Emergency – City and Borough of Juneau

GLOF Mitigation Updates, Eaglecrest Gondola, and Disposal of City Hall on Agenda for May 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting

The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly will get a detailed technical update on near-term GLOF mitigation efforts, including flood modeling and Phase 1 and 2 HESCO flood barrier construction, followed by a discussion on project funding the Committee of the Whole (COW) meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. on Monday, May 4. Also included on the agenda are discussions of the future paths for both the Gondola project and the existing City Hall building.

The Assembly moved to terminate the revenue sharing agreement with Goldbelt for the gondola project, however, additional discussion regarding next steps is needed. Identified options include termination of the project (sell all parts and equipment), or to seek potential investors to take over the project.

The Assembly will also discuss an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to sell the current City Hall (155 Heritage Way). Possible methods of disposal range from sealed competitive bid to authorizing negotiations with an interested party.

While Assembly Committee Meetings do not include public testimony, residents are encouraged to share their input by emailing the assembly at [email protected] or by testifying at an upcoming Regular Assembly Meeting on May 18.

Join in person in assembly chambers or online at juneau.zoom.us/j/95424544691. Meeting materials can be viewed at juneauak.portal.civicclerk.com/event/4843/overview.

For more information, please contact [email protected].

May 4th, 2026|

CBJ Participates in USACE Spring Training to Prepare Local Agencies for 2026 GLOF

Last week, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Alaska District hosted a multi-day training in the Mendenhall Valley for staff from the City and Borough of Juneau, Tlingit & Haida and other local agencies in preparation for a 2026 glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF).

Nearly 50 people from CBJ, USACE and Tlingit & Haida took part in both classroom and in-the-field training to gain a practical understanding of the flood fighting equipment and materials provided by the USACE Emergency Management Advance Measures program. Staff from the CBJ Streets and Parks and Recreation departments received instruction on everything from how to operate the dozens of industrial-grade pumps that will be deployed ahead of the next GLOF, to how to operate the sandbag-filling machine on loan from USACE for the summer.

While last week’s hands-on training was targeted to the operational needs of CBJ and Tlingit & Haida staff, USACE will return to Juneau to provide similar training for Juneau residents later this summer. Dates for upcoming sandbag distribution events, like those offered in 2025, will be announced later this spring.

The three-day training also included multi-agency discussions and scenario-planning, with the goal of aligning common understandings and defining roles and responsibilities ahead of the 2026 GLOF.

CBJ appreciates the continued resources and expertise provided by the USACE to prepare and protect the community. This early planning and coordination between agencies will strengthen Juneau’s resilience in the face of the evolving and recurring hazard of glacial lake outburst floods.

For more information, contact [email protected].

April 24th, 2026|

USACE, Tlingit & Haida, CBJ and Partners Unified to Address Glacial Lake Outburst Flooding

City, Tribal, and Federal agencies, Alaska Delegation committed to expanded flood fighting and solutions for 2026 and beyond

Juneau, Alaska – Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle and officials from all levels of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) visited Juneau’s Mendenhall Valley this week to gain a firsthand understanding and align with local, Tribal, State and Federal agency partners on a multi-pronged approach to proactively protect the community from the annual threat of glacial lake outburst flooding (GLOF) in the near, mid and long-term.

“As we confront the threat of glacial outburst flooding in the Mendenhall Valley, I have remained committed to balancing short, medium, and long-term risk reduction strategies, and that is why we are here on the ground demonstrating our shared sense of urgency,” said Adam Telle, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works. “My office recently launched the ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative in order to build a faster, more responsive U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that anticipates these types of problems like we see at Mendenhall and take action to prevent future catastrophe. By pursuing multiple solutions simultaneously, we are compressing timelines and demonstrating our commitment to protecting the people of Alaska’s capital city.”

Assistant Secretary Telle was joined in Juneau by Major General Jason Kelly (Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations, USACE), Brigadier General Clete Goetz (Commander and Division Engineer, USACE Pacific Ocean Division), and Colonel Jeff Palazini (Commander, USACE – Alaska District), along with nearly a dozen other officials, engineers, and subject matter experts from all four levels of the USACE. The group toured the Phase 1 and Phase 2 HESCO barrier projects and took a helicopter tour of the Mendenhall River and Suicide Basin on March 23 before sitting down with representatives from the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ), Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (Tlingit & Haida), the USDA Forest Service (USFS) and the Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities, as well representatives from Senators Sullivan and Murkowski’s offices on March 24. Senator Sullivan joined the meeting virtually and reaffirmed his commitment to finding solutions to the unprecedented annual GLOF disaster facing Juneau’s residents.

“From the day he was nominated to lead the Army Corps, I made it very clear to Assistant Secretary Telle that addressing the glacial outburst flooding in Juneau is a top priority for me,” said Sen. Sullivan. “Since then, Assistant Secretary Telle has been an incredible partner, sending his top team to Juneau last year, donating HESCO barriers that saved homes along Mendenhall River, and committing to leverage the key provisions in President Trump’s Day One executive order, ‘Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,’ to cut through red tape and expedite near-term, medium-term, and long-term solutions. I want to thank Assistant Secretary Telle for coming to Juneau and surveying the Mendenhall Valley to better understand the gravity of this threat to one of our state’s largest cities. My team and I will continue to work with Assistant Secretary Telle and the Army Corps to maintain the momentum and deliver solutions that effectively protect the lives and property of the people of Juneau.”

While CBJ and USACE technical staff communicate daily on their efforts to understand, plan, protect and prepare for the next and future GLOF events, Tuesday’s discussion allowed USACE and local leadership to connect directly on their current work, future plans, and commitment moving forward. Also on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary Telle hosted a press conference with local media that covered these same topics alongside local leaders and other USACE officials. A full recording of the press conference is available at youtu.be/mwHLM-B29UI.

“Keeping Juneau safe from the persistent danger and damage caused by glacial flooding will require careful collaboration among local, state, and federal agencies—which is why this roundtable was so critical to ensuring we are all pulling in the same direction,” said Senator Murkowski. “I greatly appreciate Assistant Secretary Adam Telle and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for traveling to Juneau to engage directly with local leaders and see firsthand the challenges we are facing. I remain focused on working with the City and Borough of Juneau, Tlingit and Haida, and our state and federal partners to advance short-, medium-, and long-term solutions that will keep the people of Juneau safe.”

Excavators cleaned snow from HESCO barriers during the group’s tour on Monday as both USACE and CBJ contractors mobilized on flood fighting construction efforts planned for completion before a 2026 GLOF. CBJ’s teams are preparing to raise, repair and – in places – reconstruct the existing Phase 1 HESCO barriers following the availability of updated inundation modeling and observations from the 2025 GLOF. USACE is moving forward with the Phase 2 HESCO barrier project installation, which will include riverbank armoring and installation of temporary (HESCO) flood barriers to construct a fortified, complete temporary flood barrier along the unprotected, populated riverbank areas of the Mendenhall River. USACE has also committed to providing technical assistance for the Phase 1 reconstruction, as well as critical on-the-ground flood-fighting tools, including a sandbag filling machine and dozens of pumps that will be strategically deployed ahead of a 2026 event.

“Our community is strong and resourceful, but what we are facing is unprecedented.” shared Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon. “Our conversations with Assistant Secretary Telle and his team at USACE this week reconfirmed that they are by our side, fighting with us to find the practical and technical solutions that will protect Juneauites immediately and for the long term. We are grateful for the flood fighting resources provided via the USACE that have and will continue to reduce the risk of devastating flood impacts for thousands in the Valley who face this extremely unique challenge every year. These annual GLOF events are predicted to increase in size and risk, and through our partnership with Tlingit and Haida, along with the support of our federal delegation, we will continue to communicate the urgency of delivering a long-term solution alongside critical short-term efforts.”

As another GLOF event is likely just months away, ASA Telle’s visit to Juneau included discussion of actions being taken now and the need to identify and investigate feasible enduring solution.

“This week’s meeting reinforced that we are all moving in the same direction toward an enduring solution to the Mendenhall Glacier flooding,” noted Tlingit & Haida President Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson. “I joined the City and Borough of Juneau Mayor and her staff, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, and Corps leadership in a productive conversation focused on how we respond with urgency and unity. At this time, we continue to believe the lake tap is the most viable long-term solution, and I appreciate the Corps reaffirming that position while also acknowledging that all options remain on the table. We need immediate triage for the short term, a clear path for the mid-term, and a durable answer for the long term. Our community deserves nothing less.”

For more information about CBJ and partner efforts to protect against future glacial lake outburst floods, visit bit.ly/CBJGLOF.

Contact:
John Budnik [email protected]
Ashley Heimbigner [email protected]
Dixie Hutchinson [email protected]

March 26th, 2026|

USACE to Mobilize Phase 2 HESCO Barrier Flood Fighting Project Next Week

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) – Alaska District in partnership with the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) will begin the first phases of the Phase 2 HESCO barrier project installation along the Mendenhall River during the week of March 16, 2026. USACE contractor Sealaska Constructors will be leading the work, which will begin with bank armoring along Clinton Drive and move south along the unprotected areas of the river. The public is asked to avoid the construction area for their safety and the safety of workers, residents and property owners.

In late October 2025, USACE accepted CBJ’s request for USACE Public Law 84-99 Advance Measures Assistance to provide technical assistance and temporary flood protection against the increasing future glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) at 100% Federal cost with no cost to the Public Sponsor (CBJ). The Advance Measures scope will include riverbank armoring and installation of temporary (HESCO) flood barriers to construct a fortified, complete temporary flood barrier along the unprotected, populated riverbank areas of the Mendenhall River – referred to as Phase 2 – prior to July 15, 2026.

USACE is also providing technical assistance for the repairs, fortification, raising, bank armoring and other associated items related to the Phase 1 HESCO flood barrier installation to continue to protect against the increasing GLOF events. CBJ is responsible for the implementation and construction of the work with its contractors. Mobilization of Phase 1 HESCO barrier repairs will begin later this month for completion by July 2026. The estimated cost of the Phase 1 repairs will be funded by an Assembly transfer of funds from the Capital Civic Center project and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation State Revolving Fund Loan.

CBJ’s Engineering and Public Works department has spent the six months since the last major GLOF event documenting damage, analyzing impacts and utilizing the latest available hydrologic and hydraulic modeling to develop plans to raise, repair and reinforce the existing Phase 1 HESCO barriers. The goal of this ongoing work, in coordination with the USACE, is to ensure that these critical but temporary flood fighting projects provide as much protection as practicable until a longer-term solution is in place.

CBJ project managers have and will continue to coordinate directly with property owners and impacted residents along both the Phase 1 and Phase 2 project areas. More information about flood fighting, flood emergency preparedness and the pursuit of an enduring solution is available at bit.ly/CBJGLOF.

For more information about the Phase 1 and Phase 2 HESCO Barrier Flood Fighting projects, please contact [email protected].

March 13th, 2026|

CBJ Avalanche Advisory – March 3, 2026

The potential for avalanches in all known slide paths (see map) is elevated and increasing overnight due to heavy snowfall and continued northerly winds in the forecast. Due to the elevated risk, CBJ is moving to the “Set” stage of the “Ready, Set, Go” readiness framework.

This is not an evacuation advisory, however, CBJ is closely monitoring the hazard and will send out an emergency alert if conditions change significantly. While in “Set,” residents should know their risk, have go-bag ready, and prepare household evacuation plans in case conditions change.

Residents can read more about the current Avalanche Hazard Update and snowpack conditions from CBJ’s Avalanche Advisor at bit.ly/cbjavalanche.

Alaska DOT&PF closed Thane Road at the avalanche gates at 6 p.m. this evening due to high avalanche hazard to the roadway. This emergency closure will be re-evaluated at 6 a.m. tomorrow, however, Thane residents should be prepared for extended road closures.

Residents should know their risk, remain alert, have a go-bag ready, prepare household evacuation plans and stay signed up for emergency alerts.

For questions contact [email protected].

March 3rd, 2026|