote learning day. City facilities will also close.
Thane Road will close at 8 p.m. due to avalanche risk. Officials will reevaluate road conditions Tuesday morning.
Less than a week after Juneau got buried under nearly 30 inches of snow, a second storm is triggering school closures, clogging roads and running plow drivers ragged.
As the snow kept piling up in Juneau on Monday — 16 inches since Saturday night — Denise Koch, the city’s director of Engineering and Public Works, said keeping up is an all-hands-on-deck situation.
“CBJ streets crews are out doing everything they can. Our water utility is out doing everything they can to do things like try and keep fire hydrants clear,” she said.
The Juneau School District shifted to remote learning on Monday and Tuesday and City and Borough of Juneau offices were closed due to the snow.
Koch said the city is fully staffed with plow drivers and contracted help, and drivers have been working night and day. She said two city loaders are out of commission, but that’s been the only equipment hiccup so far.
Independent plow drivers have also been working long hours to clear private driveways and roads. Brian Clasmeyer said he’s been plowing his routes in the Valley twice a day.
With constant snow and fluctuating temperatures, he said it’s hard to keep up.
“When it’s been snowing for several hours and then the temperature changes, and now it’s 30 degrees and it’s starting to get wet. Then it’s really difficult to remove,” he said. “And then if it freezes the next night, especially if you have a berm, it’s almost impossible – you can break your plow.”
Debbie Driscoll with Alaska Electric Light and Power or AEL&P, said there had been no reported power outages as of Monday afternoon.
“We’re — knock on wood — not really seeing anything right now. It’s cold, so trees tend to stay in place when the ground is frozen,” she said.
Driscoll said that warming weather in the coming days could bring some outages.
Capital City Fire/Rescue Assistant Chief Sam Russell said the department had not had any reports of roof cave-ins as of Monday morning. Koch said how much weight a roof can handle depends on factors like pitch, age and location.
“People ask us questions about, you know, whether or not they should shovel their roofs. And it’s not, unfortunately, it’s not one-size-fits-all sort of answer,” she said.
The city does offer guidance on its website to help residents assess the potential for roofs to collapse.
Meanwhile, Juneau Harbormaster Matt Creswell said there have been no reports of boats sinking yet — but he strongly encouraged boat owners to go shovel their boats if they can get to the harbors safely.
“At this rate, the snow is going to keep coming, and it’s getting heavier and heavier,” he said. “And we’re starting to get really concerned.”
Last week at Aurora Harbor, three boats sank under the weight of the snow. Three more were saved just in time.
Capital Transit will run winter route detours until midnight. There is no service up Cordova Street to Cedar Park on Douglas Island, or on Franklin and Fourth streets downtown.
Anna Canny contributed reporting to this article.
This story has been updated.
