MENDOCINO Co., 12/26/23 — For more than seven years here at The Mendocino Voice, we’ve provided breaking news on wildfires, power shutoffs, floods, road closures, and other emergency situations. Beyond updates on current conditions, we’ve published information on preparedness and prevention, compiled resources for people who endure both the immediate hazards of natural disasters, and the ensuing economic crisis and mental duress that can come with these emergencies. 

As these events become more frequent, we have put together a general information guide to help you navigate and prepare for emergencies, first focused on wildfires, and now on winter weather and floods, below. We’ve also included past articles and resources which are still relevant and useful, and have been aggregated and organized here. We know it’s not always easy to find current and accurate information in the middle of an emergency, and so we hope this guide will help keep you stay prepared and informed during whatever winter weather may come.

We recommend bookmarking this page as these are useful resources during many different kinds of emergencies, and there are the links to official sources. This guide is specifically focused on Mendocino County, and so does not include links to Humboldt, Lake, and Sonoma, although we have included a number of state and national resources so you can find information about specific locations wherever you may be.

What has helped you? Please comment or contact info@mendovoice.com if there are any resources we’ve missed so we can include them here.

Here’s our emergency “need to go” wildfire guide, for the warmer months.

Emergency offices, public safety and public health resources:

MENDOCINO Co., 12/26/23 — For more than seven years here at The Mendocino Voice, we’ve provided breaking news on wildfires, power shutoffs, floods, road closures, and other emergency situations. Beyond updates on current conditions, we’ve published information on preparedness and prevention, compiled resources for people who endure both the immediate hazards of natural disasters, and the ensuing economic crisis and mental duress that can come with these emergencies. 

Weather conditions, alerts and forecasts:

Winter storm safety info:

Flooding and debris info:

Road information, current closures and incidents:

  • Check the Caltrans QuickMap for current road closures or call 1-800-GAS-ROAD
  • Caltrans District 1 on Facebook and Twitter
  • Check for current accidents at the CHP traffic update page
  • Mendocino National Forest closures and related alerts
  • Road cameras:
  • Likely closures depending on weather conditions:
    • Mendocino County Department of Transportation closes a number of roads during the winter time, find closures here.
    • State Route 128 often floods if the Navarro River at Navarro reaches flood stage 
    • State Route 175 often floods if the Russian River at Hopland reaches flood stage 
    • State Route 1 often floods if the Garcia River near Point Arena reaches flood stage 

PG&E and other power information and outages:

Storm Safety Tips from PG&E:

  • Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it—and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
  • Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on powerlines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.
  • Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights and not candles, due to the risk of fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
  • Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your cell phone running.
  • Have fresh drinking water and ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer to prevent food spoilage.
  • Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns.
  • Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.

Other PG&E tips can be found at: Safety and Preparedness, Storm Safety, and Safety Action Center.

Animal related resources:

  • County of Mendocino Disaster Preparedness for Animals page
  • Mendocino Wildlife Association wildlife rescue resources page
  • The Halter Project’s animal prepardness guide
  • Marine Mammal Center marine animal rescue page 
  • ASPCA’s site here for pet preparedness

Sandbags and other resources: Please note: this will change and depend on each specific weather event

  • Hopland Band of Pomo Indians located at the corner of Hwy 101 and Hwy 175
  • Friedman’s Home Improvement in Ukiah
  • Redwood Valley Fire Station
  • The Willits Justice Center located at 125 E Commercial Street in Willits
  • Laytonville Fire Station

What has helped you? Are there any resources that have helped you get through fire season that you don’t see in this article? It is still being updated, so please send an email to info@mendovoice.com and we’ll update it as soon as possible.

Kate Maxwell is the publisher and a founder of The Mendocino Voice. She lives inland but goes to the ocean as much as possible.

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