A pileup involving about 15 vehicles closed the southbound lanes of the Glenn Highway near Chugiak for several hours on Saturday.
No injuries were reported, but Anchorage police spokeswoman Renee Oistad described the scene as a "mess." Cars started hitting one another and swerving into the ditch around noon near the South Birchwood exit, on a highway slick with new snow, Oistad said.
"It looks like every vehicle that has ever been invented, ever, is in the freaking ditch," Oistad said. She said police suddenly received a barrage of calls to report the crashes.
Police re-routed traffic on South Birchwood Loop Road. At 3:24 p.m., APD tweeted that the highway was back open.
Peters Creek resident Sherri Wardlow-Arrington was one of the drivers whose car was damaged in the crash. As she approached the backed-up traffic and slowed down, a truck hit her van, likely totaling it.
"Basically, it was snowing and the roads were slick," Wardlow-Arrington said. "Too many people driving too fast."
Between 1 and 3 inches of snow fell in Anchorage and Eagle River on Saturday morning, said Bill Ludwig, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. But Ludwig said the storm wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
"Just a normal little light winter snow. ... I can't really blame the weather," Ludwig said. "That's only part of the problem."
Michelle Jerome of Eagle River was driving north on the highway when she saw about 15 cars in the ditch to her left. She said accidents were happening even as she drove by.
"People in the right lane were crashing into the guardrail to avoid hitting those that were sliding off the road into the ditch in the left lane," Jerome said.
By early afternoon, the stalled traffic had delayed many drivers headed into Anchorage. Among those who got stuck: the owners of the Williams Reindeer Farm in Palmer, who were heading to a private event in Anchorage.
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After about 20 minutes of waiting, one of the owners, Joshua Hardy, put on an elf costume.
We thought, 'Hey, we should just talk around and just wave to people!' said Hardys wife, Denise, in a phone interview. Spread Christmas cheer and bring a smile to everyones face.
Hardy, in the elf costume, went to their trailer, which held two reindeer. He let out one, a 4-year-old reindeer named Merry. The two then walked about a mile between the stalled cars, waving, Denise Hardy said.
Palmer resident Rosie Stanton spotted the pair while she was stuck in traffic.
It made everyones day, I think, Stanton said.
The Hardys and the reindeer did make it to the Anchorage event -- just about an hour late, Denise Hardy said.