Aurora Starchild
As California continues to be hit with nonstop storms and unusually cold conditions, some residents are in fear for their lives. Governor Newsom declared a State of Emergency in 13 counties on March 1, but he seemed to overlook one very desperate pocket of the state: Mendocino and Humboldt Counties. An entire community of rural ranchers has been stranded for two weeks and many are without medication, food, and water. They can’t leave their houses after being buried under 6 feet of snow — and more is on the way.
Videos by Rare
Mendocino Residents Fear for Their Lives, More Snow on the Way
Deano Criscitiello, in his 60s, lives east of Laytonville in Mendocino and has been stuck on Iron Peak for two weeks. He sent a letter to Kym Kemp, who runs a local news blog called Redheaded Blackbelt.
There’s 3′ of new snow since last night and it’s still dumping at 6 a.m.,” Criscitiello wrote. “With all the talk in the news about folks being rescued in So Cal but nothing about Mendocino county. Is the issue being addressed by anyone in authority?
I’m out of some of my meds, running low on food and am starting to get worried… I’ve called the California OES, and the Mendocino county sheriff and was told there was nothing they could do until the governor includes Mendocino county in the most recent declaration. And then there’s not much they can do because Mendocino county doesn’t have the equipment to remove so much snow.
There’s about 10 people on my road in worse condition than me, I have power, water, heat, a working phone. One guy has been sitting in a 5th wheel in the dark, no gas, propane with 2 dogs. He ran out of gas and propane 4 days ago. The snow is too deep to check on him, and there’s others who are in different states of desperation up here. Send help if you can. I’m beginning to fear for people’s lives.
Letter from Deano Criscitiello to Redheaded Blackbelt
Iron Peak Residents Tell Rare There Is Only One Lone Worker to Dig Everyone Out
Deano Criscitiello spoke with Rare via an exclusive interview to give an update on his situation.
“I’m melting snow to drink, and am getting creative in my pantry,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere for at least a couple of more days. We have a hired Dozer that has been trying to get to me since last week. Hopefully before the next storm I can get out of here.”
Criscitiello explained that the residents in his area pay for a private snow removal service but it’s only run by one person with one bulldozer. And the bulldozer itself took quite a lot of time to get to.
“The plow driver couldn’t even make it to his plow, to his dozer, because the road wasn’t plowed,” said Criscitiello. “He’s not allowed to run his equipment on the county road so he couldn’t do anything about it. He was like, ‘I would have just drove my bulldozer and punched a hole through the top.’ He has to haul his stuff on a trailer to a turnout spot where the bottom of our private road is. That’s at 600 feet. We’re at 3,800 feet. We’re well above the snow line [which is 1,500 feet].”
The Bulldozer Driver Is Overwhelmed
He said that the typical snow removal vehicles seen in cities like Tahoe wouldn’t be able to make it up the road. Even still, the bulldozer has been having difficulty getting up the hills.
“He’s got this massive D8 with a 12-foot blade,” he said. “A big tractor, it doesn’t have wheels. And he’s having a hard time pushing the snow drifts down… You would need one of those big snow blowers, but you can’t run that on an unpaved road. You need a tracked vehicle. But you couldn’t even find one because the winter’s so bad right now, they’re all in use.”
As of Tuesday, about half of the residents had been dug out. But while Mr. Criscitiello could hear the dozer nearby, he wasn’t expecting a rescue for another couple of days.
More Snow and Rain Will Probably Collapse Roofs
“We’re hurting worse than the people in San Bernardino because they have paved roads. It’s a horrible thing for them too, but they’re not getting snow at this next route… Thursday all the way through next Thursday it’s rain or snow. We’re at the altitude where we’re going to get some mix.”
Mr. Cristiello is no stranger to snow. A former longtime resident of Tahoe, he has firsthand experience with large storms. He was there in the winter of 1996-1997 as well as 1998, when the massive Sierra Nevada snowpack rapidly melted, flooding the American River, communities along Highway 50, and eventually the Central Valley. Drought conditions led to a volatile domino effect of destruction. Mudslides, uprooted trees, and rapid erosion wiped out personal property, land, and life.
He eventually moved to Mendocino to get away from the snow.
Asked what he thought the next storm system would do, Mr. Criscitiello sounded grave.
“It’s going to flood everything. What will happen is these roofs around here that have snow on them, they’ll get saturated first with the rain mix. And they will collapse. The weight of the wet snow is way heavier. So, once it starts raining with snow, it’ll make the snow pack five times heavier and will start collapsing roofs. It’s going to do a lot of damage to people’s personal property. This area’s not designed for — we don’t have houses for crazy snow loads.”
“Hopefully I’ll get out of here tomorrow,” he added. “I’ve kind of resigned to my fate. I’ve got enough food. I’m just going to die of boredom.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Criscitiello has a wife and a child who are stuck in Brazil. He was supposed to pick them up from the airport but the storms made them postpone their plans.
Some Mendocino Residents Are Snowed Out of Their Homes
Another resident who lives in Mr. Criscitiello’s community told Rare that he’d been snowed out of his house for two weeks.
“I’ve been driving around California,” he said, “sometimes I have to take an entire day to detour due to closed highways. I went as far as Huntington Beach and there was snow less than a mile from the ocean.”
Asked if he had any animals at home, the Mendocino resident grew quiet. “I have a cat and I’m worried about her,” he said. “One of my neighbors called and said they thought she came up to their door and they left some food out. She’s pretty thick so I’m hoping she’ll be okay by the time I can get home. She’s probably going to be upset.”
Neighbors Are Trying to Help But It’s “Life or Death” to Get Anywhere
Rare asked Mr. Criscitiello if anyone was helping check on their neighbors, and he said they’ve been trying but it’s extremely dangerous.
“There’s nothing you can do,” he said. “Once the storm starts, it snows nonstop— it’s still snowing today right now. It stopped for one day for a few hours… but then that night it started snowing again. So, even if you were able to get out, it was just a short window. It’s just been snowing probably 12 days straight. And the road’s been closed the whole time so you couldn’t get up or down.
“It’s freakin’ life or death,” he added. “It’s chest-deep snow.”
To dig his truck out, which is parked a fair distance from his house, Mr. Criscitiello first needs to wade through chest-deep snow just to get to it. From that point, he has to shovel his vehicle out and figure out where to even put the snow that he’s attempting to remove. And he’s going to have to do all this just so the bulldozer can clear his part of the road.
If this sounds like a nightmare, imagine living through it. Digging yourself horizontally through chest-deep frozen water is exhausting. It’s like you’re a prairie dog who somehow ended up in the Arctic. And as you’re exerting all your precious energy, not to find a tasty morsel but merely so you don’t die, your body begins to sweat and your sweat begins to freeze. Entire armies have been lost in this way.
Neighboring Communities Are Even Worse Off, Animals and Livestock May Freeze to Death
Mr. Criscitiello explained that there are elderly people around who desperately need help. And on the other side of the mountain, there are ranchers with livestock.
“The problem is, they’ll have them on the other side of the mountain where they can’t get up or down to their livestock. Because the road’s closed.”
Asked what is going to happen to the livestock, Criscitiello said it will vary from rancher to rancher.
“It’s a personal thing. A lot of them are going to die because they can’t get to them. And a lot of what they need is covered with snow.”
Some communities are having hay dropped down by helicopter, but none of the emergency personnel have been funded by the state. Mendocino declared an emergency which allows evacuees to have 3 days in a hotel. Mr. Criscitiello said one of his friends was rescued by a Sheriff with no notice and, after being put up for 3 days in a hotel, was totally stranded. He had nowhere to go, couldn’t go home, and his dogs had been left in his house alone.
Mendocino and Humboldt Counties Don’t Have the Resources, Manpower to Combat the Storms
Humboldt County Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell lives in the rural southeastern part of the county. She spoke with Kym Kemp and Matt Lafever as she was trying to dig out.
Bushnell said this year is “500 times worse than a normal winter. In 1989 was the last time it snowed this much. And this time snow went to sea level which didn’t happen in 1989. So, there is nowhere for stock to get down to some grass… The snow is deeper than the calves are tall.”
Even with one- or two-day breaks in the storm systems, cold weather and a pile-up of emergencies have left communities feeling helpless. Usually, California’s climate brings warmer days which melt the snow but this year, there hasn’t been a single reprieve.
People Are Melting Snow for Water — For Their Livestock, Too
Despite local services like PG&E, volunteer firefighters, Sheriff’s departments, and California Highway Patrol working around the clock to keep roads clear, they can’t keep up. Heavy snow has broken trees, causing downed powerlines and blocking road access. People and livestock need water, and the only way to get it is by melting snow due to frozen pipes. Many have run out of fuel to keep themselves warm and for firing up chainsaws to remove fallen trees and debris.
“We don’t have [snow like this],” Bushnell told Kemp and Lafever. “We’re not used to it, and we’re not prepared for it… Shoveling snow out is exhausting and it keeps coming.”
Bushnell also urged Humboldt residents to call the Sheriff’s department if they needed life-saving medicine or resources. She said they have a snowcat that can get to them but only to call if absolutely necessary. “If you are stuck and you need help, I have a number for you — (707) 445–7251. That’s the Sheriff’s Department,” she said. “They’ll get to you if you need medicine or out of food or heat… if you get out, try to go to a place where you won’t be stranded again.”
Mendocino County Needs Help Now
While the Humboldt Sheriff’s department has a snowcat, the residents in the Iron Peak area and other parts of Mendocino aren’t as lucky. And because of the communities’ small populations, they’ve been essentially left out of the news. We’ve been hearing about San Bernardino, Tahoe, and the Sierra Nevada range, and Governor Newsom responded with a State of Emergency so lives can be saved. But please don’t forget about the folks in Mendocino.
“What they need to do is they need to clear the roads like [how Governor Newsom] is [calling in] the National Guard,” said Mr. Criscitiello. “If he gave a quarter of the resources he’s given [the other counties]… Just hire private contractors with bulldozers. Even Cal Fire. There’s a Cal Fire yard with five bulldozers down the road just sitting there… He has to extend the declaration to Mendocino County or include us, whatever you want to call it.
“The county declared an emergency for the county but that’s only to free county resources which are what the county has. We’re going to throw the trucks and all the sand we’ve got, you know. But that’s all our resources it’s not from the state. If the state stepped in we could probably get money for the contractors. That’s all it would be is just clearing the roads and rescuing people. That’s what it comes down to.”
