Thousands of Mat-Su residents are hunkering down as high winds continue to rock the valley, leaving many without power amid harsh winter conditions.
“The biggest thing that the Red Cross recommends, of course, is to go to a place where you can be warm,” said Taylar Sausen, Regional Communications Director for the American Red Cross of Alaska . “Your safest option is to be to go to a place where you can get warm and a place where you can stay overnight or see if there’s a place that you can be with family or friends.
” Sausen told Alaska’s News Source that the Red Cross has opened a temporary shelter for people unable to find a warm place to stay during the power outages. “We have had about 30 to 50 people kind of coming in and out throughout the day in our shelters,” she said. “We housed 17 people overnight, folks that didn’t have power or needed a warm place to stay because we are reaching those wind chills of in those negative degree temperatures.”“Some of the bigger dangers that you’re going to see in a windstorm are going to be downed power lines,” she said.“The photos we’ve received have been quite a few of panels just completely missing,” said Brandon Knutson, owner and operator of BLK Fence. “Post snapped off, sections up to about 30 feet, so four or five sections in a row that were just completely removed from their yard, some pickets missing throughout, a lot of gate damage from them flexing back and forth in the wind.”“Everybody loves their pets. Nobody wants to stand outside in 20 below weather to let them go to the bathroom” “That’s why we like our fences. We can let them out and have that peace of mind that they’re safe, secure, and going to handle their business on their own and you don’t have to watch them.” Both Sausen and Knutson pointed to community as an important part of making it through the windstorms. “Checking in with your loved ones and neighbors, you know, to see if they need help, knocking on neighbors’ doors, just to check on them to make sure that they’re warm because if you’re cold, they might not have methods to stay warm as well,” Sausen said. “Helping neighbors out and making sure that that’s a priority too. It seems like everybody’s kind of riding this out together.”School bus flips onto its side in Mat-Su while carrying studentsTanalian, Unalaska crowned repeat Alaska state volleyball champs
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