FEMA is still paying for Southeast Alaska's deadly 2020 storms, nearly six years later

Nearly six years after storms set off a landslide that killed two people in Haines, FEMA is still committing money to the cleanup. On Oct. 28, it obligated $93,571 for debris removal in Juneau, bringing its total for the December 2020 disaster to about $36.3 million.

Haines Borough has the largest share, about $14.3 million. The money for one of its roads has been taken away and given back.

Porcupine Trail Road is a gravel road along the Klehini River near Klukwan, which sits about 22 miles north of Haines. FEMA describes it as a primitive road used mainly for recreation, hunting, fishing, camping and gathering traditional foods.

FEMA approved the borough's first phase of repairs in 2022, for a 22-foot-wide road. In July 2023, the Takshanuk Watershed Council told FEMA the borough had widened parts of the road to 35 to 40 feet, according to a FEMA environmental review.

After an Aug. 31, 2023, site visit, FEMA found the borough had gone beyond the approved work, disturbing about 2.28 more acres, and had authorized a third party to work on sections set for later phases. The Chilkat Indian Village told FEMA the widening had eliminated traditional soapberry gathering areas. FEMA concluded the borough had not given it the chance to complete environmental reviews or consult with the tribe first.

The review also noted that the road damage the borough reported happened in early summer 2021, when snowmelt pushed the Klehini River high, after the storm period. It did not address what that meant for eligibility.

On Dec. 12, 2023, FEMA pulled back the project's $1.44 million. It denied the borough's first appeal in July 2024. FEMA's appeals tracker lists the borough's second appeal as granted Dec. 15, 2025, without explaining the decision. Its records now show $1.29 million in federal money obligated for the road, most recently Sept. 25.

In a Feb. 9 letter, the Chilkat Indian Village (Klukwan) Tribal Council asked the Haines Borough Assembly to reconsider its decision to seek more FEMA money for the road's second and third phases.

"The Porcupine Trail Road sits entirely within our traditional territory," the council wrote. "Our Tribal members travel the road corridor for subsistence harvesting activities including berry picking."

FEMA's project records show no money obligated yet for those later phases.