Milli Martin, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member from Diamond Ridge above Homer, said Monday she'd been fighting a continuous battle with falling snow since rising to let the dog out.
"Since 8 a.m., the only thing I've been doing is shoveling snow, blowing snow, working on snow," she said. "We've been accosted by snow. It's coming down at approximately a half a foot an hour. It's above my knees."
The Alaska Regional Headquarters for the National Weather Service issued a snow advisory for the western Kenai Peninsula south of Kenai and Cooper Landing, warning of accumulations of two to eight inches, with the largest dump along the Homer bluffs.
Two to eight inches would have been plenty, but accumulations easily topped that in many parts of the Homer bench, not to mention the upper reaches of the bluff.
Greg Wilkinson, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson, said two vehicles had been reported in the ditch along the Sterling Highway just north of Homer, as well as a semi-trailer off the road on Baycrest Hill. There were no injuries.
"Just bad conditions," Wilkinson said.
Snowplows were out in force attempting to clear city and area roads well before school buses began their rounds. By around 7:30 a.m., many residents were busy extricating vehicles and cleaning off drives. The constant hum of snowblowers mixed occasionally with the grunts of the shovel-wielders could be heard along city streets.
Everywhere, tree limbs drooped with their burden of snow, a cause of concern for utility officials. However, there were only a few scattered outages in Homer said Homer Electric Association spokesperson Joe Gallagher .
"It's been real local. Nothing has taken out any major circuits. We're keeping our fingers crossed," he said.
Carey Meyer, head of public works for the city of Homer, said the city had its people clearing roads by 4 a.m. Monday, as several people came in early.
"Our first priority is the main roads and the bus routes," he said.
There were few problems.
"A few parked cars; people caught by surprise on the road. It's been pretty uneventful. People are either being patient or they're getting where they need to go."
His biggest concern, he said, is the snow turning to rain.
"As long as it stays white, we can push it out of the way," he said. "This is not exactly routine, but we have the equipment and experienced people."
Even as the snow fell early Monday, temperatures were rising, and highs in the upper 30s were expected. Forecasters predicted a chance of rain later in the week. Meyer remained cautiously skeptical, saying the cloudy skies looked like they could hold more snow.
"The weather report has lied to us before," he said.
Hal Spence is a reporter for the Peninsula Clarion.
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