Alaska landslide damages 3 homes, ‘squishes’ pickup

Sep 27, 2022, 3:04 AM | Updated: 4:08 pm
A tree and landslide debris lie across Gastineau Avenue after falling between two homes and crushin...

A tree and landslide debris lie across Gastineau Avenue after falling between two homes and crushing a vehicle in downtown Juneau, Alaska, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Firefighters and police on Monday evening closed the street to traffic and evacuated nearby homes. (Clarise Larson/The Juneau Empire via AP)

(Clarise Larson/The Juneau Empire via AP)

              A tree lies across Gastineau Avenue after falling between two homes and crushing at least one vehicle in Juneau, Alaska, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022. Firefighters and police closed the street to traffic, and evacuated homes along the street as well as buildings extending down to Franklin Avenue following a landslide. (Mark Sabbatini/The Juneau Empire via AP)
            
              CCFR assistant chief Sam Russell and other officials talk in the rain outside of the Juneau Public Library in Juneau, Alaska, Monday, Sept. 26, 2022, following a landslide. (Clarise Larson/The Juneau Empire via AP)
            
              A tree and landslide debris lie across Gastineau Avenue after falling between two homes and crushing a vehicle in downtown Juneau, Alaska, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Firefighters and police on Monday evening closed the street to traffic and evacuated nearby homes. (Clarise Larson/The Juneau Empire via AP)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A landslide triggered by record rainfall significantly damaged three homes, prompted the evacuation of about a dozen residents and caused power outages in downtown Juneau, Alaska’s capital city.

Geological assessment teams determined Tuesday that favorable weather has returned the threat level to pre-slide levels. The city’s public works department was preparing to begin removing debris, city spokesperson Meredith Thatcher said.

Of the three homes, one was completely destroyed as it came down the mountain and slammed into a second home, which was significantly damaged but remains standing, she said. The extent of damage to the third home was not yet known.

Residents will be allowed to return to their homes at their own discretion. “If you feel comfortable going home, you can go home,” Thatcher said.

The local power company was expected to restore service after the debris has been removed to the point where crews need to work.

Damage from the Monday evening landslide was confined to the one residential street above the downtown business district in the southeast Alaska mountain community of about 32,000 residents. There were no reported injuries, city officials said.

Evan Hartung was eating dinner in his home when he heard a rumbling sound over the TV, he told the Juneau Empire. He just managed to escape the house before the evergreen tree came swooshing down onto the stairs along the outside of his home, damaging them. It then knocked his pickup on its side before coming to rest, partially on top of the vehicle.

“My truck is squished,” he said.

Sarah Wallace and her partner live next door to Hartung. They also heard the noise and looked out their window to see Hartung “running outside without any shoes,” she told the Empire. That prompted them to also quickly exit their home.

About a dozen people — either those whose homes were damaged or others who decided to self-evacuate — stayed at a shelter that was set up by the American Red Cross at a downtown fire station, Thatcher told The Associated Press.

Residents in Juneau, located in the Tongass National Forest, the nation’s largest, are accustomed to a persistent light rain falling, but not deluges like they experienced Monday.

“We are a rain forest, so we’re supposed to get rain,,” said National Weather Service forecaster Kimberly Vaughan in Juneau. “These were record rainfall amounts and some of them broke the previous records by nearly 2 inches.”

Lena Point, located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of downtown Juneau, recorded 3.04 inches (7.72 centimeters) of rain, the highest daily amount in about 30 years of record keeping there. The previous record for precipitation in a 24-hour period was 1.14 inches (2.90 centimeters) in 2017.

Other daily rainfall records were recorded at the Juneau weather forecast office, with 2.59 inches (6.58 centimeters) beating the previous record of 1.12 inches (2.84 centimeters) in 2009, and 2.22 inches (5.64 centimeters) at the airport, surpassing the record of 2.02 inches (5.13 centimeters) set in 1936.

The rains also caused the Mendenhall River to rise in Juneau, prompting some flooding advisories.

In Skagway, about 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) north of Juneau, there’s a flood warning in effect for the Taiya River. The river was at 16.85 feet (5.14 meters) early Tuesday, just above flooding stage but was expected to drop throughout the day.

Persistent rain has caused some flooding and led officials to close a campground. There also have been ongoing landslides since one closed the cruise ship dock last summer.

A large slide over the weekend dropped several thousand cubic yards of debris adjacent to that dock, city manager Brad Ryan said.

However, there’s been no reports of homes damaged or people injured.

“I think we’re feeling like we’ve weathered it pretty good,” he said.

Landslides are common in Alaska. Last May, a slide brought down dozens of full-grown evergreen trees and debris, temporarily closing a road in the coastal community of Seward.

In 2020, two people were killed in the southeast Alaska community of Haines when a slide as wide as two football fields slammed into a neighborhood. The only route through Denali National Park and Preserve is closed and expected to remain so through 2024 after the Pretty Rocks landslide covered 100 yards (91 meters) of the road. Officials are proposing construction of a 400-foot (121.9-meter) bridge spanning the landslide area.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

File - People shop at an Apple store in the Westfield Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New Jerse...
Associated Press

A key inflation gauge tracked by the Fed slowed in February

The Federal Reserve's favored inflation gauge slowed sharply last month, an encouraging sign in the Fed's yearlong effort to cool price pressures through steadily higher interest rates.
1 day ago
FILE - The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output fr...
Associated Press

Musk, scientists call for halt to AI race sparked by ChatGPT

Are tech companies moving too fast in rolling out powerful artificial intelligence technology that could one day outsmart humans?
2 days ago
starbucks...
Associated Press

Starbucks leader grilled by Senate over anti-union actions

Longtime Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz faced sharp questioning Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
3 days ago
FILE - The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public H...
Associated Press

FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan; here’s what it means

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, the first over-the-counter opioid treatment.
3 days ago
FILE - A Seattle police officer walks past tents used by people experiencing homelessness, March 11...
Associated Press

Seattle, feds seek to end most oversight of city’s police

  SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department and Seattle officials asked a judge Tuesday to end most federal oversight of the city’s police department, saying its sustained, decade-long reform efforts are a model for other cities whose law enforcement agencies face federal civil rights investigations. Seattle has overhauled virtually all aspects of its police […]
4 days ago
capital gains tax budgets...
Associated Press

Washington moves to end child sex abuse lawsuit time limits

People who were sexually abused as children in Washington state may soon be able to bring lawsuits against the state, schools or other institutions for failing to stop the abuse, no matter when it happened.
4 days ago

Sponsored Articles

Compassion International...

Brock Huard and Friends Rally Around The Fight for First Campaign

Professional athletes are teaming up to prevent infant mortality and empower women at risk in communities facing severe poverty.
Emergency Preparedness...

Prepare for the next disaster at the Emergency Preparedness Conference

Being prepared before the next emergency arrives is key to preserving businesses and organizations of many kinds.
SHIBA volunteer...

Volunteer to help people understand their Medicare options!

If you’re retired or getting ready to retire and looking for new ways to stay active, becoming a SHIBA volunteer could be for you!
safety from crime...

As crime increases, our safety measures must too

It's easy to be accused of fearmongering regarding crime, but Seattle residents might have good reason to be concerned for their safety.
Comcast Ready for Business Fund...
Ilona Lohrey | President and CEO, GSBA

GSBA is closing the disparity gap with Ready for Business Fund

GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund.
SHIBA WA...

Medicare open enrollment is here and SHIBA can help!

The SHIBA program – part of the Office of the Insurance Commissioner – is ready to help with your Medicare open enrollment decisions.
Alaska landslide damages 3 homes, ‘squishes’ pickup