The edge of an avalanche spilled out toward a street in Juneau, Alaska, on Friday, March 31, 2017. Local emergency manager Tom Mattice says the avalanche hit a van and a gate. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
March 31, 2017 - 7:48 PM
Carole Triem heard an unusual sound when she left an indoor swimming pool in downtown Juneau after her Friday morning workout.
She thought she heard thunder, "which is strange because we don't get thunder here in Juneau."
Instead, what she heard was an avalanche beginning its cascade down Mount Juneau.'
An avalanche in Alaska's capital city isn't an unusual event after several this year. But what was different for Triem, she said, was that she was able to pull her phone out and capture most of it on a 70-second video.
"I looked up, and I think I caught the very beginning of it," she said. "I think I got pretty lucky."
She didn't feel like she was in any danger since she was far enough away from it, and didn't feel a whoosh of air from the avalanche.
"I couldn't feel anything different from where I was standing, just normal cold and wet," she said of Juneau's typical weather.
Juneau Police Lt. David Campbell said there were no injuries and no homes were struck in this southeast Alaska city sandwiched by mountains and the ocean.
Local emergency manager Tom Mattice said the avalanche, an edge of which spilled onto a city street feet from a house, hit a gate and van. The mangled gate had included an avalanche warning sign.
Residents had been warned of heightened avalanche danger on Mount Juneau as the city has been hit by recent rainfall.
Triem caught not only the avalanche on video, but also more moisture — this time in the form of waterfalls — that followed the snow down the mountain.
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AP reporter Becky Bohrer contributed to this report from Juneau, Alaska.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017