Two of three men believed to be buried by debris following a landslide in Sitka, Alaska, are from San Diego County.
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“Heavy rainfall has triggered multiple landslides throughout Sitka prompting the City and Borough of Sitka to declare a State of Emergency”, the town’s website stated on August 18, before the total of missing people was finalized. “A construction crew and city worker were all in the area and we haven’t located them yet”.
A 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, a Sitka spokeswoman corrected the number of missing people to three and listed their names as William Stortz, 62, Elmer Diaz, 26, and Ulises Diaz, 25.
Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller reports that a team of cadaver dogs from Juneau led searchers to a sweatshirt on the west side of the slide, and subsequently to the body.
Stortz’s wife, Libby, was at the area of the slide, waiting for a search to begin, said a family friend, Peter Turner.
Hernandez said he is holding out hope that he will get a phone call that the brothers are alive.
Crews will meet with geologists at first light Wednesday, the station reports.
Some properties have been flooded after the heavy rain. More rain was expected. The brothers are longtime residents who love playing basketball and are very close to each other, Hernandez said. “I’ve lived here a long time, and I can’t remember anything like this happening”, he said. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.
Chris Harshey, who is a carpenter, was working on a nearby home when he heard the trees and earth fall from the mountain.
Harshey went outside to investigate and saw “a sea of large logs, mud, more logs and a slurry of muddy debris”. The slide in that area destroyed one of the new homes entirely, and damaged another.
He said a survey on Wednesday found a majority of the debris in the landslide trough had already come down, lessening concerns about another slide.
Governor Bill Walker plans to be in the city Wednesday to visit the affected areas.
An office building just outside town was evacuated late Tuesday morning because it is near one of the landslides.
“This type of landslide is typical for Alaska, especially our communities that are in our mountainous regions”, Jeremy Zidek of the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said.
The landslide is the result of heavy rain in southeast Alaska. The rain also damaged a footbridge and trails, including one that had been repaired after flooding in January 2014.
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Kreiss-Tomkins recalled a landslide in May 2013 during which a Sitka couple narrowly escaped a cabin as a massive piece of mountain above it gave way.
