A fast-moving wildfire has burned an estimated 80 acres of grass and oak woodland along Alderpoint Road a little over a mile northeast of Garberville as of Thursday morning.

The Point Fire has resulted in an evacuation order for a zone containing an estimated 160 residents. An additional 205 residents live in an adjacent zone under evacuation warning.

At this time, Cal Fire’s website lists the Point Fire as being 10% contained. Alderpoint Road is currently closed around the fire while crews work to stop the blaze’s forward progress. The fire’s activity seems maybe less aggressive than it did when it broke out Wednesday evening, still Cal Fire says there is hard work ahead. 

“Forecasted winds and poor relative humidity recovery pose additional risks to the containment lines,” Cal Fire said. “There has been a significant augmentation of air and ground resources to combat the fire, with continued efforts to construct and improve control lines.”

We will update as additional information becomes available.

More info from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

Yesterday evening at approximately 5:46 p.m., the Point Fire ignited east of Garberville on Alderpoint Rd.

Due to the Point Fire, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office has issued an Evacuation Order for the following zone: 

• Zone HUM-E220-A (North of Wallan Rd., south of Alderpoint Rd., east of Wallan Rd., Alderpoint Rd. and west of Alderpoint Rd., Clark Rd.)

Residents who are already evacuated this zone are not permitted to return to their residences. Any residents remaining in this zone should evacuate immediately. There are road closures in place on Alderpoint Rd. at Sawmill Rd. and on Alderpoint Rd. at Wallan Rd. Residents are advised to take Highway 101 North as an evacuation route.

Due to positive developments in fire behavior and the hard work of firefighters from Humboldt County, the Evacuation Order for the following zone has been downgraded to an Evacuation Warning:

• Zone HUM-E220-B (North of Alderpoint Rd., Timber Ln., south of Anita Dr., east of US 101 South and west of Wallan Rd.)

Residents of zone HUM-E220-B may return home with caution. Please note that road closures remain at Alderpoint Rd. and Wallan Rd. in this zone to prevent access to zone HUM-E220-A, which is currently under an Evacuation Order. Stay alert for outstanding dangers upon return including debris in roadways, gas leaks, hot embers and emergency response traffic. Residents should remain ready to evacuate again at a moment’s notice if conditions deteriorate. 

An Evacuation Warning has been issued for the following zone: 

• Zone HUM-E201-A (North of Alderpoint Rd., Anita Dr., south of Skyway Rd., east of US 101 South and west of Maw Drive Rd., Alderpoint Rd.)

Residents should continue to prepare for potential evacuations, including gathering personal supplies and overnight accommodations. More information will follow if an Evacuation Order is issued. 

Point Fire Information Line

Community members in need of evacuation information and those with questions related to the Point Fire and its impacts on Humboldt County should call 707-268-2500. Please do not call 9-1-1 unless you are experiencing an immediate emergency.  

Community members residing in areas under the evacuation order should travel away from wildfire activity and take Highway 101 North. There are road closures in place on Alderpoint Rd. at Sawmill Rd. and on Alderpoint Rd. at Wallan Rd.

Emergency Shelter

The American Red Cross has established an Emergency Shelter at South Fork High School, located at 6831 Avenue of the Giants in Miranda. Water and information will be available at this site. This site will be open today, Thursday, July 11, until 1 p.m.

Sign Up for Humboldt Alert

Humboldt County residents are encouraged to sign up for Humboldt Alert to receive local emergency notifications, including information regarding evacuations and emergency sheltering in the event of a wildfire or other emergency incident. Residents can sign up by going to humboldtgov.org/alert.

For more information on returning home after a wildfire and other great tips, visit: www.readyforwildfire.org/post-wildfire/after-a-wildfire/ 

For more information regarding the Point Fire, current impact and evacuation areas, please go to humboldtsheriff.org/emergency, visit @HumCoOES on Facebook and Twitter, or call 707-268-2500.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On 7/10/2024, at about 12:05 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 4600 block of Crane St. in Eureka for the report of a stabbing.

Upon arrival, deputies located and detained 25-year-old Maria Hernandez-Ruelas, who was being restrained by persons on scene. Deputies also located a 30-year-old female victim suffering from multiple stab wounds and lacerations. During the investigation, it was learned that Hernandez-Ruelas and the victim were acquainted. The victim was transported to a local area hospital with significant injuries.

Hernandez-Ruelas was arrested for attempted homicide (PC 664/187(A)) and was later booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility after being medically treated for injuries she sustained during the assault.

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.

When a shortfall of several hundred thousand dollars almost derailed new homeless housing in Bakersfield, the savior that swooped in to salvage the project wasn’t an affordable housing nonprofit, state housing grant or other traditional source.

Instead, it was a health care company that had never before built a single home.

That unorthodox move is part of a broader effort to commingle California’s health care and homeless services agencies, as providers in both areas increasingly acknowledge a glaring truth: It’s nearly impossible to be healthy if you’re living on the street.

Health care company Akido Labs, which runs clinics and street medicine teams in Southern and Central California, covered about 10% of the cost to build that 16-unit project in Bakersfield. Health insurance giant Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is funding homeless housing projects in Alameda, Kings and Tulare counties. And Los Angeles County’s biggest health plan is paying to lease properties for its homeless clients.

“For the unhoused, housing is medicine,” said Karthik Murali, head of public health at Akido Labs. “Providing stable housing can alleviate more health conditions than taking them to the ICU and the hospital and providing street medicine…Knowing that fact, we wanted to be part of the solution.”

People who are homeless have higher rates of illness, and die an average of 12 years younger than the general U.S. population, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

Gov. Gavin Newsom set the marriage between housing and health care in motion in 2022, via his massive overhaul of the state’s Medicaid system. With the launch of CalAIM, the state allows Medi-Cal to fund things not traditionally covered as health care — such as helping homeless clients find housing, paying for security deposits and preventing evictions.

As an incentive for health care plans to ramp up these new services, the state also provided $1.3 billion in additional funding under the Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program. Managed care plans can earn those funds by investing in solutions to homelessness. It’s that money Akido and other health care providers are using to build and lease new homeless housing.

Dr. Rishi Patel from the Akido Street Medicine team checks on an unhoused man living in a vineyard in Arvin on May 28, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

It’s still a relatively rare use of the money — it’s more likely to pay for services for unhoused people, such as case managers or safe RV parking sites. That’s partly because creating housing is so expensive in California, and partly because most health care providers don’t know much about homebuilding.

Even so, Murali said the new funds made a big difference. Recognizing that it could only do so much to help its homeless patients as long as they were living on the street, Akido had long wanted to get into the business of developing housing. The incentive program gave it the funds to do so.

“It could not have been possible before, and it’s possible now,” Murali said.

Housing as medicine

Los Angeles-based Akido Labs got its start as a health tech company out of Y Combinator, the startup incubator that grew big-name companies such as Airbnb and Dropbox. It later launched medical clinics and street medicine teams in Central and Southern California.

When the Kern County Housing Authority found itself over budget on the Bakersfield homeless housing project — in part because the housing authority underestimated the cost of an expensive retaining wall — Aikido jumped in.

Construction workers building an apartment complex site for an affordable housing project in Bakersfield on May 29, 2024. Photos by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

“We would have been stalled, and who knows where it would have been now if we hadn’t had that money come in,” said Stephen Pelz, executive director of the housing authority, who said Akido funded about 10% of the roughly $3 million project.

The two-story development, where tenants will pay 30% of their income in rent, sits on a formerly vacant lot next to what used to be a large homeless encampment. Each apartment is a small one-bedroom, one-bath — about 500 square feet — and you can see the Sierra Nevada from the upstairs windows on a clear day. It’s a big deal to complete a project in that area, where most of the street doesn’t even have a sidewalk and new construction is rare, Pelz said. You’re more likely to see something here catch fire and then be torn down than you are to see something new get built, he said.

Aikido also took on a second, 40-unit homeless housing project in Bakersfield. That development, now set to open in 2025, would have fallen apart without the health care company’s funding. The county had applied for a state Homekey grant, but that wasn’t enough to buy the property or fund the project.

Aikido paid about 20% of the project’s total $10 million cost, and it’s now working with the county housing authority. Akido is advocating for features it knows will help its clients, such as wheelchair accessible outdoor spaces, suicide prevention designs (such as shelves in closets instead of rails) and semigloss paint that makes cleaning easier. The health care company is learning to navigate the complicated world of housing production as it goes.

“That’s been an interesting process,” Murali said.

Homeless housing from Sacramento to L.A.

Other counties are using the money to secure housing units without putting shovels in the ground. Sacramento County won $3.2 million for its Landlord Engagement and Assistance Program, which gives unhoused clients rental subsidies and places them with private landlords, while also working with landlords to prevent evictions.

That money will allow the county to expand that program by about 30%, said human services program manager Neil Kurtz.

“It’s everything,” Kurtz said. “We’re going to be able to make a significant impact, I think, in reducing homelessness.”

A homeless encampment at W Street and Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento on April 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal for CalMatters

Los Angeles County’s largest health plan, LA Care, is using the incentive funds to help open 1,700 homes to homeless residents by 2027. Working with the county, the health plan is funding programs to buy and lease those units, or pay for security deposits and other expenses. As of the end of last year, 600 of those homes were available, said Dr. Sameer Amin, chief medical officer for LA Care.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield recently put money into a 42-unit homeless housing project in Tulare County, helped fund two more projects in Kings County, and contributed to a fund in Alameda County that’s building additional units.

“We’re looking at other opportunities,” said Kris Kuntz, program director for housing and homeless strategy at Anthem. ”We’re looking at: Do we go purchase single family homes that are on the market? Things like that.”

Can the housing-health care partnership be sustainable?

Blurring the line between housing and health care has been confusing for many involved, said Carolina Reid, faculty research advisor at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

Health care providers don’t know what organizations to partner with in order to get housing built, or how to enter their clients’ information into the state’s homelessness data system. Housing providers don’t know how to navigate strict patient privacy laws. The Terner Center is researching ways to help both sides adjust.

The state paints this health-care-meets-housing experiment as a success so far. Health care providers using the Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program money reported they now are more frequently screening their patients for homelessness, while also offering them more housing-related services. According to the state Department of Health Care Services, 48,172 patients have received housing – and 81% of them have remained housed.

But the problem with this money is that it’s a one-time grant, and Newsom has given no indication that he’ll replenish the coffers when it runs out. After Newsom and legislators scrambled to close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit this year, there’s little state funding up for grabs.

“One question I have that I can’t answer is: Are these efforts sustained after the HHIP funds run out?” Reid said. “There needs to be a sustained source of funding to help managed care plans do this type of work.”

A sign for a construction site for Golden Empire Affordable Housing in Bakersfield on May 29, 2024. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

Murali hopes Akido can drum up private equity to replace the state funding in future projects, but whether investors can be convinced it’s a good business move remains to be seen.

What’s more, when up against the steep cost of building or buying housing in California, the money the state allocated doesn’t amount to that much, Reid said. That’s why, she said, we haven’t seen more health care providers using the money to create new housing.

Kuntz agrees.

“When it comes to housing and homelessness,” he said, “you think it’s a large amount of money, but per county, it’s still…not huge, per say, given the need.”

In Kern County, the housing authority typically receives anywhere from 500 to 1,000 applications for each new project, Pelz said. The project set to finish next month in Bakersfield has room for just 16 households.

That means, if you get chosen, Pelz said, “It’s kind of like winning the lottery.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

William Wayne Jones
April 6, 1949, to June 5, 2024

William Wayne Jones passed away peacefully on June 5, 2024, surrounded by loved ones. Bill grew up in Eureka and went to Eureka High School. Bill joined the United States Marine Corp during the Vietnam War and received a Purple Heart after being wounded in combat. When he returned home, he went back to his original job at McCrae Nissan, where he worked for 47 years. He also married his high school sweetheart and had three children.

Later he married Gwendolyn Jones and became a stepdad to Gwen’s daughter. Years later they had their own daughter together. Bill and Gwen moved to McKinleyville in 1979 and raised their five children. Bill and Gwen were married for 48 years.

Bill enjoyed spending time with his family. He attended all their sporting events, he enjoyed taking them camping and playing hours of card games with them, and just spending quality family time. Bill was an avid hunter. He loved being outdoors hunting, fishing and camping. Bill was very involved with the McKinleyville community, where he coached Little League Baseball for 12 years.

Bill was proceeded in death by his wife Gwendolyn Jones, his parents Jim and Mable Tucker, his sister Barbara Black and his biological father George Whiting.

He is survived by his children: Mendy Jones (Gary), Raeleen Olson, Carolee Strong (Randy), Brandon Jones, Kimberly Adams (Rodney) his eight grandchildren: Brittany, Derek, Ashlie, Connor, Halle, Natalie, Harlee and Robert and six great grandchildren: Aden, Mckinzie, Denali, Kota, Wade and Gunnar. He is also survived by his seven sisters, his brother-in-law Delbert Faulk and many nieces and nephews.

Thank you to Hospice of Humboldt and his nurse Krystal for all your support for the last few months. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the American Cancer Society.

There will be a memorial service in the near future. The date is not yet determined.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Bill Jones’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

On Saturday June 29, 2024 Myrtle Louise Martin, known as Suzy by all her family and friends, passed away.

Suzy was born in Wyoming on February 2, 1938. She came to Humboldt County in 1954. Suzy met Carl Martin and they were married in 1956. Suzy and Carl lived on Martin Ranch, raising three children there.

Suzy was a wonderful cook and loved doing it. She and Carl hosted many community dinners. She especially loved events where she and Carl could dance together.

She worked for Carl Johnson Company for many years. If you went to the auction and visited the snack bar you would have seen Suzy.

She was predeceased by her husband Carl Martin and her youngest son Elbert Martin and her son-in-law Larry Cardoza.

She is survived by her oldest son Eugene Martin, daughter Carla Martin Cardoza, grandsons Joey Martin, Michael Martin, Justin Martin (Stephanie), great-grandchildren Kaden Martin and McKenzie Martin.

She was a loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She will be greatly missed by her entire family. Suzy loved flowers, so please plant a flower.

Right now I’m in a different place
and though we seem apart
I’m closer than I ever was
I’m there inside your heart

— Anon

Arrangements by Paul’s Chapel, Arcata. Interment at St. Mary’s, Arcata.

As Eureka works to expand housing options downtown and elsewhere, fears of a future city overwhelmed by cars with supposedly nowhere to park continue to alarm some Eurekans. 

That’s the issue that claimed the spotlight this morning, anyway, at a meeting of the Eureka Design Review Committee, which discussed a 44-unit affordable housing apartment complex for seniors coming to the corner of C and Clark Streets in Eureka. 

The project is an element of the Housing Authority of the City of Eureka’s (HACE) repositioning plan, which aims to improve and increase Eureka’s affordable public housing. For this project, HACE is working with the developing firm Brinshore Development LLC. 

The duplexes currently at 1115 C Street. Screenshot from Design Review Committee meeting.

The three-story apartment building – which will replace six existing duplexes at 1115 C Street – borrows design elements from nearby historical buildings in an effort to match the neighborhood. HACE will offer tenants in the 12 to-be-demolished units other housing owned by the authority or tenant protection vouchers to rent elsewhere. 

The 44 one-bedroom, one-bathroom units will each be about 555 square feet in size, and half will be mobility units (meaning they’ll have accessibility features like low countertops, wide doorways and Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant hardware). And the complex will include laundry rooms on each floor, elevators, an outdoor community space and garden, an indoor community room, bicycle parking and 11 on-site parking spaces.

During today’s meeting, the Design Review Committee held a public hearing and considered a resolution that will move the project forward. Specifically, the committee was asked to consider approval of exempting the project from CEQA (because it aligns with Eureka’s General Plan), consider conditional approval of design review (which is a discretionary permit for the project) and consider conditional approval of density bonus for the project (which means it may exceed standard housing density regulations because it is low-income housing).

At the meeting, HACE Executive Director Cheryl Churchill said that residents living near the site “overwhelmingly” cited a need for senior housing during a HACE outreach effort. 

“I think that we’ve really worked to fit in what we heard the community ask for, which is accessible units, units for seniors, and a design that has a sense of community,” Churchill said.

A few community members appeared for the public hearing. Though some offered words of support for the project, every speaker worried that a boost in housing units will impact a neighborhood that’s “already pretty stressed on parking,” as one commenter put it. 

Parking is already tight, they said, because many of the homes – including Victorian buildings and multi-family units – have limited or no onsite parking spaces. And, they asked, what about the caretakers some of these seniors might employ, who will also need to park near the new building? 

“There’s 44 some-odd units and only 11 parking spaces. If that makes sense to you guys, then we’ve got a problem. Where are these people going to park?” said a Clark Street resident named William. “I foresee walking blocks to my home […] and if you haven’t considered that, I think you should.” 

Committee Vice Chair Gailey Browning asked if it would be possible to include an underground parking garage in the design.

“This is affordable housing, and with that, obviously, comes certain limitations around funding. And that is one of the biggest limitations, obviously, to bringing more housing,” Churchill said. “So while I think that’s a lovely idea, it’s not something that’s really feasible.”

Michael Den Hartog, the project architect, explained to the committee that there is parking beyond the 11 on-site spaces. HACE plans to redevelop the parking lot on a property it owns across the street, which would create another 12 spaces (that property has four units on it). And then there are the two dozen-or-so street parking spaces lining each of the two HACE-owned properties. 

Add all those up and suddenly the parking issue doesn’t seem so dire after all: around 46 spaces for a total of 48 units (that’s the 44 new units and four existing ones on the property across the street). 

“I know that’s not quite the same as 44 spaces on the property, but I think we’ve tried to look at it sort of holistically,” Hartog said. “The amount of units can be served by the parking that’s around the property.”

The project site and intersection at C and Clark Streets. Photo: City of Eureka

Though parking was certainly the main topic, other questions were asked and answered at the meeting. Can the entire property be lowered to street-level to make the new building feel less overbearing? (Too expensive, and also intrusive to neighboring properties, Hartog said; plus the Victorian next door is taller than the new apartment building will be, anyway.) Isn’t increased activity around the Clark and C intersection, which doesn’t line up evenly, a safety concern? (That’s something the Transportation Safety Commission and Public Works Department might address during the permitting phase, if it’s determined an issue, said Eureka Senior Planner Caitlin Castellano.)

Before voting, three of the four committee members present said that they, too, worry about the parking issue. 

“I think we’re at a place where parking regulations have been laxed in order for the downtown area to utilize less parking. And it’s having a detrimental effect on some of the residential neighborhoods unintentionally, I think,” said Committee Member Ryan Cameron. 

“The way to solve it is to do underground parking,” said Browning. “And I think that finding financing for that is very important.”

The motion passed 3-0, with Browning abstaining. Committee Member Chuck Ellsworth was absent.

We are reminded, via press releases from the cities of Eureka and Fortuna, that the local fall election season is almost upon us!

Here on the ground – we’re not talking way high up in the stratospheres of state or federal office – the fall election is about cities. County government usually gets its business done in the spring, but the cities wait until the general election to elect their representatives.

So if you live in one of the Seven Cities of Humboldt – Eureka, Arcata, Fortuna, Rio Dell, Ferndale, Blue Lake, Trinidad – and you think you have something to offer your town’s government, this is your moment!

Starting Monday, July 15, you can take out papers to run for City Council on the Nov. 5 ballot. That paperwork must be completed and filled out and returned by Friday, August 9 – unless an incumbent councilmember decides not to run for reelection, in which case the deadline for that seat is extended to Wednesday, August 14.

The person you need to see to go about getting this done is your city’s City Clerk. You’ll find ‘em in your City Hall.

If you’ve never done this before, you’ll want to get a jump on it. The paperwork can be arduous, and that’s especially true if you plan to raise or spend money on your campaign. At the very least, you’ll need to gather up signatures from your friends and neighbors and future supporters, who have to be registered voters in the jurisdiction you’re seeking to represent. Those will be required for you to even get on the ballot.

Here’s a reminder that Eureka is a charter city, and so it can do things a bit differently. Eureka elects its councilmembers by neighborhood. This year, the city’s Second Ward (currently represented by Kati Moulton) and Fourth Ward (currently represented by Scott Bauer) are up for election. Here’s a map for reference. If you don’t live in the Second or Fourth Wards, you’re going to have to wait another two years before you get your chance to serve.

Also, this will be the first time Eurekans will elect their councilmember by ranked-choice voting. You don’t have to worry about being a spoiler!

(Fortuna is the county’s only other charter city, by the way, but Fortuna does elections in the regular way – anybody can run in any election, regardless of where in town they live.)

Now get to it, aspiring councilmembers! Good luck and God bless!