Gov. Mike Dunleavy has issued a disaster declaration after flooding from ice jams and snowmelt hit several communities over the weekend.
National Weather Service hydrologist Ed Plumb said Eagle, Circle and Ft. Yukon all experienced high water. He said the water rose dramatically at Eagle on Friday night and crested Saturday morning.
“Water and ice went over the bank, up over downtown, water into the Falcon Inn right there on Front Street in Eagle,” he said. “And the road between Eagle and Eagle Village, which goes upriver, along the river, was completely covered with ice and water.”
Plumb said the water receded rapidly at Eagle Saturday, leaving behind blocks of ice.
“As of Sunday, the road between Eagle and Eagle Village was still impassable due to a mile and a half or so due to stranded giant ice chunks,” he said.
Plumb said the large volume of water ice released downstream of Eagle and carried on toward Circle — what he described as “80 to 90 miles of bank-to-bank ice running down the river.”
Plumb said the ice jammed below Circle, causing water to rise dramatically in the community Saturday night.
“Reports of about a 10-foot rise in 30 minutes in Circle Saturday evening,” he said. “Nearly all of the homes and structures in Circle were impacted and flooded, and preliminary estimates indicate this could be near record flooding.”
According to the Alaska State Troopers, all Circle residents are accounted for, and no one was injured.
The jam below Circle released Sunday, leaving behind areas of standing water, ice flows, and a lot of damaged homes and other structures. The surge of water and ice moved downstream past Ft. Yukon, where it jammed again, causing flooding that began Sunday night.
Plumb said the large surge of ice and water is expected to continue to cause problems as it pushes down the Yukon River and collides with stronger ice. The next communities in line were Beaver, Stevens Village and Rampart.
Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management information officer Jeremy Zidek said that so far, the governor’s disaster declaration covers Circle and Eagle on the Yukon, Crooked Creek on the Kuskokwim River and Glennallen, where there’s been heavy snowmelt runoff into Moose Creek.
Zidek said the state is reaching out to help flooded communities. A river watch team flew into Circle, where he credits residents with good community preparation and response.
“People were able to move back and get to higher ground. Some elders have been evacuated to Fairbanks and looking at efforts to move children to Fairbanks, so they can allow for clean-up operations,” he said. “There’s no immediate shelter needs in Circle at this time. They haven’t requested anything from us at the state. Most people are staying with friends or with family members in Fairbanks.”
Zidek said the state is helping with basic needs, including restoration of electricity.
“The state Emergency Operations Center has been working with the Tanana Chiefs Conference to get some generators out there, and we’ve also been talking to folks with the Alaska Energy Authority and others to see what we can do to restore the power,” he said.
Zidek said an emergency management specialist was sent to Glenallen, and a local incident management team had been activated.
Alaska Department of Transportation Northern Region spokesperson John Perreault said workers are on site to mitigate impacts along the Glenn Highway.
“There’s water up along the sides of the highway all along from mile 157 all the way into Glennallen. Right around that milepost 185 to 187 around Glennallen there are either pilot car pr flagging operations,” he said.
Perreault said as of Sunday, there was some water over the highway in Glennallen at about mile 185, but the road remained open.
