After an earthquake, cities respond with resilience and tenacity

Rio Del, California –

Sweeping through their homes with flashlights in the dark, residents of rural communities in the Eel River Valley couldn’t help but feel the damage Tuesday’s earthquake had done to their lives five days before Christmas.

Homes were littered with shards of glass. Broken framed photos on the floor. Mugs and keepsakes clipped alongside. Bookshelves and kitchen cabinets are empty.

With that, the devastation became evident with the first light. Front porches collapsed. A building caught fire. Sweetheart, multi-arched Fernbridge, a Humboldt County landmark in 1911 and a veteran of past earthquakes and floods — its curved parapets, evidence of violent shaking, was closed by the California Department of Transportation.

More than 70,000 residents were cut off from electricity at one time. Estimates put the number of families who lost their homes or were waiting to know their fate at 150 families. The local water system was destroyed. “Lots of leaks,” said Debra Garnes, the mayor of Rio Del, a small town on the banks of the El River.

The Humboldt County Sheriff reported two deaths and 11 injured.

Striking at 2:34 a.m., the 6.4-magnitude quake was once again a reminder of the forces that have shaped California for thousands of years—and the price that comes with living on the edge of a continent.

By late afternoon, a feeling of resignation settled over the towns that surrounded the redwoods on this narrow floodplain, a few miles from the ocean.

An earthquake-damaged house can be seen in Rio del.

(Godofredo A. Vasquez/The Associated Press)

Deborah Dobrenner, who lives with her daughter and son-in-law at Fosters Mobile Home Park, has taken refuge in the fire station. The quake was so strong, she said, it snapped the straps securing their house to the ground and moved it an estimated three feet.

“We’re not even thinking long-term right now,” she said, unsure of where she and her family would sleep that night. “We just hope like hell that we can still live there.”

The Rio del Fire Department said nearly a dozen families were seeking temporary shelter.

As the aftershocks kept everyone on edge, the residents began cleaning up with a mixture of resilience and perseverance. Many Humboldt County residents drove to Eureka to pick up supplies from Costco, which was powered by a generator and had been open since 3:30 in the morning.

The malls along Highway 101 were dark. The Old Navy, Bed, Bath & Beyond, and Chipotle parking lots, usually packed with holiday customers, were empty.

No stranger to hardships in an economy beset mostly by the dairy and timber industries, residents have grown accustomed to relying on one another, even if only through tears and laughter at times.

Debbie Chisum, owner of Double D Steak and Seafood in nearby Fortuna, supervised staff and volunteers as they dismantled broken wine and spirits bottles, joking about how bad the place smelled at a New Year’s Eve party. Weeks of preparation for the holidays lay in ruins, like a Christmas tree leaning on the floor.

Having lived through earthquakes before, Kizume is accustomed to their strength. “It’s so noisy,” she said, “and all your stuff is flying out of the cupboards and hitting the floor.” “Your house looks like it’s going to fall down.”

She said, but this was different.

“Honestly, I was in tears,” she added, describing her reaction in the immediate aftermath of the quake.

In the town called the Friendly Town by the residents, the broken windows were soon covered by planks, and the business owners were busy cleaning the glass.

When Haute Hoarder owner Heather Herrick inspects the condition of her old store on Main Street, she is moved to see that the store’s broken windows have already been boarded up.

She said she was a good Samaritan.

In Rio Del, bottled water was distributed at the local fire department. The librarian was reorganizing hundreds of books falling from piles, scattered on the floor. A small hotel in Scotia opened its doors to the displaced, and neighbors comforted each other on yellow caution tape.

Retired firefighter Jose Beltrán, now a member of the volunteer fire department, distributed bananas and pretzels while solving problems for locals who needed a hotel room or charging stations for medical equipment, such as dialysis machines.

“I knew we were going to be in need,” he said.

He said his home looked as if someone had picked it up and thrown it back in, leaving the interior looking like a messy “yard sale.” Soon after the initial shock, he checked his neighbors and made sure there were no gas leaks.

However, his main concern was his wheelchair-bound cerebral palsy son. “I couldn’t get into his room right away,” said Beltran.

Teresa Adams recalled watching the walls of her home shake and thinking it wouldn’t stop. “It was terrible,” she said, describing how she then lit some candles once she found a flashlight.

Then she went to check on her 80-year-old neighbour, who uses a wheelchair. He was fine.

As night fell, Rio del was quiet, cloaked in deeper darkness than usual. Temperatures are starting to drop into the low 50s.

Still worried about the fate of her mobile home, Dobrynir and her family find a hotel room. When I heard that she had a place to spend the night, I started crying. Her daughter’s boss was going to pay for it.

“We won’t be able to do it on our own now,” she said.

Mays and Rust reported from Humboldt County, and Curwen from Los Angeles.

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