Notes from the Landslide

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“It’s very similar. It’s déjà vu. Both the techniques that they’re
using and the conditions they’re encountering are almost identical
to what we had,” Richardson said.
He added that he doesn’t consider himself an expert, just someone
with experience that no one has until they’re forced into a
situation.
“Most people don’t have a lot of experience. We didn’t have
any experience responding to landslides,” he said. “Oso was by
far the biggest one that any of us had ever encountered. It was
around a square mile.”
It took around four months for all of the bodies to be recovered
from that slide, and Richardson said techniques used were similar
to those being used in Sitka, and that the cleanup efforts on
the Kramer Avenue slide are going well.
“I think they’ve been efficient with their operation from the
beginning,” he said.
City Clerk Sara Peterson, the designated spokesperson for the
city’s emergency effort, said operations now are focused entirely
on cleanup and repairing the damaged city infrastructure.
“We’re still in emergency recovery mode until Jacobs Circle
residents are able to get back into their houses,” Peterson said.
“We’re assessing the water and power issues for Jacobs Circle,
we’re trying to get those people back in their homes as soon as
possible.”