Alaska lacks resources to help communities plan around slide potential The Dec. 2 slope failure at Beach Road that left two residents missing is at once tragic and unexpected, and also not at all surprising for Southeast Alaska, according to state geologists. The region is prime landslide territory and a changing climate-trending toward warmer, rainier […]
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Posted inNews
Natural disaster puts community at heightened risk of COVID-19 spread
Officials are holding their breath while they wait to see what happens with COVID-19 in Haines in the wake of widespread flooding and landslides that have displaced at least 50 residents and brought a large number of volunteers and emergency workers into the community in the past week. “I don’t know how we’re going to […]
Posted inSearch and Rescue, Southeast News
Volunteers comb beaches for debris after ground search efforts suspended
Local volunteers are continuing to comb beaches for personal belongings and debris from the Dec. 2 landslide that left Haines residents Jenae Larson and David Simmons missing. On Monday, Alaska State Troopers suspended search operations due to continued rain and the likelihood of more landslides in the area. On Tuesday, the families of Larson and […]
Posted inNews
Upper Mount Riley Road houses evacuated based on available data
Piedad-Cathedral View evacuation lifted Houses on upper Mount Riley Road are now under mandatory evacuation. On Tuesday, the Haines Borough Emergency Operations Center (EOC) refined landslide areas of concern based on data collected by state geologists and crowdsourced from residents over the past few days. The EOC has created three categories to describe landslide risk: “be prepared,” […]
Posted inNews
Beach Road residents request organized effort to winterize homes, mayor says landslide risk too high
Some Beach Road residents apparently made attempts to reach their homes Wednesday morning as observers witnessed a skiff traveling back and forth from the beach below the road where a massive landslide left two residents missing. “I have heard reports and I am very much discouraging that,” interim borough manager Alekka Fullerton said during a […]
Posted inNews
Be on the lookout for scammers in wake of natural disaster, state officials say
Natural disasters like the widespread flooding and landslides in Haines can bring out the best in people-an outpouring of volunteerism, donations and small acts of kindness-but the situation is also ripe for scammers, according to state officials. On Friday, Haines resident Lea Harris received a Facebook message from somebody who claimed they were a friend […]
Posted inLetters to the Editor
Look local for borough manager candidates
CVN article by Ceri Godinez, Thursday December 3, 2020, titled: “Personnel Committee asks assembly to finalize borough manager hiring plan” CVN same article, last paragraph: “Interim borough manager and clerk Alekka Fullerton declined to participate in the November Personnel Committee meeting because she is considering applying for the position. Haines has been without a permanent […]
Posted inNews
Geoscientists remain in town to monitor landscape as rain continues
The geoscientists continued to get a more refined understanding of slope instabilities Tuesday and Wednesday as clear weather allowed them to view mountains from the skies. On Wednesday they observed areas near Klukwan and along the Haines Highway. On Tuesday, they collected enough data to place various areas in landslide risk categories. The public has submitted hundreds […]
Posted inDuly Noted
Duly Noted
Sockeye Cycle had a celebrity guest on one of its Skagway bicycle tours last week. Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa went on the five-mile Rainforest Bicycle Tour to Dyea on Aug. 21. Hackman wore a baseball cap and sunglasses to stay as inconspicuous as possible, said Sockeye Cycle assistant manager Paul Duyckinck. Guide Jeff Hu said Hackman was […]
Posted inNews, Public Safety
Floods, slides pummel Haines, rebuilding begins
The skies cleared Wednesday after a week of rain that kept instabilities in the landscape active and a ground search for missing residents on standby. After days marked by uncertainty, loss and grief, some of the roughly 50 displaced families moved back home. The disaster, caused by record-setting rainfall that began last Tuesday, was precipitated […]