Roads remain dangerous, and power outages persist into Sunday evening in parts of Anchorage and the Matanuska and Susitna valleys.
Extreme winds and cold temperatures have affected the areas. At one point over the weekend, 20,000 households in Mat-Su lost power.
The level of Eklutna Lake seems to be very low this winter. Over the long term, decline of the Eklutna Glacier is a concern for water and energy supply.
Gusts over 80 mph pummeled the city, compacting snow and causing power outages for thousands. Nearly 20,000 Matanuska Electric Association members lost power Friday morning. On Point MacKenzie west of Wasilla, crews faced snow drifts so large that they needed snowmachines and snowshoes to reach areas where repairs were needed.
Conservation and tribal groups in 2018 removed a downstream dam in the river northeast of Anchorage. But an upriver dam provides the cheapest energy in Southcentral Alaska. For people from the Native Village of Eklutna the river’s rebirth was an important moment. They want the 12-mile-long waterway permanently restored, along with the salmon their late elders once described as abundant.
Mat-Su schools will be closed again Wednesday, and 5,000 homes remained without electricity Tuesday night after a violent windstorm hammered the Valley.
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