Daily Sitka Sentinel

Four Missing in Sitka as Heavy Rain Triggers Landslides

EDITOR'S NOTE: After press time Tuesday the number of missing in the Kramer Avenue landslide was reduced from four to three. The names of the other two people missing in the slide were reported as Elmer Diaz, 26, and Ulises Diaz, 25. 

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

and TOM HESSE

Sentinel Staff Writers

Four people were reported missing today after heavy rains caused a landslide on Kramer Avenue that buried a house that was under construction.

City Building Official William Stortz, 62, and three people who were working on the house when the landslide struck at around 9:40 a.m. remained missing at press time today. The names of the others were not released.

The Kramer Avenue slide was one of several around Sitka following an overnight downpour recorded 2.59 inches between midnight and 10 a.m. today. A second major slide closed Sawmill Creek Road at the old APC mill site. 

City officials estimated 100 workers and volunteers responded to the emergency, which included landslides, flooding, road closures and evacuations of buildings and neighborhoods.

“I would say this is definitely bigger than anything we’ve ever had in Sitka,” Fire Chief Dave Miller said.

The city has asked Gov. Walker to declare a state of emergency in Sitka. 

The risk to rescue workers from the unstable debris at the Kramer Avenue slide prevented immediate search efforts for the missing men. At 2 p.m. today rescuers were still standing by, unable to dig in the pile of earth and downed trees estimated at 20 to 25 feet deep. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter to survey the slide area.

“A couple of us walked the slide impact area where these people were last seen, shouting for names of the people that were missing, but due to the instability of the area we had to leave,” said City Administrator Mark Gorman, who had gone to the area after the first 911 call came in. 

Miller said rescue crews are concerned that there could be additional slides above the area of the first one, which could put emergency responders in harm’s way. 

“Because it’s a slide area and it’s muddy as all get-out it’s still an active slide area so we’re not digging and searching at this time. It’s too dangerous,” Miller said.

The National Weather Service in Juneau said the threat of mudslides will continue through the evening. 

The missing people were reportedly working on a house, in the final stage of construction, that was totally destroyed by the Kramer Avenue slide. The city public information office gave the address of the house as 410 Kramer Ave., owned by Christine McGraw.

If the governor declares a state of emergency, more resources will come to Sitka, Gorman said. He expects immediate action on the request in Juneau.

The major slides were on Halibut Point Road, Kramer Avenue and Sawmill Creek Road at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, said Assistant Fire Chief Al Stevens. There was flooding in several areas, and a large sinkhole was created in front of the laundromat in the 900 block of HPR. 

“Because of the heavy rains, we’ve had three major slides. The slide on Kramer Avenue has taken out a house .... The slide on Halibut Point Road is creating a bunch of flooding,” Stevens told reporters this morning. 

Sitka police received the 911 call reporting the Kramer Avenue slide at 9:40 a.m. Within half an hour there were reports of the slide at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park and along HPR near Sandy Beach, along with reports of flooding and washouts from clogged culverts throughout town. At 10:25 a.m. the fire hall called in all engineers and volunteers.

Chris Harshey, a carpenter who was working at a house at 210 Kramer Ave., said, “All of a sudden, I heard crackling and crumbling, and then the lights flickered.”

He said he went outside onto the front porch to see what was happening and saw “a sea of large logs, mud, more logs and a slurry of muddy debris.” 

He watched the slide destroy the home about 200 yards above him, and damage part of another house a little closer to him before “taking off into the woods.”

He said he couldn’t tell if the slide would stop before reaching him, or which direction to go to escape.

“Not knowing which way to go,” he stayed put, he said, adding it was all over in four minutes.

The mudslide looked like online videos he had seen of slides in other parts of the country. “All of a sudden it was real,” said Harshey, who managed to video some of the slide on his own iPhone 4.

Rodney Ady told the Sentinel he was jogging on the Cross Trail, and came upon the Kramer Street slide about 20 minutes after it occurred. 

“I’ve never come across a scene like that before. I was in a state of shock when I came across it,” Ady said. 

The Sitka FAA Flight Service Station measured 2.59 inches of rainfall between midnight last night and 10 a.m. today. The National Weather Service said nearly 1.5 inches of rain fell in one three-hour period this morning.

By the time the slides were first reported, the rain had faded away to a heavy mist and finally stopped by late morning as search and cleanup efforts continued.

Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said neighborhoods above Sandy Beach, which are below the Kramer Avenue slide, were evacuated, and an aid station was set up in Grace Harbor Church for rescuers, and families and friends of the missing people.

At the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, flooding and road damage prompted the Silver Bay Seafoods plant to shut down and evacuate the bunkhouses, said Silver Bay Seafoods CEO Richard Riggs. Operations were expected to resume tonight. 

There were no injuries. One of the walls of the administration building was smashed by the debris from upland of the slide and some windows were broken, but all seafood plant workers were accounted for, Riggs said. 

Industrial Park Director Garry White said “a significant amount of mud and sticks and debris slammed into the building and busted out some windows,” causing some structural damage. 

“The good news on our end of the road is everyone’s accounted for and all we have is property damage,” White said.

Until it was cleared away, the slide had cut off road access to the city’s hydroelectric plants.

Gorman said Sawmill Creek Road, which was closed at Whale Park, was expected to be opened for emergency vehicles this afternoon. 

Reopening that road was the city’s second priority behind finding the people missing on Kramer Avenue.

“We don’t have access to either hydro plant at this time, so that’s a priority as well,” Gorman said. “We have to make sure our utility grid is protected.”

As a precaution, the city removed private propane tanks from the area near the sinkhole at the HPR laundromat.

Pumphouse alarms set off by the rain deluge were going off throughout the morning, public works officials said.

Public access to Sitka National Historical Park, Indian River Trail and Sawmill Creek Road were shut down during the first stages of the slide and flooding emergency, but the park’s trails were open again this afternoon. Additional trail damage was reported near Heart Lake. The emergency also led city officials to cancel two public meetings tonight. The Planning Commission and the Citizens’ Task Force meetings will be rescheduled. 

Miller said any new storm activity could make the situation worse. The National Weather Service forecast calls for rain tonight and Wednesday, with a 50 percent chance of rain Wednesday night and stretching into Thursday. A break in the weather is forecast for Thursday night with sun expected Friday.

Gorman asked for community support for the missing and the search and recovery efforts during the days ahead.

“This is going to be a tough time for Sitkans in the next few days,” Gorman said. “Do what Sitkans do well and support your neighbors.”