PREVIOUSLY:

• Eureka City Council Approves Demolition of Broadway Dolos After Emotional Debate, and Also Discusses Waterfront Development Strategies
• Community Members Rally to Save Broadway Dolos That’s Currently Slated for Demolition

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You will recognize, in the picture above, the locus of the most hot-button issue in Eureka these days: Whether and how to save the giant concrete dolos that sits in the former Chamber of Commerce lot on Broadway, right next to Harbor Lanes.

That dolos gotta go to make way for a new hotel.

But do you remember what this scene looked like last week? It looked like this:

Trees, it turns out, are easier to remove than a dolos. And no one pitches a fuss.

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Two people were found dead inside a burned-out vehicle in the McKinney Fire zone in Siskiyou County over the weekend, officials said, marking the first fatalities in the state’s largest wildfire of the season. 

The vehicle was found in a driveway along Doggett Creek Road, just off Highway 96, near the town of Klamath River on Sunday morning, according to a news release from the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. The identities of the two individuals are being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.

The McKinney Fire, burning on either side of Highway 96 approximately 20 miles west of Interstate-5, has grown to 55,493 acres and is 0 percent contained.

“Much of the McKinney Fire saw rainfall overnight, keeping fire growth minimal,” the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) stated this morning. “The fire continues to actively back toward structures in the Walker Creek area, and night crews were on hand to do structure protection there. The southern and eastern edges of the fire, closest to Fort Jones and Yreka, showed very little growth.”

However, vegetation remains extremely dry throughout the area and the continued threat of thunderstorms and strong winds could increase fire behavior.

The McKinney Fire | Inciweb

“There have been numerous lightning strikes in the area in the last 48 hours, and at least 12 holdover fires have been detected on the Klamath National Forest, in addition to the ones listed above,” the USFS stated. “They range in size from less than 1/10th acre to several acres. All are being fully suppressed.”

The China 2 Fire, burning west of Seiad Valley and south of Highway 96, has consumed 1,989 acres and is 0 percent contained. 

Highway 96 remains closed from Hamburg east to Interstate-5 with no estimated time of reopening. Interstate-5 is open.

Roughly 4,912 structures are threatened by the two fires. The amount of buildings destroyed by the fire remains unknown.

Evacuation orders and warnings remain in effect for numerous Siskiyou communities as firefighters work to slow the fire’s progression toward Beaver Creek and smaller communities between Horse Creek and Scott Bar. The latest evacuation updates can be found on the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office and Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services Facebook pages. A map of the evacuated zones is viewable on the website Zonehaven. 

A shelter for fire evacuees is set up at the Weed Community Center at 161 E. Lincoln Ave. in Weed. The Church of Latter Day Saints has also set up a shelter at the LDS church at 111 Clay Street in Ashland, Oregon.

The McKinney Fire ignited on Friday afternoon. While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, fire officials say “it is clear [the] fire was not caused by lightning.”

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect for Siskiyou County and areas of Southern Oregon.

Fire officials will hold a community meeting at 5 p.m. at the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds Livestock Arena. The meeting will be streaming live on Facebook and Youtube.

PREVIOUSLY:

• (UPDATE) Siskiyou Fire Explodes to Over 40,000 Acres Overnight; Highway 96 is Closed
• McKinney Fire That Shut Down Highway 96 in Siskiyou County Grows to 51,468 Acres; Thunderstorms Remain Possible in Trinity County

As a nurse specializing in infection prevention and control, I’ve seen the real world impacts of masking, distancing, testing, vaccination and ventilation for reducing the impacts of COVID-19 here on the North Coast.

I am also pretty much over it. Done. While I love the challenge of “keeping up with the times,” I don’t want to hear about it, I don’t want to think about it, and despite the fact that my job is to track and manage the pandemic for our organization and communities, I’m ready to think about something. Anything else.

Infection prevention and control nurses — we’re just like you!

COVID-19 fatigue is real, and it’s OK if you’ve slipped on your harm reduction strategies. That said, I want to tell you about what’s currently going on with COVID-19 infections, and remind you of ways to protect yourself and your community.

COVID-19 cases are spiking nationwide, with more reported and estimated cases nationwide than a year ago. 120,000 people a day are still testing positive, and that’s probably a small fraction of the true number.

The newer BA.5 subvariant of COVID-19 is hyper-contagious, and more immune evasive than previous strains. This means that whether you’ve previously had COVID-19 or been vaccinated, your risk of reinfection has increased. Coupled with the increased infectiousness, things are likely to get worse because of our (understandable) unwillingness to keep our guard up. This is compounded by the newest research indicating that repeat infections can cause serious long-term health problems, even if the COVID-19 infections were mild.

So, what can you do to stay safe and protect others? Follow these steps as much as you can. You can also sigh heavily, mutter angrily, and wish we could focus on something more pleasant — I know I do.

Wear a proper mask, properly.

What’s a proper mask? A KN94 or KN95 mask, without a valve, is strong protection for you and others. Masking is still one of the simplest and most effective ways to limit the spread of COVID-19, and the better the mask, the more important it is to wear and handle it correctly to get the full effect. For information on free masks, and types of masks and how to use them, visit this link.

Take a COVID-19 test.

There’s no shame in getting COVID-19.

We need to recognize that even if we have done all we have been asked to do, we still may get COVID-19. The shame and guilt associated with contracting the virus and possibly spreading it to others, or worse, can lead to people not seeking medical attention, getting tested, reporting it to a health provider, and even sharing with those who may have been exposed. We need to remove the stigma associated with contracting this super-contagious virus and continue to work hard at protecting ourselves and others.

If you have an upcoming event with others, are feeling ill, or are exposed to someone with COVID-19, consider taking a COVID-19 test. Testing is free and available in numerous locations around the county, along with free at-home test being available for everyone at this link.

We at United Indian Health Services would be glad to help you get tested, patient or not — just call us at (707) 825-5073.

Vaccination

Oh dear. Let me just provide you with the newest information that might be of interest, regardless of how you feel about this topic.

If you have not yet been vaccinated, you may be happy to hear about the approval of Novavax. Novavax is a protein-based (non-mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine that is made in the more “traditional” and familiar way of making vaccines using older technology, similar to tetanus and Hepatitis B vaccines

This vaccine is now an additional option for those who are not yet vaccinated. Check with your provider if this may be an option for you or your loved ones.

For those who have been vaccinated already, boosters are available and encouraged, as both vaccine-induced and natural immunity wane over time, usually a few months. Only 66% of the US population are fully vaccinated, and only 31% have received a booster dose. Only one in four have received a second booster. This low vaccination rate increases the likelihood of reinfection, as well as more variants.

For kids, COVID-19 vaccines are now approved and available for ages six months and up. Kids can still get very sick with COVID-19. Kids are much better off getting vaccinated. Vaccines are safe and effective in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death.

Ventilation

With COVID-19, masks are better than no masks, and outdoors is safer than indoors. Why? Because you get to breathe cleaner air. Obviously sometimes we have to be indoors with others, and layers of protection are the key to preventing infection.

To make your indoor air significantly safer, consider building a Corsi-Rosenthal box. With a few filters, a box fan, and some duct tape, you can build an incredibly effective air filter for under $100. This simple tool can make indoor spaces much safer for viruses, and they are so easy to build you can follow the instructions from a fourth-grader: 

With the BA.5 variant causing a new wave of infections among the vaccinated and previously infected alike, it’s time to rededicate ourselves to masking up, testing, and vaccination.

It’s OK if you want to sigh loudly and grumble a little too.

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Michelle Lewis-Lusso (she/her) is an Infection Prevention & Control Nurse (RN) with 33 years serving the indigenous communities of the north coast. She resides in Blue Lake with her family and wants you to stay healthy, even if you’re over it.

Annabelle June Snell was suddenly taken from us on June 26, 2022.

Born August 26, 2020, “Sissybelle” was the youngest of four siblings. Snuggles and hugs were her specialty and those moments will be forever cherished. Annabelle’s mom has treasured memories of cooking in the kitchen and handing Annabelle one of her wooden spoons each time Annabelle wandered by and requested one. Annabelle’s wooden spoons with her teeth marks on them are a keepsake now. She loved to see her dad come home from work and would squeal with delight when she spotted him.

Annabelle was predeceased by her uncle Gary “Bub” Haga Jr, her great grandmother Marilyn Landergen, her grandpa Orliff Snell Sr, and her grandma Susan Snell.

Annabelle is survived by her father and mother Orliff and Nicole Snell, her sisters Dillynn and Flora Snell, her brother Orliff Snell III, her grandparents Gary and LaDonna Haga, great grandpa William “Cowboy” Landergen, aunt Melissa (Paul) Davis, and a large extended family.

Losing Annabelle has left us all devastated. We will love her and miss her forever. The outpouring of love and support from so many is deeply appreciated.

A memorial service to honor Annabelle’s life will be held at 1655 Cecil Ave, Fortuna at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 6. A potluck will follow the memorial.

Cosce’s ring introduction.

Local MMA pro Orion Cosce edged out his opponent Mike “Blood Diamond” Mathetha for his first official UFC win on Saturday at UFC 277 in Dallas.

The matchup between Cosce and Mathetha could have been scratched for a third time after Cosce weighed-in 1.5 pound over the agreed upon fighting weight. However, Mathetha accepted to take the fight as a catchweight bout.

“I apologize for missing weight,” Cosce told UFC commentator Joe Rogan after the fight. “You guys deserve better and I promise to get better in the future.”

Cosce took an early lead with several successful take-downs in the first round. But Mathetha made a comeback in the second round by landing several good punches and blows to the body. 

Cosce was able to stay on his feet in the middle of the second round after both fighters connected with surprise back-fists, drawing cheers and laughs from the crowd. Cosce could also be seen smiling in the ring after the simultaneous strikes.

“I have a tendency to smile when someone lands something,” Cosce told the Outpost. “It’s a habit of mine, but it also means I enjoy the competition.”

After an encouraging corner speech from his brother and fellow UFC fighter Louis Cosce, Orion Cosce finished the fight with a strong third round, taking down Mathetha several times before the final horn.

With the fight going the distance, all three judges voted 29-28 in favor of Cosce.

“Too many words to describe the feeling,” Cosce said. “I’m just grateful for all the love and support I have. It feels great to win and I look forward to continuing the win streak.”

Cosce now has a professional record of 8-1.

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PREVIOUSLY:

• (VIDEO) Cosce Brothers Awarded UFC Contracts By Dana White After TKOing Opponents, Remain Undefeated
• Local UFC Fighter Louis Cosce Looks to Defend Perfect Record Tomorrow at UFC 255; Brother Orion Scratched From Contest Due to Injury
• Homegrown Humboldt Fighter Orion Cosce to Compete in His First Official UFC Bout This Week
• (VIDEO) Orion Cosce Loses First Official UFC Bout By Second-Round Knockout
• Humboldt’s Orion Cosce Announces UFC 271 Bout Against Mike ‘Blood Diamond’ Mathetha, Sets Sights on First UFC Victory
• Orion Cosce Drops Out of Upcoming UFC Bout After Contracting COVID-19, Brother Louis Accepts Next Fight

PREVIOUSLY: (UPDATE) Siskiyou Wildfire Explodes to Nearly 40,000 Acres Overnight; Highway 96 Closed

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The McKinney Fire burning on either side of Highway 96, 20 miles west of Interstate-5 in Siskiyou County, has grown to 51,468 acres and is 0 percent contained.

Highway 96 remains closed in the area with no estimated time of reopening.

“Crews were actively engaged in structure protection overnight, especially in the Klamath River area,” the U.S. Forest Service stated this morning. “Little progression was observed on the fire’s edge closest to Yreka City. Priorities for today are to continue structure preparation and protection in the Highway 96 corridor, and around the communities of Fort Jones and Yreka City.”

Roughly 400 structures are threatened by the fire. The amount of buildings destroyed by the fire remains unknown.

Evacuation orders and warnings are in effect for numerous Siskiyou communities as firefighters work to slow the fire’s progression toward the Klamath River area. The latest evacuation updates can be found on the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office and Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services Facebook pages. A map of the evacuated zones is viewable on the website Zonehaven. A shelter for evacuees is set up at the Weed Community Center at 161 E. Lincoln Ave. in Weed.

The evacuated areas include part of the Pacific Crest Trail, which prompted the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon to evacuate 60 hikers from the California side of the Red Buttes Wilderness yesterday afternoon.

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect for Siskiyou County and areas of Southern Oregon. Thunderstorms are also possible today in Trinity County.

“All paths are the same. They lead nowhere.”

— Carlos Castaneda (as the fictional Don Juan Matus)

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I enjoy reading broad-brush, overview books of science-y subjects I know little about. Somewhere in such books there’s usually a line that goes something like this: “To a Martian (linguist, biologist, physicist, philosopher) all (languages, species, colors, religions) are the same.”

The idea is that due to our necessarily anthropocentric, earthbound view of nature and culture, we miss similarities that would jump out at some intelligent being from someplace else. “The fish,” said anthropologist Ruth Benedict, “is the last to see the water.”

Thus an extraterrestrial being who reproduced via some other molecular coding than DNA/RNA, and who was composed largely, say, of silicon in a substrate of methane, rather than carbon in water, would be struck by the similarities of all life on earth and conclude that, roughly speaking, there was little structural difference between paramecia, grass, Republicans and us.

My contention here is that, to a first degree of approximation, a Martian neurologist would conclude that all thoughts are the same.

Photo: Andrew Horne, via Wikimedia. Public domain.

Sometimes — meditating, kayaking, making love, walking a forest trail — it seems that it’s all out there and nothing in here: while there’s a whole lot of something being perceived, nothing is actually doing the perceiving; whatever it is that is ‘me’ has merged with everything else, so it’s all one. Paraphrasing Gertrude Stein, “There’s no here here.”

Seems that way, but I’m pretty sure it’s all mindgames. Actually, of course it’s all mindgames. Whatever it is that is experiencing (and something is, by definition, else there would be no awareness) is no different from that which is experienced.

So titling a book (as Mark Epstein did), Thoughts Without a Thinker*, plays into the folk-wisdom idea of ‘nonduality,’ that it is possible to experience absent a thinker or a self (anatta). But what use is a thought if it isn’t perceived? What is an unperceived thought anyway? Is such a thing possible?

No. While it may indeed seem (to me!) that I’m having thoughts without ‘me’ being present, the question, “What, then, is perceiving this absence of a perceiver?” leads to absurdity. To perceive, or to know, or to be aware, is to come from the position of the perceiver, the knower, the one who is aware — however compelling the ‘no-self’ experience.

So I have these far-out experiences, and there’s this feeling that comes, expressed in words by something like, “Wow! How cool is that?!” with the inevitable undercurrent of, “How cool am I?”

* Despite his title (from pioneering British psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion), I suspect Epstein would agree with me. He stresses the importance of what he calls ‘bare attention,’ i.e. “…observing the mind, emotions and body the way they are.”

(Even writing this now: How cool am I to see through all the false teachings and promises? And cooler yet to acknowledge it…sigh.)

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I have a huge admiration for Sue Blackmore, the British writer, teacher and interviewer on consciousness writ large. In her autobiographical In Search of the Light: The Adventures of a Parapsychologist, she tells of her transition from a ‘sheep’ (believing in all manner of parapsychological phenomena) to a ‘goat’ or a skeptic. She and I are on the same side, almost. Our paths diverge, however, over this crucial issue of ‘no-self’ or ‘non- duality.’ In the very last chapter of her very readable Consciousness: An Introduction, after 26 crisp and balanced chapters on the science of consciousness, she goes woo-woo on us. After decades of both studying consciousness from the outside and, as it were, experiencing it from the inside — that is, meditating — she wonders if the problem of consciousness might be solved by knowledgeable people who have ‘no-self’ experiences.

Blackmore writes, “Might the psychologists, philosophers and neuroscientists working on the problem of consciousness see non-duality directly for themselves? …This way the direct experience of nonduality might be integrated into a neuroscience that only knows, intellectually, that dualism must be false.”

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My contention is that any apparent ‘direct experience of nonduality’ only seems that way, that it’s a mindgame. And that all the teachers and teachings and meditation and drugs and austerities and ‘spiritual’ practices bring us no ‘closer to ourselves.’ That is, this is as close as we ever get. This.

So that no thoughts are better and none are worse, none are more spiritual or less spiritual, none deeper or shallower. The thoughts of someone who is meditating for the first time — his or her very first minute on their cushion — are in essence no different from those of the Zen devotee who has spent tens of thousands of hours on their zafu.

Thoughts about thoughts are still thoughts. Awareness of an absence of thoughts, or an absence of self, is a thought. There’s nowhere to stand where we can say, “Now I’m perceiving from a unique, no-observer, non-dualist point of view.” All perception divides the world into the seer and the seen. Thought is dualistic by definition: it takes a thought to be aware of a thought. Thought cannot be aware of itself.

To a first degree of approximation, then: All thoughts are the same!