Wrangell still waiting for full FEMA funds for 2023 landslide

The deadly landslide that struck Wrangell on the night of Nov. 20, 2023, is seen the next day. (Photo provided by Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities)

By Larry Persily

Wrangell Sentinel

The borough spent just over $1 million responding to the deadly November 2023 landslide that killed six people and is still owed about $346,000 after last month’s federal approval of reimbursement for debris removal costs.

Last month’s approval of almost $638,000 in federal and state disaster funds is in addition to about $72,000 already paid to the borough to reimburse for utility repair costs and temporary shelter expenses.

“Although the reimbursement wait is long, the borough has sufficient reserves and the delay is not creating any cash-flow issues,” the borough manager said.

“I didn’t have any specific expectations going into the process, as I had no prior experience with federal disaster reimbursements,” said Mason Villarma, who had just started as interim borough manager the week of the slide at 11.2-Mile Zimovia Highway.

“The review and reimbursement timeline has been significantly slower than what we’ve experienced with other funding agencies,” Villarma said in an email. “Most agencies reimburse eligible costs within weeks or months — not years.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is dealing with a backlog of disaster funding requests nationwide. As of April, the agency owed communities almost $10 billion, according to internal agency documents obtained by National Public Radio.

Much of that funding is owed to reimburse municipal governments for what they’ve already spent repairing infrastructure after major disasters, according to the NPR report.

President Joe Biden approved a federal disaster declaration for Wrangell in March 2024, following a state declaration. The federal government is covering 75% of the disaster response costs, with the state reimbursing Wrangell for 25%.

FEMA announced on July 20 that it had approved nearly $6 million in payments for disasters in Oregon, Washington state and Wrangell. The federal treasury will send $478,000 to Wrangell, with the state covering about $159,000 of the total $638,000 reimbursement.

The federal and state disaster funding reimburses the community for the expense of clearing debris from the hillside and outside of the highway right of way.

The Alaska Department of Transportation spent a reported $1.2 million in 2024 to rebuild drainage culverts and the section of Zimovia Highway damaged by the landslide, which crossed the roadway and flowed into the water.

The borough had a lot of help in completing its application for federal aid, Villarma said.

“I want to recognize Jamie Roberts for her exceptional work throughout this process. She has been instrumental in leading the effort to compile and submit the extensive documentation required, and her diligence and persistence have been invaluable.”

The borough put Roberts under contract to help with the application to FEMA, calling on her years of grant-writing experience to navigate the process.

Though the slide did not hit the nearby Roberts’ home, it was enough to prompt the family to leave Wrangell after 26 years and move to Oregon in the fall of 2024. 

• This article originally appeared in the Wrangell Sentinel.