Street blocked, power out in ’97 New Year’s storms
Low-lying areas in Ferndale, Arcata saw significant flooding
The Office of Emergency Service was at “full-tilt boogie” following storms that brought havoc 23 years ago.
Humboldt County rang in the new year 23 years ago in the midst of a blustering storm.
Following high winds and torrential rains on Dec. 31, 1996, and Jan. 1, 1997, all highways in and out of the county were closed and flood damage was reported in low-lying areas near Ferndale and Arcata and elsewhere in the region, according to a Times-Standard article on Jan. 2, 1997. A military transport plane from Sacramento arrived in the county that day, loaded with 58,000 sandbags, to assist locals with flooding prevention efforts.
And though there was a slight break in the weather on the second day of 1997, more heavy rain was forecasted for the ensuing days, according to the newspaper account, and flood warnings were issued at Mad River at Arcata, the Eel River at Ferndale and Scotia and other areas, according to the Times-Standard article. Warnings were also issued on all of the region’s small rivers and streams.
In Klamath, three travel trailers were swept out of the Cherere Bridge Campground and down the river because of flooding. Also, the tribal office at the Resighini Rancheria was submerged to its windows and the new Golden Bear Casino had started to float away, the Jan. 2, 2017 Times-Standard said, as the Klamath River overflowed.
During that holiday storm, the National Guard helped evacuate several residents in the Panther Gap area, and rescues were also reported in Shively, Pepperwood and Bridgeville.
The heavy rains and flooding rivers also caused unusually high levels of cloudiness in drinking water supplies for several communities, including McKinleyville, Manila, Blue Lake and Arcata and prompted the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District to issue a preliminary boil water notice, the newspaper article said. Also, McKinleyville and Trinidad residents lost telephone service for a day and thousands were without power because of the storm.
Humboldt County officials declared a state of emergency in early January 1997 in hopes of getting state and federal aid, with preliminary damage estimates reported at $450,000 by Eureka city officials. Residents were encouraged to call in damage estimates to the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services.
“We need to know what’s been hurt form the series of storms,” Lindsey McWilliams, public information officer at the time for the local Office of Emergency Services, said in the Jan. 2, 1997 Times-Standard. McWilliams noted that while the storms had abated, the aftermath was expected to remain hectic.
“Around here, it’s full-tilt boogie,” he said. “We need damage assessments.”
December 1996 was one of the wettest months on record for the North Coast, according to another article in the Jan. 2, 1997 Times-Standard. Weather officials totaled 21.26 inches of rain in Eureka, beating a nearly 100-year record of 19.49 inches dating from February 1902.