Icy conditions close schools, leave people chipping out

PALMER — Warm weather and rain overnight turned roads into skating rinks and closed some local schools Thursday, but caused relatively little in the way of traffic chaos.

The Mat-Su Borough School District kept most schools open, with the exception of those in the Palmer area: Palmer Junior Middle School, Palmer High School, Butte Elementary School, Academy Charter School, Valley Pathways and Swanson Elementary School.

At the Palmer Fire Department, Assistant Chief Todd Russell said ambulance calls overnight were mostly for people with medical troubles.

“I came across a couple of vehicles in the ditch and stopped and helped out,” Russell said.

Cmdr. Tom Remaley with the Palmer Police Department reported much the same, attributing the lack of chaos to the city’s public works department.

“They were in at 2 a.m., plowing snow and sanding roads,” Remaley said. “I know a couple people who had to go to Anchorage and they had to turn around.”

Both Remaley and Russell said the night was rougher for Alaska State Troopers, who tend to patrol areas with higher speed limits. Troopers hadn’t posted any reports of weather-related incidents as of press time.