Officials have closed down a Eureka motel where two people were found dead in the same room days apart in late February after elevated levels of carbon monoxide were detected inside the location.
According to the Eureka Police Department, officers and Humboldt Bay Fire personnel responded to the motel in the 4000 block of Broadway around 2 p.m. Feb. 21 and around noon Feb. 26, in both cases on a report of two unconscious individuals, possibly due to a drug overdose.
In the first incident, a 37-year-old woman was found dead and another person was taken to the hospital, the release says, and in the second, a 36-year-old woman was discovered dead and another person was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
“During the second incident, after the patient was transported, HBF personnel on scene displayed signs of mild carbon monoxide exposure,” the EPD release says. “HBF conducted atmospheric monitoring inside the room using a gas monitor, which registered elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the room. No carbon monoxide detectors were located in the room.”
According to the department, Humboldt Bay Fire’s battalion chief and the deputy chief/fire marshal, EPD detectives and evidence techs and PG&E personnel then responded to the scene and “occupants were evacuated from the motel while it was ventilated.”
“The property owner was contacted and, at that time, city of Eureka’s Code Enforcement and the chief building official were requested to the scene,” the release says. “The chief building official, HBF fire chief and the fire marshal determined the motel should not be occupied until mechanical inspections of each room were completed and additional fire code violations are remedied.
“The city of Eureka building official served the business owner with a First and Final Notice requiring the location to be closed until identified violations are remedied and inspected,” the release continues. “It should be noted, in accordance with the California Fire Code, HBF conducted the annual fire inspection of the motel in July of 2025, violations were notated, however, upon additional inspection a week later, the violations were corrected.”
The cause of death for the two individuals who died is “listed as pending investigation” by the Humboldt County Coroner’s Office, according to EPD, and their names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
“This is an ongoing active multi-agency investigation,” the release says.
Anyone with information is asked to contact EPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit at (707) 441-4300.