Ketchikan’s city and borough mayors have issued a joint disaster declaration after a landslide north of town severely damaged an electric substation on Thursday. There were no injuries in the slide.
The declaration calls for coordinated efforts between the city and the borough, as well as state and federal assistance, to restore Ketchikan Public Utility’s Ward Cove Electric Substation. Severe wind and rain triggered the slide, which damaged buildings, equipment and fencing at the facility. The estimated cost to repair the substation is about $1.6 million.
The city owns the public utility. Kim Simpson, public information officer for the City of Ketchikan, said the declaration is needed, in part, to stabilize the slide area’s slope. She said that was a top city priority listed in a bonding measure recently approved by voters.
“This is a slide where there could be additional, and so that’s the important part: is getting it stabilized, cleared, and then getting equipment and parts sourced and in here so we can get that repaired within the next few months, before the intense cold hits,” Simpson said.
The public utility rerouted the substation’s power to two other substations following the landslide. Simpson said the slide did not lead to any power outages.
The city and the public utility can’t afford the estimated cost of repairs on their own. The state has sent emergency operations personnel and Department of Transportation geologists to assess the site for safety concerns and advise on slope stabilization efforts.
The storm also damaged drains near the city harbormaster’s maintenance building.
“So there was a collapse into the ocean where that pipe runs, and then it unfortunately also goes under the maintenance building at the harbormaster,” Simpson said. “So we’ll be having to empty and dismantle the harbormaster building.”
Simpson did not have a timeline of when the harbormaster damages could be repaired. She also did not have an immediate cost estimate for the project.
Ketchikan’s city council and borough assembly are set to ratify the disaster declaration this week with the harbormaster damages.
Last week’s landslide is one of several Ketchikan has seen in recent years. Last year, a rockslide bisected the island’s main highway. And in 2024, a landslide near borough headquarters killed a city worker and destroyed numerous homes.
KRBD expects updates on the disaster declaration in the coming days.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
