Managing Risk in the U.S. City Facing the Most Danger From Urban Avalanches

Route Fifty: JUNEAU, Alaska — In late March, the Last Frontier’s remote and isolated capital city briefly made national headlines thanks to a dramatic cellphone video that captured an early morning avalanche in progress.

But the large mass of snow and ice wasn’t tumbling down a steep slope in some remote and rugged backcountry. It hit the fringes of Juneau’s population center, about a 10-minute walk from the State Capitol.

Fortunately, the avalanche that came down from Mount Juneau, which reaches an elevation of nearly 3,600 feet above sea level, missed hitting any homes. But it came close.

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