By Marcia Kuszmaul

Homer Independent Press

The Homer Airport Terminal is closed for the foreseeable future during cleanup and repair of damage from a water main break adjacent to the terminal that released about 200,000 gallons of water Sunday night, March 22.

Dan Kort, public works director, said a passerby alerted the city to the flooding after seeing water streaming from the building. It took about an hour to turn the water off at valves toward the top of FAA Road because ones closer to the terminal were inoperable. 

Water service to FAA Road was fully restored around 5 p.m. Monday.

The Airport Terminal building is owned, managed and maintained by the City of Homer.

The flooding caused minor local service interruption for Aleutian Airways, Homer’s sole passenger airline. Aleutian cancelled its Monday morning flight but was serving Homer again by the afternoon.

Aleutian now is staging flights from the Bald Mountain Air facility, which also houses FedEx, across the road east of the terminal. Due to limited parking space at Bald Mountain, travelers are asked to park at the terminal parking lot.

“The FedEx coordinator contacted us Monday morning (saying). . .  there was no water,” Judy Miller, director of safety for Bald Mountain Air, said from Deadhorse, Alaska, in a phone interview.

When the Aleutian General Manager Brian Whilden called, Miller said she offered him the use of their space. “It’s a typical Alaskan situation . . . do whatever you can to make it work.”

Pioneer Car Rental, which leases space in the terminal, is continuing to operate out of the terminal building.

“It’s rough, but not bad,” Robert Armstrong, manager, said. “They’re giving it their best.” Armstrong said he’d ripped out carpet but is able to maintain his office because Bald Mountain is right next door, the parking lot is available, and people are still flying in and out.

The Alaska Bus Company services at the terminal also are not affected.

Kort said the water main failed due to freezing, not age. “The frost is down so deep this winter, it’s encroaching on the pipes,” he said.

Public Works has responded to issues with pipes elsewhere in the city. It is monitoring systems but can’t anticipate failure for piping below ground, Kort said.

 A contractor crew arrived Monday night to start the clean up and assess the damage. 

At Monday’s city council meeting, Melissa Jacobson, city manager, reported to council and to guest Sen. Gary Stevens that the city is working with its insurance company and adjuster and will keep the senator updated if his assistance would be helpful.

A current notice on the city web site notes the city is working to restore the terminal quickly but has no estimate of when it will reopen to the public. 

“We appreciate the community’s patience during this time and will share updates when we have them.”