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     The U.S. Census Bureau calculates that as many as 460,000 people in 11 boroughs in Alaska, including Anchorage, could be affected by the volcanic ash fallout of Mount Redoubt.

     According to the Alaska Volcano Observatory, the volcano alert level has been raised to “watch” — an alert level that indicates either the volcano is exhibiting heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption, or an eruption is under way with no or minor volcanic-ash emissions.

     An eruption similar to the one in 1989-90 is expected in the next few days or weeks. The potential ash fallout is based on those eruptions and current prevailing winds.

     According to the Census Bureau’s 2007 American Community Survey, the median housing value for Anchorage is $277,500. Additionally, 5.6 percent of the nearly 103,000 households do not have a car. The 2007 median household income in Anchorage was about $68,700, and about 7.3 percent of the population lived in poverty.

     According to the Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns, in 2006 there were 8,423 businesses in Anchorage with paid employees, employing 137,008 workers with about $6.6 billion in total annual payroll. Health care (19,198), retail trade (16,830) and administrative and support services (15,353) employed 37.5 percent of all workers in Anchorage.