Post by Okwes on Feb 3, 2006 10:22:09 GMT -5
Hoopa Tribe wrangles roads a month after big storm
John Driscoll The Times-Standard
Eureka Times Standard
HOOPA -- On Pine Creek Road a month after the New Year's Eve storm that
dumped inches of rain here, an excavator with a jackhammer attachment
chipped at a massive boulder at the base of a massive slide.
Nearly as daunting as the Confusion Hill slide on U.S. Highway 101, the
slide in Hoopa began about a decade ago and has become worse every year.
This year, the rain-saturated slide has become even more problematic.
”The mountain just keeps shifting constantly,” said Jacque Hostler,
director of the Hoopa Valley Tribe Road Department.
Left alone, the slide on the road that connects to the Bald Hills Road
between Orick and Weitchpec could cut off 85 Hoopa Valley Reservation
residents, Hostler said. The tribe has appealed for federal help to
begin a permanent treatment for the problem.
But the slide is only one of dozens of washouts on the reservation that
have severed roads to and from Hoopa. Like many places in Northern
California, the damage is still being assessed. On just the 108 miles of
roads that fall under the federal Indian Reservation Roads system the
roads department manages, Hostler estimates there has been $8.5 million
in damage. Another 500 miles fall under Humboldt County or state
jurisdiction.
Particularly problematic: The tribe planned to mine rock for riprap this
winter to use for road work, but the storm blew out roads to the
reservation's quarries. Its reserve of 2,500 tons of hard rock was
nearly depleted before the roads could be repaired. The rock is also
important to county road crews working with the tribe to restore roads
in steep, erosive country.
Tribal Vice Chairman Billy Colegrove said it might be a year or more
before all the roads are repaired.
”It's going to be awhile,” he said.
Colegrove said the tribe has learned from the disaster. People pulled
together, he said, when the storm cut off power for four days. More
critically, sediment from the swollen Trinity River swamped a new water
treatment plant, leaving hundreds without water.
Tribal Civilian Community Corps and AmeriCorps members dug out the
40-foot deep trap by hand. A handful of tribal members, Colegrove said,
are still having water-pressure problems.
(As a side note, the Trinity River was expected to severely flood from
the New Year's Eve storm, but ended up cresting almost 9 feet below
predictions. The National Weather Service said that it believes there is
a glitch in its model, which is being reworked.)
Interestingly, Hoopa's rural nature was a benefit in some ways during
the storm. Septic systems -- as opposed to a sewage plant -- allowed
normal operation despite the water system's malfunction. Many older
residents also grew up canning food like salmon, and had food to get
them through the week after the storm.
Tribal Planner Mike Hostler said the tribe was well-prepared with
manpower and equipment to deal with the initial emergency. But Hostler
said the tribe is looking into ways to make its disaster response more
efficient, in part by adopting the National Incident Management System
that is being mandated after 9/11.
”It's never a complete science,” Mike Hostler said.
The tribe is also considering alternative energy sources for its water
system, probably big diesel generators. The Hoopa Wildland Fire
Department headquarters could also get generators, Hostler said, to
become a base during emergencies.
The winter isn't over. The forecast calls for rain and rain showers that
may add up to 3 inches over the next few days, though there may be a
three- to four-day dry spell after that. Hoopa can only hope.
John Driscoll The Times-Standard
Eureka Times Standard
HOOPA -- On Pine Creek Road a month after the New Year's Eve storm that
dumped inches of rain here, an excavator with a jackhammer attachment
chipped at a massive boulder at the base of a massive slide.
Nearly as daunting as the Confusion Hill slide on U.S. Highway 101, the
slide in Hoopa began about a decade ago and has become worse every year.
This year, the rain-saturated slide has become even more problematic.
”The mountain just keeps shifting constantly,” said Jacque Hostler,
director of the Hoopa Valley Tribe Road Department.
Left alone, the slide on the road that connects to the Bald Hills Road
between Orick and Weitchpec could cut off 85 Hoopa Valley Reservation
residents, Hostler said. The tribe has appealed for federal help to
begin a permanent treatment for the problem.
But the slide is only one of dozens of washouts on the reservation that
have severed roads to and from Hoopa. Like many places in Northern
California, the damage is still being assessed. On just the 108 miles of
roads that fall under the federal Indian Reservation Roads system the
roads department manages, Hostler estimates there has been $8.5 million
in damage. Another 500 miles fall under Humboldt County or state
jurisdiction.
Particularly problematic: The tribe planned to mine rock for riprap this
winter to use for road work, but the storm blew out roads to the
reservation's quarries. Its reserve of 2,500 tons of hard rock was
nearly depleted before the roads could be repaired. The rock is also
important to county road crews working with the tribe to restore roads
in steep, erosive country.
Tribal Vice Chairman Billy Colegrove said it might be a year or more
before all the roads are repaired.
”It's going to be awhile,” he said.
Colegrove said the tribe has learned from the disaster. People pulled
together, he said, when the storm cut off power for four days. More
critically, sediment from the swollen Trinity River swamped a new water
treatment plant, leaving hundreds without water.
Tribal Civilian Community Corps and AmeriCorps members dug out the
40-foot deep trap by hand. A handful of tribal members, Colegrove said,
are still having water-pressure problems.
(As a side note, the Trinity River was expected to severely flood from
the New Year's Eve storm, but ended up cresting almost 9 feet below
predictions. The National Weather Service said that it believes there is
a glitch in its model, which is being reworked.)
Interestingly, Hoopa's rural nature was a benefit in some ways during
the storm. Septic systems -- as opposed to a sewage plant -- allowed
normal operation despite the water system's malfunction. Many older
residents also grew up canning food like salmon, and had food to get
them through the week after the storm.
Tribal Planner Mike Hostler said the tribe was well-prepared with
manpower and equipment to deal with the initial emergency. But Hostler
said the tribe is looking into ways to make its disaster response more
efficient, in part by adopting the National Incident Management System
that is being mandated after 9/11.
”It's never a complete science,” Mike Hostler said.
The tribe is also considering alternative energy sources for its water
system, probably big diesel generators. The Hoopa Wildland Fire
Department headquarters could also get generators, Hostler said, to
become a base during emergencies.
The winter isn't over. The forecast calls for rain and rain showers that
may add up to 3 inches over the next few days, though there may be a
three- to four-day dry spell after that. Hoopa can only hope.