Ketchikan endured record-setting rainfall on Monday, Sept. 15, according to the National Weather Service, as the area was drenched by 7.66 inches measured at the airport — though the heaviest drenching was localized, with much lighter rain reported just a few miles away.

The previous record for Sept. 15 was set in 1981, at 2.65 inches. The all-time rainfall record for a 24-hour period in Ketchikan, according to the Weather Service, is 8.71 inches, set on Oct. 11, 1977.

Wrangell escaped the heavy rain, a gift of being outside the reach of the storm clouds.

Multiple community members called into the Ketchikan dispatch center to report flooding, and that information was routed to and City of Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center Manager Rick Hines and Public Works Director and Engineering Manager Seth Brakke.

“We sandbagged a few homes, we cleared out a lot of drainages and ditches,” Hines said. “We did ask two people to leave their homes for a little bit, so we could get the drainage cleaned out or divert the water. A couple of homes actually had water running into their houses.”

Hines said they were “inundated with requests” for assistance over the course of the rainfall.

Brakke said street division employees performed the majority of the work. There was “major flooding to minor flooding, everything in between,” he said.

Brakke said the storm seemed to impact Hoadley Creek and Carlanna Creek drainages more than other areas. “It’s fascinating to see variations between geographical areas, specifically between the airport and the city itself, and then areas north of town and south of town. … They do see a varied amount of rainfall for any given storm.”

Brakke said a U.S. Geological Survey crew was in Ketchikan installing two new precipitation gauges as the storm hit the community. Both gauges are being installed on water tank reservoir properties owned by Ketchikan Public Utilities, he said. One site is at the top of Jackson Street, and the second is above the solid waste facility at the base of Deer Mountain.

“It was good timing that they were here to observe that storm to get the true flavor of Ketchikan,” Brakke said.

The data from the gauges should be ready to go live for the public in about six months, he added.