MAT-SU—Warming temperatures and deep snow accumulation make flooding very likely for some property owners in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The Department of Emergency Services urges residents to consider whether their property is in a low-lying area and to take precautions.

“It’s a lot easier to be prepared than to react during an emergency,” said Mat-Su Emergency Manager Casey Cook.

MAT-SU– Unusually thin ice on parts of Big Lake are causing some concern with the Mat-Su Borough Emergency Services, especially in light of the upcoming Iron Dog snowmobile race that takes place this Sunday at South Port Marina on Big Lake. In a usual year, the ice on Big Lake averages four to five feet thick.  But this year there is a definite drop off in thickness across the entire lake.

Mat-Su– This winter's above-average snowfall has borough residents shoveling more than usual. With a winter weather advisory in effect calling for heavy snow and wind, now is a good time to make your furnace, dryer and sewer vents a safety priority by clearing snow from around them before taking care of your driveway.

MAT-SU– Residents inside the Mat-Su borough boundaries are allowed to bring in the New Year with more than just confetti and the tune of Auld Lang Syne. The shooting off of fireworks in the Mat-Su borough is allowed on New Years Eve from 6pm to 1am.

Mat-Su – Watch video of Willow Emergency Responders volunteering their time and energy to bring a Christmas surprise by dogsled to two struggling families.

MAT-SU––Each year in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 30 to 40 pets are lost in home fires. Recently, sixteen pet resuscitation masks were donated to the Mat-Su Borough by James Klebs, owner of Invisible Fence of Anchorage. The masks will provide responders with a valuable tool in the field that can be used to resuscitate pets that have been trapped in a home fire. Each of the 16 kits can be adapted for pets ranging in size from as small as a ferret up to a Great Dane. A total of 50 masks have been donated throughout Alaska.

West Lakes Public Safety Building, Meadow Lakes—Today the Matanuska-Susitna Borough received for free, title to a 1984 ladder truck, a noteworthy asset, even used, for the Borough’s youngest fire service area. It is the first time ConocoPhillips, Alaska, has surplused a ladder truck to a local Alaska government.

MAT-SU— In an example of government and private sector working together, the West Lakes Fire Department is gaining the gift of a ladder truck from ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc. The Mat-Su Borough is now celebrating the arrival of the free ladder truck, which is now valued at an estimated $80,000 to $100,000.

Wasilla - The Mat-Su Basin Salmon Habitat Partnership is hosting the fourth annual Science and Conservation Symposium in Wasilla, November 9 & 10, 9a.m. – 5p.m. at the Central Mat-Su Public Safety Building.

MAT-SU--When the West Lakes Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire last night they found the entire east side of the home on fire with flames spreading from the eave under the roof into the attic space. Neighbor Elaine Burkhart told responders that the occupants were not home, but there were definitely animals inside.

MAT-SU BOROUGH PUBLIC SAFETY BUILDING—Are you prepared for the next "Big One?" Learn how you can be from Dr. Peter Haeussler, a U.S. Geological Survey scientist. He'll talk earthquake hazards of the Castle Mountain Fault and in Southcentral Alaska. Lessons from Japan will be shared.

MAT-SU—On Wed., October 19, from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM, at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, the Hospital and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough will be participating in a “LIVE PREPAREDNESS DRILL.”  It will involve Hospital personnel and Urgent Care together with Borough Fire and EMS.

PALMER—The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is issuing an air quality advisory for the Palmer area valid from 3:00 pm, Wednesday, May 11, 2011, until the wind subsides.  Due to increasing winds the air quality in the Palmer Area may range from unhealthy to hazardous.

MAT-SU – Homeowners in the new West Lakes Fire Service Area could begin to save on home insurance thanks to an improved fire protection rating achieved late last year. “We set this goal for our fire department five years ago and have worked hard to see it happen,” said District 2 Chief Bill Gamble.

If the earthquake and associated tsunami in Japan has the next Alaska earthquake on your mind you have to ask yourself, Am I prepared? The key to surviving any disaster is PLANNING.

www.ready.gov

JUNEAU—The Matanuska-Susitna Borough has taken a life-saving effort from the classroom to the capital. Last week Borough Paramedic Kara Boothby traveled with Jim Foster, President of the Loren Marshall Foundation,  to teach legislators “hands only CPR.”

MAT-SU—The inmate who escaped from a jail in Palmer this morning was captured. Alaska State Troopers have taken 44-year old Kent Charles Matte into custody. Matte was apprehended at approximately 2:30 this afternoon near the Parks Highway and Stanley Road in Wasilla. The circumstances surrounding the escape are under investigation.

Mat-Su Schools earlier in the day locked their doors but held regular classes inside. Schools let out today under normal circumstances.

An inmate escaped from the Mat-Su pre-trial facility in Palmer at 8 am this morning. All schools are in lockdown in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.

The man is described as white, 44 years old, 6 feet 1 inch in height, 220 pounds. He is wearing a gold jumpsuit.