Yakutat, Alaska – September 31, 2025 – The Alaska Earthquake Center has brought back to life one of its long-silent monitoring stations, restoring a key part of the state’s seismic network in the Deception Hills near Yakutat.
After nearly ten years offline, station DCPH is now active again. The site fills a major gap in earthquake and tsunami monitoring for southeast Alaska. A region that faces both onshore fault activity and offshore subduction earthquakes.
The Earthquake Center’s field crew ended their summer work by repairing and reconnecting the DCPH station. The process was not easy. Over the years, the site suffered damage from bears, lightning strikes, and technical issues.
To restore communication, field technicians Ethan Berkeland and Devin Zigmont replaced a broken data line with a new fiber-optic cable. The upgrade required digging a 375-foot trench through rocky ground, using pickaxes and shovels to reconnect the station with the Coast Guard’s communication link.
With DCPH back online, the Alaska Earthquake Center can now collect stronger and more accurate data from southeast Alaska. The station will help researchers detect seismic activity more quickly and understand how earthquakes and tsunamis behave in this active region.
Last week, the center also reported around 360 earthquakes across the state, including a magnitude 3.8 quake on the western end of the Denali fault between Dillingham and Bethel.
Researchers say that bringing the Deception Hills station back online marks an important step in improving Alaska’s statewide monitoring network. The team plans to share more field updates and insights on future upgrades in the coming weeks.
