The borough will be reimbursed for roughly $900,000 it spent on debris removal, restoring downed power lines, overtime pay and other expenses after the deadly landslide in November.
The borough’s request for federal disaster assistance for the Nov. 20 landslide was approved April 8.
The federal money will reimburse the borough for its costs in dealing with the landslide, which Borough Manager Mason Villarma estimates at about $900,000.
The work included installing new power poles and transmission lines; the power was out for about a week for residents south of the landslide at 11-Mile and homes near the site.
Other expenses included cleaning up hazardous debris during the search for victims of the landslide that killed six people; additional cleanup of slide materials; a month’s worth of police and other staff time; water travel to shuttle responders, residents and supplies past the slide zone; and supplying generators for residents cut off from power, Villarma said.
The Alaska Department of Transportation paid to repair and rebuild the section of Zimovia Highway wiped out in the slide, with that cost estimated at $1.2 million which included extensive drainage improvements.
Because the borough went through the state to request the federal funding, the state will cover the 25% local cost share required.
Federal funding is also available to cover road and power line repairs caused by extensive slides that same evening across much of Prince of Wales Island.
Federal assistance for individuals who suffered economic losses from the slide is available for Wrangell residents through the federal disaster declaration approved in March for the Wrangell Cooperative Association.
That federal declaration will provide funding for the tribe to clean up hazardous materials from the tidelands below the highway, where the slide deposited debris across several hundred feet.
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