Shortly after a controlled avalanche was scheduled for Thane Road Friday, an avalanche above Behrends Avenue \u2014 a residential neighborhood in downtown Juneau \u2014 caught some local residents off-guard.<\/p>\n
Behrends Avenue is a well-known avalanche path, with a disastrous avalanche taking place in 1962; an avalanche mitigation study <\/a>was conducted in 2012.<\/p>\n Juneau Community Service Officer Jennifer Adams heard the Behrends Avenue avalanche at about 10 a.m. and took a photo from near Centennial Hall. She went to investigate and found no residential damage or blocked roads in the area, said .<\/p>\n The Behrends Avenue avalanche was a big, impressive-looking powder cloud, but it stopped well short of any houses, said City and Borough of Juneau Emergency Programs Manager Tom Mattice.<\/p>\n Avalanche control took place on Thane Road, south of downtown Juneau, from about 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, closing the road temporarily. This is a controlled situation where an avalanche is set off by the Alaska Department of Transportation, which fires a Korean War-vintage howitzer, Mattice said.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously with both man-made and natural avalanches occurring, this is a reminder that there is a weakness in the snowpack in the backcountry that will exist for a while,\u201d Mattice said. \u201cThe danger levels will remain high this weekend and people should remain alert.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is always a good reminder to stay safe,\u201d he added. \u201cIn the backcountry, people should be carrying avalanche transceivers, proves and shovels, and should be skiing with partners.\u201d<\/p>\n VIDEO:<\/strong><\/p>\n Watch a video of the natural avalanche above Behrends Avenue on the Juneau Empire Facebook page<\/a>.<\/p>\n