Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department Investigating Blazes In Encampment Area Near Waldo

Thumbnail photo by Heather Polen

Eight individuals were displaced due to fires that burned “at least two RVs” and other structures in the Waldo Street area Friday evening, Crescent City Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Ray Rook told Redwood Voice Community News.

Rook said he and six firefighters arrived on scene at about 9:21 p.m. to find two fully involved fires about 100 to 200 yards apart. The larger fire involved at least two RVs and other structures, including one that someone was living in. The blazes were down toward the end of Waldo Street on the gravel portion of the road in an area that houses several homeless encampments, Rook said.

The cause and origin of the fires are still undetermined, the battalion chief said. There were no injuries.

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CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

A former county supervisor called it a red herring and the harbormaster said it was silly, but Del Norte County Clerk-Recorder Alissia Northrup reminded commissioners that the public’s concern about whether they have a faithful performance bond is real.

Northrup said she has an insurance policy that was meant to act in lieu of commissioners’ individual bonds, but it’s not signed and it’s old.

“It could have been canceled years ago,” she said Wednesday. “All I wanted was a complete current policy. That’s what I asked for and I’ve been unable to get one to date, so I want to make sure that we put it out there, it’s not silly. The public has an interest.”

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CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026

Thumbnail photo by Gavin Van Alstine

Among the items discussed at Wednesday’s Crescent City Harbor District meeting.

Citizens Dock & Sea Wall: Harbor commissioners unanimously adopted the mitigated negative declaration the California Environmental Quality Act requires to move the two projects forward. 

Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr, who helped the Harbor District obtain the two US Maritime Administration grants needed to fund the projects, said the district could now focus on obtaining its construction permits.

Continue reading CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026

After AB 1014, County Supervisors, Residents Seek To Slow Speedsters on Fred Haight

Thumbnail photo: County supervisors and residents are seeking to potentially lower the speed limit on Fred Haight Drive near the Smith River townsite. | Photo courtesy of Michelle Carrillo

Michelle Carrillo rejected the idea that hearing a person’s lived experience isn’t data.

Appearing before Del Norte County supervisors about three weeks after a car struck and killed her family’s dog near their Fred Haight Drive home, Carrillo said that she spent a month speaking with neighbors who shared stories of near misses and dead animals. It may be qualitative data, but it’s still data, she said Tuesday, and taking no action to try to reduce speeds on the Smith River thoroughfare was untenable.

“We’re in an agricultural area of the county with multiple uses happening at once from farm equipment, school activities, residential driveways, pedestrians and through traffic,” Carrillo said. “I understand there are certain things we have to figure out there and it’s not going to be a uniform speed across the whole road, that makes sense, but 50 on any section of that road does not make sense.”

Continue reading After AB 1014, County Supervisors, Residents Seek To Slow Speedsters on Fred Haight

Elk Valley Cross Roundabout, STAA 199/197 Start Construction in April; Highway Closures Anticipated

Thumbnail photo: After Caltrans announced Tuesday that a project to install a roundabout at U.S. 199 and Elk Valley Cross Road will start in April, Del Norte Local Transportation Commissioner Executive Director Tamera Leighton said the intersection is “probably the most dangerous place to be” in the county. | Map courtesy of the DNLTC

Calling herself a “data girl,” Tamera Leighton highlighted the role accurate statistics play in making safety improvements on local roads. 

Addressing negative Facebook chatter regarding a roundabout slated to be installed at Elk Valley Cross Road and U.S. 199 this spring, the Del Norte Local Transportation Commission executive director said her family drives these roads too.

“That intersection is probably the most dangerous place to be in Del Norte County,” Leighton said, adding that a 2020 study of the Elk Valley Cross Road corridor found that the intersection’s collision rate is 811% greater than the statewide average for similar intersections. “Since this document was produced, my son’s car was totaled at this intersection. My first cousin was in a serious collision a few months ago. She still hasn’t been able to go back to work. It’s my job, sure, but it’s also my family. It’s your families.”

Continue reading Elk Valley Cross Roundabout, STAA 199/197 Start Construction in April; Highway Closures Anticipated

Del Norte Supes Recap For Jan. 27, 2026

Thumbnail image: Screenshot

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Welcome to California: The Board of Supervisors congratulated Caltrans representative Julia Peterson after she unveiled new California welcome signs that they said were far superior to Oregon’s.

Peterson showed supervisors an early rendering of the signs created after a public survey showed that the most favored themes were bears and elk. Three-dimensional bears will grace the sign on U.S. 199 while elk and salmon will welcome motorists driving south on U.S. 101, she said. 

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Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners are expected to take a final step toward starting a $15 million project to replace Citizens Dock and an adjacent seawall this spring.

The Harbor Board will consider adopting a mitigated negative declaration Wednesday based on a 709-page study of its potential environmental impacts. The study includes two phases of the Citizens Dock rebuild, though the Harbor District doesn’t have the funding to complete the second phase, according to Community System Solutions CEO Mike Bahr.

It also includes a construction project near the small boat ramp off Anchor Way to mitigate potential habitat loss as a result, Bahr told commissioners during a public hearing held Jan. 14.

Continue reading Citizens Dock, Seawall Projects Up For Discussion at Wednesday’s CCHD Meeting

Art Scene: Golden West Winds Quintet, Valentines Drum Circle, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Display

• The Del Norte-Curry Community Concert Association will bring the United States Air Force’s Golden West Winds Quintet to the Crescent Elk Auditorium for a free concert at 3 p.m. Saturday.

• Mombo Hernandez will lead a community drum circle from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 14 at the former Church of the Nazarene, 224 F Street in Crescent City. Drums will be provided or bring your own. Suggested donations of $5 to $20 are requested.

• Live-size Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation posters will be on display at the Del Norte County Regional Airport through April 9 in celebration of the Tolowa interpretive walk coming to Beachfront Park.

• Tickets are on sale for DNACA’s next concert, The Derina Harvey Band. The award-winning Celtic rock group will be at the Crescent Elk Auditorium at 3 p.m. March 15. Tickets are $25 for general admission, $23 for seniors and veterans and $20 for students and are available at DNACA.Eventbrite.com.

Harbor Staff Working To Raise Partially Submerged Vessel In Its Marina

Thumbnail photo: A commercial fishing vessel, the Flo, was found partially submerged in the Crescent City Harbor’s marina early Friday morning. | Photo by Heather Polen

Harbor District staff are using salvage lift bags and a dive team to raise a partially submerged commercial fishing vessel currently located at E Dock in the port’s marina.

The fishing vessel is owned by Andrew Griffin, a local fisherman, Harbormaster Mike Rademaker told the Board of Commissioners via email on Friday. The cause is still under investigation. In addition to trying to stabilize the vessel, staff have deployed an oil-containment boom around the boat as a precaution, Rademaker said.

A CCHD maintenance worker found the partially submerged vessel earlier Friday, Griffin told Redwood Voice Community News. 

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RV Park Proposals Spark Discussion Over Harbormaster’s Living Situation

Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Crescent City Harbor commissioners rejected proposals from two Orange County developers eager to revitalize Bayside and Redwood Harbor Village RV parks, Chairman Rick Shepherd announced Wednesday.

The Board’s rejection of proposals from Sean McGraw and Scott Lawhon doesn’t mean that further negotiations couldn’t be had with either developer, according to Harbormaster Mike Rademaker. For now, a request for proposals commissioners approved in August is still active, he told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday.

“Not much has been stated publicly after several closed session deliberations over several months,” Rademaker said, calling the move cautious. “This public statement reflects the Board’s conclusion that, after sufficient review, the proposals were not yet close to terms the district could accept.”

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