The pile of rubble sitting on the corner of 10th and H streets in Arcata probably won’t be going anywhere tomorrow.

The Jan. 2 fire that destroyed seven local businesses and displaced about as many people reduced half a city block to a steaming pile of brick and timber. None of it has been cleaned up yet. Arcata’s city manager, Merritt Perry, told the Outpost during a phone call today that the property owner, their insurers, and the city are working together to clean the site up as quickly as possible. Though cleanup is the owner’s responsibility, he said Arcata would do “whatever we can” to support them, such as accelerating permit approvals and following up with outside entities. 

Perry said the city will meet soon with the owner and their insurance agents to figure out a cleanup plan and timeline. The owner will need to assess the kinds of debris on-site and may need a certified hazardous materials contractor to haul it away.

The fire also likely damaged the environment; to what extent is unknown. Ash and the chemicals released by burning buildings is toxic enough on its own, but the fire also burned the paint section of Hensel’s Ace Hardware, and some of it was probably washed down storm drains and into Humboldt Bay when the firefighting crews were trying to put the fire out. The runoff could negatively impact the bay and other aquatic wildlife habitats. 

Arcata Director of Community Services Emily Sinkhorn told the Outpost that they were monitoring water quality at drains around the burned lot and had also installed devices that stop water from entering. Staff are also keeping an eye on creeks downstream for fire debris. 

A city spokesperson said that they were partnering with outside agencies like California’s water quality and toxic substances boards, California’s Environmental Protection Agency and the North Coast Unified Air Management Quality District.

Because neither Arcata nor Humboldt County has the resources to accurately measure and mitigate the effects, the sheriff’s office declared a local state of emergency yesterday, allowing them to request funding from the state of California. How much they’ll need is unknown.

The spokesperson said there would be a special city council meeting at 8 a.m. this Friday on Zoom with more details about the fire and cleanup. The agenda isn’t public yet. 

“The thing I would like to emphasize is that we’re not just ignoring it,” Perry said. “We’re taking a very active approach, and that’s why we did the emergency declaration — to bring the resources in that we need to assess and mitigate any contamination.”

• Multiple Humboldt County Schools Placed on Lockdown Due to Threats
• LOCKDOWNS UPDATE: Out-of-State Man Identified as Suspect Believed to Have Made Threatening Calls to Multiple Humboldt Schools and Businesses
• Extradition Arrest Warrant Issued for Out-of-State Asshole Who Keeps Threatening Local Schools
• 31-Year-Old Oklahoma Resident Arrested on Multiple Felony Counts for Making ‘Terrorist Threats’ to Local Schools
• Officers Recount Threatening Phone Calls to Schools During Preliminary Hearing in Trial of Daryl Jones
• We’ll Have to Wait Until October to Finish the Prelim Hearing for Man Charged With Threatening Schools, Businesses

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WARNING: This story includes descriptions of testimony that readers will almost certainly find disturbing.

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In the long-delayed resumption of a preliminary hearing for Daryl Ray Jones, officers from both the Arcata and Fortuna police departments took the stand this week to recount a series of threatening phone calls made to local businesses and schools last winter.

Jones during an August court appearance. | Photo by John Chiv.

Jones, who faces multiple felony counts of making terroristic threats, sat silently at the defense table throughout the days’ testimony, wearing a white dress shirt. Whenever he leaned forward, the shirt pulled tight across his shoulders and the “3XL” printed on the back of his inmate jumpsuit was legible through the thin fabric. 

In their testimony, officers described numerous phone calls in which a male voice threatened to commit violent acts. In at least one case, the caller expressed a desire to rape, kill and mutilate children.

The threats, made from several different phone numbers in late February and March of 2025, prompted lockdowns at several local schools and preschools. Under questioning from Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees, the lead prosecutor in the case, officers said the calls sparked fear in business employees, school secretaries, administrators and others.

Jones is being represented by Meagan O’Connell with the county’s Conflict Counsel Office. In cross-examining the officers, she questioned whether they could be certain about specific details, often challenging their assertions that the people who answered these calls found the threats credible and were scared by them.

Fortuna Police Officer Bryce Sancho testified about threatening calls made to that city’s Starbucks and Trish’s Out of the Way Café. The caller made “nonstop calls threatening to kill everyone inside” the latter establishment, Sancho said. 

Fortuna Police Detective Thomas Macleod testified about responding to Rainbow Junction Children’s Center, a Fortuna preschool and daycare that was put on lockdown after receiving multiple calls from a man who threatened to shoot up the school. 

The most explicitly violent threats recounted in court thus far were made during a call to Jacoby Creek Elementary School on March 19. Arcata Police Officer Robert Duggan testified that a school secretary there answered the phone and spoke to a man who said he planned to “kill you and all of the children I can get my hands on.” 

The caller went on to say he wanted to “slit all of the children’s throats” and “really wants to rape all the little girls, cut their backs open and peel the skin off so he can see their ribs,” Duggan testified. The secretary was afraid that the caller could be across the street, and after she told the school principal about the call, a shelter-in-place was ordered.

Death threats were also called in to Fuente Nueva Elementary School that same day, and the school was placed on lockdown, according to testimony from Arcata Police Sergeant Abraham Jansen. 

The next day, March 20, a secretary at Sunny Brae answered a call from a man who said, “I’m going to kill you and all the children in the school,” according to Duggan’s testimony. While most of the threatening calls had been made from cell phones with a 707 area code, this one came from the Oklahoma-based area code of 580, Duggan said. Jones has history in Humboldt County but was living in Oklahoma at the time of his arrest. 

Other officers testified to threats called in to yet more schools, including Arcata Elementary School, Pacific Union Middle School and Coastal Grove Charter School.

Arcata Police Officer Kasey Burke testified that on March 20, she responded to Arcata Elementary and found staff crouched behind a desk in the administration office with the lights off. The school’s secretary had answered a from a man who addressed her by her first name and said, “I’m going to kill you, arrogant bitch,” Burke said. 

When a call came in to Pacific Union the next day, Burke responded to the scene and managed to speak with the caller. By this point, the Arcata Police Department had identified Jones as a suspect, and so when a school secretary answered a call and promptly handed the phone over to Burke, the officer engaged the caller in conversation while addressing him as “Daryl.” 

“Did the person correct you [or] indicate that wasn’t their name?” Resse asked.

“No,” Burke replied. 

During the phone conversation with Burke, the caller said he wanted to rape children. Burke testified that he told the caller this wasn’t a wise decision, but the caller reiterated his desire to rape children. When Burke asked him why, the caller said it was “because he was sad,” the officer testified. Under cross-examination from O’Connell, Burke said the caller also admitted to being depressed. 

While school employees may have been scared by these calls, Burke said he wasn’t.

“I believe that Daryl, the person I was talking to, was doing this in a manner to get attention, and probably, likely, mental health stuff was going on with him,” Burke said.

While Burke was on the Pacific Union campus, employees and administrators recounted their own conversations with the subject. Principal Mathew Bigham reported that the caller had expressed his intent to rape children and said, “little boy or little girl, don’t matter.”

In a call to Coastal Grove, the caller again said he planned to shoot and rape children and told a secretary, “I’m gonna shoot you; I’ll be there in 30 seconds,” Burke testified. 

Officer testimony extended through the afternoon on Monday and resumed this morning, with other Arcata police officers relaying information about threatening calls made to the Best Western in Valley West, Humboldt Brews downtown and Arcata High School. These calls, made in late February, included more threats to harm and kill.

Jones was arrested on March 21 of last year. Legal proceedings against him were delayed after Judge Kelly Neel expressed doubt about Jones’s ability to understand the charges against him and participate in his own defense. Jones was subsequently examined by local clinical psychologist Dr. Mark Lamers, and the preliminary hearing began in August. 

The preliminary hearing is intended to lay the groundwork for a jury trial. But that hearing was itself delayed after just a day and a half of testimony when Rees admitted that he had failed to turn over some important court documents to the defense counsel, O’Connell. He cited a filing mistake. 

The preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue tomorrow.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office is providing an update to the public regarding the unidentified human remains that were recovered from the Eel River on Jun. 25, 2025, near the Williams Grove Day Use area in Myers Flat.

The remains were submitted to the Chico State Human Identification Laboratory for examination and analysis. A simplified summary of the findings is outlined below.

The remains were determined to be of a male, believed to middle aged or older, with an estimated height of 5-foot 5-inches to 5-foot 11-inches tall. The examination revealed very poor oral health, with evidence of at least 19 teeth were lost prior to death. The remaining teeth showed signs of dental restorations, indicating the individual received dental care at some point in their life.

Degenerative changes were observed in the skeletal remains, suggesting the individual may have experienced chronic pain of difficulty with mobility.  One possible explanation for these changes could be rheumatoid arthritis, though this cannot be confirmed.  No major trauma was identified on the recovered remains; however, this does not exclude the possibility of soft tissue injuries that would not be detectable through skeletal analysis.

At this time, the cause and manner of death remain undetermined. The Individual has not yet been positively identified.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate this case and is seeking assistance from the public.  Anyone with information regarding a missing person who may match this description, or who has information that may assist in this investigation, is encouraged to contact the Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539 and reference case number 202502721.

Additional updates will be released as information becomes available.

Press release from the Eureka Police Department:

On January 6, 2026, at approximately 9:53 a.m., the Eureka Police Department (EPD), Humboldt Bay Fire (HBF), and City Ambulance responded to a report of a vehicle-versus-pedestrian collision in the 3000 block of F Street.

The pedestrian, a 78-year-old female, sustained major injuries and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Per standard protocol, personnel from EPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit and Major/Fatal Injury Team responded to the scene to conduct the investigation. The following are the preliminary facts known at this time:

• The pedestrian was walking westbound on the north sidewalk of Harris Street and entered the crosswalk to cross F Street.
• A truck was traveling eastbound on Harris Street and turned northbound on F Street as the traffic signal turned green.
• The truck collided with the pedestrian at a low speed.
• Alcohol or drug impairment does not appear to be a factor in this collision.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information that may assist investigators is asked to contact EPD’s Criminal Investigations Unit at 707-441-4300.

Press release from the Arcata Chamber of Commerce:

Following the devastating fire that destroyed seven downtown Arcata businesses and displaced workers, a broad coalition of local organizations is mobilizing to support recovery, stabilization, and long-term rebuilding efforts. The Arcata Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with Humboldt Made, the City of Arcata, the Humboldt Lodging Alliance, Pay It Forward Humboldt, the North Coast Small Business Development Center (SBDC), and other regional partners, is working together to provide coordinated resources, clear communication, and community-driven solutions

The fire resulted in the loss of storefronts, inventory, equipment, and livelihoods for seven locally owned businesses. While the impact is significant, community leaders are moving quickly to ensure that affected businesses and employees receive both immediate support and long-term recovery assistance.

The Arcata Chamber of Commerce will lead a Needs Assessment Survey for businesses and employees directly impacted by the fire. Expected to be distributed by the end of the week, the survey will gather critical information about immediate operational and financial needs, employee impacts and job displacement, interest in temporary or shared work and storefront solutions, and updated contact information to ensure ongoing communication and follow-up. The data collected will help inform coordinated support from nonprofits, funders, and public agencies.

To support transparency and make it easier for the community to help, the Arcata Chamber will host an interactive map and resource page on its website highlighting all fundraising events happening throughout the county in support of businesses affected by the fire. In addition, the Chamber will maintain a centralized list of vetted funding and donation sites, allowing community members and donors to confidently support legitimate relief efforts.

Partners are also actively exploring temporary and shared space solutions that could help displaced businesses resume operations more quickly. Options under consideration include shared or co-op storefronts and the reuse of vacant or underutilized commercial spaces within the region.

Community-wide fundraising and visibility efforts are also underway. A series of collaborative events are being planned for January 30 through February 1, including a multi-day, “Porch Fest”–style crawl across a growing list of participating venues such as Humbrews, Richards’ Goat Tavern and Tea Room and Arcata Playhouse, breakfast events, live music and retail shop hosted fundraisers throughout the weekend, art open houses, and a community vigil and “Hero Parade” honoring impacted businesses, workers, and first responders. Local businesses interested in hosting fundraising activities will be encouraged to coordinate with the Arcata Chamber to ensure shared visibility and alignment.

“Our priority is listening first and responding with intention,” said Meredith Maier, Executive Director of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce. “The Needs Assessment Survey will help us understand exactly what our businesses and employees need, and the interactive map will make it easy for the community to show up in meaningful, coordinated ways.”

“These businesses are not just storefronts — they are the heart of our local economy and culture,” said Rosa Dixon, Executive Director of Humboldt Made. “Humboldt Made is committed to standing alongside our makers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses as they navigate recovery and rebuild stronger than before.”

“Tourism, lodging, and small business are deeply interconnected,” said Meredith Mathews, Executive Director of the Humboldt Lodging Alliance. “Supporting these businesses is essential to the long-term vitality of our region, and we are proud to be part of a collaborative effort that keeps our local economy and community fabric intact.”

“After disasters like this, clear guidance and practical support can make all the difference,” said Wil Franklin, Executive Director with the North Coast Small Business Development Center. “We are here to help business owners evaluate their options, stabilize financially, and make informed decisions about recovery, relocation, and continuity.”

This coordinated response reflects the strength of the region’s partnerships, bringing together economic development organizations, nonprofit leaders, municipal agencies, and business advocates with a shared commitment to supporting Arcata’s small businesses during this devastating time.

Community members are encouraged to remain engaged, support local businesses where possible, and stay informed through the Arcata Chamber’s website and partner channels. Additional details, including the Needs Assessment Survey, interactive map, and fundraising event calendar, will be released in the coming days.

Press release from the Humboldt-Del Norte League:

Humboldt-Del Norte League Letter to the Community — Concerns Regarding Spectator Behavior:

There has been a very disturbing trend at our local Humboldt-Del Norte League high school athletic events; the inappropriate behavior of adult spectators.

The four most egregious incidents:

INCIDENT ONE:

After reports from game officials and verification through an investigation by School Administration, it was found the SPECTATOR “… verbally assaulted, physically intimated and threatened the official during the contest.”

The North Coast Section, CIF, one of the governing bodies for local high school athletics, determined the SPECTATOR would be permanently banned from attending any CIF Interscholastic competition (i.e a Statewide ban for life).

INCIDENT TWO:

After reports from game officials and verification through an investigation by School Administration, it was found the SPECTATOR “…was ejected from the contest by school officials, was escorted to her car in the parking lot and remained in the parking lot and verbally harassed the officiating crew on their way to the locker room following the contest.”

The North Coast Section, CIF, suspended the SPECTATOR from attending any contests through the winter season (approximately 3 months).

INCIDENT THREE:

After reports from game officials and verification by School Administration, it was found the SPECTATOR “…proceeded to say vulgar things directed towards the referees” and “yelled political slurs and cursed at the on-site administrators”.

The “home” School determined their SPECTATOR would be suspended from attending any high school basketball contests for the remainder of the season (approximately 3 months).

INCIDENT FOUR:

A SPECTATOR was ejected by School Administration after refusing to stop yelling at the players on the court. The SPECTATOR then became “…argumentative, belligerent, accusatory and refused to leave the gym”.

The North Coast Section, CIF suspended the SPECTATOR for three contests.

As a response to this situation, the Humboldt-Del Norte League felt compelled to approve a Bylaw banning any ejected SPECTATOR refusing to leave the site of the contest for one year.

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Attending is a Privilege: Courts have consistently ruled that attendance at interscholastic athletics does not constitute a fundamental property or civil right. Athletic events are considered voluntary, extracurricular activities.

Authority to Regulate: As a privilege, individual schools and athletic associations (Leagues, Sections and States) have the authority to establish and enforce eligibility and conduct requirements.

Safety and Conduct: Spectators may be barred from attending due to identified inappropriate behavior, drugs/alcohol use, failure to follow spectator rules etc.

To maintain this privilege to attend, Spectators are expected to:

• Applaud good plays by both your team and the opposition

• Show respect for opponents, coaches, and officials.

• Avoid racial, sexist, or derogatory comments.

• Keep away from the playing area and team benches.

• Report concerns through proper channels, not via abusive social media posts.

The Humboldt Del-Norte League also recognizes that most of the unacceptable behaviors are directed at the Officials.

And the League wants to stress:

Officials come to our schools and game sites, providing a service which gives our student-athletes an opportunity to participate in educational athletics.

They deserve our respect, appreciation and gratitude; not abuse, insults and threats.

The League is also supported by a Student Athletic Advisory Council. This group has been a strong advocate and promoter for positive sportsmanship at our local high school contests.

In a recently released Sportsmanship Video, their message contained the following:

“Officials are a part of the game, just like athletes and coaches … They make mistakes just like we do … Without Officials there are no games … Whether you like the calls or not, RESPECT them.”

The traditional community support, as spectators, for local athletic events is an extremely valued aspect of our students’ high school experience.

And these recent acts of inappropriate behaviors MUST STOP.

They disrupt the event and tarnish the memories.

Your attention to this situation is appreciated.

Everyone is encouraged to view the Sportsmanship Video, not just for the message content but to also be exposed to the high quality product written and produced by student-athletes from every HDNL school.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,

Jack Lakin
Humboldt-Del Norte League Commissioner

The child in question has been found, according to the EPD. In accordance with the Outpost’s usual practices regarding missing children, the original post has been removed.