Heavy Snow in Alaska, February 14 to 15, 1999

Heavy snow around Kachemak Bay and several areas around Iliamna lake area caused numerous power outages and felled power poles. The heavy snow was caused by overrunning across the arctic front...piling anywhere from 1 - 3 feet of very wet snow around communities adjacent to Kachemak Bay. Parts of Homer, Tutka Bay and Halibut Cove were without power for periods. Electricity was also reported off at times from Homer to Anchor Point.Scott Ulmer, owner of Ulmer's Drug and Hardware said "the snowstorm was the worst he could remember in his 20 years. Ulmer reported "This caused more damage on the ridge and hillside than I can remember every seeing here. There are alders flat on the ground and birch trees split right down the middle. There are also a number of power lines down." Homer Electric reported power outages for close to 400 customers. Several dozen households were without power for much of Sunday night, both from downed lines and from shorting out caused by lines swinging together. Roads were impassable in some areas where lines were down. Five poles were reported down in the Baycrest Hill area and three poles down in the Ohlson Mountain area. From Sunday night through Monday morning, 3 departures from Anchorage to the Homer airport had to be cancelled due to windy and icy conditions at the Homer airport Sunday night and due to low visibilities early Monday at the height of the snowstorm.Bill "Pinky" Morse, who lives in Fritz Creek just east of the population center in Homer, reported water on roads up to a foot and a half deep due to frozen culverts. A brief power also occurred around Kenai-Soldotna affecting about 2,000 customers Monday morning due to a transmission problem, possibly snow related, between Anchorage and the Kenai Peninsula.In Iliamna, affected by the same snowstorm, 8 poles were snapped and lines were damaged, also causing power outages. Power and phone service was also out at Newhalen, a small community at the mouth of the New Halen River which feeds Iliamna Lake. Replacing the poles was complicated because the ground in the area was frozen about 5 feet down. Some homes used back-up generators, while others used camp stoves and candles to try to keep their pipes from freezing.The heavy snow ended across the Kachemak Bay area mid Monday.