Reconstruction Begins in Eagle, Alaska
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | July 7, 2009
During the flood of May 3-6, 2009, the people of Eagle, Alaska, broke a window of the Customs House and rescued its artifacts
Credit: NPS photo
In May an ice jam on the Yukon River brought 55-foot floodwaters to tiny Eagle, Alaska, a National Historic Landmark District eight hours east of Fairbanks. Ice blocks scoured Eagle, destroying 25 structures and devastating the town of 125 people.
This summer construction will begin on the first of 12 FEMA-sponsored cabins to replace lost homes. Workers also will stabilize the town's most-damaged historic structure, the Eagle Customs House, built in 1900 and swept off its foundation in May.
"It was struck by ice, and the ice chunks were massive, some of them 12-feet thick, the size of a car—or the size of a small house," says Jean Turner, curator and director of the Eagle Historical Society and Museums. "It definitely needs some structural work."
The town of Eagle owns the Customs House, the only resource in the National Historic Landmark District that was damaged in the flood. Workers will shore up the Customs House, its two additions, and its roof before the onset of winter, Turner says.
"The building can be saved. It's structurally very sound," says Steven Peterson, senior historical architect for the Alaska region of the National Park Service, who contributed to a report to FEMA dated June 4, 2009, assessing the current condition of the Customs House. Next year, Peterson says, the community can turn its attention to rehabilitating the building. "The best approach is to take care of the triage needs of stabilization now, and then give [Eagle residents] some time to get their lives back."
Fortunately, several of Eagle's other historic buildings survived the flood unscathed.
"People are starting to see the bright side of things," says Jackie Helmer, emergency coordinator for the city of Eagle, and a resident of 22 years. "Things are looking up; things are finally starting to happen, so it's giving them hope."
Read more about Eagle residents' fight to save their Customs House
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Comments
Submitted by Brian at: July 7, 2009
Wow, what an unusual photo. I can't tell if that's rushing water and ice, or just ice and snow sitting there.