Industry News
Juneau, Alaska, has been hammered with snow this January. The massive snow events have wreaked havoc on the boats moored in the Juneau Harbor.
Two storms over 11 days dropped more than 60 inches of snow on the city. The heavy snowfall has amongst other things also caused several boats to sink.
Matthew Creswell, Juneau’s Harbor Master, was asked about the storms and snowfall. He stated, “What that causes is just excess weight and snow build-up for the people who don’t come down and keep their boats shoveled off. […] We had four boats sink in about a three-hour period, and the day before that we had another one sink. So, we are at about a total of eight boats over a 12-day period.” Creswell says that the sunken boats will most likely be total losses. He stated that getting rid of the boats is quite costly and will run anywhere between $7,000 to $50,000.
The snowfall not only buried boats but also buried homes. Many residents in the city have been busy clearing snow from their streets and homes. A stretch of warmer temperatures and weather will hopefully help naturally remove some of the snow.
The warm temperatures do increase the risk of avalanches in the area and have Juneau’s avalanche forecaster, Tom Mattice, worried. He stated, “Over the next several days, we are going to be seeing more than an inch of moisture a day for days on end and with very warm temperatures that will likely produce region-wide avalanches once again.”
Mattice encurages people to be aware of the danger and be sure to familiarize themselves with their urban avalanche maps.
