Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign Good evening and welcome to the local news.
[00:00:18] Today is Tuesday, July 1st. I'm Jordan Panjalinen reporting for KMUD. In tonight's news, Humboldt Bay Fire Department and Mutual Aid respond to structure fire. Lightning sparks fire across six rivers. More lightning in today's forecast and Humboldt supervisors give takes on economic strategy. Stay tuned. News on those stories and more coming right up.
[00:00:53] After receiving multiple inquiries and concerns from local residents about possible ICE operations in Garberville, KMUD looked into the situation to find out what was really happening. Uniformed personnel were spotted at the Humboldt House inn on Tuesday, July 1 raising alarm in the community. Red headed Black Belt reached out to officials for clarification and here's what they found. Red headed Black Belt confirmed that the personnel were not federal agents but by California State park peace officers involved in a routine training exercise. According to a spokesperson from the California Department of Parks and Recreation, there was no active law enforcement activity being conducted by the state parks at the Humboldt House Inn and the department was not coordinating with any federal law enforcement agencies. The uniformed officers were participating in a standard training session for the California State Parks and Recreation staff. A officials stressed that their presence was solely for training and unrelated to immigration enforcement or federal operations. If you see ICE in your area, use Central de Pueblo's rapid Response Hotline that is 707-280-91.
[00:02:02] On June 30, 2025 at approximately 2:30pm The Humboldt Bay Fire Department responded to a significant residential structure fire involving a single story home with a detached garage. The fire which caused extensive damage, resulted in a total loss of the structures which estimated damages exceeding $200,000. KMUD News spoke with Nathan Baxley, the Humboldt Bay's fire battalion chief to bring you the latest update.
[00:02:34] We had a four engine response which is normal for us on a first alarm fire. We had 8113, 8114, 8115 in our truck, 8181 as well as myself and because it was during business hours, Chief 8100 and Chief 8101. So our department head as well as our operations chief also responded in to support fire operations.
[00:03:00] The first unit to arrive on scene was Fire Engine 8113 which is equipped with a 1500 gallon pump and a 500 gallon water tank. The engine is known to have responded to various incidents including structure fires. It was reported by this unit that there were heavy fire conditions involving the garage and the single story house with exposures threatened. There were hoarding conditions. There were A high level of debris in both the garage, the house as well as the surrounding property. Due to the condition of the property, it triggered the decision to change their strategy of putting the fire out from offensive to defensive.
[00:03:41] They took an offensive fire attack. They used the deck gun on our, on that pumping engine with tank water, which is 500 gallons. And they hit the fire hard. The main body of fire. And then transitioned to an offensive interior fire attack while getting water supply started and awaiting other incoming units.
[00:04:03] As Baxley made it to the scene, he saw that both the garage and home were not going to be suitable for tenants to live.
[00:04:10] Both the garage and the house were untenable for any type of occupants, meaning that the fire had already consumed and kind of overtaken both the garage and the residence. We did confirm en route that we had a primary all clear, at least by standard. By meaning that all occupants, the five people that were living in the house, were accounted for and had made it outside of the residence, which was a good thing. Which made my decision to go defensive easier.
[00:04:43] Knowing that, you know, conditions were such that I couldn't put crew's interior with the body of fire. The level of fire that was showing. About an hour after arrival, the fire was out and the focus had shifted to protecting neighboring homes due to the condition of the property already.
[00:05:02] We set up exposure groups and started to just protect the neighboring properties and knocked the fire down. After about an hour. It was deep seated and fed by again, a lot of personal property. And so it, it took, it took quite a bit of time to get fire control.
[00:05:23] That's kind of, at that point, you know, you just get into an overall, an overhaul type of approach to things. Just making sure you're knocking down all hotspots and making sure that once we left there, there wasn't going to be a rekindle. Mutual aid was called on behalf of the Humboldt Bay Fire Department due to short staffing that day in order to help cover the calls for service while units were tackling the structure fire.
[00:05:47] I called for mutual aid response. At that time we were. We're a five station department, so normally four stations, four units will respond to our first alarm fires, while the fifth unit will respond to the center of the city to cover or to respond to additional incoming calls for service. But because we were unstaffed at Station 2 for that day due to some staffing issues and staffing shortages, called for mutual aid. Two units from Arcata through Cal fires dispatch to send the next unit in to.
[00:06:21] To cover calls for service, which was a good call. I mean, it's our standard procedure, but we did have multiple calls for service while we were involved or engaged in that fire, that firefight. We appreciate them coming in and supporting the city and supporting the District while we were engaged in that fire attack called for Red Cross. Red Cross is great.
[00:06:45] Those occupants were certainly displaced. The fire burned in such a way that that property will likely be red tagged and have to be. There's nothing left for them to go back to. So Red Cross came in after we were done with our operations and met with the occupants that were displaced and set them up or at least, you know, getting them started to try to get them back on their feet, whether it's hotel accommodations, clothing, medications, whatever needs they might have.
[00:07:17] In the press release from the Humboldt Bay Fire Department, it mentioned an injury to a firefighter. Baxley gives an update on the individual. They are expected to be back at work next week. KMUD News encourages folks to update their fire safety plans and routes. Baxley also reiterates the importance of clearing your property and making sure you don't have fuel starters that you may be unaware of.
[00:07:38] I think just having good clearance around your property, whether it's vegetation or your personal effects, this particular property had quite a bit of, you know, personal belongings stacked around the garage and around the residence.
[00:07:53] Just be mindful of drying vegetation, the understory, firewood, you know, any kind of ladder fuels that might get up into, you know, trees that can extend to our neighboring, your neighboring properties.
[00:08:08] Just having, just, just practicing some clean, clean habits around your property. Making sure things are nice and clean and organized and doesn't give the the fire any room to run.
[00:08:18] Following a thorough investigation, the cause and origin of the fires remains undetermined due to the extensive damage to the structures. For more information on how to prevent fires or learn about fire safety, visit ReadyForWildfire.org or prevent wildfire CA.org after more than 280 thunderstorms hit the North coast on Monday, June 30, multiple lightning caused fires were discovered in the Six Rivers National Forest with more lightning expected this evening. Under the red flag warning in effect until 11pm tonight, firefighters are asking residents to remain vigilant. Lisa Music reports Crews from the Forest Service and Cal Fire are working together by land and air to locate and contain the fires, some of which are burning in remote, rugged terrain.
[00:09:07] As of this morning, five lightning caused fires have been confirmed on the Gaskey and Orleans Ukenham ranger districts. The Myrtle Fire, located northeast of Crescent City near Low Divide Road, is controlled and now in patrol status. The Goose Fire, about a quarter acre in size, is northeast of Klamath and remains active. Three Forest Service engines, a hand crew, helicopters and support from Cal Fire are on scene. The Goose 2 fire east of Rocky Saddle has been contained and is in mop up. The Broken fire, located near the east fork of Goose Creek, is being sized, but resources are actively engaged. The fifth blaze, called the Woolly Fire, was reported in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, but aircraft have not yet been able to locate it. Officials say lightning holdovers Smoldering fires that appear days after storms are a serious concern.
[00:10:02] Six Rivers Management Officer Josh Eichemer noted that steep terrain often makes access difficult and emphasized that firefighter safety and public safety remains the top priority today. Fire danger remains elevated. The National Weather Service in Eureka warns of another round of thunderstorms this afternoon, particularly over southern Trinity and northern Mendocino counties, including the Yoloboli Mountains. Interior areas of Humboldt and Del Norte have about a 15% chance of storm activity. Monday's storms brought gusty winds, dime size hail and frequent lightning conditions ripe for fire starts. Outflow winds from the storms could reach 50 mph today, and with interior highs reaching the mid-90s and humidity dipping to 20%, any new ignitions could grow quickly. A cooldown is expected later this week, with temperatures in the low 80s inland and higher humidity returning by mid week. In the meantime, the Forest Service is urging residents and visitors to avoid anything that could spark a fire. Campfires must be completely out cold to the touch, and fireworks, including sparklers and poppers, remain prohibited on National Forest lands. Anyone who sees smoke or signs of fire should report it immediately by calling 91 1-reporting for Cayman News, I'm Lisa Muzzle.
[00:11:27] A plan for improving Humboldt County's economy is linked to federal funding and inspired various opinions among the county board of supervisors. KMUD's Daniel Mintz reports.
[00:11:40] Humboldt county has approved a five year plan for economic development that's a must for gaining federal funding. At its June 24 meeting, the county's Board of Supervisors approved the Humboldt County Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy 2025-2030, developed by the Thomas P. Miller and Associates consulting firm. Through research, surveying and community workshops, the plan sets forth broad recommendations for economic improvement. They include industry diversification, increased community collaboration and addressing fundamental community needs like healthcare, housing, workforce development and infrastruct.
[00:12:25] Nothing in the plan surprised supervisors, who offered more specific takes on economic matters. Supervisor Steve Madrone said the economic potential of the northern Humboldt area and McKinleyville are underestimated. It barely Even taps the tourism industry. Here's this second or third largest city, non city in Humboldt county sitting right on Highway 101 with all of this money going by.
[00:12:51] And at the north end there's a Vista point out there on Highway 101. But you can't even get into the Vista point if you're going north. And the last time you saw the ocean was the Golden Gate Bridge. And you come over that hill with that million dollar view of Trinidad and the ocean and you can't get off into the Vista point. So we're working with the community and Caltrans and the county to ultimately be able to reconfigure all that so that whether you're going north or south, you can get into the Vista point. And once you pull people off the highway, guess what? They want to spend the night. They want to plan a vacation next year for a week. Because McKinleyville frankly is centered right between the beaches, the redwoods, the rivers for rafting and everything else. And so again, very underutilized asset. Madrone also advocated for more support of Hoopa's modular home construction facility through establishment of a local sawmill.
[00:13:43] Supervisor Rex Bone focused on what he believes is holding economic development back.
[00:13:48] The biggest thing is, is Californian, we have a real hard time of getting out of the way and letting anybody do anything.
[00:13:55] We want to control what everybody does with their projects right down to the Nats rear end.
[00:14:03] And so if we get out of the way and let some of these people do some of this stuff, I mean we've spent millions chasing a couple things in the last few years and chased millions away.
[00:14:17] And we're at the same place we were.
[00:14:20] So I just, it was amazing to me because I look at different that we've lost 4,000 people in three years.
[00:14:29] So we're getting more rural as we, as we go. And part of the issue is we have to except some of these industries that are basically low impact.
[00:14:41] There isn't anything we're going to build that isn't going to have some impact on somebody. Board chair Michelle Bushnell said the county needs a varied approach to economic development as the needs of the southern Humboldt area are distinct from the more urban areas of greater Eureka and Arcata.
[00:14:57] She added that while planning should identify needs, it should also identify solutions.
[00:15:04] And she gave examples.
[00:15:06] We all know this, this is not new to us. We know that electricity is not something that all of Humboldt can get right now because of transmission lines. And so to identify them, yes, I understand that it needs to be identified in the suds, but solutions would be a little bit helpful as well. Like we all up here advocate for PGE or whoever to step up and and fix their transmission lines or upgrade.
[00:15:31] It's been a two to three year fight that hasn't resulted in a ton a little bit of movement. The same with the phone lines and so during the SEDS process it would be great, yes, identifying the things of course, but also path forward that could be helpful for people that are attending these meetings to know you can reach out to whoever you can do this advocation is what you really need to do.
[00:15:57] The plan cost $143,000 split between the county and the Federal Economic Development Administration.
[00:16:06] The investment is essential to getting funding from the administration.
[00:16:11] The plan says that although Humboldt's legacy industries, timber, fishing and agriculture are susceptible to factors outside local control, they provide a strong foundation for targeted innovation and and industry diversification.
[00:16:28] The plan also covers the challenges faced by the cannabis industry, referring to it throughout the plan solely as alternative agriculture in Eureka For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.
[00:16:44] In state news, Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Padilla join activist warning that the big beautiful bill could Devastate California Healthcare. KPFA's Christopher Martinez reports the Senate is planning to take up President Donald Trump's so called one big beautiful bill on Saturday and the results for health care in California could be devastating. Governor Gavin Newsom joined top state health and social service officials to describe threats to cut billions of dollars from California's Medicaid funding. We've got a brace for something the likes of which we in our worst, worst case scenario could have never imagined.
[00:17:25] That is arguably just a week or so away. Newsom and the officials spoke for nearly an hour describing details of the cuts in the Republican legislation. Newsom offered a snapshot of what's known up to 3.4 million Californians are at risk of losing health coverage specific to the Medicaid and under our medical system specific to the bill, some $28.4 billion of federal funding is at risk. That's associ with those losses. So 3.4 million. And I remind folks in California we have about 15 million people on Medi cal. In a separate news conference, California Senator Alex Padilla joined allies in a call for California Republicans to vote no on Medicaid cuts. Padilla says Republicans justify their proposed cuts to health care as a way to reduce the federal deficit, but he says the bill would actually increase the deficit. How can a budget that will cut so much actually increase the debt? It's because their reason for cutting, cutting, cutting is to underwrite yet more tax breaks for billionaires and the largest corporations, not just in the United States, but in the world.
[00:18:41] That's what's going on here, and it's bad news, potentially for Californians, especially. Assembly member Jasmeet Baines represents parts of the Central Valley area. She's also a primary care doctor working in a clinic in Delano, a block from where she says the recent California ICE raids began. This is an unprecedented year and I have one message for everyone. It is as bad as it looks. This is not propaganda. It's actually worse than what's being said.
[00:19:12] It is really bad times when it comes to health care. The president of Disabled Voices United, Judy Mark, says the Medicaid cuts would be devastating and deadly for people with disabilities. And she fears for the fate of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. We cannot and we will not allow this country to move backward. The ADA was not the end of the fight. It was the beginning of a promise and we must keep fighting to fulfill it. Arnulfo de la Cruz is president of the Service Employees International Union Local 2015, representing nurses, home caregivers and others. He says how we care for people is a reflection of the country's values. He gave perhaps the most succinct summary of the Republican legislation. We know how to care for people, and this is not it. Reporting for Pacifica Radio News kpfa, I'm Christopher Martinez.
[00:20:07] In national news, Israeli Haaretz News reports Israeli officers shoot food seekers as crowd control. KPFA's Eileen Alfanderi reports the investigation by the liberal leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz is damning. One of the Haaretz reporters near Hassan told Al Jazeera that Israeli officers justify firing on or near unarmed Palestinian civilians seeking food. And as crowd control, it's actually a practice of, as I said, controlling the crowd by fire. Like if you want the crowd to run off a place, you shoot at them even though you know they unarmed and you use fire to move people from one point to another. Haaretz said that officers and soldiers it interviewed the said the Israeli army fires at Palestinian civilians who arrive before opening hours of the aid distribution centers to prevent them from approaching or again after the centers close to disperse them. One soldier told Haaretz it's a killing field. The soldier said people seeking aid are treated as a hostile force and fired at with, quote, everything imaginable, heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars. Another officer said that lately firing shells has just become standard practice. The soldier told Haaretz. Every time we fire, there are casualties and deaths. And when someone asks why a shell is necessary, there's never a good answer.
[00:21:43] Sometimes merely asking the question annoys the commanders.
[00:21:47] Haaretz reports that the Gaza Humanitarian foundation was set up by Israel in coordination with US Evangelicals and private security contractors. Established humanitarian groups have refused to work with the foundation and have denounced its operations.
[00:22:03] But On Thursday, the US State Department announced it would allocate $30 million to the group. Stacey Gilbert is a former State Department official who resigned over President Biden's Gaza policy. She's a humanitarian and emergency response expert. Gilbert said the speedy approval of US Funding for a murky organization is highly irregular.
[00:22:26] In all my years of working at the State Department in large scale humanitarian emergencies, I have never seen the State Department or even from the outside USAID fund something like this.
[00:22:45] This may be something intelligence agencies or DoD does. This is not I have seen the State Department do More than a month ago, the World Health Organization said nearly half a million people in Gaza were in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death. It called the situation one of the world's worst hunger crises.
[00:23:09] Dozens of children have died from the effects of malnutrition since Israel imposed its aid blockade in early March.
[00:23:17] One survivor described what happened when he and other desperate Palestinians risked their lives seeking food from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
[00:23:28] We trusted the occupation soldiers. After they told us to take the package, I walked past the tank and picked up the package and suddenly they started shooting directly at us. The young men were ambushed and fell to the ground. Some were shot in the head, some in the feet. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 500 people have been killed by Israeli forces while advancing towards or leaving the aid distribution sites. Mohammad Jahada is a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. He likened the situation to the Hunger Games or a horror movie and described what happens when a crowd of desperate Palestinians tries to advance to a distribution site.
[00:24:07] So as soon as that happens, the IDF would claim we detected, quote, unauthorized movement or we felt threatened, unsafe, unloved, unhappy, and then they empty machine guns into them, mow them down, gun them down immediately. We've seen also using artillery fire, gunboats firing at people, drones and even airstrikes at starving crowds that Israel itself, the ghf, which is according to Israeli opposition leaders, is just an Israeli front. It's basically a sham that Israel founded to institutionalize the starvation.
[00:24:41] Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense chief Israel Katz called the HAARETZ report blood libel and malicious falsehoods designed to defame the military. But the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, unwra, said the new distribution system has become a killing field. Philippe Lazzarini said what he described as this abomination must end through a return to humanitarian deliveries. From the United nations and including unwra, I'm Eileen Alfunderi. For KPFA News.
[00:25:15] KMUD has partnered with Native Voice one to bring you listeners National Native news. Antonia Gonzalez reads today's headlines.
[00:25:25] This is National Native News. I'm Antonia Gonzalez. A federal audit has found that the Environmental Protection Agency did not distribute millions of dollars on time to clean water programs for tribes. As the Mountain West News Bureau's Caleb Radle reports, this comes as tens of thousands of tribal homes lack indoor plumbing and clean drinking water.
[00:25:46] The agency's own inspector general examined more than $300 million from the bipartisan infrastructure law that was supposed to go to tribal water programs over two years. In the 2022 fiscal year, more than half of the funds allocated had not been awarded on time, and in 2023, most of the remaining water project funds did not get distributed. The audit cited that the Indian Health Service estimates about 41,000 tribal homes lack indoor plumbing and thousands lack access to safe drinking water. So these funds are really tailored to addressing those problems. Funds for designing and constructing wastewater treatment facilities, improving drinking water systems, addressing emerging contaminants. That's Marcus Gullett with the Inspector General's office. The EPA acknowledged in a final report that it made mistakes in most cases and said it would work to fix them. It agreed to focus on improving the timeliness of providing funds to tribes. I'm Caleb Radle. Navajo Nation leaders are urging residents near the Oak Ridge fire to remain vigilant and follow emergency protocols and evacuation alerts. The fire is burning on the reservation near St. Michael's Arizona. Residents in at least three communities were evacuated on Sunday. As of Tuesday morning, the fire was at more than 9,000 acres with zero containment.
[00:27:02] More than 150 people recently gathered in America's northernmost community for the migratory bird festival. KBA's Alaska Desk Reporter Ayol Naniden has more on the festival and the rapid growth of birding tourism in Alaska.
[00:27:19] A little brown bird walks and chirps along the still partially frozen Utkakavik Lagoon. It's a semi palmated sandpiper, one of about 60 species that local sand visitors spotted during the Migratory Bird Festival. Lindsay Hermans is the festival's coordinator. She says avid birders often travel to the Arctic to see rare species that fly here from all corners of the world.
[00:27:45] But sometimes it's even more exciting to see familiar birds in their breeding grounds where they wear totally different plumage. Looks like a glow up. They look totally different. They're flying around, they're doing their mating displays and exhibiting this behavior that you only see in the Arctic. Attendees rode around in school buses for several hours, spotting different birds and talking about Inupiac culture, Utkavik's history and the Arctic environment.
[00:28:12] Herman says that the main goal of the free three day festival was to show how important the Arctic ecosystem is for the birds. But the highlight for her was what the participants brought to the table. Several elders came to the talks and commented on what birds they harvest, how they do it traditionally, and what they call those species in Inupiac language. That was a major component of success in my mind, is having the elders be involved like that. Local knowledge holders and UPX speakers also participated in creating New Utkaravik Birding Trail, a brochure that spotlights 10 sites throughout town where you can see birds in breeding plumage. As the Arctic warms, forests shrink and hurricanes intensify, migrating to the Arctic becomes more difficult.
[00:28:58] This is Lauren Cosimano with Audubon Alaska. Ukiavik becomes even more important for shorebird species because once they get there, you know, they can do their thing. Herman says she hopes more Arctic residents will get involved in organizing the event in the future. I am Alena Nydin. And I'm Antonia Gonzalez.
[00:29:28] That's all for tonight's broadcast. Thanks for listening. Thanks to our engineer, Katie Phillips, and thanks to our reporters, Daniel Mintz, Lisa Music, Caleb Rodel, Elena Nadine, Antonia Gonzalez, Christopher Martinez and Eileen Alfanderi. KMED News is online and you can find us on kmed.org and now streaming on most podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify, where you can download our newscasts and stories for offline listening during your rural commutes. You can also follow us on on social media. If you have questions or suggestions, you can give us a call at 707-923-2605 or send an email to newsmud.org Reporting for KMUD, I'm Jordan Panjalinan.
