SERVING DEL NORTE COUNTY SINCE 1879
www.triplicate.com
FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021
Crescent City, CA
Officials prepare for long, hard fire season KNOX KERANEN The Triplicate
Knox Keranen, The Triplicate
As of press time, fire danger in the Gasquet/Smith River National Recreation Area District is high.
With reduced staff and precipitation, fire officials with Six Rivers National Forest are preparing for a long, hard fire season. During a Tuesday Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting, Jeff Marszal, district ranger of Six Rivers’ Gasquet district, highlighted last year’s tumultuous fire season, including the Slater Fire, which burned more than 150,000 acres in Del Norte and Humboldt
counties and forced residents in Gasquet to evacuate. Marszal said the Slater Fire demonstrated “extreme and unprecedented” fire behavior, making it difficult to deal with. Additionally, staff and other resources were spread thin because of several other large wildfires across the state – a problem forest officials will likely face again this year. “We are going to be short across the region,” said Duane Franklin, fire supervisor of the Gasquet district. Franklin said the staffing issues
are due to competition with other fire services and other higher paying jobs. He said the forest service will be operating with one less fire engine and water tender worker this year. However, the district-hosted hotshot crew is fully staffed, although they can be pulled to other larger fires across the West. All in all, the district is down about 20% in staff and resources, according to Marszal. What’s more, the fire season has Please see FIRE SEASON, Page A11
Del Norte to remain in red tier for restrictions By DAVID RUPKALVIS The Triplicate
Knox Keranen, The Triplicate
Legacy at 665 L St. has seen a surge in crime since last year when it became interim housing for houseless individuals.
Police working with the Legacy to stem crime KNOX KERANEN The Triplicate
As a Crescent City motel-turnedtransitional home navigates a spike in crime, police are stepping into a larger role in the project. The Legacy, formerly known as the Coastal Inn and Suites, was purchased by the county last Fall using $2.4 million in Project Homekey funds. Project Homekey is a state initiative that provides local agen-
cies funds to purchase properties, such as motels, in order to provide interim housing to houseless individuals — thus, the Coastal Inn and Suites became the Legacy. A surge in crime and overall calls for police service align with the transition of the property. In 2019, Crescent City Police received 71 calls for service to the property, but that number jumped to 194 in 2020. This year, CCPD has
received 96 calls for service, which puts them on pace to reach 264 by year-end. Mayor Jason Greenough, who was opposed to the project, called the numbers “stark,” at a Monday city council meeting. “The explosion from 71 to 194, in one year, that’s a lot,” said Greenough. However, a newfound partnership, which includes weekly meetings between police and Legacy manage-
ment staff, hopes to stem the tide. Police Chief Richard Griffin said calls for service have been trending downward in recent weeks. Roy Jackson, housing services manager with the Department of Health and Human Services, said he appreciates the relationship, as he wants his clients to have a safe place to live. Please see LEGACY, Page A10
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Police Chief Richard Griffin presented photos to the city council of leftover refuse from several homeless camps near the veteran’s cemetery, which are now uninhabited.
City looking to cleanup homeless camp KNOX KERANEN The Triplicate
Crescent City is pursuing a major property cleanup on a vacant parcel of city land near the Home Depot and the veteran’s cemetery, which has been host to a large homeless encampment. During a Monday city council meeting, Crescent City Police Chief Richard Griffin said the houseless individuals who were camping in the area were hard to deal with, and they refused to
work with Mission Possible — a local non-profit that assists houseless individuals with services. “That was our...problem children area per say, it’s more of the aggressive group that we continually have problems with,” said Griffin. “My officers did a pretty good job as far as dealing with issues back there. We had some domestic violence issues and other issues back there.” Griffin said they have cleared out the campers, but their structures and trash remain. He presented photos of discarded lumber, tarps, mattresses
and other refuse. “Those pictures are just one part of everything that’s been going on back there, and it’s been going on for years and years,” said Griffin. Besides the sheer amount of garbage, another challenge to the proposed cleanup is the landscape, which is steep and unwieldy, meaning equipment cannot get into the area and a cleanup will have to be done by hand.
Go Wild Rivers Coast Guide released Ames recognized for service during World War II AT TRIPLICATE.COM
Please see CAMP, Page A10
One week before most COVID restrictions are set to be lifted in California, Del Norte County remained in the red tier of restrictions. Dr. Warren Rehwaldt told the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors that while new cases were still occurring, he is ready for restrictions to be lifted. “We’re looking forward to seeing the tiers go away,” Rehwaldt said. “I get the sense the worst of the pandemic is behind us, and hopefully it will stay behind us.” The key to keeping COVID at bay continues to be getting people vaccinated, Rehwaldt said. To help with that, Rehwaldt said Del Norte Public Health recently moved its vaccine program to Snap Nurse. The move extended vaccine clinics at the county fairgrounds to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The clinic will also move to different locations around the county in an effort to reach more people. “We’re going to have them rotate to different locations based on demand, but we anticipate them being in Smith River and Klamath on a regular basis,” Rehwaldt said. “Right now, they’re offering Moderna, but we think we can start offering split clinics or maybe two vaccines at the same time.” Rehwaldt said the number of people getting vaccinated has slowed, but new people are showing up daily. “Our clinic volume has not been great,” he said. “I think we’re close to 17,000 doses, and I think we’re getting very close to 60 percent of our seniors vaccinated. We would like to see it be a little higher.” Rehwaldt said there has been some variants seen in Del Norte County. The variants spread easier and are a little more deadly, he said. The good news is the vaccines appear to be effective against the variants. While community spread has been rare, new cases are being reported. “It’s mostly family,” Rehwaldt said. “We have been connected to schools, but that was mostly February and March. There’s some connectivity to businesses, but not big at all. The biggest has been out at Pelican Bay (prison), but by our standards it’s not real bad.” According to the state, there are 15 active COVID cases linked to employees at the prison, with five reported in the last two weeks. Again, the key to beating the pandemic is getting enough people vaccinated, Rehwaldt said. With the state expected to lift most restrictions June 15, Rehwaldt said vaccinated people will be able to go without masks almost everywhere. “We’re kind of looking at a future, where for practical purposes, most people aren’t going to be masked,” Rehwaldt said. “We’ll get there. It’s going to take a while though.”
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