Juneau assembly declares local emergency after glacier outburst flood, requests state aid

The Juneau City and Borough Assembly on Aug. 15 adopted Resolution 4027, declaring a local emergency in response to the 2025 glacier outburst flood and formally requesting state assistance.

Manager Kester told the assembly the manager’s disaster declaration issued Aug. 8 is confirmed by the resolution and that the city has already relied on a pre-disaster declaration from the governor that opened both state public assistance and individual assistance. Assembly Member Bryson moved adoption and asked for unanimous consent; with no objections the resolution was adopted.

The declaration was followed by a briefing from the city’s emergency operations center. CBJ Emergency Manager Ryan O’Shaughnessy and Public Safety Manager and co-incident commander Sabrina Grubitz described a multiagency response that included the United States Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska Department of Transportation, Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Tlingit and Haida, and volunteer organizations.

Officials said the flood crest measured just under 16.75 feet (reported as 16.6 feet) and that HESCO barriers largely held, preventing the widespread destruction seen during past events. “The HESCO barriers really did do their job and protect most, but not all of our residents,” Manager Kester said, adding that the barriers…