Community rallies around those devastated by wind-whipped fire
Found amid the ashes of the Jan. 2 Arcata fire was a sign of hope and resilience — the damaged but still intact stuffed “Mama Bear” that once stood sentry with her cub on the top shelf of Hensel’s candy store.
While the building also housing the kitchen and paint sections may be no more, the main store was saved and reopened Monday. There, according to a social media post, the big bear will be put back on view very soon.
“We are having a custom shadow box made to preserve her appearance and ensure she can be safely displayed,” Hensel’s said. “She is a powerful symbol of the fire and spirit of our team and our community.”
Even as the crumpled remains of the 800 block at 10th and H streets continue to serve as a stark reminder of what was lost just a few days ago, the community was already working on ways to help those impacted within hours of the fire.
Among the locations destroyed were Dandar’s Boardgames and Books, Northtown Books, Global Village Gallery, Vanilla Sky Co., Tenth Street Studios — housing the works of four local artists — as well as the Hensel’s Ace shops.
An untold number of people also lost all they owned in the block’s upstairs apartments where they lived and worked. The Red Cross is assisting those who were displaced, according to officials.
Meanwhile, a number of fundraising efforts are underway and the all-volunteer Pay It Forward Humboldt is among those keeping a running list at facebook.com/payitforwardhumboldt. With a focus on disaster preparedness, response and recovery, the nonprofit is also encouraging residents to donate to their local volunteer fire departments.
“Without the mutual aid of these volunteers and other brave agencies, things could have gotten even worse for downtown Arcata and the folks who live, work, shop and play there,” Pay It Forward Humboldt said in a social media post. “Thank you to all emergency responders!”
On Tuesday, the Arcata Chamber of Commerce announced it would be working with the city, Pay It Forward Humboldt, the North Coast Small Business Development Center and other partners “to support recovery, stabilization and long-term rebuilding efforts.”
That includes helping find places for the impacted businesses to operate temporarily, conducting a Needs Assessment Survey for the businesses and employees “directly impacted by the fire,” and hosting a one-stop page on its website with fundraising events and “a centralized list of vetted funding and donation sites” that is expected to be up in the coming days.
As the Journal was going to press on Tuesday afternoon, the cause of the fire remained under investigation and early damage estimates stood at $18 million. But, in a glimmer of good news, no injuries were reported in the Friday blaze that spread rapidly amid strong winds after being spotted by an Arcata Fire District crew returning from a call at around 2:30 p.m.
Flames were able to move through the “concealed spaces within the interconnected structures,” according to an update from the district, and a damaged gas manifold left firefighters unable to shut down the supply to the buildings on fire. Ultimately, PG&E crews had to excavate at 10th and H streets to reach and crimp the line.
Without the assistance of agencies from across the county — including Humboldt Bay Fire, Samoa Fire, Kneeland Fire, Westhaven Fire, Loleta Fire, Ferndale Fire, Fortuna Fire, Fieldbrook Fire, Blue Lake Fire, Rio Dell Fire, Arcata-Mad River Ambulance, CAL FIRE Trinidad, and CAL FIRE Weott — the devastation could have been much worse.
“Every ladder truck in Humboldt County was deployed to this incident,” the Arcata Fire District said in a release over the weekend. “Approximately 80 fire suppression personnel and an additional 20 support personnel were involved. Without the mutual aid support of our partner agencies, this fire could have spread across several city blocks and resulted in significant injuries and loss of life.”
The next day, Arcata City Manager Merritt Perry declared a local state of emergency due to the “environmental, physical, and economic impacts of this incident,” according to a release from the Arcata Police Department, which states the city is “actively working with county, state, federal and community partners to assess impacts, mitigate environmental contamination and support recovery and rehabilitation efforts.”
While the wind fueled the flames, the city said the ensuing rains and stormwater runoff were complicating “actual and potential environmental contamination” following the suppression effort, noting one of the affected businesses stored “significant quantities of painting and industrial materials” onsite.
“The city of Arcata has completed all required notifications to numerous local, regional, state, and federal environmental protection and regulatory agencies, including water quality, hazardous materials, wildlife protection, and emergency management partners, and will continue coordination as assessment and mitigation efforts progress,” the release said.
Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal also declared a local state of emergency — a prerequisite to request state or federal assistance — in the wake of what the announcement described as “catastrophic damage to private property, public property and infrastructure” despite a “heroic multi-agency fire suppression operation.”
As in the city announcement, the county release cited environmental as well as public health and safety concerns.
“Assessing, containing and mitigating the potential environmental impacts will require more resources than the county of Humboldt and the city of Arcata currently have available,” the county said in the declaration announcement. “The situation is significant enough that it requires additional response and recovery assistance from the state of California and its agencies.”
North Coast state Sen. Mike McGuire said in a statement to the Journal that his office was coordinating with local and state officials to provide needed assistance.
“This past week’s fire has been absolutely devastating for the Arcata community, but we’re working closely with local and state officials to make sure all possible resources are dispatched to Humboldt as quickly as possible to minimize any additional damage and expedite recovery,” he said. “The California Environmental Protection Agency is actively engaged on this local emergency to ensure Arcata is getting any assistance needed from the state. We will work with the city and county for as long as needed in response to this tragic incident.
“I’m grateful for the leadership of the Arcata City Council and their amazing staff, for every local firefighter who responded to this emergency, and to the county of Humboldt for their coordinated action — we’ll work together to make sure every need is met as we recover from this devastating fire.”
While there are still a lot of unknowns, there’s no doubt the road to recovery ahead will be a difficult one to travel. Several of the impacted businesses have posted on social media in recent days, sharing a theme of hope for the future and gratitude for the outpouring of support they’ve received from the community while facing the unknown.
Dante DiGenova of Northtown Books, which celebrated its 60th anniversary last year, said in a statement Monday that “we would love to rebuild Northtown Books” if it was “feasible,” but there are “many factors to consider.”
“We expect to know more about that possibility within the next month or so. We are deeply thankful for the many offers to help with a rebuild, and when the time comes, we will gratefully take you up on them,” DiGenova said, noting people can support the store at northtownbooks.com and asked that they “please rely only on updates posted directly by us.”
“While the building is gone, the heart of Northtown Books — its stories, its relationships, and its purpose — remains,” the statement said. “Thank you for standing with us as we take the first steps forward.”
Dandar’s Boardgames and Books posted a similar message, noting that a friend had set up a GoFundMe page and any help people have the means to provide was appreciated but with the caveat that if they have to choose who to support, to please choose those who lost their homes in the fire.
“We are still processing everything but we have every intention of coming back,” the Jan. 3 post states. “This community means a lot to us and the outpouring of support we have seen in the last day is overwhelming.”
Hensel’s also acknowledged all the help and support the business has been receiving while saying that they would not be doing a fundraising effort.
“Instead, we ask our community to shop local and support all of our local Ace stores, all Humboldt businesses and the local businesses who showed up for us with supplies, equipment, advice, and encouragement when we needed it,” the post states. “We still have a long way to go and they will be there every step of the way! It takes a village!”
Kimberly Wear is the Journal’s assistant editor. Reach her at (707) 442-1400, extension 106, or kim@northcoastjournal.com.
This article appears in Free Food!.
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