Anchorage adds more shelter beds after unusually high amount of snow and record outdoor deaths

By MARK THIESSEN
Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Anchorage scrambled Tuesday to come up with more temporary housing for the homeless after back-to-back snowstorms dumped more than 3 feet of snow on the city in just nine days, an amount that is high even by Alaska standards. The concern grows as temperatures are expected to plummet to single digits by the weekend. Four people believed to be homeless have already died this month, part of a record 49 deaths of people living outdoors in Alaska’s largest city this year, according to an account kept by the Anchorage Daily News. The Anchorage Assembly met in special session Tuesday and approved a contract to add 50 beds to a shelter that just opened in October.