Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
The flood threat which prompted an evacuation notice last night for an area of Salcha subsided some this morning. A new ice jam on the Tanana River flushed another large volume of water into Pile Driver Slough late Monday, flooding yards and portions of the Old Richardson Highway, but Salcha Fire and Rescue Chief Jim Skotnicki says it appeared this morning that the latest jam had released.
Levels on the Tanana at Salcha fluctuated Monday as the two separate ice jams backed up water and released, but Skotnicki says the large volume of water they forced into the slough continues to cause problems.
Skotnicki says several homes are surrounded by water, and that some residents evacuated last night. He says concerns remain about additional ice coming down the Tanana, creating a new ice jam, and sending another wave of water into the slough.
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