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Alaskan community rebuilds while grappling with fatal landslide's impact
- A landslide struck Wrangell Island last November in southeast Alaska, killing six people, including a family of five.
- Wrangell’s community is slowly returning to normalcy with the upcoming tourism and seafood processing seasons.
- Alaska faces the threat of additional landslides due to an increase in intense rain.
Jamie Roberts and her husband felt lucky when they found an A-frame cabin on forest-draped Wrangell Island in southeast Alaska, where they could settle on a few acres and have some chickens.
A stretch of highway a few miles north, the only road into town, did make her nervous; there, waterfalls cascaded and rocks tumbled from towering bluffs on stormy days. But she always felt safe at her home of more than 20 years.
That all changed the night of Nov. 20 after heavy rains, when a torrent of earth and trees rushed down a mountainside next to their home, cutting a swath to the sea. It killed six people, including a family of five; demolished two houses; and buried the highway.
DEATH TOLL IN ALASKA LANDSLIDE CLIMBS TO 3; 3 OTHERS STILL MISSING
The landslide lacked the scale of one that erased a neighborhood in Oso, Washington, 10 years ago this Friday. But it, too, left a community unmoored, wondering whether the dramatic landscape above was as permanent as it once seemed.
This photo shows a helicopter arriving near the Zimovia Highway where ground teams, including search and rescue dogs, actively searched following a fatal landslide on Nov. 22, 2023. Last November, a landslide struck Wrangell Island in southeast Alaska, killing six people, including a family of five. (Willis Walunga/Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management via AP, File)
Roberts and her family have moved from their home and only returned for brief visits.
“I don’t know that we’d ever sleep very well going back there,” she said.
In some ways, life in Wrangell, a former logging town, is returning to normal. The summer tourism and seafood processing seasons are approaching, and the boys’ varsity basketball team this month competed at state. The highway has been rebuilt.
But trees and other debris still dotted the tidelands and lower portions of the snow-covered scar on a recent day.
That scar is visible from the driveway of Stephen Todd’s waterfront home. Todd, his wife and their dog, Festus, moved back last month after staying closer to town after the slide.
“There were no signs of instability” on that slope before, said Todd, a biologist. “I mean, it’s steep country, but every place is steep country in southeast Alaska.” He and his wife won’t stay in their home when the forecast calls for intense rain.
Rain is a part of life in the region, most of which is nestled in the Tongass National Forest, a temperate rainforest. Communities have long co-existed with landslide risks: In Alaska’s capital, Juneau, the downtown core and tourist district are built into or are at the base of mountains. Thousands of landslides have been documented in the Tongass, though relatively few have been fatal.
But as the climate continues to warm, intense rains are expected to become more frequent in the region and other parts of the West Coast, heightening landslide risk. Researchers have blamed atmospheric rivers for landslides in southeast Alaska that killed three people in Sitka in 2015 and two in Haines in 2020.
After the Wrangell landslide, the state set up a drone operation and weather instruments on Roberts’ property to help officials identify warning signs. A second weather station is planned for the ridgeline above.
State and federal agencies hope to see more high-elevation weather stations installed in the region. The National Weather Service would like to use soil analyses from geologists to better understand how much rain it takes to increase a community’s landslide risk and incorporate that into weather alerts, said senior hydrologist Aaron Jacobs. But the work is intensive, and pulling it together will likely take years.
Wrangell is considering an online dashboard for residents that would use weather data to broadly assess landslide risk, similar to one developed after the Sitka slide, said Mason Villarma, Wrangell’s interim borough manager. Most of Wrangell’s roughly 2,040 people live on the north end of the island. But many homes farther out, along the highway, are built on slopes.
“We can’t tell people whether their property is safe or not. We want to definitely provide them the tools to make good decisions,” Villarma said.
Killed in November were Timothy and Beth Heller, along with their daughters Mara, 16, and Kara, 11. Their son Derek, 12, has not been found. Otto Florschutz, a neighbor, also died. His wife, Christina, survived.
Roberts, who coached Kara and Derek’s swim club, plans to participate in a race Kara wanted to do, in her honor. The club celebrated what would have been Derek’s 13th birthday recently with 13 laps, cupcakes and belly flops — things he would have loved, she said.
FIFTH PERSON CONFIRMED DEAD IN ALASKA LANDSLIDE; 1 STILL MISSING
For a long time, the sound of planes overhead upset Roberts: She thought the noise of the landslide was a jet that was about to crash. Until recently, she would close her eyes or bow her head to avoid seeing the scar on brief visits home to gather personal items.
The family moved four times in the days after the landslide. They need to be out of their current rental by April 1 but haven’t been able to find another house on the island they can afford. They anticipate having to sell their home and move out of state later this year.
Roberts has mixed feelings about selling. She’d be devastated if another family bought the home, only to suffer tragedy.
“Now I’m at the phase where I’m like, ‘It’s not fair,’” she said. “But we get to make the choice of what comes next. And other people didn’t.”
The San Francisco Giants welcome the Atlanta Braves to Oracle Park tonight to begin a three-game series.
As of the time this is being written, the Giants have not yet announced a starting pitcher. I assume that means that the last resort left for this season is the element of surprise. But check the comments below for more up to date information.
Whoever it ends up being will face off against Braves right-hander Reynaldo López, who enters tonight’s game with a 3.50 ERA, 4.62 FIP, with 39 strikeouts to 21 walks in 43.2 innings pitched. His last appearance was in relief in the Braves’ 9-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday, in which he allowed one unearned run on one hit with three strikeouts and a walk in three innings.
Who: San Francisco Giants (33-47) vs. Atlanta Braves (48-31)
Where: Oracle Park, San Francisco, California
Regional broadcast: NBC Sports Bay Area
Radio: KNBR 680 AM/104.5 FM, KSFN 1510 AM
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta’s Pride celebration looked different this year, with the event moving to the Augusta Fairgrounds because of Broad Street construction, according to Beats on Broad organizers.
This year marks Augusta’s 16th year hosting Pride. Organizers said the goal remains to make people feel supported beyond the event itself.
Kourtnee Pope Kollins, identified on-screen as MX Augusta, said it was their first year attending Augusta Pride, though not their first Pride experience overall.
“This is actually my first year at Augusta Pride. I’m the current MX Augusta Pride. But Pride in general, I’ve been going since I was little, so I’m excited to be here,” Pope Kollins said.
Attendees and organizers speak on the event’s meaning
Attendee Nick Horvath said the celebration holds personal significance.
“My favorite moments of Pride are always seeing the little kids that are out getting to interact with performers like myself and just — there’s nothing wrong with loving who you are and getting to see them show appreciation for that,” Horvath said. “It’s just nice that we have one event throughout the month that can just really, you know, just like, show people Augusta is just not about hate. It’s also about love and spreading positivity.”
Resources available year-round, organizers say
James Mintz, identified as Pride treasurer, said the event is meant to reach people who may not feel represented.
“I think what’s always important is you may not always feel like you’re being represented in the community, but you would be surprised at who comes out. And even if you’re not ready to come out or feel comfortable coming, there are many resources that are available to you 365 days out of the year,” Mintz said. “We’re your neighbors, we’re your cousins, your family, coworkers, and, you know, we’re here, and we’re happy.”
A separate unidentified speaker described the event’s purpose.
“This is an opportunity and a safe space for people who are queer to come together and know that they’re supported, loved, and appreciated,” Pope Kollins said.
The celebration continues Saturday with the 16th Annual Augusta Pride Festival, a free event featuring live entertainment, speakers, vendors, community organizations and family-friendly activities.
This year’s celebration has moved to the Augusta Exchange Club Fairgrounds because of ongoing construction in downtown Augusta.
Organizers also canceled the traditional Pride parade for 2026 because of safety concerns related to the construction, but say attendees can still expect a full weekend of events.
According to Augusta Pride, its mission is to promote visibility, unity and diversity education for LGBTQ+ communities across the Central Savannah River Area while supporting HIV awareness and community outreach.
For a complete schedule, entertainment lineup and additional event information, visit the Augusta Pride website.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
(NEWS FROM THE STATES) – Visitors from across the United States traveled to the National Mall Thursday for the opening day of the Great American State Fair, a days-long event that is part of President Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration of the nation’s semiquincentennial.
States and territories showed off cultural and agricultural exports at exhibits stretching nearly a mile. Attendees snapped photos on the small Grand Ole Opry stage in the Tennessee booth, kids tried putt-putt at Indiana’s miniature golf course and cowboys rode horses at Montana’s rodeo.
A 110-foot Ferris wheel slowly turned at the center of the freshly manicured lawn, framing the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol in the distance on either side. Nearby stood a model of Trump’s controversial “triumphal arch.”
People collected swag from each state — drawstring bags from Ohio, stickers from South Dakota, snacks from Tennessee — and could receive a stamp on state fair passports.
The fair is part of the larger Freedom 250 programming and kicked off Wednesday night with a rally on the mall featuring a speech from the president that closely resembled his remarks along the 2024 presidential campaign trail. The festivities will continue over Independence Day, when Trump will deliver a second speech followed by what is promised to be an impressive fireworks display.
The president will visit North and South Dakota as part of his Freedom 250 tour for the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt presidential library and Independence Day eve fireworks above Mount Rushmore.
Freedom 250 then extends into August with a high school athletic competition in Washington, D.C., dubbed the “Patriot Games” and a Freedom 250 INDYCAR race around the National Mall.
The administration’s celebration is separate from the America250 commission, created by Congress a decade ago, and which has its own nationwide programming this year.
From Lake Erie to the Ohio River
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and first lady Fran DeWine greeted guests in Ohio’s pavilion. The couple posed for photos in front of a map of the Buckeye State.
“We wanted to see on the wall all the different things, from Lake Erie to the Ohio River, all the different fun things you can do in Ohio,” the Republican governor said, adding the state has local celebrations and initiatives planned for the 250th anniversary, including “Movies in Ohio” for community showings of films that feature the state.
Ohio’s first lady showcased a children’s literacy exhibit on the opposite wall and touted the roughly 427,000 participants in the state’s partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a program that mails free children’s books monthly to households with kids under age 5.
“We’ve mailed out 27 million books. We know that a child’s brain is 80% developed by age 3, so we want to get them those books early,” she said.
Reflecting on America’s milestone birthday, the governor said, “We’re always a work in progress, Ohio’s a work in progress, this country is a work in progress.”
“I think you know the thing we need to keep in mind, all of us, is there’s some essential core principles that we all believe in. … We may disagree about different policies, but the core principles are the same,” he said.
Cartwheels on the lawn
People from various states walked from exhibit to exhibit, while stopped in the nation’s capital during road trip vacations.
Tanya Geders, 43, of St. Louis, Missouri, did a cartwheel in the mall lawn, trying to persuade her son to join in. The family stopped at the state fair on their way to Virginia Beach.
“We’re like, well, if we go to the ocean, we can go to D.C. and what a better time to be here than the 250th anniversary,” Geders said.
Robyn Toman, 71, of Severn, Maryland, escorted her 12-year-old grandson Miles to meet DeWine and grab a photo with the governor.
Toman said she remembers the country’s bicentennial.
“I was a kid about his age, and I came in 1976. I said, ‘We’re gonna go, let’s go down to D.C. for a couple days and see this,’” she said.
“We’ve enjoyed it. We went over to the archives yesterday, and saw the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. And, oh, that was so nice, that was fantastic.”
Not all states are there. A spokesperson for Washington state’s lieutenant governor’s office told States Newsroom the administration declined to join because of “the costs to the state associated with participating.”According to news reports, Connecticut, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont did not contribute exhibits, though many are still represented by flags outside the individual booths.The state officials did not immediately respond to States Newsroom for confirmation.
All states that reportedly did not participate, with the exception of Vermont, are Democratic-led.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
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