Quake shakes Alaska

RINDI WHITE-Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- Southcentral Alaskans experienced a jolt Sunday afternoon when what has been dubbed "the Big One," a quake some seismologists are saying ranks among the 10 largest quakes recorded in the state, rocked Alaskans from Fairbanks to Juneau.

The 7.9 shaker was described as a long, rolling movement, lasting several minutes.

The trans-Alaska oil pipeline was shut down as a result of the quake while Alyeska Pipeline Service Company crews worked to repair damage to the brackets supporting the pipeline. Portions of three highways were closed Sunday as a result of the quake. A one-lane stretch of the Parks Highway was closed due to cracking. The Richardson Highway, between Paxson and Delta Junction, was closed Sunday afternoon and the Alaska Highway was dubbed cracked, but passable.

Alaska Department of Transportation spokesperson Shannon McCarthy said crews worked throughout the afternoon and evening Sunday and both the Richardson and Parks Highways were open to two lanes of traffic Monday. The Tok Cutoff, McCarthy said, remains closed at Mile 90, due to numerous rock slides between Mile 45 and 48, and as a result of drops in the road between Mile 74 and 80, where drops of up to six feet have been reported.

On the Parks Highway, a crack estimated at three feet wide and three feet deep was reported Sunday, but DOT crews made a gravel patch Sunday afternoon and both lanes of the road are now open.

"We were able to do a temporary repair and get both lanes up and running," McCarthy said of the Parks Highway. "We had to do extensive repairs to the Richardson Highway."

In a press release issued by DOT Monday morning, McCarthy said DOT crews had worked throughout the night to open the Richardson Highway and, although only one lane of the road is open in several areas, it is passable. Five locations of damage were reported along the Richardson Highway: Mile 197, at Gunn Creek, has a crack up to five feet deep that ranges from six inches to two feet across; Mile 205 to 210, a slide of hundreds of cubic yards has been cleared to the fog line; Mile 208 to 210, cracks between two and eight feet deep were reported; Mile 215, more than 100 feet of roadway reportedly shifted sideways by four feet, offset with a four- to five-foot wide crack up to 12 feet deep; Mile 216, Miller Creek bridge is one-lane only and a three- to four-foot gap was reported. Drivers are advised to watch for workers and equipment working along the roadway.

DOT's Northern Region crews are still inspecting roads and airports throughout the Interior and maintenance crews are still working to repair damage throughout the area.

Although preliminary data from the West Coast Alaska Tsunami Warning Center indicated there was no tsunami generated by the quake, house boat owners in Seattle reported moorings that had broken loose as a result of rapid water level changes after the quake.

Locally, little damage was reported. Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services staff said no quake-related calls were placed for medical or fire assistance. Mat-Su Borough Public Works director Jim Swing said he contacted officials in Talkeetna to see if any damage had been done to the community's borough-operated waste water system, which is currently undergoing renovations. The system, he said, was running without incident and no quake-related damage had been reported.

"As far as I know, there was none," Swing said.