| Flood Update 10-11-06 - 5pm
This is an update on the flooding in Valdez and how the community is handling life in Valdez without road access.
The Valdez Fire Department and Public Works Department have reported that floodwaters in Alpine Woods subdivision have receded. The evacuation order for Alpine Woods has been cancelled, but residents are advised to boil the water they use for drinking, cooking, hand or dish washing for at least 2 minutes. According to the City of Valdez, both DOT and the public works department worked on the dike area just above Alpine Woods Tuesday night and Wednesday to support and divert the Lowe River. However, city spokesperson Sheri Pierce said the crews were in need of large rock to make long-term repairs to the dyke and it was not possible to bring in large rock right now. City crews will be working on roads, but caution residents and travelers that there is a lot of erosion along the roadways. The Richardson Highway is closed with considerable damage to the roadways and bridges. Cameron Hursh of Valdez submitted pictures of the flooded area to the Anchorage Daily News and after viewing them it’s evident the repairs will take some time. KVAK decided to make some phone calls to find out how local businesses and organizations are handling being cut off from the road system. The Alaska Marine Highway has added additional ferry service between Whittier and Valdez through Sunday. Friday afternoon at 2:30 pm, the ferry service will review the situation and determine additional service after that time. Sally Williams of Era Aviation said that Era added an additional flight Thursday and has five flights Friday. Saturday, Era will resume their normal schedule, but Williams said, “If there’s a demand, Era will do their best to get on extra flights.” After a run on the grocery stores Tuesday, it looks like shoppers won’t have to worry about shortages of groceries and supplies. Eagle Quality made arrangements to bring groceries into Valdez Wednesday night by ferry and is shipping additional groceries via barge with AML/Lynden on Thursday. Joe Rybak, Manager of Eagle Quality said that Safeway will use ferry and/or air service to get groceries in town and did not foresee any major disruption in service. Chris Smith of Three Bears said he didn’t know the specifics of the ferry, but has made arrangements to barge in food aboard AML/Lynden as well. Smith said Kurt Wilson of Wilson Brothers was instrumental in organizing several businesses in town to work together to coordinate barge service. Smith anticipates that Three Bears may receive one shipment rather than their usual two until the road re-opens. The Post Office will be receiving mail via air until road service resumes. Valdez had truck service Monday. On Tuesday, the truck had to return to Anchorage. Tuesday’s freight arrived in Valdez aboard a chartered plane on Wednesday so there was hardly any disruption in service. Andrea Searles, manager of the Valdez Post Office branch said the Post Office plans to use charter airlines to get the mail in until the road opens. “As long as we have air service, we’re in good shape,” said Searles. Knute Rarey of Providence Valdez Medical Center said in a public meeting Tuesday night that the hospital was not low on any critical medications or supplies. A run on gas stations Tuesday had Valdez Fuel scurrying to refill the tanks and had some wondering where people were going to drive. Gary Schliesing of Valdez Fuel said they have made arrangements to purchase gas from Petro Star and they are confident there is a supply that will last several weeks. Valdez Fuel supplies Capt’n Joe’s and CJ’s. Schliesing said that North Pacific Fuel was supplying Acres Kwik Trip. With regard to heating fuel, Schliesing said they had a bit of trouble initially getting fuel from Petro Star due to some flooding in their driveways, but said there is an adequate supply of heating fuel for several weeks. Schliesing said they had a good supply of propane for a couple weeks. “We are working with North Pacific Fuel,” Schliesing said, “and if we need to bring in a barge we are prepared to.” Operations staffing at the Valdez Marine Terminal remains at normal levels. Support and maintenance staffing is reduced. Crews continue to work to stabilize the Allison Creek Bridge and the bridge is restricted to limited use only. The Valdez City Schools are in session, however, Alpine Woods residents are excused if they cannot make it to school. While school is open, there is an in-service day on Friday. The AASG Student convention, which was scheduled to bring 400 students to Valdez Thursday, has been cancelled as have most activities and events. Some teams might travel out of Valdez to compete in athletic competitions, but are working out the details now. The last report of when the road might be open was pegged at a minimum of 7 to 10 days by Bert Cottle in the public meeting Tuesday night. The Department of Transportation has a bridge inspector in Valdez today to assess the damage and should provide a better estimate sometime this evening or early tomorrow. | 
