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The Arcata community continues to work to recover from and clean up the site of a Jan. 2 fire that razed half a city block. (Sage Alexander\/Times-Standard)<\/p>\nThe Jan. 2 five-alarm blaze in Arcata\u2019s downtown has officially earned a \u201cState of Emergency\u201d proclamation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s office late Friday.<\/p>\n
Newsom\u2019s proclamation notes \u201clocal authority is inadequate to cope with the magnitude of extreme peril posed by the fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arcata Mayor Kimberley White expressed surprise when reached Saturday by the Times-Standard.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thrilled that this has come to fruition, a little surprised, but excited, and anticipating this is going to be very helpful,\u201d White said. \u201cI just can\u2019t speak to specifics right now.\u201d White emphasized she had spoken with the assistant city manager, but said the declaration was new \u2014 as more information becomes available, the city council will keep the public informed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that Gavin Newsom included the damages caused by the Jan. 2 Arcata fire in his emergency declarations,\u201d White said. \u201cWe are grateful for the assistance this action may provide to affected businesses and those directly impacted by the fire. Since the city of Arcata and Humboldt County declared a local emergency in the aftermath of the fire, the city has been working closely with state and county Office of Emergency Services to support response and recovery efforts. We appreciate the support already provided, as well as any additional resources made available through the governor\u2019s action, as our community continues to recover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newsom\u2019s emergency declaration outlines the Jan. 2 disaster and how the its aftermath is going: \u201cThe Arcata Fire, comprised of three interconnected fires, damaged multiple commercial and residential buildings and resulted in the collapse of several large structures and damage to roads and sidewalks from heat exposure, debris, and suppression activities\u2026 the City of Arcata is addressing site stabilization, dust control, and possible asbestos concerns, and has implemented stormwater monitoring and assessments of potential contamination in creeks and waterways\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement notes how \u201cconditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property exist\u201d and that \u201cby reason of their magnitude, are or are likely to be beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of any single local government and require the combined forces of a mutual aid region or regions to appropriately respond.\u201d<\/p>\n
In ordering the state of emergency, the governor\u2019s office said, \u201cAll agencies of the state government utilize and employ state personnel, equipment, and facilities for the performance of any and all activities consistent with the direction of the Office of Emergency Services and the State Emergency Plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Arcata community continues to work to recover from and clean up the site of a Jan. 2 fire that razed half a city block. (Sage Alexander\/Times-Standard)<\/p>\n
Arcata City Councilmember Alex Stillman noted that cleanup is complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you think about it, there were three different property owners there, so there are three different insurance companies, the different tenants with insurance also,\u201d she said. \u201cSo it\u2019s quite a complicated thing when they started working it out. I think they\u2019re getting closer to being able to determine how they\u2019re going to proceed; it\u2019s definitely taking time. I think declaring of the emergency was a bonus for us, and made it good, I was there during the fire and found out it was going on. And my goodness, what an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
She lauded the city\u2019s quick response.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it was wonderful,\u201d she continued. \u201cOur City Manager Merritt Perry was able to call in two companies that were able to come in immediately with their excavators and start taking the buildings down, which helped contain the fire and put it out. I saw that everybody cooperated, and it was so interesting to see how many of the different fire departments came in and different rotations, covering each other in different areas of the county. The Red Cross came, and Cal Fire. It was really an effort from many different fire departments and individuals to make it stay within that half-block.\u201d<\/p>\n
As to what the declaration might mean to the city and its capacity for continued response, Stillman said, \u201cOne of the things the city looks at is from the view of expediting, moving the permitting forward in different areas. That\u2019s important, being able to prioritize. I would think by the end of May, that\u2019s a guess, we might see the lot cleared. One of the properties used to be a dry cleaners, on the northwest corner, in the process of doing cleanup as far as the Regional Water Quality Control Board was concerned. They have until November to finish it, a grant until then. Once the debris is removed, maybe cleanup can proceed more easily and get that property un-contaminated\u2026 that\u2019s my interpretation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stillman noted that with all the water pumped on the fire, the city wanted to be sure it had an emergency declared because they didn\u2019t know how much contamination of the drainage system would occur in the city and in Humboldt Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause of it,\u201d she said, \u201cand having this, I think it will help us with any contamination issues that came about with the board and other agencies\u2026 I would think that\u2019s over now because that should\u2019ve been monitored and taken care of and put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stillman is looking at the long-term.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what the future is for that property,\u201d Stillman added. \u201cIt all depends on how people are insured. Two of the property owners might not rebuild but sell, and it\u2019ll be interesting to see in the next 10 years what happens there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ken McCanless can be reached at 707-441-0526.<\/p>\n
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