A large avalanche slid across the Haines Highway near 20-mile on Sunday night. The road remains closed to traffic as workers wait for safe conditions to start clearing the debris. They hope to begin work Tuesday morning.
Manager of Haines Maintenance Station Matt Boron told KHNS that crews hope to begin work Tuesday morning to clear the debris from an avalanche that slid across Haines Highway near mile marker 20 on Sunday night. The road is currently closed to all traffic.
Matt Boron said, “We have to err on the side of safety and caution and the advice of our experts. But just as soon as we can get permission to proceed, we’ll get the road open just as quick as we can.”
Department of Transportation in Haines confers with both a local geotech engineer and a Juneau-based avalanche technician to decide when conditions will be safe for workers.
DOT cleared a small rockslide at Lutak road near the ferry terminal late Monday morning, which closed the road for a few hours.
And the Klondike Highway in Skagway will remain closed, with no estimate of when it will reopen due to an avalanche, and dangerous avalanche conditions, on the Canadian portion of the highway.
The Haines Avalanche Center, which monitors backcountry travel, issued a special forecast for Monday, which raised the avalanche danger to high. Haines received 3 inches of rain along with warming temps and high winds on Sunday. Combined with another 3 inches expected for Monday, the Center’s director Jeff Moskowitz expects to see large wet slabs avalanches over the next few days. He advises staying clear of terrain steeper than 25 degrees.
For current road conditions closures, visit 511yukon.ca or 511.alaska.gov. And for backcountry information, visit alaskasnow.org
