UPDATE 1 p.m. Wednesday 10/21/2026:
Governor Mike Dunleavy issued a disaster declaration Tuesday after a non-fatal landslide severely damaged the Ward Cove electric substation just north of Ketchikan. The same storm that caused the landslide also damaged drains near the city harbormaster’s maintenance building.
The governor’s declaration activates the state’s public assistance disaster recovery program, which provides grant funding to restore roads, bridges, utilities, and public buildings. All eligible organizations and non-profits that were damaged by last week’s storm can apply for these grants.
Dunleavy’s disaster declaration comes just a few days after Ketchikan’s city and borough mayors issued a declaration of their own, calling for local coordination and state and federal assistance. Emergency operations personnel and Department of Transportation geologists are assessing the landslide site for safety concerns and slope stabilization efforts.
ORIGINAL: 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.
