The U.S. Forest Service is warning Juneau residents to stay away from the face of the Mendenhall Glacier, where a large piece of ice may fall off at any moment.
Paul Robbins Jr, a spokesperson for the Forest Service, said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that it’s difficult to predict how dangerous the calving may be, but it’s best to steer clear.
“There’s really no way for us to predict when it’s going to fall and we really don’t know what the scale is going to be either,” he said.
This comes as hundreds of Juneau residents have flocked to recreate on the frozen lake in recent weeks. The Juneau Nordic Ski Club grooms cross-country skiing trails on it and walking paths in the snow lead toward the face of the glacier.
Every winter the Forest Service advises residents that venturing out onto the frozen lake can be dangerous. In December when the ice first froze over, several reports of people falling through the ice and self-rescuing circulated on social media.
Capital City Fire/Rescue Chief Rich Etheridge said the department is aware of the warning and is advising residents to stay off the lake entirely. He said a rescue mission would be extremely difficult to pull off and could put rescuers at risk.
“Our recommendation is stay off the ice until this large chunk gives way,” he said. “It’s beautiful, and everybody wants to be out there. But is it really worth the risk of being stuck out there in that freezing water, which could very well be a fatal event?”
Robbins said the glacier has had significant calving activity in recent weeks, with multiple sections already falling onto the frozen lake.
“The major dangers are in the immediate vicinity of the glacial face, from large chunks of ice falling, and the possibility of crushing individuals that could be nearby,” he said. “When those large chunks of ice hit the iced over lake below, it could cause cracks and make the ice unstable for people who would be skiing or skating across it.”
A video shared on social media in December showed Juneau residents running across the ice away from the face of the glacier after a large chunk of ice calved, causing the lake ice to flex and crack.
(Note: This video contains unedited language.)
The National Weather Service typically advises that people keep a distance of at least 300 yards from the face of the glacier.
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