Emergency services in Kodiak are preparing for possible impacts of the volcanic eruption of Mount Spurr. Scientists say the mountain, which is 80 miles west of Anchorage, is likely to erupt in the coming weeks, but can’t predict when. If it does, several factors will affect the amount of ashfall that hits Southcentral Alaska and Kodiak.
Jeremy Zidek, a spokesman for the state Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management told Alaska Public Media that includes the size and duration of the eruption, and weather factors like wind speed and direction. Those factors also play into how long ash could linger.
This is the kind of information Rich Gonzalez, Kodiak Island’s emergency manager, and other officials from the Alaska Volcano Observatory can’t determine yet.
“I monitor it every day and folks can do the same thing," Gonzalez said. "They can go to the Alaska Volcano [Observatory] webpage and in there is a forecast model that tells you every morning which way the [ash] cloud is predicted to go. And again you’ll see that it matches with the weather patterns.”
The observatory also maintains color-coded, green-to-red alert levels for Mount Spurr that escalate as eruption potential and hazard levels rise. As of Monday, March 24, it’s at yellow or advisory status.
Gonzalez said he has been meeting with local emergency services partners including the Coast Guard, village public safety officers and Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.
“More health issues for people with any type of respiratory problems is where I see most of the effects happening from ashfall that would come this way," he said. "And again that would depend on how much, how thick the ash would be, and that would be on a case by case basis. We would just have to see what happens when it does come.”
Residents with respiratory issues are recommended to avoid time outdoors if ashfall is present. Health officials recommend having N95 masks on hand.
Gonzalez is asking residents to have enough supplies at home to be able to shelter in place for up to 72 hours. That means food, water, medications, and other essentials.
If ashfall lingers over Kodiak, that would temporarily halt all commercial flights coming in and out of the island.
Also, Kodiak’s main water supply would be at risk of contamination. But the city maintains millions of gallons of separately stored water which is safe from ashfall. The city’s public works director, Sterling Lewis, told KMXT that the city has two water tanks that can hold enough water to meet the current population’s needs for roughly 30 days. Lewis said water conservation measures and boil-water notices could come into play.
Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center’s communications specialist Laura Mullican said via email that the hospital has prepared itself specifically for volcanic ash events.
“While our preparedness measures are similar for various incidents, such as earthquakes, eruptions, or tsunamis, we’ve also engaged in specific pre-incident activities tailored to volcanic ash events. These include collaborating with vendors and suppliers to ensure multiple weeks' worth of essential supplies, such as PPE, maintaining air filtration systems for building intakes, emergency generators, and essential vehicles with extra filters on hand, refining our response plans to meet potential increased service demand, and ongoing coordination with community partners on shared preparedness planning,” she said.
The last time Mount Spurr erupted was in 1992 when it deposited up to a quarter inch of ashfall on Southcentral communities.
Every so often, ash from the 1912 Novarupta-Katmai eruption still gets resuspended and blown southeast to Kodiak Island. That happened most recently just last week on March 16 and temporarily affected Karluk and Larsen Bay.
