Flight Canceled!

Even with my fingers crossed all day today, Mt Redoubt still decided it wasn't about to let us leave Fairbanks on Sunday. I had been checking the updates all day and thought we were in the clear, but alas, no such luck. Luckily the cheery Alaska Air agent was still very accommodating and booked us on a Monday flight- so with luck maybe we'll get there just a day late and not a dollar short! In the past week Redoubt has been erupting, it has affected more than 1,000 flights in and out of Anchorage according to the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

Mt Redoubt has been erupting since last Sunday and wreaking havoc with most all flights into and out of Alaska. The above photo was taken March 28th (Saturday) at about 3:30pm by Jaden Larson and pretty much explains why flights had to be canceled. According to the Fairbanks News Miner Redoubt sent an an ash plume 50,000 feet into the air on Saturday. There were a few more throughout the day and then the last big explosion occurred at 7:23 pm which sent ash 45,000 feet into the air. At Alyeska ski resort where the U.S. Alpine Championships are being staged the snow turned a dark gray color from the ash. Some of the skiers and resort workers even put on face masks to protect themselves from the ash according to the Fairbanks Daily News Miner.

Most people are familiar with Augustine volcano which erupted in early 2006, but as you can see from the map, Mt Redoubt poses an even bigger threat as it is located closer to Anchorage and more populated areas. The last time Redoubt blew its top was in December 1989. It was during that eruption that a Boeing 747 flying from Amsterdam flew into the ash cloud several hours after the eruption and experienced complete engine failure, but narrowly avoided tragedy when the crew was able to restart the engines and land safely in Anchorage. The following photo was taken of Redoubt in April 1990 by R. Clucas. When the volcano erupted in late 1989 and early 1990 the eruptions lasted four months.

To check out more great photos of Redoubt and other Alaskan volcanoes go to the Alaska Volcano Observatory's (AVO) website or click on the title of this blog.