Juneau

Juneau saw two destructive residential fires in a mobile home park in the course of just three days. One fire resulted in a fatality. 

The first fire was reported on Saturday evening at about 7:30 p.m. at the Switzer Village Mobile Home Park in Lemon Creek. Family members reported that 38-year-old Juneau resident Calvin Olsen died in the fire. Olsen played a key role in helping launch Juneau’s first tribally owned auto detailing shop called Sacred Shine.

The second fire was reported before noon on Monday, less than three blocks away. Officials said it appeared that no one was home at the time. 

At the scene of Monday’s fire, Capital City Fire/Rescue Chief Rich Etheridge said the causes of both fires are still under investigation. But, he said Juneau tends to see an increase in residential fires with the onset of cold weather. 

“When we have cold snaps like this, structure fires are pretty common because people are trying to find ways to heat their places, so fire danger goes way up,” he said.  

Temperatures dropped to -7 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend at the Juneau International Airport. On Monday, the National Weather Service in Juneau issued an extreme cold warning through noon on Tuesday. 

Etheridge said the cold weather can also cause operational issues like equipment failure. On Monday, a valve on a responding fire engine froze up and the fire hydrants weren’t pushing out water with enough pressure. 

He said it’s important for residents to check their heat sources regularly and make sure they are clear of any flammable objects. Electric space heaters should be turned off if no one is in the room with them.

“Just stay safe, check on your friends and neighbors, make sure people get heat,” Etheridge said. “If you’re running into problems, call the local heating companies and try not to jerry-rig something.”

Etheridge said CCFR will share more information about the causes of the fires in the coming days. 

When it snows, crews fan out with plows, graders, blowers and more to clear the streets in Juneau. 

Morning Edition Host Mike Lane recently sat down with CBJ Streets & Fleet Superintendent Scott Gray to learn more about local snow removal operations.

Listen:

This transcript has been lightly edited for length and clarity. 

Mike Lane: The city and the state both share responsibility in keeping Juneau’s roads safe and plowed during the snowy months. Can you explain how that works and who is responsible for what?

Scott Gray: Let’s start with CBJ. So CBJ basically takes care of all — pretty much all — the residential areas, downtown area, anything that’s not on the main arterial, like Egan Drive, Back Loop, Loop Road, Fritz Cove and Douglas Highway — that’s all DOT. There’s a number of other smaller streets. They go all the way out the road. They do Engineers Cutoff. They do Nine Mile Creek Road out Douglas. So DOT has quite a few roads locally here in Juneau that are kind of residential too, but we take care of a lot of the residential areas, more populated areas.

Mike Lane: So what does a typical snow removal day look like for your department?

Scott Gray: We have a town crew. The town area crew comes in at 1 o’clock in the morning and they get off at 9 o’clock in the morning. Then we have another crew that comes in 8 in the morning, and they get off at 4 p.m. So we stagger them. We have two guys that work four tens, so they’ll work Sunday through Wednesday, Wednesday through Saturday, and they work from 5 o’clock in the morning until 3 in the afternoon.

Mike Lane: What equipment do you use and or need for the job? And how has technology changed when it comes to snow removal in Juneau?

Scott Gray: Well, so we use graders a lot. We also have loaders with bull blades, and they come from, you know, like 12-foot bull blade to 14 feet, and they’re heavily chained up, and they can go anywhere. They’re pretty amazing pieces of equipment out there. And we have 10-yard trucks with plows, belly blades. We have blowers, so when everything’s all calmed down, hopefully we can go through the neighborhoods. We can blow the big berms out of the way. We have a contract with multiple trucking companies here in town for hauling snow, because a lot of our trucks are already outfitted with sanders, and unless we have a big lull in between storms, we don’t pull those sanders out.

Mike Lane: What do you recommend as the best strategy for residents to deal with the berms?

Scott Gray: You really need to think about snow placement. So when you shovel your driveway, the best way to do it is to put that snow up in your yard or somewhere where the plow can’t get a hold of it again.

Mike Lane: What about sidewalks? Whose responsibility is it to keep those cleared?

Scott Gray: Well, actually, it is the property owner’s responsibility to clear the sidewalks, and we understand that isn’t doable in a lot of areas. There are some people out there, though, that are really good about, you know, cleaning up their sidewalks, and I have to give them kudos for that. It’s a lot of work.

Mike Lane: How do you plan for back to back storms?

Scott Gray: That’s a tough one, you know? I mean, we try to keep our equipment up and running. We have a whole fleet department, you know, that takes care of us and other departments. The Fleet department, they take care of  260 pieces of equipment and vehicles. So we, we try to go through all the equipment in between storms, so we’re ready. So when it does hit, we’re good to go.

Mike Lane: Where do you put all the snow that you remove from, from neighborhoods, etc.?

Scott Gray: So we have multiple areas that we pull, or we we haul the snow to, in the Valley. We also have an area in Lemon Creek where we haul snow to. And then we also have an area out at Thane.

Mike Lane: What should people do when they encounter a plow or grader on the roads?

Scott Gray: You know, give them room. Give them space. A grader only does 22 miles an hour, but that piece of equipment, it takes a lot to get it stopped on a slippery road. So give them space. Their visibility behind them is none.

Mike Lane: Now, Scott, you’re the superintendent for CBJ streets and fleet, and you have quite a few people on your teams in staggered shifts. Do you have a full boat of employees? Or are you still looking for somebody?

Scott Gray: We currently have two positions that are open. We have an operator one position, and it’s a flex position. And then there, then we also have a seasonal position.

Mike Lane: So I would assume that if somebody wanted to apply for either of those positions, they would go to juneau.org and do that through the website. Okay, excellent. Is there anything you’d like to add to this?

Scott Gray: Well, I’ve got to say, my team is out there doing a great job, and they’re clearing the roads. I appreciate them, and I couldn’t do my job without them.

Following a partial opening last week, Eaglecrest Ski Area is experiencing some issues going into this weekend, including a broken water line, a delayed opening of the Ptarmigan lift and a pause in snowmaking efforts.

The ski area unexpectedly closed on Friday and will remain closed Saturday due to a large break in its main water line that supplies its lodges. 

The ski area’s staff says they are working to get it fixed as soon as possible. 

In a video shared Thursday evening, Craig Cimmons, the general manager of the city-owned ski area, also gave an update on the status of its chairlifts. Eaglecrest opened at a limited capacity earlier this month, with only its Porcupine lift running, which services the mountain’s easiest trails. 

Cimmons said in the video that the ski area had hoped to have Ptarmigan up and running, but unexpected additional repairs are delaying its opening date. The Ptarmigan chairlift services the middle of the mountain. 

“Because we chose to get that lift in its best possible working order, it’s just taking longer to get to that point,” he said. “But it’s going to be safer in the end, operating better than it has in a long time.”

He said the water line for Eaglecrest’s snowmaking system also froze over recently, meaning it isn’t able to make snow at the moment. Despite that, he said there is a lot of natural snow on the mountain, and its backcountry terrain is open for recreation. 

Because of Saturday’s closure, Eaglecrest’s ski school is cancelled that day. Eaglecrest will make an announcement about Sunday’s lessons on Saturday. 

Juneau is expected to see bitter cold temperatures and Taku winds heading into the weekend, and low temperatures into the next couple of weeks. The National Weather Service in Juneau issued a cold weather advisory and a high wind warning starting Thursday evening.

According to the National Weather Service, the coldest wind chill temperatures will be at higher elevations, like the ski area.

Listen to this story:

Officials say to be prepared as Juneau is expected to see frigid temperatures this week and stretching into the next couple of weeks.

The National Weather Service issued a cold weather advisory and a high wind warning starting Thursday evening.  

The forecast shows that a Taku wind event could start as early as Thursday evening. The strongest gusts of 60 miles per hour or more are predicted to blow Saturday. Wind chill temperatures could reach as low as negative 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Without wind chill, temperatures are expected to range from the teens to negative 3 degrees Fahrenheit through Monday.

“We could see some periods, especially where we have the higher winds, that frostbite is going to be a real danger, and that’s where dressing in layers, covering up is important,” said Jeff Garmon, the meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Juneau.

He said the wind could also whip up freezing ocean spray, which can cover boats in ice and make maritime travel dangerous.

Garmon said this December is on track to break weather records.

“It’s looking like the numbers are shaping up for this to be the coldest we’ve seen in over 30 years in Southeast Alaska,” he said. “It’s a little unusual to go through like a two to almost three week period and be as cold as we are.”

Garmon said cold snaps in Juneau typically last just a few days, instead of weeks. He said this one is caused by a consistent flow of strong polar air moving in from interior Alaska and Canada.

Some locals might have seen a social media post from the NOAA NWS Climate Prediction Center warning that dangerous temperatures as low as negative 40 could hit Southeast later this month and into January. The post has been deleted, and Garmon said it looks like it was an error.

“I think what happened there was somebody in Washington (D.C.) got their wires crossed,” he said.

Garmon said such low, arctic temperatures are unlikely in most of Southeast. But he said that farther north — in exposed, high elevation spots like the Klondike Highway — it’s possible to see wind chill temperatures even lower.

The National Weather Service’s extreme cold warning for Skagway and White Pass says wind chill temperatures as low as negative 50 degrees Fahrenheit are expected. But Garmon said areas near sea level would probably see somewhere around negative 10 at the coldest.

In dangerous conditions, officials say it’s important to be prepared in case utilities fail. There’s been a string of power outages in Juneau this month.

Ryan O’Shaughnessy, the emergency programs manager for the City and Borough of Juneau, said to stock up on non-perishable foods, drinking water, blankets, flashlights and batteries in case the power goes out.

“It’s really important to be careful using candles for light and to heat your home — that can pretty quickly turn into a fire hazard,” he said.

To prevent pipes from freezing and bursting, he said to keep taps dripping. And he suggests keeping extra blankets and warm clothes in the car, in case it breaks down.

O’Shaughnessy urges residents to sign up for the city’s emergency alerts. He said just under 3,000 people are signed up.

Vulnerable populations will be the most susceptible to harsh conditions. Juneau’s emergency warming shelter in Thane is open each night. Transportation is available to the Glory Hall, Juneau’s homeless shelter, which offers meals and allows people to stay warm during the day.

The city is asking those with boats docked at the harbors to check and make sure everything is secure and working properly.

Garmon said a possible snowstorm could come through Juneau around Christmas and may bring warmer, maritime air that could pull temperatures out of the negatives. But he said it’s still too far out to be confident.

Juneau’s homeless shelter is once again offering daytime meals and other services after stopping them in August due to safety concerns. 

The Glory Hall’s Executive Director Kaia Quinto said there were multiple instances of violence and threats this summer that put the safety of shelter staff and clients at risk. She said it was getting harder to continue serving the community at all. 

“The reason why we closed day services was because the environment outside on Teal Street was just pretty dangerous and chaotic,” Quinto said. “Which then transferred inside of the facility, made the facility dangerous and chaotic.”

The shelter closed its doors to people who didn’t already have an assigned bed there, with a few exceptions. 

In November, the city again cleared the encampment that had built up outside the shelter, and people haven’t set up there again. The shelter renovated its entrance to have a two-door system, instead of one, allowing staff more control of who’s allowed inside.

Quinto said things calmed down enough to open services safely Tuesday morning. 

“With the encampment moved and the temperature and the weather and our improvements made to the front of the building, we’re feeling pretty confident about opening day services now,” she said.

It’s only been a couple of days, but Quinto said people are using the services. 

And the reopening comes at a good time — Juneau is expected to see single digit and below zero temperatures this week and into next.

The Glory Hall serves meals at 8:30 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. each day. The city-funded emergency warming shelter near Thane Road opens at 9 p.m. each night until 7 a.m. in the morning, and offers transportation to the Glory Hall. 

A Juneau musician is giving his final organ performance in the State Office Building this Friday. T.J. Duffy is retiring after 16 years of live concerts on the nearly century-old instrument.

The theater organ concert will mostly feature holiday music, according to a press release. He will also perform Christmas carols that audience members can sing along to. 

In the release, Duffy said he is retiring as a state employee at the end of the year and thought it would be a good time to retire from the organ concerts as well.

The Kimball organ is located in the State Office Building and is the only publicly available instrument of its kind in Alaska. Duffy is one of several musicians who regularly perform on Fridays.

The nearly 100-year-old instrument is nearing the end of its usable life. Repairing it would cost more than $250,000 and requires shipping it to Portland, Oregon for a year.

Duffy’s final concert will be this Friday at noon at the State Office Building.