Avalanche causes Juneau power outage

The avalanche occurred early Monday afternoon near the Snettisham Hydroelectric Facility generation plant, about 45 miles southeast of downtown Juneau, knocking power out to the area's 15,000 homes and businesses.

"Right now we are starting to get together to see how we might repair this," said Scott Willis, spokesman for the city's utility company Alaska Electric Light & Power Co.

"Unlike last year (April) where there were three towers destroyed, it's just one structure. But the weather will be much more difficult in January than April to do the repairs."

Power was being restored late Monday afternoon to the capital city as AEL&P switched to more expensive diesel power, just as it was forced to do last year when avalanches knocked down the same tower.

Last year's avalanche took out 1.5 miles of power transmission line, and destroyed or severely damaged five support towers. It took weeks for repairs to be made, sending Juneau residents into conservation mode. Diesel power can cost up to five times more to generate electricity than hydropower.

Monday's avalanche conjured memories of last year and by nightfall the buzz around downtown was "not again." Residents were already starting to conserve energy to save on their electric bills.

"I've already turned off my computer before I left the house," said Todd Hunt, a nine-year Juneau resident. "I don't normally do that.

"It seems like this is happening at least once a year now. Guess you just have to get used to it."

It wasn't immediately known how long it would take to repair the tower after Monday's avalanche, but Willis said spare parts were on hand.

The avalanche site was inspected by air on Monday, but Willis said no repair timetable has been established yet.

Warming temperatures and more than 4 feet of fresh snow this month have put the city on high alert for avalanches and caused some treacherous treks on city sidewalks.

Cody Anderson looked more like a surfer than a pedestrian during a noon-time walk, sliding on a sheen of ice assisted by the sidewalk's steep grade.

"That was actually fun," he said after recovering about 20 feet from where he began his slide. "I might do it again."

Many walking downtown were pressed into a balancing act like the 25-year-old Anderson, who moved to Alaska from Virginia three months ago.

Downtown streets are icy and slushy thanks to the spiking temperatures melting 52 inches of fresh snow faster than street drains can keep up.

Water and slush could be seen accumulating at some intersections and cascading down some of the steep downtown streets.

For city maintenance workers, it's meant round-the-clock work the last few weeks, pushing snow to the side until there is no more room, then hauling it 11 miles from downtown to a national park.

"None of this has been pretty," said Mike Scott, the city's street superintendent. "None of it."

Meanwhile, Mother Nature has loosened her frigid grip on most of the state.

Extreme temperatures that beset the state for two weeks -- plummeting in some areas to 68 degrees below zero -- are in full throttle reverse, bringing relief.

Anchorage emerged from a 15-day streak where temperatures dipped below zero. Temperatures last week were 19 below zero, but are expected to reach the mid-30s range by midweek.

Fairbanks residents are still experiencing subzero temperatures, but after rising to 14 below zero Monday morning, it was refreshing to some in the state's interior region.

"Most people woke up 20 degrees warmer than when they went to bed," said Scott Berg, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Fairbanks.