A helicopter takes off from the parking lot of the Haines Borough Public Safety Building. (Photo by Henry Leasia)

Landslides caused by heavy rainfall destroyed several homes in Haines on Wednesday. Multiple areas of the borough were evacuated. Search and rescue teams are currently working to locate Haines residents David Simmons and Janae Larson. 

State and national resources have been mobilized to respond to the landslides. Haines Borough Mayor Douglas Olerud said right now the priority is search and rescue, and protecting residents from more possible landslides. 

Juneau Search and Rescue, the SEADOGS, are coming up today. National Guard [will] help,” Olerud said. “We also have geological experts coming down from Anchorage later today that are going to help us do some slope analysis. Make sure we’re not going to have any additional slides.”

A large landslide above Beach Road destroyed at least four homes and two people are still missing. Helicopters are surveying the area. Search and rescue teams are waiting to hear from geologists about the risk of further slides before proceeding on the ground. 

Olerud said there are also concerns about additional slides coming down the mountains at Lutak Inlet. 

“There’s a land mass out there that people are worried about, so they’re going to check on that. The one that we’re most worried about is on the other side of the canal and if that comes down in a significant size, is that going to cause a tsunami wave on the other side that we need to be prepared for,” Olerud said.

All residents living along the Lutak spur road have been advised to evacuate the area. 

The local American Legion post is offering free breakfast, lunch and dinner to anyone in need. Meanwhile, the Salvation Army is working to lodge residents who have been displaced during the disaster. 

Olerud said the next priority is to protect critical infrastructure by clearing and repairing roads in town.

“As we are rebuilding those roads for access we need to make sure that our sewer, water, electrical—the places that that’s exposed—we’re protecting that to the best of our ability. The one worry that I have is if it gets cold before we are able to cover some of that, that’s going to add an extra degree of difficulty,”  Olerud said. 

Last night the Department of Transportation cleared the road to the town’s freight dock. Currently the town’s power supply is running on a diesel generator that relies on regular fuel deliveries. 

Residents living between Young Road, Mathias Avenue and Picture Point have been advised to boil and conserve water due to damage to the tank that supplies water to that area. The town’s wastewater treatment plant is also overcapacity and unable to treat all sewage for discharge.