Although not large, the fact that this small slide remained active was of concern to the Forest Service. (USFS photo)

The Forest Service has reopened Sitka’s Blue Lake Road after clearing a small landslide over the weekend.

The road leads to the city’s Blue Lake hydroelectric dam. A crew from the Electric Department discovered the slide on Friday morning (8-18-17) as they were en route to a routine inspection of the dam. Although the slide was promptly cleared, more material sluffed down the mountain later, as rains continued.

The road was closed to allow agency hydrologists to determine the extent of the hazard presented by the slide activity.

In a news release Tuesday (8-22-17) the Forest Service reports that the slide was approximately 40 feet long, and about 15 feet wide. Although it came down in an area that has previously suffered extensive slide damage, this small slide caused the road no harm.

The slide occurred on the second anniversary of a massive rain event in Sitka that brought down dozens of slides, including one that took the lives of three people.

The road remains closed to private vehicle traffic, but hikers are once again welcome. The Forest Service reminds users to be alert for heavy truck traffic during construction of the dam observatory area.

A look back: An August 18, 2015, landslide crossed Blue Lake Road, and struck the former pulp mill administration building. Although today’s slide is much smaller, officials are closing the road as a precaution. (KCAW file photo)

The Forest Service has closed the Blue Lake Road in Sitka to pedestrians and vehicles while hydrologists try to determine if a small landslide in the area remains hazardous.

A city electric crew encountered the slide this morning (8-18-17) during a routine visit to the Blue Lake hydroelectric project.

Electric department engineer Erin Clay says that crews were able to remove the landslide debris and reopen the road, but additional material sluffed down the slope later in the day, prompting her to ask the Forest Service for the closure.

Although the damage so far has been minimal, Clay says that the slide occurred in a very steep section of the road, which has been totally lost in the past.

Additionally, Clay is concerned by the forecast. Sitka has received intermittent heavy rainfall over the week, with more rain expected over the weekend.

This is the only landslide reported in Sitka as a result of the week’s heavy rains. Two years ago to the day, on August 18, 2015, dozens of landslides came down in the Sitka vicinity during a massive rain event, including one lethal slide on Kramer Avenue which took the lives of the brothers, Elmer and Ulises Diaz, and Sitka’s building official, William Stortz.

The roads had been closed since the August 2015 landslide and sustained heavy damage. The road repair was funded primarily by the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHS&EM). 

Blue Lake Road will be open to vehicle traffic after the completion of the campground restoration and installation of an overlook above the Blue Lake Dam. Utility Director Bryan Bertacchi anticipates those projects will wrap up by the end of the summer.

The city had planned to re-open Green Lake road to pedestrian traffic this weekend, but weather hampered repair work. Both Green and Blue Lake roads remain closed. (Matt Goff – 2014/Sitka Trails http://www.sitkatrails.org/)

Blue Lake and Green Lake Roads in Sitka remain closed to all traffic. While the city expected to open both roads to pedestrian foot traffic this month, weather is delaying repairs. Large construction equipment continues to operate along both narrow stretches, which service the Blue Lake and Green Lake dams respectively.

The roads were damaged in August of 2015 during a major landslide. Their repair is being partially paid for by the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Once complete, the Electric Department will pick up it’s dam overlook project. To be in compliance under the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission, or FERC, the Electric Department is required to install an overlook at the top of the Blue Lake dam.

Bryan Bertacchi,  the city’s Utility Director, said, “If we didn’t do anything, you’ve got a very steep cliff face right there. And regardless, you’ll have people up there near the lake. As a community we want to provide for safety of the folks up there so no one falls off that cliff face easily.”

The concrete walkway will provide a safe vantage point and, Bertacchi said, could be a scenic spot for visitors. “Tourists and of course the local community will be able to go up and a have a place where you can easily look down at the dam, look down at the back side of the dam when the water is overflowing the dam. So it’s nearly a tourist attraction in town. But it was required under the FERC permit.”

In a press release from November (2016-11-23-road-closure-update), the city said it planned to reopen Blue Lake road to vehicle traffic next summer.