Fred Meyer gas station awning collapse raises concern over roof stability
Published 11:00 am Monday, January 5, 2026
After part of the Fred Meyer gas station roof collapsed last week, the company temporarily closed its store out of concern for the stability of the building’s roof.
Concerns about roof stability follow a historic storm that dropped 47 inches of snow over four days, breaking a snowfall record that had stood for more than 50 years.
The store shut down Thursday afternoon “out of an abundance of caution,” a Fred Meyer spokesperson said. It remained closed Friday while crews worked over the weekend to clear snow from the roof, returning again Monday morning. The store reopened over the weekend.
The Nugget Mall posted a statement on its windows that said access to the building is restricted due to roof snow load, and that there is no estimated reopening date.
The Fred Meyer gas station is in need of serious repairs before reopening. The roof collapsed early Thursday morning at the end of the structure opposite the gas pumps. No reopening timeline has been announced.
“Our Fred Meyer fuel station in Juneau is temporarily closed,” Tiffany Sanders, corporate affairs manager for the Fred Meyer division of Kroger, wrote in an email. “Our team is focused on getting the station back open as soon as possible. We appreciate the understanding.”
Sanders did not respond to questions about when the gas station is expected to reopen or the estimated cost of the damages.
The City and Borough of Juneau recommends residents should consider shoveling their roof after the snow accumulation gets to 2.5 to 3 feet, which equals roughly 40 to 50 pounds per square feet.
The amount of snow that each roof can handle is highly variable, depending on the density of the snow, angle of the roof and when the structure was built.
CBJ updated its building codes in the 1990s. Homes built after that are designed to withstand up to 50 pounds per square foot, while older structures are typically rated for up to 40 pounds per square foot, according to a post by Tlingit and Haida.
More dense snow is forecast through Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau, with daytime temperature highs in the mid thirties and overnight lows hovering near 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
