Volcano has people in stores

MAT-SU — With Mt. Redoubt rumbling and volcanologists predicting a possible eruption, local retailers are reporting brisk sales by folks getting prepared.

“At the moment we are about 75 percent sold out of filters,” Martin Registe, retail manager at NAPA auto parts in Wasilla, said Friday afternoon.

He said there’s not much a person can do when the ash starts falling and air filters start plugging up. NAPA sells a washable filter that can be cleaned out and reused.

“If you really, really have to, you can use the air compressor and blow the dirt out of them,” he said, but that’s not as good as getting a new filter.

In Palmer, Bob Erdman, owner of Pro Auto Service, said Friday he hadn’t done many filter replacements.

“I imagine we’ll sell a few if it does blow,” he said.

Ash is very abrasive and can be destructive if it gets into a car’s engine, he said.

“It’s just such a fine dust that it gets into everything,” Erdman said. “If it gets into the engine it’s like Comet.”

He said the last time a volcano sent up an ash plume folks were resorting to some creative auto maintenance.

“It was popular to put pantyhose over your air cleaner to keep the fine particles out,” Erdman.

Even pantyhose, though, you have to keep on top of, make sure it doesn’t get plugged up. And it’s a temporary solution at best.

If the ash starts flying, “you probably need to go down to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of filters,” he said. But be quick because demand will be high and, “nobody has that kind of stock.”

Spenard Builder’s Supply reported brisk sales of respirators and painters’ masks Friday afternoon, mostly to folks warily watching Redoubt.

For information on what mask to buy, officials recommend consulting the International Volcanic Health Hazard Network at ivhn.org.

The borough is getting itself prepared. A press release issued Friday said emergency vehicles are now carrying spare filters. Responders were issued face masks.

Borough emergency managers are also keeping an eye on reports from the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

The borough has directs citizens to its site: prepared.matsugov.us. More information, including live updates and webcam photos from the mountain can be found at the Alaska Volcano Observatory’s Web site at avo.alaska.edu.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.