After the Dec. 2 Beach Road landslide, more than 50 Haines residents were displaced when neighborhoods including Beach Road and the Piedad-Cathedral View area were evacuated due to landslide risk. On Saturday, additional residents elected to evacuate after an area stretching from Piedad to Picture Point was advised to prepare for a possible evacuation. “I […]
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Posted inSoutheast News, Search and Rescue
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 inLetters to the Editor
I am proud of Doug Olerud
I am moved each time I hear Mayor Douglas Olerud speak at the recent daily emergency briefings. I was especially moved hearing him interact with Beach Road homeowners Tuesday night. He listened carefully and respectfully to each concern and repeated each speaker’s question back to verify that he understood the question before responding. He heard not only […]
Posted inNews
AP&T installs temporary lines to restore power to Lutak homes
AP&T crews restored power at about 3 p.m. Sunday to the 46 homes toward the end of Lutak Road that have been without electricity since late Tuesday night. AP&T operations manager Lance Caldwell said workers temporarily routed cables along the side of the road and the lines will be susceptible to future runoff. “Unfortunately, it will be […]
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 […]
Posted inNews, Search and Rescue
Geologists say Beach Road slide area remains unsafe for on-foot search and rescue
On Friday, three State of Alaska geologists were finally able to get into Haines via the ferry to begin assessing the stability of the area on Beach Road where a Dec. 2 mudslide took out several houses and left two people missing. The geologists are an important part of determining whether it’s safe to send […]
Posted inNews, Climate
Changing climate means more landslides in future, scientists say in wake of Haines disaster
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 winters-is likely to increase the frequency of slides in the […]
Posted inSoutheast News, Search and Rescue
Some regional resources in search for missing residents sent home
Regional assets assisting in the search for 30-year-old David Simmons and 23-year-old Jenae Larson, missing in the wake of the Dec. 2 Beach Road landslide, were sent home. Meanwhile, on Sunday, local search and rescue volunteers combed beaches looking for artifacts and debris. “We’re placing the search and rescue on a limited search and rescue […]
Posted inNews
AP&T crew installs temporary lines, restores power to Lutak homes
AP&T crews restored power at about 3 p.m. Sunday to the 46 homes toward the end of Lutak Road that have been without electricity since late Tuesday night. AP&T operations manager Lance Caldwell said workers temporarily routed cables along the side of the road and the lines will be susceptible to future runoff. “Unfortunately, it will be […]
Posted inNews, Search and Rescue
Troopers suspend search for Simmons and Larson
The Alaska State Troopers suspended search operations Monday for Jenae Larson, 23, and David Simmons, 30, who went missing last week after a massive landslide above Beach Road. Mayor Douglas Olerud notified the community early Monday evening that continued rain and the risk of more landslides have prevented further search efforts of the debris field. “We […]