Juneau lifts its Suicide Basin flood evacuation

Juneau's flood unified command declared the Suicide Basin threat over at 5 pm Thursday and reopened the evacuated areas to residents, ending the evacuation that had held until an all-clear.

The Mendenhall River crested at 14.7 feet at 2:15 pm Thursday, past the National Weather Service's 14-foot major flood stage but short of the 16.1- to 16.6-foot range the agency had forecast. The weather service puts major flooding of View Drive homes at 15 feet.

View Drive remains restricted to local traffic until further notice, and the Back Loop Bridge stayed closed Thursday for a state safety assessment. Juneau's flood information hotline is running 8 am to 5 pm.

Suicide Basin is a glacier-dammed lake that collects behind the Mendenhall Glacier and periodically drains downstream. The outbursts have recurred annually since 2011, drawing state and federal disaster responses in 2023 and 2024, and last year's release crested at a record 16.65 feet. The weather service said this release has ended and the river is back below flood stage.