Floodwaters keep roads closed in Mat-Su even after rain ends

PALMER — Even after sunshine replaced days of rain Wednesday morning in Southcentral Alaska, Mat-Su officials reported numerous roads still partly blocked or closed by flooding creeks and rivers near the Talkeetna Mountains.

A National Weather Service flood advisory remained in effect until 1:15 p.m. Thursday along the Little Susitna River.

Flooding trapped Randy Ankney and his wife at their home on an island in the river near Wasilla.

Ankney bought the property in 1997. The water was more than 100 feet away. Natural erosion was accelerated by major floods in 2006 and 2012. Now Ankney and other residents say the river has created a new channel. They want a long-term fix to protect roads and homes.

By the time the Little Susitna started rising this week, the water was just under 70 feet away.

On Wednesday, the Ankney place remained inaccessible though the water was slowly going down.

“There’s three female mallard ducks diving right outside our window around the septic tank,” he said. “The next nine days is rain. This might not go down ... I have horrible visions of walking out and seeing all the vehicles in ice.”

By Wednesday afternoon, water levels receded below flood stage on most waterways except the Little Su near the highway, which crested but remained in moderate flood stage. Water levels were expected to slowly recede through the rest of the week and were forecast to fall below flood stage by Thursday afternoon.

Eight roads were closed by flooding as of Wednesday evening, as well as seven roadblocks and seven roads being monitored for high water, according to a Matanuska-Susitna Borough update. The roads were in the Willow and Houston areas as well as along the Little Su in the neighborhoods off Schrock Road near Wasilla.

Five to 7 inches of rain had fallen in the Talkeetnas since Sunday evening, forecasters say. The Little Susitna at the Parks Highway in Houston rose into moderate flood stage at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

On Tuesday afternoon, Houston city officials declared an emergency, and emergency officials reported 20 homes with floodwater at or inside structures. It wasn’t clear Wednesday how many homes were still experiencing flooding, local officials said.

The river had apparently crested by midmorning Wednesday and was beginning to drop in some areas near the Parks Highway bridge, city officials said.

Officials in Houston reminded people not to drive through floodwaters “for your safety and road integrity. When waters are over the road, it weakens the road surface. Driving over it increases the damage to the road, risks water intrusion into your transmission which can freeze in winter, and also risks stranding your vehicle with your occupants if you stall, get stuck, or drive off the surface of the road and end up sinking.”

Rescue crews are available to assist in evacuations if needed, city officials said.

By Wednesday afternoon, numerous roads in the city remained closed, underwater or inaccessible, according to a city update. West King Arthur Drive remained closed near the intersection with Parks Highway, where the water was visibly receding but officials said they expected it would take all day to clear the road.

A number of creeks around Anchorage were also near flood levels Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service Alaska-Pacific River Forecast Center.

State parks officials warned that the Indian Valley trailhead at end of Boretide Road was closed due to flooding.

A chance of rain returns to the region Thursday and remains in the forecast through next week.