Welcome to the City of Cordova!

Incorporated July 8, 1909, Cordova is a thriving, rural Alaskan town steeped in history and tradition. We take great pride in our commercial fishing industry, Alaska Native culture, and strong sense of community.

Browse through these pages to learn about Cordova's city government and administration. Access business forms, look up city ordinances in the municipal code, or contact City Council members. Check our links page to learn more about Cordova organizations and events. Our offices are located at

It is prudent to be prepared. We all know that. We just don’t usually do it.

Recent events, particularly the H1N1 flu threat and the potential for ash fallout reminds us all that even in Cordova, we should be prepared to face a community-wide public health emergency. The city of Cordova is currently updating the Emergency Management plan. This is an “all-hazards” plan that will guide the actions of the Emergency Management Team in the event of any city-wide emergency, from a plane crash to an earthquake to a pandemic flu.

Part of that plan is to prepare the citizens of Cordova. In the event of a large scale event, the city may have to fend for itself for at least seven days until outside help could arrive…and possibly more time than that. Each individual family should be absolutely prepared to support themselves for a week…at home…without any outside help.

To learn about the Cordova Prepared Program, download this pdf file.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Good morning, In the last week, we received 3.5 inches of precipitation with strong east wind. While it was mixed rain and snow at sea level, it was all snow above 1000 feet, translating into about 4 ft of new snow at tree line. Previous testing in the upper mountains revealed two significant weak layers on western aspects. Both have good quality shears but required some force to trigger. Some avalanche activity occurred Friday, though poor visibility limited observations.

Expect scattered snow showers and southeast wind to decrease through the weekend. Models suggest we may see a half inch of precipitation today and maybe another quarter inch on Sunday. Temperature should remain below freezing. Small to medium sized loose snow avalanches are possible on steep slopes at tree line and above, especially if the sun comes out. Larger slab avalanches are possible on wind loaded western aspects. Avalanches are not expected to affect the highway. Backcountry users should avoid cornices and steep wind loaded western aspects at tree line and above. Another storm is expected to begin affecting us by Monday morning. The avalanche hazard may increase then.

Additional information including snow profiles is available at: http://www.alaskasnow.org/avalanche-bulletins/cordova

Steve "Hoots" Witsoe
424-4668 home
253-4668 cell
hoots@ctcak.net

COPPER RIVER HIGHWAY AVALANCHE HAZARD

Current: MODERATE

Outlook: The hazard may increase Monday.

BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE HAZARD

Above Tree Line: CONSIDERABLE

Avoid cornices and steep wind loaded western aspects.

Tree Line: CONSIDERABLE

Avoid steep wind loaded western aspects.

Below Tree Line: LOW

Use caution around large paths. Current avalanche activity is an important factor in avalanche forecasting. Please report all observed avalanche activity.

For Alaska Department of Transportation use only. Other users:

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND IN NO EVENT SHALL THE PROVIDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES RESULTING FROM DISCOMFORT, INJURY, OR DEATH, CLAIMS BY THIRD PARTIES OR FOR OTHER SIMILAR COSTS, OR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THE INFORMATION