Humboldt County supervisors ratify Arcadia emergency after five‑alarm fire, forward declaration to Cal OES

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 8 unanimously ratified a local emergency proclamation tied to a five‑alarm fire that swept a block in Arcadia on Jan. 2, forwarding the declaration to the California Office of Emergency Services and designating Patrick as interim emergency services program manager.

Sheriff Hansel, who introduced the ratification request, said the fire required substantial resources and prompted environmental concerns: "This is due to the 5 alarm fire that occurred in the city of Arcadia on January 2," he said, and added that environmental health staff had recommended bringing in state experts "to assess the situation to test to make sure... any of the assistance that we needed could be there to help with potential cleanup." The sheriff said more than 2,000,000 gallons of water had been applied to the incident and that contaminants from burned buildings could have entered stormwater and wastewater systems.

Merritt, representing Arcadia city government, told the board county and state testing were needed to protect creeks and the bay and to support displaced businesses and residents. "One of the big questions we have right now is the assessment," Merritt said, noting a paint store was involved in the fire and that runoff required environmental review.

Fire operations staff described the firefight as a multi‑agency effort. Chief Evans said the response included about 80 firefighters and mutual‑aid resources; on the technical challenges he said, "At the peak of the fire, we were flowing about 9,000 gallons per minute," and emphasized that the system provided adequate supply though flow management was demanding.

Board members used the hearing to flag related storm damage across the county. Supervisors described separate flooding impacts in King Salmon and other communities, including reports of more than 25 homes with several inches of water and several houses likely beyond repair. County staff and the sheriff said damage assessments will be collected and submitted to Cal OES to pursue potential state or federal reimbursement; staff noted the county has a limited window to make that submission.

Action taken: the board approved ratification of the local emergency, agreed to forward the proclamation to Cal OES for state coordination and designated Patrick as interim emergency services program manager to oversee assessments, interagency coordination and follow‑up. The vote was recorded as 5‑0 in favor.

Next steps: county environmental health and designated state agencies will conduct testing and assessment of stormwater and wastewater impacts; county staff will continue door‑to‑door outreach in hard‑hit neighborhoods and pursue reimbursement through Cal OES for eligible storm and fire response costs.