FERNDALE, Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Humboldt County following Tuesday's strong earthquake that caused two deaths, dozens of injuries and left homes in disrepair.
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A tiny town, Rio Dell, which is located on the west bank of the Eel River, bore the brunt of the damage.
The work to assess the safety of homes in Rio Dell continues Wednesday as crews conduct inspections. Officials could only look at half of the homes on Tuesday before nightfall. More than a dozen were red tagged, meaning they are not safe to be inside.
"Our brick mantel on our fireplace completely fell off and our fireplace actually came out of our wall and then our chimney fell off the roof and so that’s all the main damage that we have. Then we have a bunch of cracks in our foundation," Bailey Parker told KCBS Radio.
Looking through the home, the living room was covered in old bricks and the wall where they stood was stripped bare.
"The Christmas tree was completely fine," Parker said. "It was funny. That's what we said too. All of our Christmas trees are just fine, even the bricks hitting it and everything."
There are also shattered windows and homes on crushed foundation in Rio Dell. Officials estimate about 30 people have been displaced and are staying with family.
Two people in their 70s and 80s died after suffering medical emergencies when the quake hit. "We're limited on ambulances," explained Shane Wilson, chief of the Rio Dell Volunteer Fire Department. "At any given time there's two in the local region here in Eel Valley."
There were about 60 calls for service in Rio Dell alone in the first 90 minutes after the earthquake struck.
Newsom's call for a state of emergency will free up resources to get better help to Humboldt County. There are still tens of thousands of people without power and Rio Dell still does not have water.
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