Alaska
‘Panic and fear’: Alaska couple barely escapes Mendenhall flood as it devastated their home
Water is seen rushing down the Mendenhall River in Alaska after a major release of water within the Mendenhall Glacier – one of Alaska’s top tourist destinations. Aug. 2023.
JUNEAU – Danielle and Kamal Lindoff almost became trapped in their Alaska home of more than 12 years after the nearby Mendenhall River reached record levels this week and flooded their community.
In the days leading up to the flood, residents were warned of the Mendenhall River rising due to a potential glacial outburst upstream. When the outburst seemed inevitable, Danielle and husband Kamal began to prepare their home for the worst.
Danielle and Kamal Lindoff.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
“We thought we were fully prepared,” Lindoff said, noting how she and her husband used flood mitigation devices and techniques to seal their home off from as much floodwater as possible. They also moved belongings from the lowest level of their home to the upper levels.
GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST FLOODS HOMES IN ALASKA AS RIVER RISES
Because of the measures they took, Lindoff said they decided to stay at home in hopes of mitigating the flood as it went on and saving what they could throughout the flooding event. Their home, which sits about 20 feet away from the river, survived the record flood event caused by the Mendenhall last year.
FILE: A home and trees fall into the Mendenhall River in Juneau, Alaska, on Aug. 5, 2023. The flooding was caused by a release of water from Suicide Basin.
(Sam Nolan / LOCAL NEWS X / TMX / FOX Weather)
Then as night fell on Monday, it slowly became clear that this year’s flood event was going to be different.
At around 10:30 p.m., Lindoff could see in front of their home that water began to pour into the streets of their neighborhood, as the street drainage system began to fill up.
“It started with three feet of water, and it started rushing up towards everyone’s property,” Lindoff said.
The street in front of the Lindoff home, as it begins to flood.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
To make things worse, power to the neighborhood had been shut off as a safety precaution. However, it left the couple in their home in the pitch black of night, save for the light from a couple of candles and headlamps.
“Imagine being in darkness,” Lindoff said. “Imagine yourself hearing water or hearing a crash and not knowing where it’s coming from and having to trench through water that’s flowing in from all locations and trying to find out what happened.”
SEE ALASKA’S RAGING MENDENHALL RIVER ERODE RIVERBANK
Behind their home, the river began to rise and move closer to their doorstep, with the water reaching the top of their fence line and reaching their deck. With the river now at their doorstep, the situation became more dangerous for Lindoff and Kamal.
The river beginning to overtake the fence and deck.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
“Because [the house] became part of the river, any debris that was coming down the river found its way to our yard and then started hitting the house,” she said.
At this point, the only thing between their home and the river was their deck, which had buckled and warped. Despite being misshapen, the deck prevented debris from crashing through a sliding glass door and into their home.
The situation was becoming more precarious, and with the water coming through every crack it could find, Lindoff and her husband decided it was time to leave.
The Lindoff home with water coming through the door, illuminated by a headlamp.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
Their initial plan was to leave through the front door. However, as they approached it, so much water was gushing through that it pushed the door open. Lindoff and her husband struggled to close it.
“The biggest moment of fear and panic was when we opened that front door thinking that that was our way out,” she said. “Then that panic really set in with ‘Okay, that was our escape route.’”
Thoughts such as “Did we just seal ourselves in?” and “We’re stuck in here?” came to mind, she added.
With the front door no longer an option for escape, and the sliding door blocked by the warped deck, the couple resorted to their alternate plan of escaping through a second-story window.
Water is at their doorstep. Note the black sandbags at the bottom of the frame trying to keep the water at bay.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
Lindoff said her husband ended up jumping out of the window on the second level and then swam to where they had tied up a raft equipped with an engine. He then drove the boat back to the house and moved Lindoff and their two cats in carriers through the window and onto the boat.
“I just said ‘Goodbye’ to my house at that point because, there was so much water, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next,” she said.
They then drove through the flooded streets in the middle of the night and found a safe, dry place to stay with a family member.
WHAT TO DO IF YOUR HOUSE FLOODS
Now, Lindoff, her husband, and their 17-year-old daughter, who they had stayed with a friend the night of the flooding, are rebuilding what’s left of the devastated entry level of their home. Family and members of their community have also come out to help.
Cleanup efforts after the flood.
(Danielle Lindoff / FOX Weather)
Thinking back on the flooding event, not even two days ago, Lindoff recalls how she and her husband felt going into what would become a harrowing experience.
“This wasn’t our first time. It’s not like we didn’t know,” she said. “But the fact that we thought we were fully prepared, and the Mendenhall still said, ‘You can never be prepared’.”
To help the Lindoff family, you can donate to their GoFundMe here.
HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER
Flooding after the Mendenhall River crested to record levels.
(City and Borough of Juneau / FOX Weather)
The National Weather Service Juneau reported that the Mendenhall River crested at 15.99 feet at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. This breaks the record set last year, which was 14.97 feet.
The City and Borough of Juneau reported on Wednesday that more than 100 homes have been affected by the floodwaters.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.
Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.
Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.
Recording in the cold
The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.
“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.
“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”
She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.
Filming on Nenana tribal land
Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.
“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”
Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.
Seeing the aurora for the first time
Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.
“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”
She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.
“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”
The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.
Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.
A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.
As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.
In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.
Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.
Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.
Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.
A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.
Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.
“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.
See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com
Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
Xiaomi 17 is a small(ish) phone with a big(ish) battery
World leaders split over military action as US-Israel strike Iran in coordinated operation
Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites
Common nighttime noise exposure may trigger heart problems, study suggests
MLB pitcher Merrill Kelly says California tax rate swayed decision to reject Padres’ free agency offer
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Iran fires missiles at US bases across Middle East after American strikes on nuclear, IRGC sites
Israel strikes two schools in Iran, killing more than 50 people
Anthropic CEO says he’s sticking to AI “red lines” despite clash with Pentagon
ICE blasts Washington mayor over directive restricting immigration enforcement
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT