Photos: Volunteers work to organize food drops along Iditarod trail

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Checkpoint signs are arranged at the Air Land Transport warehouse in Anchorage. Iditarod mushers have to carefully plan what they want to send ahead to the checkpoints, from food for the dogs to replacement parts for the sled, and the Iditarod Trail Committee has to make sure it all ends up in the correct place. Feb 12, 2014

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is starting in Willow, despite questions over whether the trail could support the race.

Race officials announced the decision Monday after a conference call with organizers.

Warm weather has wreaked havoc on trail conditions this winter. Ice, open water and bare ground covered much of the first several hundred miles of trail, with poor conditions noted from Willow most of the way to McGrath. In the weeks leading up to the race start, questions emerged over where the race would begin and whether the traditional start would have to be moved 400 miles north to Fairbanks.

The announcement was a bit of good news, as last week dozens of volunteers gathered to sort food drops for each of the checkpoints along the historic trail. Mushers send supplies ahead along the trail, anticipating how much food their dogs will need and any possible material needed to repair a broken sled. Monday's announcement means that all those sorted food drops will be able to arrive at their original destinations, since the trail will follow its normal route.

It's not the first time organizers have suggested moving the race. In 2003, the race start was moved to Fairbanks. It was a massive undertaking and in the days that followed organizers scrambled to move drop bags, rally volunteers and set up checkpoints in places that had never seen the Iditarod in their community.

READ MORE: Despite warm weather wreaking havoc on the trail, Iditarod to start in Willow