Kotzebue is ‘racing against the clock’ in flood recovery as freeze-up nears

With freeze-up quickly approaching, cleanup and recovery efforts ramped up in Kotzebue on Thursday after a devastating flood displaced more than 80 people and damaged dozens of homes.

“We’re at freezing temperatures, so we’re trying to get water moved out as quickly as possible,” City Mayor Derek Haviland Lie said. “We’re kind of racing against the clock to get as much cleaned up as we can before it freezes in place.”

A fall storm hit the community earlier this week, leaving streets underwater, disrupting flight service, destroying homes and displacing dozens of residents. A man and two children whose boat had floated away were rescued by helicopter Wednesday after spending the night on the roof of a flooded fish camp cabin north of Kotzebue, authorities said.

On Wednesday, only six people stayed in a shelter at Kotzebue High School, said Chris Hatch, Northwest Arctic Borough public safety director. Most of the 80 people displaced on the first night were able to come back to their homes or stay with friends and family, Hatch said, but those who still needed shelter were going to stay at the school and hotel, he said.

“We still have two families that we are working to provide longer-term housing for,” Hatch said, “but everyone is safe, and there have been no major injuries.”

Dozens of houses in multiple areas of town were affected by the flood, Hatch said. Local officials were still evaluating the exact scope of the damage, he said.

Even for residents who were able to return to their homes, there was a lot of work ahead, repairing foundations, insulation, flooring and heating systems, Haviland Lie said. He said that part of the assessment local officials were conducting was estimating in how many houses they needed to replace insulation and flooring to keep them warm.

“There’s a lot of damage, especially this time of year — with the cold, with wet insulation and flooring and all of that, I couldn’t imagine,” said resident Shylena Lie.

Lie said that the foundation under the house of her grandfather, James McClellan, was destroyed by the floodwater that “was rising like a current, like a river.”

“We have never seen this before, so we technically weren’t quite prepared,” she said. “We couldn’t believe how bad his home was. ... I saw his whole shop shake like an earthquake. That’s when I knew, he needs to leave.”

Lie said that she and her family helped McClellan, 87, evacuate to the shelter and then worked to disconnect his house from electricity in case it tipped over.

The next morning, they saw that McClellan’s house had no foundation on the front. McClellan lost all his fishing gear and everything else stored on the beach but remained in good spirits and continued to make jokes to lift the mood, Lie said.

They didn’t have to wait long to receive help with repairs, Lie said. The City of Kotzebue, Kotzebue Electric Association and Drake’s Construction all stepped in, providing assistance and materials.

“There’s still a lot that we have to do,” she said, but “the fact that they were willing to help was like a blessing.”

On Wednesday and Thursday, the city, borough and other local and state agencies were busy cleaning up the debris, repairing the airport and fixing roads, Hatch said. The city water and sewer system was functional but overwhelmed, with pump stations still full from floodwaters, he said.

After the airport reopened Wednesday night, the city started getting more materials and personnel to aid with recovery efforts, he said.

In response to a request from local officials, the Alaska National Guard is sending a small number of personnel to assist with cleanup and recovery efforts. According to Guard spokesman Alan Brown, around 10 members volunteered to travel to Kotzebue ahead of the weekend to help with “general labor, to include debris cleanup, trash removal, muck out,” and assisting at distribution centers. Depending on circumstances, the Guard members may also be tasked with helping with water removal.

The state Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation and Public Facilities were also sending personnel to assist recovery efforts, Hatch said. To house responders, local authorities were planning to use the National Guard Armory and the man camp owned by Brice Construction, Hatch said.

The flood also destroyed the Kotzebue boat harbor, Haviland Lie said. Pieces of the dock floated away, and the city was working to get them back to storage before they froze in place, he said. On Thursday morning, a small, thin sheet of ice covered standing water around town, he said.

Lie said that while seeing debris and destruction the morning after the flood was heart-wrenching, the community response that followed brought her hope.

“I’ve seen community members cleaning up trash. I’ve seen all the heavy equipment scraping up all the debris off the road. I’ve seen the grader around town fixing roads,” Lie said. “It’s just amazing what the community of Kotzebue can do together.”

Haviland Lie agreed: “The community of Kotzebue has always done really well with pulling together as one when stuff like this happens. A big thank you to the community of Kotzebue for stepping up and helping. I’m proud to call Kotzebue home.”

Daily News reporter Zachariah Hughes contributed.