Borough Mayor Rodney Dial and City of Ketchikan Mayor Dave Kiffer issued a Joint Disaster Emergency Declaration. Governor Dunleavy issued a State of Alaska Disaster Emergency Declaration for the Ketchikan landslide. The declaration activates disaster response and recovery programs.
“Friends, is with a heavy heart we relay that a landslide in the city has taken a life, caused several injuries, damaged homes and impacted our community. As we work through this, please keep the affected families in your prayers and know we will do everything we can to recover from this event as quickly as possible and help those in need. We sincerely appreciate the first responders, medical personnel, volunteers, businesses and others offering assistance.” – Rodney Dial, Ketchikan Gateway Borough Mayor
“In my 65 years in Ketchikan, I have never seen a slide of this magnitude. With the slides we have seen across the region, there is clearly a region-wide issue that we need to try to understand with the support of our State geologist. The loss of life that we have encountered is heartbreaking, and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes.” – Dave Kiffer, City of Ketchikan Mayor
The potential for a secondary landslide south of the original slide area remains a concern.
