Multiple avalanches reported in Alaska, prompting road closures and evacuations near Juneau
Multiple avalanches have been reported across parts of Alaska since last week, prompting road closures and evacuations near Juneau as precipitation and heightened avalanche risk continue across the region through January 13, 2026.
This video shows why the road closures and evacuation advisories have been set in place across Juneau, Alaska over the last 24 hours. Multiple small avalanches occurred yesterday and overnight in known slide areas. One of which came dangerously close to neighborhoods near… pic.twitter.com/eMzcMVl1wL
— Aaron Rigsby (@AaronRigsbyOSC) January 11, 2026
Avalanche danger has remained high across the region since last week, prompting local authorities to issue evacuation advisories for multiple known slide paths.
Conditions improved in several areas, allowing officials to lift evacuation advisories for all slide paths outside the Behrends area earlier on January 11.
The City of Juneau advised residents to stay out of the Behrends slide path and to avoid travel and recreation in the nearby Flume Trail area. Capital Transit also suspended bus stops between the Federal Building and Bartlett Hospital, stating that service will not resume in this section until the evacuation advisory is lifted.
The Thane Road will remain closed at the avalanche gates at noon on January 13 due to high avalanche hazard to the roadway. This emergency closure will be re-evaluated at 06:00 AKST on January 14.
More wet weather is forecast, which could trigger additional avalanches at higher elevations later in the week.
The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) warned that roadway access could be limited if slide activity occurs. “If a natural avalanche reaches the roadway, DOT&PF may not be able to safely remove avalanche debris until conditions improve through mitigation work or a natural decrease in avalanche hazard,” the agency said.
Over 3 million pounds of snow were removed by city workers from public facilities such as pools, libraries, and recreation centers. All facilities in Juneau were surveyed, inspected, and approved for occupancy by January 11.
Centennial Hall emergency shelter remains open, with at least 45 people and 12 pets sheltered there.
Students at Mendenhall River Community School were relocated to Thunder Mountain Middle School at midday on January 8 due to heavy snow accumulation on the school building. Over 2 million pounds of snow were removed from the school building between January 9 and 11.
The heavy snow and precipitation have been affecting the region since early January. Meanwhile, an atmospheric river that made landfall over Alaska on January 9 further heightened the avalanche risk.
The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) forecasted approximately 100–150 mm (4–6 inches) of precipitation over the Olympic Peninsula, 50–100 mm (2–4 inches) over the northern Washington Cascades, and 25–50 mm (1–2 inches) over the Cascade foothills during the 72-hour period ending around 16:00 PST, January 13.
This comes after record December snowfall caused multiple vessels to sink in the city’s harbors as heavy, wet snow accumulated.
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Feature image credit: Juneau Harbor
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
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