Ketchikan continues clearing and repair work after landslide

Efforts were underway to find family belongings among the debris of damaged homes last week in the area hit by the landslide that flowed through a Ketchikan neighborhood on Aug. 25.

"Each home scheduled for demolition had a list of family items that they requested contractors locate (if possible) during the process," according to the Ketchikan Emergency Operations Center announcement issued on Sept. 6.

One of the homes involved belongs to Doug Trudeau, who requested that contractors look for the urn containing his brother's ashes and a bronze bust made in the 1930s by an artist friend, according to the EOC announcement. Both items were found among the debris by Ernie Hamilton of Three Dog Construction.

The search for household items finished Sunday, with crews working to haul the debris from several destroyed homes to the landfill.

While cleanup work was underway, portions of the slide zone turned from mud brown to green on Sept. 6 as SECON Construction crews began spraying a slurry of U.S. Forest Service hybrid seed and mulch on the slopes below and above the Third Avenue Bypass, according to the EOC. Hydroseeding is intended to promote the growth of new vegetation to help stabilize the slope.

The slide covered about 1,100 feet as it moved mud and trees down the slope toward the homes.

The EOC said it expected that demolition of damaged homes would be completed by Monday, with electrical service restored in the area of Second Avenue by Tuesday, followed by further slope stabilization efforts this week. Reopening of Third Avenue is expected by Sept. 30.

Residents evacuated from their homes in the vicinity of the slide were allowed to start returning last week as power was restored and each home was inspected.

"After geologist assessment, the slope above and the slope below the Third Avenue Bypass has been determined to be stable," the Sept. 5 EOC announcement stated. "After removal of landslide debris, it was apparent that the road surface is in better condition than originally anticipated."

The EOC reported last week that all storm drains are functioning.

The slide killed one person, a 42-year-old city worker who was in the area to help clear storm drains during the heavy rain.

And just as they did after Wrangell's deadly landslide last November, two National Crisis Response Canines teams arrived in Ketchikan on Sept. 3 to provide support and comfort for community members.

Volunteers Terry Yeomans, with her Labrador retriever partner Tia, and Eleanor Denton, with her Labrador mix partner Bear, visited the Emergency Operations Center at the Ketchikan Fire Department on Sept. 4.

People stopped by to pet Tia, who was so relaxed that she spent much of her time nearly asleep at Yeoman's feet, and Bear, who watched everyone with interest and wagged his tail with each person's attention.

Yeomans lives in Eagle River, and Denton in Fairbanks. They said there are about seven active crisis response volunteers in Alaska.

Yeomans and Denton worked with individuals and groups in Ketchikan through Sept. 5.