The Tatsuda’s IGA building in Ketchikan, Alaska was condemned Feb. 27, 2020 after it was struck early Thursday morning by a rockslide. The main portion of the slide hit the northeast corner of the building which collapsed part of the roof and ruptured a water main causing extensive damage to both the interior and exterior. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

The Tatsuda’s IGA building in Ketchikan, Alaska was condemned Feb. 27, 2020 after it was struck early Thursday morning by a rockslide. The main portion of the slide hit the northeast corner of the building which collapsed part of the roof and ruptured a water main causing extensive damage to both the interior and exterior. (Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP)

Landslide demolishes Ketchikan grocery store; no one injured

“Trees, rocks, overburden came down, went right in the store.”

  • Associated Press
  • Thursday, February 27, 2020 11:29pm
  • News

KETCHIKAN — A landslide in a city near the southern tip of the Alaska Panhandle demolished the back side of a grocery store.

No one was injured early Thursday when the landslide took out the back wall of Tatsuda’s IGA in Ketchikan, the Ketchikan Daily News reported. The building suffered severe enough damage to be condemned.

Rock, dirt and trees knocked over shelves and pushed ceiling beams out of place. The impact ruptured the sprinkler system, affecting the entire structure, including an attached liquor store, city public works director Mark Hilson said.

“Trees, rocks, overburden came down, went right in the store,” Hilson said. “Blew out the back wall, came in through the roof, through the aisles, structurally damaged it. The impact of the rock falling, dirt falling, trees falling, blew out the insulation, the soffit, some windows.”

Behind the store, nothing is visible but rock, he said.

“It looks like a rock pile,” Hilson said. “It’s just rock piled up.”

The last employee left the store at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. Emergency responders received a call about the slide just before 1 a.m. from a security company. The slide set off a fire alarm. The store owners were there when firefighters arrived, fire marshal Andrea Buchanan said.

Water and structural damage was apparent when firefighters entered the building, Buchanan said, both to load-bearing walls and the roof system.

“I saw trees that had come off like, I would say, from the top of the cliff or rock wall, had penetrated through the roof of the building,” Buchanan said.

Bill Tatsuda owns the store with his daughter, Katherine. In a social media message, Katherine Tatsuda said they were glad the slide occurred when no one was in the store. There is no timetable for reopening, her father said.

“It looks like it’s going to be an awful long time, if ever, reopening the store,” Bill Tatsuda said in an interview.


• By Associated Press


More in News

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Anchor Point man indicted for 3 shootings at Homer family planning clinic, recovery center

The grand jury returned 12 counts total for the three shootings

The entrance to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center is barricaded on Overland Avenue in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Citing dangerous drivers, Kenai closes one entrance to visitor’s center

The barricade will be removed temporarily on Friday for Christmas Comes to Kenai festivities

A Kenai Peninsula Food Bank truck in the Food Bank parking lot on Aug. 4, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Food bank seeks turkey donations as Thanksgiving nears

The local food bank is calling for donations of $25 to “Adopt-A-Turkey” for a local family in need

Seward City Hall is seen under cloudy skies in Seward, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward budget hearing covers bed tax, wages, emergency medical services

The Seward City Council on Nov. 12 considered a series of legislative items connected to 2025 and 2026 budget

The results of ranked choice tabulation show Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, winning reelection in the race for Senate District D. (Screenshot/Gavel Alaska)
Bjorkman, Vance win reelection after tabulation of ranked choice ballots

An effort to repeal ranked choice voting and the open primary system was very narrowly defeated

Jacob Caldwell, chief executive officer of Kenai Aviation, stands at the Kenai Aviation desk at the Kenai Municipal Airport on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Aviation, Reeve Air submit proposals to bring air service back to Seward

Scheduled air service has been unavailable in Seward since 2002

Erosion damage to the southbound lane of Homer Spit Road is seen on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, following a storm event on Saturday in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
City, DOT work to repair storm damage to Spit road

A second storm event on Saturday affected nearly a mile of the southbound lane

Kenaitze Indian Tribe Education Director Kyle McFall speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Charter school proposed by Kenaitze Indian Tribe given approval by school board

The application will next be forwarded to the State Department of Education and Early Department

Suzanne Phillips, who formerly was a teacher at Aurora Borealis Charter School, speaks during a special meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Aurora Borealis charter renewal clears school board

The school is seeking routine renewal of its charter through the 2035-2036 school year

Most Read