Ketchikan
RSSNews from Ketchikan, Alaska
Weather Service cancels Ketchikan wind advisory early after gusts fall short of forecast
Ketchikan's windstorm came in under budget: forecasters warned of 50 mph gusts, the airport topped out around 36, and the advisory ended three hours early.

Ketchikan Indian Community gets $900,000 to revive its fleet for subsistence trips, training and charters
Ketchikan Indian Community is putting 23 boats back to work with a $900,000 federal grant: elder-led subsistence trips, youth training and halibut charters.

Ketchikan man, 78, dies after his vehicle leaves North Tongass Highway near Mile 13
John Olson, 78, of Ketchikan died Saturday after his vehicle left North Tongass Highway near Mile 13. Troopers haven't said what caused the crash.

Coast Guard awards $36.4 million to repair industrial facility at Base Ketchikan
The Coast Guard is spending $36.4 million to repair a building at Base Ketchikan, the borough's biggest federal contract this year by a wide margin.

Ketchikan planning commission to consider censuring commissioner over remarks about Ketchikan Indian Community
Ketchikan's planning commission will weigh censuring a commissioner over remarks about the Ketchikan Indian Community, a day after a removal law is introduced.

Ketchikan's new tourism board will not include the cruise line agencies
Ketchikan is seating a tourism board without the cruise agencies on it. Whether the industry has grown too fast stays with the city council.

Ketchikan Gateway Borough gets $347,000 to replace a South Tongass ambulance
South Tongass lost both its ambulances when the station burned in 2024. It has been driving an 18-year-old hand-me-down from Valdez ever since.

A wind advisory covers Ketchikan and Metlakatla until 2 pm Tuesday
Ketchikan and Metlakatla are getting gusts of up to 40 mph through Tuesday afternoon, and the Alaska Range could see 70 mph by Friday morning.

Former Ketchikan church elder pleads guilty in child exploitation case
Dwight Chris John pleaded guilty to possessing child sexual abuse material. He faces 10 to 15 years in prison at a Dec. 16 sentencing.

Nonresident rockfish retention stays closed in Ketchikan waters
Nonresident anglers in Ketchikan cannot keep yelloweye, quillback, canary, China, copper, tiger or rosethorn rockfish through year-end, though Alaska residents may keep one a day.

Former Ketchikan church elder pleads guilty to federal child sexual abuse material charge
A 74-year-old former Ketchikan church elder pleaded guilty to possessing over 1,000 images of child sexual abuse material and faces at least 10 years in federal prison

Ketchikan council to vote Thursday on $30,000 landslide grant
Ketchikan votes Thursday on $30,000 to work out how much rain makes the slopes above town dangerous. The work already started two weeks ago.

A stolen pickup went through the doors of three Tongass Avenue businesses
A stolen pickup went through the doors of McDonald's, Madison Lumber and Tongass Marine in one night. The damage estimate runs near $100,000.

Ketchikan council to vote on seventh amendment to water consulting deal
Ketchikan avoided a $70 million filtration plant by proving its mountain-lake water meets federal conditions for filtration avoidance.

Federal record rates Ketchikan's Water Street viaduct 'Poor'
The Water Street viaduct in downtown Ketchikan, carrying 14,000 vehicles a day, is rated poor, but the state is funding only repairs, not replacement.

Ketchikan borough seeks proposals for Herring Cove neighborhood plan
Ketchikan borough voted to hire a planning firm for Herring Cove, where 55,000 to 60,000 annual visitors overwhelm a site with no sidewalks, restrooms, or bear-proof trash bins.

Troopers refer charges after Ketchikan pursuit and crash
State Troopers referred felony charges against an 18-year-old Ketchikan driver who refused to stop on North Tongass Highway on Sept. 3, lost control, and crashed into a ditch during the pursuit.

Injured hiker flown off Deer Mountain in Ketchikan
A 26-year-old hiker was flown off Deer Mountain near Ketchikan on Saturday after becoming unable to walk, the second rescue on that trail in months.

Ketchikan has five years to start disinfecting the sewage it discharges
Ketchikan's sewage plant does not disinfect what it discharges. EPA gave it five years to change that, and voters approved $15 million to do it.

The Forest Service approved logging it says may restrict subsistence hunting
The Forest Service approved Revillagigedo logging its own analysis says may significantly restrict subsistence deer hunting. A tribe and two groups sued.

Alaska has no marine radio examiner, so UAS is asking to become one
No one in Alaska can give the marine radio license exam in person. UAS has asked the FCC for permission to do it at its Ketchikan training center.

Jai Mahtani is running for the Ketchikan council seat he resigned after a state settlement
Jai Mahtani quit the Ketchikan council two weeks after settling a state case over jewelry sold as Alaskan. He filed on the last day to win the seat back.

Ketchikan tribe sues Forest Service over South Revilla logging near Ketchikan
Ketchikan Indian Community sued the Forest Service over logging that would cut 44% of winter deer habitat on Revillagigedo Island, threatening subsistence hunting.

Ketchikan's city filing window has closed, and voter registration ends Sept. 6
Ketchikan's candidate filing window closed Monday and the city hasn't published who is running for council. Three filings are on the record so far.

Ketchikan City Council advances resolution marking two years since fatal landslide
Ketchikan marked two years since the White Cliff landslide with a plaque. The slide killed one person and destroyed homes above the Third Avenue Bypass.

The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's first boat is getting a refit
The Inter-Island Ferry Authority's original boat, the MV Prince of Wales, is getting a $658,041 refit. It has been the backup since the Stikine took over.

Ketchikan voters decide who owns the library and who pays for it
Ketchikan voters decide Oct. 6 whether the borough takes over the public library and whether people outside city limits pay twice as much for it.

Tlingit & Haida back a Ketchikan plan to treat addiction closer to home
The Tlingit & Haida tribe backs a Ketchikan plan for a residential addiction treatment center so Southeast Alaskans no longer have to leave the region for care.

Ketchikan faces 2 to 3.5 inches of rain, road ponding through Monday
An atmospheric river crosses the southern panhandle overnight into Monday, dropping up to 3.5 inches of rain on the Ketchikan area and standing water on roads.

A $3.19 million contract will fix roads and fish passage near Ketchikan
The Forest Service is paying $3.19 million for road and culvert work near Ketchikan. Since 1998 it has fixed about 57% of the Tongass culverts inventoried.

Ketchikan's Assembly has fewer candidates than seats, with four days to file
Ketchikan's Borough Assembly has two candidates for three seats with four days left to file. The School Board race has four candidates for two seats.

Three years and three permits later, Ketchikan's airport ferry still has no backup berths
Ketchikan's airport ferry docks at one set of berths with no backup. Three years and three federal permits later, the state hasn't driven a pile.

Ketchikan's long rebuild of the road toward Saxman inches ahead, with a waterside path and a tangle over land
Ketchikan's rebuild of the highway toward Saxman, adding a waterside path for walkers and bikers, drew more federal money as cost estimates keep swinging.

Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's aging viaducts, part of a plan to repair them now and replace them later
Overnight drilling comes to Ketchikan's two 1950s viaducts, which carry 14,000-plus vehicles a day, as the state plans to repair them and replace them later.

Where to watch spawning salmon around Ketchikan this month
Want to watch Fish, it's like watching paint dry but consequences… Cool ones!

Federal charter keeps water sampling going on the Unuk, downstream of three British Columbia mines
A $15,510 charter keeps USGS crews sampling the Unuk River this fall. Three large British Columbia mine projects sit in development upstream.

Hoonah and Ketchikan dock projects renew marine mammal permits without breaking ground
Two Southeast dock projects keep renewing federal permits to make noise underwater. The permits keep expiring. The water remains undisturbed.

Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month, even with a slow run
Ketchikan anglers can keep more kings this month even though the run is slow, though area closures still apply and the department hasn't explained the increase.

Injured hiker rescued by boat along George Inlet near Ketchikan
A hiker injured in a fall near Ketchikan called for help Tuesday afternoon, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad reached him by boat and took him to a hospital.

Ketchikan's hospital, its own residents can't get answers
Ketchikan's hospital is losing money it won't fully document and renovating an ER whose bed count its own administrator can't name — while patients wait in hallways.
