"Tom Mattice"

One home was completely destroyed by the slide, and two more were damaged.

About a dozen people who left the neighborhood ended up at a temporary shelter set up by the Red Cross and Capital City Fire/Rescue.

One lane on the highway is open for emergency vehicles, but it is closed to the public. 

Juneau’s urban avalanche danger right now is considerable, which is a 3 on a scale that goes to 5. 

Juneau Emergency Programs Manager Tom Mattice says major maintenance needs to be done, but it’s not safe to do it yet.

The nearly 3.5 inches at the city’s official monitoring station was a daily record – the most rain that’s fallen on January 21st ever – and also a monthly record – the most rain that has ever fallen in January.

The heavy rain on top of new snow in higher elevations is also raising concerns about potential avalanches. A

The disaster declaration opens a pot of money for communities, federally recognized tribal organizations and some private nonprofits to apply for reimbursement for funds they spent combating the storms. 

Then, the snowpack could get dangerously rain-soaked if the weather abruptly shifts as forecast next week.

Juneau’s hazard maps haven’t been updated since the 70s. New proposed maps have roughly 50% of the buildings in downtown Juneau in a moderate or severe risk area for avalanche or landslide.