[CLARIFICATION: After this post was published, Eureka Communications Program Manager Kay Lopez contacted the Outpost to clarify that, while the city organized this goodwill effort, the donations are being made by the individual entities involved.

“We really appreciate that the community is willing to donate their services, so we want to ensure that message is relayed,” Lopez said in an email.]

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Original post:

Facebook post from the City of Eureka:

To our Hoopa neighbors, we’re thinking of you 

We know the fire and heavy smoke are taking a toll. If you’d like to get away for a few hours, we invite you to come spend some time in Eureka. From now through the weekend, Hoopa residents can show an ID with a Hoopa address at each location to enjoy:

 Sequoia Park Zoo - Free admission. Up to four children may accompany each adult with a Hoopa ID.

 Madaket Bay Cruise - Complimentary rides with a Hoopa ID. Space is limited, so please call 707-445-1910 to reserve your spot.

 Morris Graves Museum of Art - Free admission, plus two special events on Sunday:

Mini Masters, 8/16,12 - 2 pm - Story time, games, art activities, and a free book for families.

Wine & Jazz, 8/16, 3 - 5 pm - Live music featuring Francis Vanek with the RLA Trio.

 Friday Night Market – Friday from 5:30 - 8:30 pm in Old Town. No ID required for this event.

We hope these activities offer a little respite and a chance to enjoy some clearer air. If others would like to offer something to our Hoopa neighbors this weekend, please share it in the comments below.

Please stay safe, Hoopa 

Press release from the fire management team:

Public Information: 530-625-2124
Hours: 8 a.m.–8 p.m.
Email: 2026.mp18@firenet.gov
Incident Website: linktr.ee/MilePost18Fire
Acres Burned: 4605 | Containment: 5% | Start Date: 8/7/2026 | Personnel: 1,134

Operational Update:

Fire held overnight in the Mill Creek drainage as firefighters engaged the advancing flames north of the dozer line along Big Hill Ridge. The retardant lines that were laid down yesterday by large air tankers on the ridge continue to improve chances at containment. The handline on the west side of the fire in Mill Creek is almost complete with hoses and pumps making their way down to the creek from the road above. All these efforts are to prevent further spread toward communities in Hoopa.

Big Hill Lookout in being wrapped in a special protective foil as dozers and handcrews work to protect the communications infrastructure there.

Structures closest to the fire in the Marshall Lane neighborhood received sprinklers, pumps and portable water tanks as precautionary measures ahead of any potential threats coming from the Mill Creek area. Structure protection teams will continue community defense measures today in eastern Hoopa neighborhoods.

The fire continues to hold east of the Trinity River as fire managers assessed the burned areas along the river by boat. Mop-up will continue along the highway corridor. On the northern river section of the fire, dozer line is in place north of Skunk Creek and contingency line will continue being constructed south of Weitchpec.

Please keep all personal drones grounded. Drone activity forces firefighting aircraft to land, stopping critical air operations.

Weather:

Relative humidities reached their peak near 100 percent last night at the Big Hill Remote Area Weather Station (RAWS), but drought-stricken trees and dead-down fuels will dry out quickly as the marine layer peels away earlier than previous days.

Evacuations:

Evacuation Order: HIA-E002-A

Evacuation Warnings: HIA-E001-B, HIA-E002-B, HIA-E003, HIA- E004, HIA-E006, and HIA-E014-C,    HIA-E014-D, HIA-E014-E

Road Closures:

Highway 96 remains closed north of Hoopa due to fire activity. Closures also are in place for Hostler Ridge Road, Mill Creek Road and Big Hill Road.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Lawmakers on Thursday killed a controversial plan that could have allowed grizzly bears to one day return to California.The Assembly Appropriations Committee spiked Inglewood Democratic Sen. Laura Richardson’s Senate Bill 1305. The measure would have tasked the California Department of Fish and Wildlife with creating a “roadmap that evaluates whether, and under what conditions, reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable.”

As is typical with the Legislature’s appropriations committees, lawmakers didn’t discuss the bill; nor did they take public testimony before the committee’s chairperson, Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, announced the decision.

Grizzlies once lived across most of California. As many as 10,000 may have roamed before the Gold Rush. They were so prevalent that when California settlers tried to form their own nation, they called it the Bear Flag Republic. A grizzly bear is memorialized on California’s flag.

Settlers systematically exterminated the animals. They were gone by the 1920s, leaving the smaller black bear as California’s only surviving native bear species.

Two Native American tribes consponsored the bill, and several animal welfare and environmental groups supported it. They argued that bringing the second largest land predator back to America’s most populated state would right an ecological wrong and help restore California’s degraded ecosystem.

Opponents included ranchers, hunting associations and rural communities. They argued California is far too populated with people to sustain another apex predator. Rural communities are already overwhelmed with conflicts with mountain lions, black bears and wolves that attack livestock and wander into their towns, opponents said.

The measure set aside no funding for the study, but it allowed for a future Legislature or an outside group to do so.

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

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Just days before the start of school, some California State University students were still waiting to find out how much they’re getting in grants and loans, and university officials are blaming the federal government for those delays. But despite a flurry of social media complaints about the delays, student leaders and university officials point to no major abnormalities

Every summer brings fresh confusion to some students whose financial aid is less than they anticipated or who didn’t notice an important email, but this summer added a new hardship: Not knowing how much actual aid they’d get.The culprit is a change implemented in April by the U.S. Office of Federal Student Aid to update its fraud protections. The move was in response to the 2025 Republican-approved One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some universities, including Cal State, received federal files on how much aid students would receive five to six weeks later than usual.

The delay meant that an unknown number of students got their precise financial aid amounts mere weeks before the start of the school year. Some students didn’t find out what their aid amounts were until after the deadline to pay tuition. Cal State campuses had provisions in place to keep students enrolled who didn’t pay if their financial aid awards were pending.

That this occurred in the middle of the financial aid cycle “is very unusual,” said April Grommo, an assistant vice chancellor for strategic enrollment management at the California State University Chancellor’s Office.

The delay in receiving information about aid amounts is separate from actually getting federal grants and loans. Federal rules prohibit students from receiving their actual financial aid until within 10 days of the start of the school year. Cal State classes begin this month.

The student experience

A handful of users of the social media tool Reddit posted about their FAFSA delays at Cal State. One user from Cal State Fullerton wrote on Aug. 1 that “I’m very concerned because the semester begins the 22nd of August … and I do not want to be dropped from any courses.” Other redditors at Fullerton echoed that worry. Similar posts were found at subreddits for San Jose State, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge.

The delay didn’t affect students who applied using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, by the state’s priority deadline of March 2, Grommo said.But the sheer volume of aid going to students at Cal State is immense — some $5.5 billion was disbursed last year to more than 385,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Campus financial aid employees worked overtime to compensate for the federal delays, Grommo said. Several Cal State schools are shortstaffed, compounding the delay in getting information to students.Another change in the 2025 federal law placed lower caps on how much students and their parents could borrow for college. Those caps went into effect this year, likely catching off guard some students who relied on loans. Still, some 65% of undergraduates who earn a bachelor’s degree at Cal State graduate without loan debt.

The system’s undergraduate student government, the California State Student Association, hasn’t detected a major uptick in student complications, despite the confusion, said Joe Nino, the association’s executive director. “At this time, CSSA is not aware of this being a widespread issue,” he wrote by email. “To our knowledge, there are protections in place to ensure students won’t be dropped from their classes due to FAFSA delays.”

Sydney Yee is the vice president of Cal State Fullerton’s student government. The rising senior and finance major said the student government office hadn’t received any complaints from students about nonresponsive campus officials. She too had questions about her financial aid package and called the school’s financial aid office over the summer to receive guidance she found useful.Redditors also advised frustrated students to call their campus financial aid office and be persistent.“Something I think that the financial aid (staff) has done very well here has been staying very proactive with these delays,” Yee said in an interview, pointing to explanatory emails as well as Instagram posts that explained why some students received dropped course notifications on their accounts and why those holds were lifted.Grommo explained that the notification was meant to give students peace of mind. If the drop hold was lifted and they’re still enrolled, that means the campus concluded the student is in good financial standing.Jessicca Barco, associate vice president for strategic enrollment management at Cal State Fullerton, added that normally returning students would learn their financial aid amounts between May and June. The information is provided near the end of the academic year to ensure students meet federal grade requirements to continue receiving aid. The federal delay meant some 23,000 returning students received their aid information last Friday. The campus moved back the deadline to pay for tuition to Aug. 19, Barco added. For many students it’s typically in mid-July.

Reasons for getting financial aid late

As for why some students may get their federal financial aid late — some students in the past received theirs as late as October — Grommo cited several factors.One may be that those students applied for financial aid well into summer rather than in late winter. Another may be that they were selected to undergo an audit of their family finances to ensure they’re eligible for financial aid. Or their grades are too low to continue receiving aid and they must appeal to the school to restore their eligibility. Other students may experience a sudden loss of personal or family finances that isn’t captured in the income data they filed in their aid applications.“The majority of students go through the process just fine, but of course, the small group that does not go through the process fine, those are the really major issues,” Grommo said.

Her advice to students: Make sure their school email account is set up in case the campus is only emailing them there rather than their personal account and to keep calling their school’s financial aid office.

Cal State Fullerton students got their financial aid disbursements Wednesday.

LeRoy Modine of Eureka peacefully passed from this life to his home in Heaven on July 31, 2026, at the age of 93.

LeRoy’s strong faith in Jesus showed in the kindness and generosity he shared every day. Those who knew him will remember his positivity, bright smile, and the twinkle in his beautiful blue eyes. He saw the good in life and encouraged others to do the same.

LeRoy was born in Colome, South Dakota, to Julius and Mildred Modine. He was the fifth of seven children. His childhood nickname was Peewee.  

He joined the Navy in 1951 and served aboard the battleship USS Iowa during the Korean War from 1951 to 1954. He considered his time in the Navy as an honor and was a member of the American Legion. He married his first wife, Jody, in 1956, and they moved to Eureka in 1960. They had two sons: Larry and Marty.

He spent his career at Bob’s Fine Cars in Eureka, working there from its opening in 1961 until his retirement in 1994. In the early 2000s, he returned to work for one day so he could say he had worked for all three generations of the Crivello family. 

After Jody passed away unexpectedly in 1991, LeRoy later married Ina Watson in 1995. Together, they enjoyed dancing at the Moose Lodge, traveling, tending their roses and spending time with friends and family.

LeRoy was a huge SF 49ers fan. He enjoyed working in his yard and feeding his neighbors’ chickens each morning. He always looked for ways to help others and gave to many local and national charities. 

His generosity also showed up in the everyday rhythm of his life. He was an avid walker, often walking seven to eight miles a day, picking up trash along the way. In 2012, he was awarded the City of Eureka- Keep Eureka Beautiful Award for that service. 

He was preceded in death by his wives Jody and Ina; his sons Marty and Larry; four brothers, Dale, Harold, Pete and Vern; and one sister, Donna. He is survived by his sister Shirley of Newcastle, Wyoming, and many other family members. He leaves behind many happy memories in the hearts of his family, his many friends and neighbors.

There will be a graveside service on September 12 at 10 a.m. at Sunset Memorial Park in Eureka followed by a Celebration of Life at Hospice of Humboldt in Eureka. 

In lieu of flowers, LeRoy requested that donations be made to Hospice of Humboldt or Food for People, the food bank of Eureka.

With heavy hearts, we announce that Lena A. Harrison Rentz Machado, 47, passed away unexpectedly in Eureka on July 3, 2026. She was born on September 29, 1978, in San Francisco to Manuel and Audrey Machado.

Lena attended Cutten and Ridgewood Elementary Schools, Winship Middle School, and Eureka High School. She later held various jobs including caregiver, housekeeper, and data entry positions.

She always had a smile on her face and consistently maintained a positive demeanor and valued building relationships, sharing stories with everyone she met, whether they were old friends or new acquaintances. Lena enjoyed spending time with her family and found fulfillment through singing and helping others.

Lena was married to Brian Harrison, and previously to Tim Rentz, with whom she had a daughter, Lexi Rentz, who brought immense happiness to her life; sisters, Christina Machado and Charlotte Scott; brothers Manuel and Kevin Machado; uncles, John and Joseph Machado; aunts, Lucy Spratt and Donna Pieper; along with many nieces, nephews and cousins.

She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Alex and Mary Judice and Manuel and Lena Machado; father, Manuel Machado; brother, Domingo Machado; aunts, Lorraine Judice, Eleanor Machado and Celeste Bruner; and uncles, Oliver Bruner, Art and Alex Judice.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service at St. Bernard’s Church in Eureka on Saturday, August 22 at 10 a.m.

We are thankful for the love and support of family and friends during this difficult time. Lena will be greatly missed.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Lena Rentz Machado’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here. Email news@lostcoastoutpost.com.

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Press release from Danco Group:

Eureka, California — August 13, 2026 — The Danco Group is providing notice of a parking lot closure at the EaRTH Center site in Eureka (3rd Street, between G & H Street) in connection with upcoming project activities. The parking lot closure is anticipated to remain in effect for the duration of the project. [In other words, the closure is permanent. —LoCO] Community members, visitors, and other affected parties are encouraged to plan accordingly and observe all posted signage and access restrictions around the project site.

Project Timeline

Parking Lot Closure: August 17, 2026 – June 1, 2028

The schedule is subject to change based on construction progress, site conditions, weather, and other factors that may affect the project timeline. Updates will be provided as appropriate throughout the project.

Project Contact

For questions regarding the parking lot closure, project timeline, access, or other project- related matters, please contact:

McKenzie Dibble

Development Project Manager

Phone: (707) 822-9000 Email: mdibble@danco-group.com

The Danco Group appreciates the community’s patience and cooperation throughout the project and will work to minimize impacts to the surrounding area whenever possible.

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PREVIOUSLY

• EaRTH Center a Go: Eureka Council Approves Ambitious Housing/Transit Development Downtown, Despite Parking Concerns
• Eureka City Council Votes to Remove Lots From Parking Assessment District to Make Way for EaRTH Center
• Design Review Committee Narrowly Approves New Plans for Eureka’s EaRTH Center
• Eureka’s Long-Awaited EaRTH Center Awarded $12 Million in Grant Funds; Construction Slated to Begin Spring 2026