By Jasz Garrett
Juneau, Alaska (KINY) – Harbormaster Matt Creswell issued a reminder Sunday morning for patrons to check on their vessels during this heavy snow. 18-22 inches of snow is expected Sunday through Monday night.
“There are still lots of boats that have a heavy snow load on them from last week’s storm. And after this storm, the temps are forecasted to start warming and then rain. So, we’re going to have heavy snow with water weight on top of it from the rain,” Creswell said. “And we really, really need people to get down and shovel their boats off because these boats are starting to ride low in the water and become top heavy. We’re worried that more and more are gonna sink. Through last week’s storm we had eight start sinking and three of those eight ended up sinking all the way.”
He added that anytime the harbor staff has to keep boats from sinking, it’s time taken away from snow removal on the docks and harbor parking lots.
“It is every boat owner’s responsibility to keep their boats seaworthy and keep it from sinking. So, please help out the harbors and get down, take care of your boats, and take care of yourself when you’re down there,” he said. “Wear life jackets when you’re shoveling and be very, very careful, careful, less the docks are slippery, and give the harbor department a call if you notice anything.”
Creswell said people can call the harbor department during weekends at (907) 321-1115 or during office hours call (907) 586-5255.
Additionally, people can call the Juneau Police Department’s non-emergency line at (907) 586-0600.
The U.S. Coast Guard is helping to assist boats that sank last weekend through a trust fund. This helps raise the boats and remove pollutants from the water. One of three of the vessels was insured. Creswell encouraged all boat owners to get insurance.
He thanked Juneau for their patience as Juneau Harbors responds accordingly.
“This is abnormal for us to receive this much snow in such a short period of time. We brought in summertime staff that are in helping us clear the docks. We got every piece of equipment in our inventory all week was being utilized. But this much snow is very hard to deal with. And we ask folks to just please be patient and be careful,” Creswell said. “Between Docks and Harbors and the city, we’ll get everything eventually but we only have so many resources and we’re using them all to their fullest. So, thank you everybody so far for all the patience and we’ll get through this.”
