Jamie Roberts was home when she heard the landslide come down, but through luck, its deadly pathway just missed her house. Since November 20th, 2023, she hasn’t stayed in her home on Zimovia Highway.
“The event was so sensory overwhelming that I knew for myself I would have a hard time being there and feel relaxed and have it be my refuge,” she said.
Over the past year, she and her husband, Greg, decided to leave town, not only because of feeling unsafe in their home but also because of the housing crisis that Wrangell faces.
“I have a lot of mixed feelings about it, but yeah, it will be good,” she said.
She’s lived in Wrangell for about 26 years. She said that’s half her life and the community has shaped her into who she is.
“I came here for a summer job,” Roberts said. “I call it one of the happy detours in life.”
Even though the landslide happened 11 miles south of town a year ago, it was detrimental to the community. The six lives lost were beloved community members.
Community response
The response was immediate the night of the slide. Search and Rescue and their canines searched for bodies and the State Department of Transportation cleared up and fixed the road–although it ultimately took weeks. The Wrangell community also went into action the following days, boating residents from the south side of the slide to town. Rooms at Wrangell’s lodgings were made available to anyone who didn’t feel safe and community members gathered donations to help those in need.
State geologists reported that the slide was caused by excessive amounts of rain in a short amount of time, even for a rainforest.
Roberts and her husband raised their children in Wrangell, and she said she has always felt it was a safe place for her family. But over the year, since the landslide, she’s kind of been in autopilot mode.
“I’ve really been in just fast forward motion.”
Roberts said that they’ve moved five different times because the housing has been temporary.
She said, “If people offered us a place for a month, we took it and then just looked for the next thing.”
She said it’s been a lot of packing up, unpacking, renesting, trying to settle into life before it was time to pick up and do it all over again.
Roberts said, “I feel like I’ve really been in just fast forward motion.”
She said processing what happened. . .emotionally processing it. . . has been slow.
“When I finally take time to slow down, I’m sure I’ll be able to, you know, have some healing happen over the last year,” Roberts said. “Definitely some compiled losses. But I don’t know, it’s a good thing I guess, I’ve had something to really keep me busy and keep me focused on being of service.”
She said being of service has helped her healing process, though. She’s a swim coach and recently has been substituting as a teacher at the school. Over the years she’s also served as a volunteer firefighter, EMT Search and Rescue and a coach of almost all sports.
Committed swim coach to the students
Roberts and her husband decided to buy a house just outside of Eugene, Oregon. But she wanted to stay in Wrangell until the end of swim season if enough kids signed up. The season just ended this past weekend.
“I thought, ‘well, then I’m so close to the one year anniversary of the slide, so why not stay for that,’ in hopes that maybe there was some kind of community event or a healing circle or something,” she said. “I actually have my flight arranged to leave the day after.”
She said her new place in Oregon is different than Wrangell. For one, there’s a lot of sun. Roberts said that’s always a bonus. Plus, things are probably going to be more accessible, like fresher food at the farmers markets and more nature trails.
“Easier travel to see my family,” she said. “Options to to do some exploring that is more affordable as well.”
She said this move might give her the space to process the past year, but she still imagines she will find ways to be of service in her new community.
“I think my patterns of dealing with either grief or trauma…that it’s going to be ok because I’m going to have time where,” Roberts said. “I mean everything that I’m involved in and that keeps me busy. You know, how many hours a day is just all going to go away.”
Another Wrangellite that the landslide severely impacted is Christina Florschutz. She’s the only survivor and lost her husband and house during the catastrophic event. Rescuers found her near the slide debris the following day. Florschutz left Wrangell just a few weeks ago to live in Kodiak with her son.
…she’s coped with the loss by the care and counsel of other widows.
She wasn’t available for a recorded interview, but through an email she said that the compassion Wrangellites gave her helped her tremendously in her healing process. And like Roberts, being of service also helped her. Florschutz returned to working at the school, which brought her joy and satisfaction.
In addition, she said she’s coped with the loss by the care and counsel of other widows.
Florschutz wrote that they have taught her that “God’s timing is perfect,” even if it’s not something she would have chosen.
Another form of self-care that has helped Florschutz over the past year is getting enough exercise, like riding her bike. She said it helps her sleep at night. Additionally, reading has helped, especially reading about science. She said that this taught her that actions can influence feelings. One example is purposefully smiling, which has brought her feelings of happiness.
She doesn’t know what’s in her long-term agenda moving forward, but she suspects more business with cleaning up the past year’s mess.
As for Kodiak, she said it reminds her of Sitka because of the U.S. Coast Guard base, commercial fishing fleet and windy weather. But one thing is different, the bear problems are worse in Kodiak than in Wrangell. She said to never leave groceries in the car.
Florschutz is creating a website to share her story and wants others to share their stories too. It’s called Iamamiracle.org.
The grit and support of local residents brought Wrangellites to where they are now
As for the community of Wrangell, Borough Manager Mason Villarma said that without the grit and support of local residents, we wouldn’t be where we are today.
“What makes this community so remarkable is everybody supports each other and we get through tough times and build back better,” he said. “And we did exactly that over this last year. It’s an emotional time coming up on the one year mark, obviously the scar is still in the mountainside when we all go past it.”
He said the borough has done a lot in public safety that corresponded to the landslide, like actively updating its Emergency Operation Plan.
Villarma said that the Nixle enrollment, which signals registered users, has significantly expanded. That can be found on the borough’s website.
As Wrangellites reflect over the past year since the landslide, the community has shown its resiliency to carry on.
