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 JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Butch Holst and his wife were thrilled in 1978 when they sealed a deal on a downtown home at the foot of Mount Juneau. Thrilled, that is, until someone showed them a photo of their house in a National Geographic article that said Juneau has the highest risk of an avalanche disaster of any city in America. "That was our first indication that there was a serious problem," said Janice Holst, a dance teacher and grandmother of 12.
Almost 30 years after moving in, she still gets jumpy when winter sets in. And despite her husband's assurances, a barrage of alerts this year from the city's new online avalanche-forecasting system has been particularly unnerving.
Earlier this week, with record snowfall piled up on the mountain above and a storm in the forecast, the Holsts threw together important papers and clothes and spent the night at their son's house in a safer part of town. Nothing happened.
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