Floodwaters rise in Willow area

WILLOW — Driven by heavy rain intermingled with snow, local rivers and creeks overran roads and flooded basements Tuesday afternoon.

The National Weather Service in Anchorage blamed an inch of rain in 24 hours falling on the Talkeetna Mountains and the Upper Susitna watershed for surging water that cut some neighborhoods off from dry road access – though local residents could be seen fording pools and some shallow streams easily as the waters rose. A flood advisory remained in effect for the Little Susitna River, Willow Creek, Montana Creek, the Talkeetna River, and Moose Creek until 3:30 a.m. Wednesday (Sept. 30). Officials expected an additional inch of rainfall by Tuesday evening.

Borough officials had closed some roadways to through traffic, including roads in Talkeetna and Willow. Officials had listed several roads they were watching carefully, including:

• Palmer-Fishhook Road, Welch Way, and the Parks Highway along the Little Susitna River

• Kenny Boulevard, Burrow Road and the Parks Highway along Willow Creek

• Yoder Road the Parks Highway at Montana Creek

• The Alaska Railroad bridge over the Talkeetna River

• Oilwell Road where it crosses Moose Creek

Between three and five houses flooded Tuesday, said borough emergency director Casey Cook.

Borough officials expected the waters to crest by about 10 p.m. Tuesday.

“Hopefully we’ll have a better idea tonight what it’s going to be like,” he said.

Despite “Road Closed” signs in several places, borough employees John Troutner and Mike Lamouria said they weren’t preventing local residents from accessing their properties.

“We’re not enforcement,” Troutner said repeatedly, when several pickups lined up near the intersection of Willow Fishhook and Deneki Drive. “You got no problem.”

The pair planned to run several “Road Closed” signs up to Talkeetna as a precautionary measure. As of Tuesday afternoon, Cook said flooding wasn’t a major concern in the Talkeetna area.

As he watched residents try to get to their homes, Troutner said he empathized with their desire to protect private property.

“This is Alaska,” he said, sympathizing with a property owner eager to get back into the Kelley Circle neighborhood to check on houses. “You know? You’re on your own. Don’t expect big brother to take care of you.”

Several homeowners mentioned the Sockeye Fire, which forced the evacuation of the Willow Area over the summer, as weighing on their minds. However – especially compared to the dire atmosphere surrounding the Sockeye response – at least one resident in a flood-prone neighborhood appeared to take the issue in stride. While the 2015 flood has come later in the year than numerous other floods, it was nowhere near as bad as fall floods in 2008 and 2012, said Shawn Culp.

“It hasn’t rained enough to be as brutal as it was in the past,” he said. “The 2008 flood, it was raining like this for like 10 days. It didn’t let up.”

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed Troutner's comments about private property to another person.

Contact Reporter Brian O’Connor at 352-2270, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter@reporterbriano.