Fire broke out before dawn in an Arcata residential neighborhood Monday, and firemen responded to discover the burning home was really a medical marijuana dispensary with a growing operation. And, they believe it was intentionally set ablaze. Arcata Fire District Battalion Chief Sean Campbell said a call came into the department at about 5:15 a.m. […]
Fire
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Top 10 Stories of 2013
Summing up the tumult and transformations of a year in Humboldt County with only 10 stories is impossible. Collected here are some — definitely not all — of the events that stayed with us. For more on these stories, go to northcoastjournal.com. The Fires The communities tucked along the rivers in our mountains know fire. […]
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Building on Faith
Every day but Sunday, pickup trucks congregate outside Fieldbrook’s Volunteer Fire Department. Workers hang from the firehouse roof, demolish walls, climb scaffolding and mix concrete. It’s like a barn raising — a testament to what can be accomplished when a community works together. The project has been a long time coming. Firefighter and contractor Gene Callahan […]
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Dead and Disconnected
William Cody Waldron’s birthday came and went two Mondays ago, on Sept. 23. If he is alive, he is now 71 years old and, quite likely, drunk. But chances are he is not alive. Chances are, he is mystery corpse “John Cooper-Gulch-Swamp Doe,” found burned beyond recognition on March 14 in a swampy homeless camp […]
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Video: Fire Claims Eureka Home
A Eureka house went up in flames this afternoon. Humboldt Bay Fire responded to the home — on the 2600 block of G Street — as area residents looked on.
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Cal Fire Crash
Cal Fire Engine 1267 overturned while navigating a steep curve just above Old Hindley Ranch road, near Honeydew this afternoon. Division Chief Charles Hanes said that at this time the cause of the accident was unknown, although brake failure seems likely. Three Cal Fire personnel were transported by ambulance to Redwood Memorial Hospital with minor […]
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Who You Gonna Call? CAL FIRE!
Cal Fire Captain Eric Ayers of Mattole Station doesn’t want another call like the one his crew responded to in July of this year. The victim crawled “quite a ways” along the river bar and then was transported an additional eight miles to the county road before emergency personnel were contacted. He had a severe neck injury […]
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Water Theft in Honeydew, Too
Claire Trower on Wilder Ridge reports that the Honeydew Volunteer Fire Department has been forced to remove the faucet handle of its pump after some less-than-ethical agricultural entrepreneurs stole several barrels of water from the VFD’s reserves. Boo. It’s only the latest of several recent SoHum water thefts.
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Un-occupy the Courthouse
Crews from Humboldt Bay Fire evacuated the courthouse this morning when an elevator motor apparently started spewing smoke into the building. A few Sheriff’s Office deputies waiting outside said they smelled strong smoke on the first floor of the courthouse before the building was emptied. Firefighters found the source of the smoke and were preparing […]
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Anatomy of a Fire Fight
They were celebrating down in Hoopa when the storm rolled in on a warm, smoky Saturday. It was Aug. 10, in the middle of the annual Sovereign Day celebrations, when the tribe celebrates its independence with a parade, games, a rodeo. It had been a bad air quality day; smoke from the Butler Fire up […]
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Smoke Hazards Stay Mostly Inland
The lingering smoke that’s been creating some spectacular blood-orange sunsets isn’t posing health issues along the coast, but it has sometimes reached hazardous levels inland, where fires rage. The North Coast Unified Air Quality Management District has set up temporary air monitoring stations in Orleans, Somes Bar, Sawyers Bar, Willow Creek and Hoopa, and they’re […]