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SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879

www.triplicate.com

FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2021

Crescent City, CA

Number of fires increasing as summer approches Knox Keranen The Triplicate

A structure fire broke out last week in the industrial area along Elk Valley Road, it is the most recent of a string of fires in the area. Around 7:30 p.m. May 6, Crescent City firefighters responded to a report that a travel trailer had caught fire near the corner of Iowa Street and Elk Valley Road. When firefighters arrived, they found the trailer was parked next to a large propane tank, and between two warehouses, making it difficult to access and more threatening, said Bill Gillespie, chief of the Crescent City Fire Department. What’s more, initial reports had stated someone could have still been inside the trailer. However, crews were able to quickly knock down the fire, and in searching through the debris, they determined no one was inside. Later, the person who was reportPlease see FIRE, Page A3

By Knox Keranen, The Triplicate

A fire burns at a trailer in an industrial part of Crescent City. The city has seen an uptick of fires in the area.

Del Norte vaccination rate only around 1 in 3 adults so far ZACK DEMARS The Triplicate

By Knox Keranen, The Triplicate

An excavator at the bottom of the slope scoops dirt into a truck. Materials are being hauled to various locations throughout the county, including the Elk Valley Casino and the fairgrounds.

Work continues at Last Chance Grade

State hopes to reopen road fully ‘in a couple of months’ KNOX KERANEN The Triplicate

A major landslide in February closed down a three mile stretch of Highway 101 between Crescent City and Klamath, known as Last Chance Grade.

Since then, the stretch of road has opened up only to one-lane traffic, and is subjected to daily, two-hour closures occurring Monday-Thursday from 9-11 a.m., 12-2 p.m. and 3-5 p.m., and on Fridays from 9-11 a.m. and 12-2 p.m. The road does

not close during weekends, however, motorists should still expect 30-minute delays, due to one-lane traffic. To better understand daily operations at Last Chance Grade, the Triplicate was given a hardhat tour Tuesday. George Thorpe III is a construc-

tion inspector with Ghirardelli Associates, a construction management company overseeing the cleanup of the landslide. Thorpe III said he hopes the road will be safe enough to open up both lanes

Please see LAST CHANCE, Page A2

Barbecue with a Mediterranean twist KNOX KERANEN The Triplicate

When Armen Mamadjanian and his son Art opened up shop two years ago this June, they served mainly Mediterranean cuisine: kebabs, eggplant, tabbouleh. Business was average, but Mamadjanian wanted to make a change. “A lot of people don’t know what it is… so we quit the kebab and [went] with the ribs, the pulled pork, the brisket,” said Mamadjanian. Now, Art’s has become Crescent City’s most coveted hole-in-the-wall barbeque joint. Although, you’ll still find the brisket and pulled pork is being served in pita wraps, among other Mediterranean touches. “It has a little, little middle-eastern twist in it, like seasoning wise.” said Mamadjanian. The twist Mamadjanian was alluding to is the Aleppo pepper they use in their spice mixture, which is a staple in Mediterranean dishes. Please see ARTS, Page A3

Photo by Knox Keranen, The Triplicate

Kenny Fahndrich with the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office digs into a beef brisket pita wrap during a lunch break.

Go Wild Rivers Coast Guide released Ames recognized for service during World War II AT TRIPLICATE.COM

Del Norte County’s COVID-19 vaccination rates are lower than most of the rest of the state, and lower than some health officials would hope. Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, Del Norte County’s public health officer, told the board of supervisors Tuesday the county has vaccinated about one third of the county’s adults (behind the state’s 45%). “We’re hopeful that we can get more,” Rehwaldt said. “We think that the biggest news that people should think about in making this decision is the fact that we have some variants in our county. They’ve been identified — not a lot yet, but we’ve had the California variant for some time that we’ve known about, and we now have the (U.K. variant), and we think that we’re going to get more.” Rehwaldt said the county’s also seen an uptick in cases in recent weeks. “Mostly we see again it’s family contacts between families and friends. And that’s a hard thing to get around, because if people are going to just get the virus in their family and it gets going, it’s hard to put it back in the bottle, so to speak,” Rehwaldt said. There were 33 active cases of the virus in the community as of Tuesday, according to the county’s public health data. The increase means Del Norte County will remain in the red tier of virus restrictions for at least another week. Rehwaldt said the county may have been on track to see a reduction in restrictions, but the recent case increase squandered that possibility. Still, Rehwaldt said the likely approval of the Pfizer vaccine for use in children 12 and older will provide the county another tool to fight the virus. “We’re not quite ready in Del Norte to make that jump,” Rehwaldt said. ”But that’s all good news because it will allow some other people who might be interested in getting vaccinated, especially the families of those younger folks to get the vaccine out, so that’s good progress for us.” And the doctor addressed a question from Supervisor Valerie Starkey about the state’s plan to lift COVID-19 restrictions on June 15. “I know our numbers don’t warrant it, but I would really like to see us, in the next few weeks, transition from orange to yellow, down to so when June 15 hits we’ve had some sort of transition period,” Starkey said. Please see COVID, Page A10

INDEX Crossword................................................A3 Crossword Answers..................................A7 Classifieds................................................A5

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