Category Archives: Articles

Articles, Emergencies

Last Week’s Waldo Fires Likely Set Maliciously, Fire Chief Says

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Thumbnail photo: Debris left behind by a fire that burned RVs and other makeshift structures on Waldo Street on Jan. 30. | Photo by Heather Polen

A week after his firefighters responded to multiple blazes near Waldo and State streets, Crescent City Fire and Rescue Interim Chief Bill Gillespie says it’s likely they were maliciously set. 

Gillespie, who returned to the fire chief role in December, said the department is still investigating the origin and cause of fires that occurred on Wednesday and Friday. In one incident, there were two separate fires burning 100 yards or more apart, he said, which is too much of a coincidence for it to be incidental.

“(Firefighters) responded into the area, they got there, they had two well-established fires burning in trailers and vehicles around the whole configuration,” Gillespie told Redwood Voice Community News on Thursday, adding that he spoke with Battalion Chief Ray Rook and others who responded. “The fires wouldn’t have been that well advanced if one had spotted from another fire.”

Continue reading Last Week’s Waldo Fires Likely Set Maliciously, Fire Chief Says →
Articles, Community News, Crescent City

Ribbon Cutting Set For New Senior Apartments; Harbor Point At Capacity, City Manager Says

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Thumbnail photo: The new Harbor Point Apartment building on H Street in Crescent City is already at capacity. | Photo by James Brooks

Eric Wier congratulated his staff and the City Council when he announced the official ribbon cutting of a new senior apartment complex on H Street.

It was through their work that Crescent City secured the $5 million Competitive Permanent Local Housing Allocation grant that allowed Arcata-based DANCO Communities the tax credits needed develop Harbor Point Apartments, the city manager said Monday. 

The ribbon-cutting will take place at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, but the 27-unit apartment building is already at occupancy, Wier told Redwood Voice Community News.

Continue reading Ribbon Cutting Set For New Senior Apartments; Harbor Point At Capacity, City Manager Says →
Articles, Law

Sex Offender Sweep May Have Led To ICE Rumor, Del Norte County Sheriff Says

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The Del Norte County sheriff says a Facebook rumor stating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in the community may have been started because of a sex offender sweep his deputies conducted Wednesday.

Sheriff Garrett Scott said his department and others, including Del Norte County probation, conducted a pre-planned sweep of the sex offenders who are supposed to be registered under California Penal Code 290.

There are about 100 registered sex offenders living in Del Norte County and the sheriff’s office regularly puts a team of law enforcement officers together to ensure they’re complying with the law, Scott said.

Continue reading Sex Offender Sweep May Have Led To ICE Rumor, Del Norte County Sheriff Says →
Articles, Emergencies, Humboldt, Klamath

Search Continues For McKinleyville Fisherman Who Was Swept Into The Ocean In Klamath

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Thumbnail photo: Maximo Macanas | Photo courtesy of Macanas family

The search continues for a McKinleyville man who was swept into the water near the mouth of the Klamath River on Saturday.

Maximo Macanas was fishing from shore with his family on the south side of the river when a sneaker wave swept him into the ocean at about 4 p.m., according to a message posted on Facebook by Macanas’s family.

Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott said the U.S. Coast Guard brought a helicopter to the area to assist in the search, both on Saturday and Sunday. Macanas was last seen in a black puffy jacket and green waders, Scott told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday.

Continue reading Search Continues For McKinleyville Fisherman Who Was Swept Into The Ocean In Klamath →
Articles, Economy, Environment

Unwilling To Wade Into the Offshore Oil Debate, DN Supervisors Ask Staff To ‘Track Federal Policies’

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Thumbnail photo: Oil platforms off the coast of Seal Beach, Calif. | Photo by Mike Peel via Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons License

Del Norte County supervisors declined to take a position on offshore oil drilling in the Golden State with one representative stating that weighing in on the issue might “put ourselves in the middle of a much larger fight.”

District 3 Supervisor Chris Howard on Tuesday quoted from a Politico article that stated that the Trump administration’s plans to open federal waters in the Pacific to offshore drilling “looks designed to antagonize Gov. Gavin Newsom.” 

Howard also cited reports from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and Stanford University that stated that the last time the Elk River Basin was studied for potential petroleum development was in 1960.

Continue reading Unwilling To Wade Into the Offshore Oil Debate, DN Supervisors Ask Staff To ‘Track Federal Policies’ →
Articles, Crescent City, Emergencies

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

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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.

Continue reading Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department Investigating Blazes In Encampment Area Near Waldo →
Articles, CC Harbor, Local Government

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

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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.”

Continue reading CEO Says Crescent City Harbor Will ‘Go Through The Procedures’ To Satisfy Public Concern Over Commissioners’ Bonds →
Articles, CC Harbor, Infrastructure, Local Government

CCHD Recap For Jan. 28, 2026

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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 →
Articles, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transportation

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

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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 →
Articles, Infrastructure, Transportation

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

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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 →