Wednesday Updates: Humboldt County volunteers hand out emergency meals; 13,000 people remain without power after Tuesday’s quake

The day after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake that left two people dead and at least 17 injured, Humboldt County residents continue to see power outages, closed roads and aftershocks.

Here is the latest:

3:15 p.m.: Facebook group serves as place to connect

The 30,000-member Humboldt County on Alert Facebook group is serving as a place people can connect, get resources and ask questions.

2:30 p.m.: Community, local agencies work to repair earthquake damage; acknowledge the problems still ahead

First District Humboldt County Supervisor Rex Bohn said that 13,000 people remained without power in the area around the Eel River Valley community of Hydesville.

State Route 211's Fernbridge, one of two spans into the Eel River Valley city of Ferndale, has been closed to traffic since it was damaged in Tuesday’s quake.

Caltrans announced on Twitter Wednesday morning that Fernbridge may reopen sometime during the day, and that a $6 million emergency contract had been awarded to address damages.

"CalTrans is working their tail off," Bohn said. "The asphalt has been ordered. As soon as they get support in place under the bridge, they'll reopen one-way traffic. ... We get 7,500 trips a day on that bridge and I don't think they want to put that on Blue Slide Road."

To the southeast, in the city of Rio Dell, the community was dealing with damage to homes and businesses.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's quakes, the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services issued boil water advisories for Rio Dell and parts of Fortuna, which remained in place Wednesday.

"There's just no water," Bohn said, crediting the efforts of North Coast businesses in the aftermath of Tuesday's quakes to help meet emergency needs.

"Both Humboldt Redwood and Mendocino Redwood stepped up. John Andersen and Dean Kerstetter sent up water," he said. "The outpouring has just been amazing. Grocery Outlet in Fortuna was putting food together. Forbusco [Lumber] was handing out plywood."

Bohn said that Ray's Food Place in Fortuna has initially been red-tagged -- marked by the county as so damaged that it was unsafe to inhabit -- before being upgraded to yellow tag, indicating moderate damage and limited safe access, and that the supermarket will have to make repairs.

He said that 22 houses had been red-tagged in Rio Dell, and about 30 yellow-tagged, and three homes red-tagged in Fortuna.

Bohn said that perhaps one out of 20 people in the area had earthquake insurance, citing the cost, and that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors planned to declare an emergency Thursday to secure more assistance for the region.

"This is not a good time to be without a house," he said, citing the rippling effects of Tuesday's quake on Humboldt County communities and businesses.

"Some businesses make 25% of their money from the Christmas season," Bohn said. "We're gonna throw everything against the wall and see what sticks. Things are moving forward ... . Hopefully the bridge opens and the power is restored."

Bohn said that supervisors from counties across the state had reached out to Humboldt, and that North Coast lawmakers state Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblyman Jim Wood had been in constant communication with the county.

"Small counties don't have the resources the big counties have," he said. "It's been a tough go. I'm just proud of my county."

2 p.m.: Power restored for many Humboldt County residents, including in Rio Dell

As of 2 p.m., PG&E has been restored power to most areas in Humboldt County. About 2,100 residents are still in the dark.

Rio Dell resident Westley Drewry, 25, received a call about 1 p.m. from a neighbor that his power had been turned back on.

Drewry left his residence Tuesday afternoon and drove down to his father’s house in Redway, where he knew he could stay warm.

Even though he is not expecting water to come back on for the next few days, Drewry is willing to drive about 15 minutes each day to a family’s member’s house for a shower so he can be back in his home and start cleaning up.

Drewry’s fireplace collapsed during the first quake early Tuesday, creating a hole into his living room.

In Drewry’s kitchen, all of his plates and cups had clattered to the floor. Most of them, including his pie plates he used to make treats every Christmas, were shattered.

“I have two plates and four cups to my name,” Drewry said.

Drewry rents the home from his dad, who does not have earthquake insurance because it is too expensive.

Drewry said he does not know many people in Rio Dell that have earthquake insurance.

1:40 p.m.: Sheriff’s Office: 17 people injured, at least 30 residences deemed structurally unsafe

At least 17 people were injured in Tuesday’s quake, according to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday.

Approximately 3,400 residents in Rio Dell are still without water. A boil water advisory has been issued for the city of Rio Dell and the Fortuna neighborhoods of: Forest Hills Drive, Newell Drive, Valley View Drive, Boyden Lane, Scenic Drive and Cypress Loop Road.

Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking and food preparation until Potable water is available at the following locations: Rio Dell Fire Hall, 50 West Center St., Rio Dell and Rohner Park Pavilion, 9 Park Street, Fortuna.

Damage assessments continue in impacted areas. At least 30 residences and one commercial structure have been determined structurally unsafe, according to authorities.

11:30 a.m.: Resources for earthquake survivors

A Humboldt County food bank, Food for People, is handing out food from noon to 2 p.m. at the lot at 406 Wildwood Avenue in Rio Dell.

The group will have nonperishable items and ready-to-eat meal kits.

Down the street, World Central Kitchen is passing out hot meals and water at the Rio Dell Fire Department (50 West Center Street).

The Eureka Choice Pantry will be handing out food until 4 p.m. at 1720 10th Street.

The American Red Cross California Gold Country tweeted Wednesday that it took care of nine people at its Humboldt County shelter Tuesday. Meals, snacks and drinks are available at 9 Park St., Fortuna.

Although there was a small number of people in the shelter, there are many people that were displaced following the earthquake, said Andrew Bogar, Red Cross disaster program manager for Humboldt, Del Norte and Trinity counties.

“I don’t want to people to think that our small shelter numbers indicate that the need is not great,” he said. “There are a number of families that will not be able to go home after this.”

The Red Cross has seen many people volunteer over the past two days and about 95% them are from the areas that were affected, Bogar said.

“They’ve got glass on their floor and water in their garage,” he said, adding there is water in his garage. “They were able to roll out of bed and get to work.”

Bogar said however the recovery from this earthquake is far from done and that the smaller communities affected will maybe take longer, due to lack in resources.

“You can only do so much when are trying to clean up your own house,” he said, referencing the volunteers.

11:15 a.m.: Working around the clock

In a tweet, State Sen. Mike McGuire, who represents Humboldt County, said CalTrans has been working “around the clock” to reopen Fernbridge.

10:15 a.m.: Power still out

By Wednesday morning, 13,923 customers were still without power, according to the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. website.

The company plans to restore power to almost all residents by about 3 p.m.

The majority of the residents still in the dark are in Ferndale, Fortuna and Rio Dell, which were hit hardest by the earthquake, according to PG&E.

As of 9:40 a.m., about 6,500 PG&E customers in Fortuna still have not regained power.

About 60,000 homes and business were cut off from power for the majority of Tuesday. PG&E returned power to about 30,000 customers by 8 p.m.

9 a.m.: Road closed

A bridge spanning the Eel River, near Fernbridge, is still closed as of 9 a.m., according to Caltrans according to public information officer Manny Machado.

The roadway, which had at least four cracks, was initially closed about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

All other state highway bridges around Rio Dell are open, Machado said.

8:30 a.m.: Multiple aftershocks

A magnitude 3.7 aftershock rattled the eastern portion of the county about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was about 4.6 miles east of Fortuna.

This was one of multiple aftershocks that have shook the region since the initial earthquake, which occurred in an area known as the Mendocino Triple Junction, where three tectonic plates meet.

At least 50 smaller quakes were reported in the region throughout Tuesday, according to the USGS.

8 a.m. Boil water advisories

The City of Rio Dell and portions of Fortuna are still under boil water advisories.

Some locations around these areas, such as Rio Dell Fire Hall (50 West Center Street, Rio Dell) and the Rohner Park Pavilion (9 Park Street, Fortuna), are providing potable water to residents.

This story will be updated.

Staffers Marc Valles and Kent Porter contributed to this report.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.