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The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, contracting with Coastal Helicopters, works to reduce avalanche risk on Thane Road by setting off avalanches in a controlled fashion on Feb. 5, 2021.(Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

DOT&PF has a plan to reduce avalanche hazard near Juneau amid record snowfall

They’re set to fly over the snowpack above Thane in a helicopter at about noon to trigger a…

A truck with a snowplow drives along Douglas Highway on Dec. 31, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

Warnings pile up under record-breaking snowfall in Juneau

December 2025 is the snowiest December in the city’s history.

Alaska's Department of Transportation and Public Facilities issue a warning of increased avalanche hazard along Thane Road. (Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Avalanche advisory in effect for Thane, Downtown

The alert is not an evacuation notice, but officials urge residents to stay informed.

Emergency lights flash on top of a police car. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Child dies in car accident on Christmas Eve, Juneau community collects donations

Flying Squirrel will serve as a collection point for donations for the child’s family.

Dense, wet snowpack piles up beneath a stop sign on Great Western street. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

More heavy, wet snow forecast for the Juneau area this week

Capital City Fire and Rescue cautioned residents without four wheel drive from taking on the roads.

Photo by James Brooks / Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy greets a child during the governor’s annual holiday open house on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2022 at the Governor’s Mansion in Juneau.

News

Pipeline deal and disasters were highlight and low point of 2025, Alaska governor says

Alaska’s traditional industries got a boost from the Trump administration, but more drilling and mining are likely years…

The Seward-based band Blackwater Railroad Company plays onstage ahead of their New Year’s concert in Juneau at Crystal Saloon. (photo courtesy Blackwater Railroad Company)

News

Transience and adventure: Alaska band returns to Juneau for New Year’s concerts

The Blackwater Railroad Company talks about their ‘Alaska Music’ ahead of their shows.

A page of the Juneau Empire from a Nov. 29, 1915 edition. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

Empire Archives: Juneau’s history for Dec. 27 & 28

1915 Juneau reporters reflect on holiday celebrations and look forward to the New Year.

A Douglas street is blanketed in snow on Dec. 6, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

Precipitation is forecast later this week. Will it be rain or snow?

Two storm systems are expected to move through Juneau toward the end of the week.

A residence stands on Tuesday, Dec. 23 after a fatal house fire burned on Saturday, Dec. 20. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

2 house fires burn in 3 days at Switzer Village

Causes of the fires are still under investigation.

A house on Telephone Hill stands on Dec. 22, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

Court sets eviction date for Telephone Hill residents as demolition plans move forward

A lawsuit against the city seeks to reverse evictions and halt demolition is still pending.

Juneauites warm their hands and toast marshmallows around the fire at the “Light the Night" event on winter solstice, on Dec. 21, 2025. (Mari Kanagy / Juneau Empire)

News

A mile of lights marked Juneau’s darkest day

Two ski teams hosted a luminous winter solstice celebration at Mendenhall Loop.

A Capital City Fire/Rescue truck drives in the Mendenhall Valley in 2023. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire file photo)

News

Juneau man found dead following residential fire

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

CBJ sign reads “Woodstove burn ban in effect.” (City and Borough of Juneau photo)

News

Update: CBJ cancels air quality emergency in Mendenhall Valley Sunday morning

The poor air quality was caused by an air inversion, trapping pollutants at lower elevations.

A dusting of snow covers the Ptarmigan chairlift at Eaglecrest Ski Area in December 2024. (Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)

News

Update: Waterline break forces closure at Eaglecrest Friday, Saturday

The break is the latest hurdle in a challenging opening for Juneau’s city-run ski area this season.

Patrick Sullivan stands by an acid seep on July 15,2023. Sullivan is part of a team of scientists who tested water quality in Kobuk Valley National Park’s Salmon River and its tributaries, where permafrost thaw has caused acid rock drainage. The process is releasing metals that have turned the waters a rusty color. A chapter in the 2025 Arctic Report Card described “rusting rivers” phenomenon. (Photo by Roman Dial/Alaska Pacific University)

News

Ecosystem shifts, glacial flooding and ‘rusting rivers’ among Alaska impacts in Arctic report

NOAA’s 2025 report comes despite Trump administration cuts to climate science research and projects

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

News

Moderate US House Republicans join Dems to force vote on extension of health care subsidies

WASHINGTON — Republican leaders in the U.S. House will face a floor vote in early 2026 on Democrats’…

The National Weather Service Juneau issues a high wind warning forDowntown Juneau, Southern Douglas Island and Thane due to increased confidence for Taku Winds this afternoon. (National Weather Service screenshot)

News

Taku winds and dangerous chills forecast for Juneau

Gusts up to 60 mph and wind chills near minus 15 expected through the weekend.

Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire
Fallen trees are pictured by the Mendenhall river on Aug. 15, 2025. Water levels rose by a record-breaking 16.65 feet on the morning of Aug. 13 during a glacial outburst flood.

News

Lake tap chosen as long-term fix for glacial outburst floods

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Juneau leaders agreed on the plan.

Gift card displays, such as this one in a CVS in Harlem, N.Y., have been a source of concerns for lawmakers hoping to combat gift card fraud. “Card draining,” or stealing numbers from poorly packaged cards, is one of the costliest and most common consumer scams, and states are trying to combat it with consumer alerts, arrests and warning signs on store displays. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline)

News

Alaskans targeted by scammers posing as government officials, FBI warns

The FBI reports Alaskans lost over $26.2 million to internet-based scams in 2024, with $1.3 million of those…