Rain poured on Noyo Harbor at Fort Bragg Tuesday, slowing efforts to assess and repair damage caused by the tsunami on Friday.
"It rained so hard, we quit," said Noyo Harbor manager Jere Kleinbach.
Weather permitting today, the remains of broken piers will be removed and divers will be able to better evaluate the damage to the harbor infrastructure, currently estimated at up to $4 million.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday declared a state of emergency at Fort Bragg, paving the way for a similar state declaration that will help the battered harbor district obtain emergency funding to repair the docks.
Waves of up to six feet pummeled the marina, wiping out a 150-foot section of one dock and seriously damaging at least two others.
It could have been worse. "Nobody sank," Kleinbach said.
There would have been more damage if the larger, steel-hulled fishing boats docked in the marina had not motored out to sea to avoid being tossed around in the harbor, where they would have crashed into smaller boats, he said.
"It would have been like you stepping on grapes," said Gene Mattiuzzo, sales manager at Caito Fisheries.
Compared with Crescent City and Santa Cruz, where many boats sank or were damaged, "we were very lucky," said Noyo Harbor Commissioner Tommy Ancona.
But county and Fort Bragg city officials are worried that there are further economic damages on the horizon.
For the first time in years, there is expected to be a productive salmon season on the North Coast, but Fort Bragg businesses could lose some fishing and tourism revenue if fishermen can't dock their boats and stay a while.
"We're not going to be able to safely handle the boats that want to come in," said Fort Bragg Mayor Dave Turner.
About 26 of the harbor's 253 boat slips were wiped out and others were damaged, Ancona said.
There's no way the piers can be fully repaired by the start of the sports fishing season in early April and it's unlikely they'll be ready for the commercial season in June, Kleinbach said.
Before the harbor was built in the 1960s, fishermen simply tied up along the Noyo River. Boats were so thick you could just about hop from one to another to cross the river, said assistant harbor manager Jeanie Mokma.
On Tuesday, two fishing vessels that lost their berths were docked alongside Caito Fisheries.
Jim Caito is among those who think there will be enough room for fishing vessels coming to the Fort Bragg area for salmon. Boats can tie up along the river as long as they don't create a hazard and do not obstruct the waterway, said Coast Guard Bosun's Mate 2 Chad Turczyn.
There aren't the same number of docks along the river as there once were, said Kleinbach. But "I think you'll find some creative berthing."
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