The winds are rising, and they’re gonna be with us for at least the next couple of days. The second wave of the great turn-of-the-year atmospheric river is upon us, and by all accounts it looks to be even more impactful than last week’s. (Though apparently the Bay Area is getting the worst of it.)
As of this writing, power is out in much of McKinleyville, Fieldbrook and Orick in the north; in Orleans and Hoopa and Willow Creek and Salyer in the east; and in Ferndale, Hydesville and Myers Flat/Weott in the south. Also, of course, in numerous other places around the county. Eureka, Arcata and Fortuna seem to be holding on as of this writing.
Follow PG&E updates at this link.
Road conditions are likewise chaotic. Our CHPWatch dispatch tracker has racked up an an astounding 28 incidents in the past hour, including a tree across the roadway on McKinleyville’s Central Avenue near the intersection with Bella Vista. The road’s closed at this moment.
Follow CHP updates at this link.
The good news is that the highways seem to be still open at this moment, but goddamn — please avoid driving anywhere if you can at all avoid it. This is real batten-down-the-hatches time. These biggest of the big winds are expected last until tomorrow morning, at which point it should ease up a little bit, according to the National Weather Service forecast.
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