The site of December’s deadly and destructive landslide remains unstable and unsafe. A piece of earth next to the Beach Road slide area broke free on Monday and Haines officials are warning people to keep away.
The Haines Borough Emergency Operations Center says a hunk of earth broke free on Monday evening and slid about 200 feet. Officials say it was about 20 feet wide and 60 feet across.
What geologists call the “shoulder” of the Beach Road landslide crumbled into the main area that was hit on December 2, killing two people and destroying homes.
EOC incident commander Carolann Wootton says the latest slide is evidence the area is not safe.
“It would be best for people to avoid being in there altogether, especially when we start having these warming wet, warm wet periods. I just don’t know that we have any idea how stable or unstable it really is,” she said.
It wasn’t a surprise to state geologist DeAnne Stevens. She says to expect more movement in the main slide zone which has displaced a dozen households.
“What we saw with this rain event and this material that sloughed off, this is comparatively minor. It’s kind of a smaller thing. But it is kind of a warning that bigger things could come off as well. The landscape out there is just trying to get back to an equilibrium state,” she said.
Stevens says her main concern is the large crack extending south from the top of the slide, which could trigger a more serious event
The storm caused smaller slides on 19 mile of the Haines Highway and around five miles out Lutak Road.
Homeowners near and to the south of the Beach Road slide are still displaced. Some have crossed the slide zone on foot to access their homes. The Haines Borough and the state’s Department of Transportation are in negotiations to contract a geotechnical report on the slide area this week.
