New Ketchikan landslide blocks road, cutting off motorists

A landslide blocked a road in Ketchikan on Sunday, cutting off a half-dozen vehicles, just over a month after a devastating slide into downtown killed a city worker and injured several people.

The slide around 8 p.m. did not lead to any injuries but cut off six vehicles with eight people inside, according to reports from city officials. The area received heavy rainfall in recent days.

By Monday morning, officials said in an update, several people had walked out and a family of four remained in their vehicle. All six vehicles had been moved to a nearby paintball field, they said.

The Alaska State Department of Transportation and Public Facilities on Monday morning was waiting for a Juneau-based geologist to arrive and assess the slide before debris removal could begin, according to the update Monday.

Crews from the North Tongass Fire Department as well as medics responded Sunday evening and communicated with the stranded people by phone, officials said. They were also on scene Monday.

Once all the vehicles and people are back on the Ketchikan side of the slide, state transportation officials are expected to close the road to through traffic at the North Tongass Highway junction.

The Third Avenue landslide struck a densely populated neighborhood in Ketchikan on Aug. 25, killing 42-year-old Sean Griffin, a city public works employee who was clearing stormwater drains on a day off from work. Two other people were taken to the hospital.