Heavy equipment sits in the parking lot of Fred Meyer grocery store in Juneau on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (Photo by Mike Lane/KTOO)
It’s a new year, but Juneau residents are still digging out from four feet of snow that fell this week.
The heavy snow collapsed the roof of at least one Juneau business, and others have closed for snow removal.
Fred Meyer closed early on Thursday and did not reopen on Friday morning.
“Our Juneau Fred Meyer is temporarily closed to allow for snow removal and will reopen as soon as possible,” said Tiffany Sanders, a spokesperson for Fred Meyer, on Friday morning. “Thank you for your patience and understanding.”
A sign on the grocery store of Fred Meyer grocery store in Juneau notifies customers that the store is closed for snow removal on Friday, Jan. 2, 2026. (Photo by Mike Lane/KTOO)
It’s unclear when the grocery store will reopen to the public. The Fred Meyer gas station is also closed after part of its awning collapsed.
The roof of the Juneau Shotokan Karate dojo in the Mendenhall Valley collapsed on Wednesday morning, according to Vice President of the Board Sandy Burgess. She wrote on social media that no one was inside the building at the time.
At least nine vessels and multiple boat shelters sank at Juneau’s harbors throughout the week. The city’s docks and harbors staff are working around the clock to respond to reports and are pleading with owners to check their vessels.
Harbormaster Matt Creswell said dozens of boats have had near misses.
“It’s going to be a long process with the number of boats that are currently sunk, but staff are ready for that challenge,” he said on Friday morning. “We’ll be working in earnest, starting today, raising vessels, but expect that to be a couple week process to get everything up.”
The Alaska Department of Transportation reopened Thane Road on New Year’s Day after performing avalanche mitigation that morning. Officials say the avalanche danger remains high in all neighborhoods below Mount Juneau.
According to the National Weather Service, more than 80 inches of snow fell at Juneau International Airport last month. It made December the capital city’s second snowiest month ever recorded.
As plowing and roof clearing continue throughout the community, where to put all the snow is becoming an issue.
“The snow removal process takes a long time because we basically have to either, with snowblowers or loaders, load all that snow into dump trucks and take it away,” City Manager Katie Koester said during a press availability on Wednesday. “We’re also having challenges at the snow storage sites, just because of the tremendous amount of snow.”
No major snow is forecast to fall in Juneau until Monday. However, temperatures are expected to drop this weekend.
This post has been updated.
