Avalanche closes Alaska Panhandle highway after storms deliver historic rain and snow

An avalanche closed part of a highway in the borough of Haines, a small town about 90 miles north of Juneau in Alaska’s panhandle, on Tuesday night — the latest debris slide in the region after days of heavy rain triggered avalanches in Juneau last week.

Barricades have been placed at Mile 10 of the Haines Highway, and crews will begin to assess the damage during the daytime on Wednesday, Alaska Department of Transportation officials said.

Earlier Tuesday, the department released a few photos of the highway’s condition and issued a travel advisory before the avalanche, and reported that rain-on-ice conditions were making road conditions very difficult.

Drivers were urged to stay off the road.

Relentless rain from an atmospheric river has pounded the southeastern part of the state, which has begun to melt a historic amount of snow that fell across the region over the holidays, triggering days of avalanche warnings.

More than 7 feet of snow has fallen across the Alaska panhandle, with the bulk coming after Christmas Eve.

Evacuations were issued in Juneau last week after several large avalanches were reported on the Thane and Mount Juneau avalanche paths on Friday. 

Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration on Saturday for both the ongoing storms and the record-shattering snow.

Another day of heavy rain is expected, but the precipitation will finally begin to decrease later Wednesday.