Sacramento VIPs make surprise visit to Ferndale after earthquake
We made it through the night. Scroll for rare bird news, good earthquake content, and survey links.
Ferndale’s state senator, Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, visited town last night following the 7.0 earthquake that rocked the North Coast, according to the Ferndale Volunteer Fire Department. He was joined by newly sworn-in Assemblyman Chris Rogers and county officials Rex Bohn and Elishia Hayes. Via FVFD:
In a heartwarming display of community support, 1st District Supervisor Rex Bohn, Senator Mike McGuire, 2nd District Assemblyman Chris Rogers, and Humboldt County Administrative Officer Elishia Hayes made a surprise visit to the Ferndale Fire Hall during our monthly business meeting.
Their unexpected arrival was a gesture of gratitude and solidarity with the firefighters who had worked tirelessly to ensure the safety of the community during the day's powerful earthquake.
The group expressed their sincere appreciation for the firefighters' dedication and swift response to the emergency. They acknowledged the crucial role Ferndale Fire Department plays in safeguarding the community, particularly during times of crisis. The visit was not merely a token of gratitude; it was a tangible demonstration of the community's support for its First Responders.
Beyond their words of thanks, Rex, Mike, Chris, and Elishia offered practical assistance to Ferndale Fire Department. They inquired about any specific needs or resources that might be helpful in the aftermath of the earthquake. Their willingness to lend a hand, whether it be through donations, volunteer work, or other forms of support, highlighted the strong bond between the community and its emergency services.
Hear, hear. (Do we think all this biblical mayhem will get us an extension on our taxes?)
Aftershocks
I felt that 4.2 just after 6:30 this morning. What about you? Apparently there was another 4.2 just before 7am.
It must be said—the shaking was bad but the content has been good. What is the Humboldt equivalent of an EGOT? She’s on the fast track for it:
Quote of the week comes from one of Stuart Altschuler’s friends, commenting on Stuart’s public Facebook post about being stuck on CR’s campus right after the initial quake and tsunami warning: “Earthquakes, cyclones, tidal waves. It’s like a guy can't even incite the wrath of god without repercussions anymore.”
h/t to Pete Giacomini for this video (click to play):
Watch the waves from the M7.0 earthquake in Northern California roll across seismic stations in North America.
This animation, called a Ground Motion Visualization (GMV), shows the motion of the ground as detected on seismometers across North America. Each dot is a seismic station, and when the ground moves up it turns red and when it moves down it turns blue.
Earthquake waves travel around and through the Earth. Once the earthquake waves are far enough away from the location where the earthquake occurred, they can no longer be felt by people, BUT they can still be detected by sensitive seismic instruments.
The discussion naturally turns to: How did we get so lucky in terms of damage? We all recall that the December 2022 quake (in the middle of the night, no thank you) did a much bigger number on us and even worse on our Rio Dell neighbors. Perhaps this is a question for former Ferndale Enterprise intern turned science journalist extraordinaire Adam Cole.
Spare a thought for Tate Michael of Patches’ Pastries, who “noped right outta there” when the shaking started, in video footage shared on Facebook. According to Patch, Tate is “a super earthquake worrier” — a category we didn’t know we needed — “so one shift and he’s OUT.” Tate has a beautiful singing voice, to which we were treated when we picked up our pumpkin tart before Thanksgiving.
Future of Fernbridge
We are watching this page for documents to possibly be uploaded in advance of the Dec. 11 town hall meeting on the future of Fernbridge.
Have you seen these birds?
Visiting birders have apparently made several rare, confirmed sightings of both the Philadelphia Vireo (left) and Red-eyed Vireo (right) in recent days in the vicinity of Don and Kay Becker’s house on Van Ness Avenue. If you see either of these species (or any interesting species!), you are encouraged to report it on the Cornell University eBird app.
In particular, the Philadelphia Vireo is not often found on the northern part of the West Coast:
I think my Bird Girl era has officially begun.
Surveys reminder — deadline Sunday night
You are invited to participate in the following:
1. Where are you getting your Christmas tree? (English/Español)
2. How did November’s atmospheric river affect you and/or your livelihood? (English/Español)
Both surveys will be open until Sunday, Dec. 8 at 11:00pm Pacific. Feel free to share the links with other people. Obviously these will not yield scientific results, but I am nonetheless curious and look forward to hearing from you! I will share results in a future issue. (The storm survey has the option to agree or decline to be quoted.)
Non-earthquake quote of the week
After the daycare Christmas performance on Wednesday night at Firemen’s Pavilion (first since Covid and absolutely charming), my sister observed that to grow up in Ferndale is to have a very lattice-based childhood. “What haven’t I done with lattice?”
Hope to see you at Hospitality Night.
I’m planning to post up at Sitka.
As usual:
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Thank you for reading!
That animation watching the wave of ground motion all the way across America and up into Alaska, So cool!!