Avalanche on Friday temporarily closes road to Hatcher Pass

Update, 3:30 p.m.: Crews were working to clear the road to Hatcher Pass on Friday afternoon after a Class 2 small avalanche occurred, according to Shannon McCarthy, a spokesperson for the state transportation department.

The road was expected to reopen by 4 p.m. Friday. McCarthy said the closure affected about 15 cars that were located above where the slide crossed the road.

Original story:

An avalanche Friday has closed the road to Hatcher Pass in the Talkeetna Mountains, and people are being asked to avoid the area.

According to the state transportation department, the avalanche occurred between Mile 14 and 16 of the winding road, which starts as Palmer-Fishhook Road and leads to the popular Hatcher Pass State Recreation Area north of Palmer.

The nonprofit Hatcher Pass Avalanche Center warned that conditions in the area were dangerous and asked that people avoid the Archangel Road trail nearby.

“Heads up! Large remotely triggered Avalanche crossed and closed the road,” the avalanche center said in a Facebook post, adding that the road would be closed at the Gold Mint parking lot.

Avalanche specialists from the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities were on their way to the site of the slide by Friday afternoon.