Alaska Pulls Plug on Snowzilla, the Giant Snowman

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Snowzilla is no more. Municipal officials in Anchorage have given a cease-and-desist order to builders of the giant snowman that made appearances the last three years in an east Anchorage neighborhood. The giant snowman was a favorite for photographers and camera crews from Russia and Japan filmed the temporary sculpture. Snowzilla in 2005 rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.

He was built in the front yard of the Powers family home and Billy Powers said his children collected snow from neighbors homes to add to the height and breadth.

The snowman was built even higher in succeeding years, but not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.

City officials deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard.

A few weeks ago, code enforcers left red signs at Snowzilla's bottom body ball telling its builders to cease and desist. The city also tacked a public notice on the door of the Powers home.

City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.

When the notices went up, Snowzilla still didn't have a full torso or head.

''The kids had spent hours and hours of work on it,'' Billy Powers said Sunday.

Now, Snowzilla is just a big pile of snow rubble. Powers said he doesn't plan to rebuild.

from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com

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Update:

Giant Snowman Rises Again in Alaska ... Mysteriously

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A giant snowman named Snowzilla has mysteriously appeared again this year -- despite the city's cease-and-desist order.

Someone again built the giant snowman in Billy Powers' front yard in an east Anchorage neighborhood. Snowzilla reappeared before dawn Tuesday.

Powers is not taking credit. When questioned Tuesday afternoon, he insisted Snowzilla just somehow happened, again.

For the last three years, Snowzilla -- to the delight of some and the chagrin of others -- has been a very large feature in Powers' yard. In 2005, Snowzilla rose 16 feet. He had a corncob pipe and a carrot nose and two eyes made out of beer bottles.

This year, Snowzilla is estimated to be 25 feet tall. He's wearing a black stovepipe hat and scarf.

''Have you seen him?'' Powers asked when reached by telephone at his home, the sound of excited children in the background. ''He's handsome.''

Snowzilla has consistently risen outside Powers' modest home. His children -- he is the father of seven -- collected snow from neighbors' yards to make the snowman big enough. Each year, Snowzilla got a bit bigger.

Not everybody in the neighborhood liked all the cars and visitors who came to see him.

City officials this year deemed Snowzilla a public nuisance and safety hazard. A cease-and-desist order was issued. The city tacked a public notice on Powers' door.

City officials said the structure increased traffic to the point of endangerment and that the snowman itself was unsafe.

The mayor's office on Tuesday issued a statement defending its move against Snowzilla.

''This property owner has repeatedly ignored city attempts to find ways to accommodate his desire to build a giant snowman without affecting the quiet, residential quality of the neighborhood,'' said the statement from Mayor Mark Begich's office. ''This is a neighborhood of small homes on small lots connected by small streets. It can't support the volume of traffic and revelers that are interested in Snowzilla.''

The mayor's office says Powers appears to run a large junk and salvage operation from his home. He has violated land use codes for 13 years, the city said. He owes the city more than $100,000 in fines and other assessments.

Powers said it is the city that has been difficult, not him.

''I have tried to jump through every goofy hoop they have sent to me. I have never been confrontational and it goes on and on and on and it is so goofy,'' he said. ''Some of it is unfounded, some is just outrageous.''

The city said it did not expect to take any further action until after Christmas.

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