The August 25th slide killed one person, injured three, and destroyed multiple homes.
The Ketchikan Borough Assembly acknowledged the anniversary in its meeting on August 18. Borough staff created a short video summarizing the disaster, which played at the meeting.
“Within minutes, island-wide emergency personnel were on site,” the film’s narrator said. “Peace officers, firefighters, EMTs and volunteers worked tirelessly to evacuate everyone in the affected area, while utility crews cleared downed power lines and construction operators cleared debris.”
The landslide happened after a day of heavy rains. A hillside collapsed, sending mud and trees down over Ketchikan’s Third Avenue bypass and across First and Second Avenues.
After the short film played, Borough Mayor Rodney Dial recognized Sean Griffin, who died in the landslide. The 42-year-old was a city worker who was clearing storm drains when the slide hit him. Dial said the town rallied after the disaster.
“Thank you for dropping everything to clean and rebuild,” said Dial. “Thank you to the businesses and neighbors who served others and contributed and thank you to the first responders and the many who managed and participated in the emergency response and recovery. This was truly a community-wide effort that showed our strength.”
He said it’s important to reflect on events like this so that the community can be better prepared for the next time an emergency strikes. Last year’s slide in Ketchikan was the fourth fatal landslide in Southeast Alaska in a decade.
You can view the borough’s video about the slide here.
