One person killed as major landslide impacts homes in Ketchikan, forces evacuations

This is a developing story.

At least one person was killed by a major landslide in Ketchikan on Sunday that impacted multiple homes and blocked roads, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy issuing a disaster declaration for the incident Sunday evening.

Three other people sustained significant injuries, with two people admitted to Ketchikan Medical Center and one person released after treatment, according to a joint press release issued Sunday evening by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and City of Ketchikan.

“In my 65 years in Ketchikan I have never seen a slide of this magnitude,” Ketchikan City Mayor Dave Kiffer said in a prepared statement. “With the slides we have seen across the region there is clearly a regionwide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our state geologist. The loss of life that we have encountered is heartbreaking and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.”

The person killed was publicly identified Monday as Sean Griffin, an employee with the City of Ketchikan Public Works team for 17 years, who was clearing stormdrains despite being off-duty when the landslide occurred, according to a statement published Monday by the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

“He started as a solid waste collector, moved up to solid waste facility operator, then to streets maintenance technician, and finally promoted to senior maintenance technician,” the statement notes. “It was his commitment to the community that caused him to respond to the call for assistance during his scheduled time off. Sean and another team member were clearing stormwater drains when they were caught in the landslide on the Third Avenue Bypass.”

“Sean is remembered for his dedication, positive spirit, and unwavering devotion to his family, his friends, and to the community. The EOC sends heartfelt condolences to his family, and we bear this loss with them.”

The main landslide occurred at about 4 p.m. Sunday in Ketchikan’s White Cliff neighborhood, according to local officials. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for homes in the vicinity including Third Avenue, Second Avenue/Water Street, First Avenue, and White Cliff Avenue between Austin Street and Nadeau Street. Ketchikan High School was set up as an emergency shelter, where about a dozen people were staying Monday.

“The potential for a secondary landslide south of the original side area remains a concern,” the release states.

Ketchikan City and Ketchikan schools were closed on Monday.

Before the landslide, there was “an abnormally strong atmospheric river for this time of year,” Deanna Nash, a postdoctoral researcher at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego, told The New York Times. It produced 2 to 4 inches of rain and strong winds, according to Aaron Jacobs, senior service hydrologist and meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Juneau.

Numerous emergency assistance agencies outside Ketchikan are responding or offering support. State transportation, emergency management, search and rescue, and other officials were sent to Ketchikan on Monday, according to a statement by the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Capital City Fire/Rescue stated Sunday night “task force of Special Teams members gearing up to deploy to Ketchikan on (the) first flight Monday morning.” The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is also offering its emergency operations services, according to Chalyee Éesh Richard Peterson, the council’s president.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday issued a 24-hour flight restriction over the landslide area of the Third Avenue landslide.

“The restriction will allow safety and clearance for the geologists and State DOT drone operators to conduct their site assessment,” an official announcement of the closure states. “This restriction affects helicopters, float planes, private planes, private drone operators, and covers the space from ground level to 5,000 feet. Alaska Airlines will be permitted to operate, as will float planes/tours outside of the slide zone.”

The Ketchikan landslide is among multiple major incidents in recent years in Southeast Alaska, including a landslide last Nov. 20 in Wrangell that killed six people, with experts stating climate change is making the region more vulnerable to such landslides due to more extreme storms occurring.

Changes in climate are also seen as a reason for record flooding from Suicide Basin in Juneau the past two years, including earlier this month when nearly 300 homes were damaged.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.