Thane Road reopened, avalanche danger still high

February 3, 2012 8:50 am update

Thane Road is now open to traffic. But the avalanche that covered the roadway Wednesday night wasn’t the only slide in the Juneau area.

There are at least fifteen identified or named slide paths on Mount Juneau and nineteen different slide paths on Mount Roberts. CBJ avalanche specialist and emergency services manager Tom Mattice says many of them had some sort of a release on Wednesday and Thursday.

“I can tell you White slid, part of Bartlett slid, Greenhouse slid, Behrends slid, Bathe Creek slid, a little piece of Sunshine Gully slid,” recalls Mattice. “So, a whole bunch.”

Urban avalanche advisory for Friday morning lists the current danger as ‘High.’

CBJ Urban Avalanche Advisory page

February 2, 2012 3:12 pm

State Department of Transportation road crews cleared the snow Thursday afternoon from the avalanche that occurred off of Mount Roberts.

Both lanes of Thane Road are now open to traffic.

Greg Patz, maintenence superintendent for the Southeast region, declared the road reopened about 3 o’clock Thursday afternoon. He said it only took 3 1/2 hours to clear out the roadway.

They conducted avalanche control with artillery rounds fired from across the channel before allowing equipment and workers into the avalanche zone.

Patz had earlier estimated that it would be reopened about 6 p.m.

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