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Thursday, February 11, 1999 © Alaska Juneau Communications - KINY Radio News
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Close call at City Hall
Smoke fills building early today
The fire department was called to city hall (left) at about 6:30 this morning by an employee that found smoke in the building. Downtown Fire Station Lieutenant Jerry Niemi says a chord to the power supply backup of a computer shorted and set the cabinet on fire. The fire went out on its own and he's not quite sure why. He says such fires usually spread once a computer's plastic housing starts burning. Damage was mostly limited to the computer with the exception of smoke damage.
Juneau's high wind warning was downgraded to an advisory before ten this morning. The highest reported gust was 91 miles per hour at the upper terminal of the Mt. Roberts Tram. Gusts atop theFederal Building, at the Rock Dump and Mayflower Island were in the 50 to 60 miles per hour range. They were clocked to 70 miles per hour at the studios of KINY (right). Winds out of the northeast to 30 miles per hour with gusts to 50 are now forecasted. Up to three inches of snow is predicted today. The National Weather Service reported this morning that Juneau is fast approaching its winter time norm of 95 inches. Its already over 90 inches with weeks of winter yet to go.
The Tongass National Forest in Southeast is exempted, but the Chugach National Forest in Southcentral is impacted by today's Forest Service order suspending road construction in the nation's forests. Forest Service Chief Michael Dombeck issued the order to give the agency 18 months to develop a new road building policy. There are a couple of exceptions to the rule for the Chugach. One is the road to Whittier. The other is the Chugach Alaska Corporation road near Cordova. USFS press release details available here.
The Canadian flagged tug and barge, Sea Span Commodore (left), lost 200 bundles of spruce logs in Southeast waters this morning about 100 miles west of Juneau. The bundles, 50 by 26 feet in size and weighing about 37 tons, were lost near Cape Spencer as the vessel was entering Icy Strait on its way to Vancouver. A Coast Guard helicopter is surveying the area and dropping data marker buoys in the water to help keep mariners advised of the potential hazard to navigation. No one aboard the Sea Span Commodore was injured.
A general discussion of wetlands on KINY's Capital Chat this morning led to a specific discussion of what happens to the Mendenhall Wetlands with the future expansion of Juneau's Airport. Representatives of the federal, state and city and borough governments charged with governing and regulating wetlands were the guests. Terry Stone of CBJ (center in photo) said the airport expansion plan will work in thosesensitive areas and added that issues relating to wetlands in the area have been addressed including recreational access. Ralph Thompson of the Army Corps of Engineers (left in photo) says his agency will consider the overall public interest and that the safety need for the expansion will be of interest to his organization. Jim Powell of State Department of Environmental Conservation (right in photo) said there would probably be a need to mitigate the loss of wetlands in the area as the result of the airport expansion.
Authorities had to shoo a deer off Egan Drive near the regional headquarters of the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Glacier this morning. Police called Fish and Game Department Biologist Neil Barton to the scene who says the deer was last seen hunkered down under some trees in the area. He'll wait and see if the deer is still causing problems tomorrow morning before he'll consider running it off. Barton says heavy snow is pushing deer down the mountains and cautions motorists to be on the look out.
For the first time, Time Magazine is honoring an Alaska Automobile Dealer, and its a dealer right here in Juneau. Steve Allwine of Mendenhall Auto Center (right) is one of 63 recipients this year of the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award. Over 20,000 auto dealers from around the nation were considered. Allwine co-owns the Juneau dealership for Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, Mazda and Subaru cars and trucks. He also hosts the weekly "Dodge Boys Country Caravan" country music show on KINY radio.
One of Governor Knowles staff has officially been named the U-S Interior Department's representative in Alaska. Marilyn Heiman was named as Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt's choice a month ago. But she had to pass a routine background check first. Heiman says she'll start work on Tuesday. She's currently Knowles' special assistant for natural resources.
The Canadian federal Fisheries Department is about to restrict British Columbia sports fishermen's harvest of chinook salmon in order replenish depleted stocks of early run chinook salmon in Washington state. Anglers in the Gulf of Georgia will face a new maximum size limit for chinook over the next three months in order to help Washington's Nooksack River salmon run. The new maximum size limit of 31 inches for sports-caught chinook in the gulf will take effect February. 15 until May 20.(Captions for our photographs can be viewed by hovering over them with your mouse pointer)
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