Anchorage power outages extend to fourth day in wake of ‘extreme’ warm January storm

Fewer than a dozen Anchorage residents remained without power Wednesday following a rare January storm that brought record warmth and hurricane-force winds over the weekend.

Chugach Electric Association said Sunday’s storm left a wake of broad damage to power equipment that necessitated time-consuming repairs. Chugach officials on Monday had encouraged members without power or generators to find somewhere else to stay.

By Tuesday afternoon, several people who had gone without power for 60 hours said they were relying on neighbors, wood stoves or generators. At least one resident in a home without power off O’Malley Road said her family didn’t have a generator and was concerned about staying warm Tuesday night.

By Wednesday afternoon, Chugach Electric was reporting most customers back online, with fewer than a dozen remaining outages. A few customers need to make repairs before power could be restored completely, officials said.

[State says partly collapsed South Anchorage pedestrian bridge will be rebuilt]

“Thank you to the crews who have continued to work around the clock since Sunday, in the field, in Dispatch, and other areas,” Chugach officials said in an update on social media Wednesday. “And thank you to our members for your patience during this storm repair.”

Anchorage fire officials urged residents without power to position generators away from and outside buildings and to make sure they have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

The potent low-pressure system that spun into Southcentral Alaska late Saturday hammered the city with pouring rain and gusts that topped 100 mph at higher elevations. Uprooted and shattered trees damaged power lines, poles and other electrical infrastructure around the Anchorage Bowl.

Anchorage schools closed Monday due to power outages, as well as other weather-related problems, but reopened Tuesday. In Mat-Su, Susitna Valley schools remained closed for a second day Tuesday due to icy conditions, school district officials said. Anchorage municipal officials said Tuesday that they’re still putting together a damage assessment, though no major issues had been reported beyond a pedestrian bridge that partly collapsed onto the Seward Highway on Sunday morning.

Preliminary reports indicated mostly minor to moderate damage such as broken fences, torn roofing and other exterior issues.

A few homes were significantly damaged, according to Anchorage fire Chief Doug Schrage.

Anchorage Fire Department crews responded to nearly twice as many calls as usual on Sunday. The department issued an alert warning the public that responses might be delayed after the call volume forced crews to prioritize calls by urgency rather than the time they came in, Schrage said.

Officials said fire department calls on Sunday included nearly 70 involving power lines in some form — downed, arcing and smoking, or on fire — as well as four single-family home fires and just over a dozen requests for structural integrity checks.

Concerns for the safety of people staying in homeless camps led the municipality to stand up a new emergency warming facility on Sunday that reached capacity that evening. The center on East Fourth Avenue extended its hours Monday and Tuesday to open at 4 p.m.

The Spenard and Fairview recreation centers were open Tuesday with waived adult fees for anyone who needs to get warm or have access to power. The Spenard center also has showers.

The municipality is offering free disposal for any materials without metal or concrete: brush and branches, cut trees shorter than 6 feet, lumber and wood fence posts, and clean tree stumps. The service will be available through Jan. 31 at the Anchorage Regional Landfill Wood Lot in Eagle River and Central Transfer Station Central Wood Lot on East 56th Avenue.

Residents are encouraged to use the Hazard Tree App to report downed trees on municipal land for removal.

A new weather system moving into the region was bringing snow to the Kenai Peninsula on Wednesday.

In Anchorage, the forecast called for light snow Wednesday afternoon before temperatures turn colder.