Red Cross shelter open in Wasilla as thousands remain without power

What you need to know:

• An emergency American Red Cross shelter was relocated to the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla Sunday morning as thousands remained without power and hurricane-force winds continued across parts of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
• About 15,000 households were without power as of Sunday morning, with some outages lasting more than 24 hours. The strongest wind gusts reached 82 mph at the Palmer Airport.
• School district officials were expected to decide by midday Sunday whether schools would open Monday.

• Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.

Updated at 7:30 p.m., Dec. 7:

PALMER – Thousands remained without power Sunday evening as high winds continued to sweep across much of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, with gusts nearing 80 mph.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District said schools would be closed and activities canceled throughout most of the region Monday “due to high winds, the forecast, and electrical outages.”

Classes and activities at Mat-Su College were also canceled.

Schools in Talkeetna, Trapper Creek and Willow were scheduled to open on a normal schedule.

About 15,500 households were without power as of 6 p.m. Sunday, with several feeder stations offline, Matanuska Electric Association officials said in a Facebook post. The largest outage was in the Palmer Fishhook area, where 1,835 households were without power.

A Red Cross emergency shelter at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla remained open Sunday evening, offering overnight accommodations for anyone needing assistance, officials said. Crated pets were allowed for individuals staying overnight.

Wind gusts at the Palmer Airport reached 79 mph around 6 p.m. Sunday, according to weather data. Gusts at the Wasilla Airport were lower, hitting 32 mph.

A National Weather Service high wind warning remains in effect through 1 p.m. Monday.

Updated at 11 a.m., Dec. 7:

PALMER – An emergency American Red Cross shelter was scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla as hurricane-force winds continued to batter portions of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and thousands remained without power.

The shelter was initially set up at the Glenn Massay Theater on the Mat-Su College campus overnight Saturday. Four people used the shelter at that location, Red Cross officials said.

Pets in kennels are allowed for shelter residents staying overnight, Red Cross officials said in a release.

A warming shelter at Ya Ne Dah Ah School in Sutton was also open Sunday, according to a social media post by Chickaloon Tribal Police.

Schools across most Mat-Su will be closed Monday "due to high winds, the forecast and electrical outages," Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District officials announced Sunday morning. Only schools in the Upper Valley, including Su-Valley, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek and Willow – an area that did not see the strongest impact of the windstorm – were set to open as normal.

About 15,000 households remained without power across the Matanuska-Susitna Borough as of about 10:15 a.m. Sunday, with thousands in the dark for more than 24 hours, Matanuska Electric Association officials said in a social media post.

The largest outages were reported near Trunk Road and Bogard Road, and near the Palmer-Wasilla Highway and Palmer Fishhook Road.

Wind gusts at the Palmer Airport reached 82 mph at about 10 a.m. Sunday, according to weather data. Gusts at the Wasilla Airport were much lower, reaching 47 mph.

A National Weather Service high wind warning remains in effect through 1 p.m. Monday.

Event cancellations, postponements and business closures continued across the borough Sunday.

Performances of The Messiah scheduled for Sunday at the Glenn Massay Theater were postponed one week. Bright Up the Night at the Alaska State Fairgrounds was closed.

Original story (Dec. 6, 10 p.m.)

PALMER — An emergency American Red Cross shelter was scheduled to open at 10 p.m. Saturday at Mat-Su College to assist people in need of shelter due to the ongoing windstorm and a fire at a multiplex in Wasilla.

“The American Red Cross of Alaska is supporting a shelter that will be open tonight at 10 p.m. due to multiple emergencies happening in the Mat-Su Valley,” Red Cross officials said in a press release sent late Saturday. “The shelter located at Mat-Su College is open and available to anyone without power who needs to stay overnight or needs a place to warm up and access power.”

The shelter is located in the Glenn Massay Theater, according to the release. Service animals are allowed in the shelter, but pets are not, Red Cross officials said.

A shelter was also open at the Ya Ne Dah Ah School in Sutton, officials with the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council said in a Facebook post.

Officials at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson said the base hotel was available as an emergency shelter Saturday to individuals with base access, on a space-available basis.

About 20,000 households across Mat-Su were without power at about 9 p.m. Saturday, including more than 2,000 in the Palmer Fishhook and Hatcher Pass area, and about 900 between Sutton and Glacier View.

A fire at a five-plex near downtown Wasilla that was reported around 5:30 p.m. displaced six adults and three children, according to dispatch reports. Firefighters struggled to contain the flames due to high winds, and it took an hour to bring the fire under control, the dispatch report said.

Wind gusts of 84 mph were reported at the Palmer Airport around 9 p.m. Saturday, with gusts of 47 mph at the Wasilla Airport, according to weather data.

A high wind warning for the region remains in effect through Monday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com