On Saturday, March 4, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal got an atypical call. It was from Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, who’d been fielding frantic calls from cattle ranchers in her district who had been blocked off from tending their herds by roads covered in heavy snow and downed trees, leaving their cows unfed and […]
CalFIRE
Posted inNews
Officials Warn of ‘Long Battle’ As Reinforcements Arrive to Fight Six Rivers Lightning Complex
About 100 residents from the Willow Creek area crammed into a small church on State Route 96 on Monday, where billows of smoke could be seen from a large, pane glass window spiraling into the sky across the Trinity River from the Bremer Fire as it continued to encroach on Willow Creek’s eastern edge. They […]
Posted inNews
NCJ Preview: Firefighter PTSD, Auditor-Controller Deal, Boozy Summer Pie
The wildfires aren’t just devastating our landscapes, they’re taking a massive toll on the people who fight them. This week we’re talking about the rising PTSD crisis among Cal Fire firefighters and what’s being done to combat it. And the county has struck a deal to shorten Auditor-Controller Karen Paz Dominguez’ lame duck time. We’ll […]
Posted inNews
UPDATED: Fatal Trinidad Fire Under Investigation
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Division is investigating a Dec. 23 fatal fire that killed a woman who was in a trailer parked behind a residence on Teh-Pah Lane on the Trinidad Rancheria. Fire personnel responded to the scene around 9:14 p.m. to find the trailer engulfed in flames and the woman was […]
Posted inNews
UPDATE: Multiple Fatalities Suspected in Small Plane Crash Near Dinsmore
UPDATE The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office reports that multiple people are believed to have died in the small plane crash near Dinsmore shortly before noon today and no survivors have been located. “A deputy coroner is responding to conduct a death investigation,” the agency posted on Twitter. “Multiple fatalities are believed to have occurred, however, […]
Posted inNews
Fatal Shooting Suspect Turns Self In
A Trinidad man wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of a man who was dropped off at a CalFire station near Orick late last month was arrested today after turning himself in to authorities, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. Shaun Patrick McMahon, 49, went to the main sheriff’s office in Eureka around […]
Posted inNews
UPDATE: Fires in Bald Hills Area Contained but Large Amounts of Forest Fuel Still Burning
UPDATE: Two fires burning in the Bald Hills area have been contained, according to CalFire, with “significant work ahead to extinguish burning of large amounts of forest fuel material.” One of the Lyons Fires is about 4 acres and the other is approximately 1 acre. PREVIOUS: Two small vegetation fires are burning in the Bald […]
Posted inNews
Large Tree Fire Closes Wilder Ridge Road (with Video)
A large tree flared into a tower of flame last night on Wilder Ridge Road about two miles north of Ettersburg last night for reasons not yet determined. According to Humboldt County Public Works, the road was closed at 2:30 this morning. Peter Lawsky, Chief of Telegraph Ridge Fire who provided the video, said, “About […]
Posted inNews
UPDATE: Vegetation Fire Northwest of Pecwan
A vegetation fire is burning off the north end of Highway 169 and threatening multiple structures near the community of Johnson northwest of Pecwan, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Paul Savona. The call came in about 4:07 p.m., he said. “Aircraft are currently at the scene of a 1/4 to 1/2 acre fire,” he […]
Posted inNews
Fire Updates: August Complex’s Northwest Zone Nears Full Containment
Crews continue to report good news on the fire front, even as blazes continue to encircle Humboldt County. Here’s a quick update on the three fires that have been burning to Humboldt’s east, north and south, as well as the one that sparked yesterday near Carlotta. The Redwood Fire, 102 acres, 80 percent contained CalFire’s […]
Posted inNews
Woman’s Remains Found at Garberville Brush Fire
The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has launched a homicide investigation after the burned remains of a woman were found Oct. 9 near Garberville on a South Fork Eel River bar. According to a news release, CalFire personnel responding to a brush fire discovered the remains after putting it out. “The remains were collected and an […]
Posted inNews
SR 36 Threatened by August Complex as West Zone Sees Progress
The August Complex grew about 10,000 acres yesterday to 859,966 acres with about 39 percent containment, while the West Zone, which is nearest to Humboldt County, is nearly 104,000 acres with 45 percent containment. The CalFire unified team will host a virtual update on the current situation at 7 p.m. today on Facebook and will […]