Second snow storm packs wallop to the Mat-Su

While the snow seems to have settled, leaving many homes, cabins and trees looking like a picturesque greeting card, most of Southcentral Alaska is still digging out from the latest round of snow, with the Mat-Su Borough receiving 5-10 inches, with heavier snow totals in the western part of the Borough. And with all the snow comes closures and power outages. Here is a quick rundown:

Schools-For the second time in less than a week, the the Matanuska Susitna Borough School District (MSBSD) announced that schools were on remote level for the day.

The MSBSD also announced earlier that all high school, middle, and elementary school activities are cancelled.

Airport Closures-The Ted Stevens International Airport reports no closures or flight delays as of 1:30 pm.

Power Outages- It is another busy day for the Matanuska Electric Association (MEA), which has been responding to outages all day, with 24 crews assigned to outages and nearly 10,500 folks still without power. Unplowed roads, highways and side streets are making travel slow going andMEA encourages people stay off the streets until plows can complete at least the main roads.

“A huge thank you to EPC, Sturgeon, and LB for sending line crews to help us add more capacity for getting power restored!"

Here are some of the outages MEA is working on as of 4:30 pm:

-Crews are working on closing in the breaker which will restore power to about 2,000 members in the Wasilla Main St. up to Schrock Road areas. If that holds, they will continue closing in the rest of the feeder, hoping to bring power back on for an additional 1,000 members or so. There may be some small taps that are still without power, but crews have gotten through patrols on the main lines.

-2,809 member outage off Wasilla proper/Main St over to N Snow Goose Dr

-2,430 member outage off E Bogard from Northgate Pl over Schrock and up to N Champion Road

-1,614 member outage off S Hyer Road up to Finger Lake area

-122 member outage Loc Lohmand Dr/S Kuster Dr./W Appalachain Trail

-222 member outage off Bogard/N Trunk Road/N Seagull Dr

There are numerous smaller outages from near Talkeetna to Port MacKenzie, several outages along Knik Goose Bay Road, in Houston, Meadow Lakes, and Soapstone Road.

Plowing-The cities of Wasilla, Palmer, and Houston report that they have all deployed crews to plow the main roads and will continue working to reach the side roads as soon as possible, and asks for patience as crews work, even as snow continues to fall in some areas.

The City of Houston reports that one of their two plow trucks has a broken axle, making their job more difficult.

“Some tighter roads and berms will take longer to get to. We apologize for any delays. We hope to have the plow truck fixed within a couple days depending on the extent of the damage and availability of parts. This leaves us with a 5-Yard dump truck plow and our road grader. Smaller cleanup will have to happen using the backhoe later.”

Additionally, the City of Wasilla has advised residents that the city is experiencing water well challenges citywide due to the cold weather.

“Our team is diligently working day and night to repair and restore water to our citizens. Water remains potable. “

The City of Wasilla is asking residents and businesses to please limit water usage as much as possible, and if residents have questions please call 907-373-9010.

Denali Refuse announced that trash services were cancelled for the day, saying on their Facebook page:

“Unplowed side roads and many areas without power, I would rather allow the plow operators and lineman get the town cleaned up.”

The company says they will be picking up all the Monday residential customers this Friday the 17th.

“I'm sorry for any issues this may cause and I thank you for your understanding and patience.”

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DTPF) offers resources on their website to find out the status of what priority level your roads are and when they expect we'll get there with their plows. “Please keep in mind that we focus on Priority 1 roads while the snow is falling and will move down the list as fast as possible.” Please visit www.dot.alaska.gov/wintermap for more information.

To check road conditions before heading out, DTPF offers road condition information and road cameras. Check out www.511.alaska.gov, the 511 Alaska mobile app, or call 5-1-1 from any phone in Alaska for road condition information. More winter season resources are listed on our winter homepage!

The Frontiersman will post additional information and updates as available.