With no power or vehicles coming over the hill on Friday, Fort Braggers could still get a hot cup of coffee, eat a hot breakfast, enjoy a free shower and hear the news on the radio.
Although almost every home on the coast was dark, the storm that severed all the incoming electrical lines and roads seemed to jump start a communal spirit among local businesses, and not just those with generators.
Amidst a veil of dark, two downtown Fort Bragg bars were as lighted and busy as at Mardi Gras. At the Tip Top Lounge or the Milano Club, one might choose to partake of a mixed drink called Stormy Weather, a ginger beer with rum and lime juice.
Some Fort Bragg businesses have become power outage institutions, such as the Purple Rose, North Coast Brewing and Harvest Market.
The Surf Motel, which offered anyone a free shower, was rising pretty high on people”s lists.
From Westport to Elk, local markets served as lifelines to locals — and some frightened travelers. Marie Fostiak, owner of Westport General Store, said she had fielded about 150 phone calls about the storm, equivalent to the population of Westport and more.
“There were some tourists trapped here and they were pretty freaked out,” said Pat Jelen of the Elk Grocery. Highway 1, 128 and even the county roads over the ridge were closed on Friday.
“We stayed open until 8 p.m. and were glad we did, as some PG&E crews came in at the end,” said Jelen.
While past storms have taken out portions of the grid, this time everybody on the Mendocino Coast lost power, not to mention the ability to escape on tree and powerline strewn roads.
When the generator went down at The Woods retirement community in Little River, water and sewer delivery was threatened only for a short time.
Rick Ricca from A-1 Septic and Dan Moss from North Coast Plumbing were on the scene before dawn Friday, averting a potential disaster, said Fran Tucker, manager of The Woods.
“So many people were wonderful to us, it was truly amazing and I couldn”t name them all,” said Tucker.
Trees were strewn all over the grounds at The Woods and many residents were fearful.
“It looked like the inside of a washing machine after the worst of the storm had passed,” Tucker said.
“This was the worst storm since 1995 and maybe longer here,” she said. Tucker said the Little River Inn delivered a key employee, Lodge Manager Terry Woods, on a golf cart, through the golf course when roads were closed.
Tucker was in a scramble to locate a generator and said Monday one was on the way from the Bay Area, after being located by The Woods” Presbyterian parent organization in San Francisco. The new generator arrived late Tuesday.
“PG&E and Caltrans were buying every available generator, so we were really happy when we heard they had found one for us,” said Tucker.
Something equally scary and heroic happened at Sherwood Oaks Health Center, an assisted living facility in Fort Bragg. When the generator failed early Friday morning, Fort Bragg Electric crews couldn”t get it running right away and had a better idea. The company was storing a generator for the brand new Mendo-Lake Credit Union building, under construction at Oak and Main streets.
When Mendo-Lake heard about the plight of Sherwood Oaks, they loaned their generator to Sherwood Oaks, said Administrator Joe Reding.
“It”s still here, as we still haven”t gotten the old one fixed yet,” Reding said.
“We were very fortunate,” he added.
S.A. Ephraim and Ruth Rosenblum, who own Frankie”s Pizza and Ice Cream Parlor in Mendocino, showed up to find ice cream melting fast Friday morning.
“Knowing that we were going to lose at least those bins of ice cream, we decided to offer free ice cream to the people in our area,” said Rosenblum.
“It was a positive fun scene. Though almost everyone in there was dealing with some sort of (at least minor) inconvenience, there were all smiling faces. Walking through town, I saw much of the same … people walking around with cones or cups of ice cream and smiles on their faces,” said Rosenblum.
The couple was thrilled with the fun of giving ice cream away to so many people, especially on a cold day, but then became the beneficiary of some coast spirit.
“While one of our helpers was in Harvest at Mendosa”s, Penny Honer, owner of Harvest, offered freezer space at Harvest Market for our frozen items. Tom Honer even came and picked up a large amount of it on his way back north. Wow! What an amazing offer! This saved us a huge amount by being able to keep what was still frozen in a freezer that they run on their generator. Further, our friends at Corners of the Mouth let us store our refrigerated items in their walk-in cooler for the two days that the power was out,” Rosenblum said.
Harvest was a magnet for armies of people deprived of coffee; the store having what contractors say is the biggest and most reliable generator on the coast. Owner Tom Honer said hundreds of gallons of coffee were served at both locations.
“It”s amazing how much coffee people drink at a time like this,” he said.
Chet Anderson praised Harvest at Mendosa”s responsiveness. “They quickly get hot food out and available, a nice spread, good stuff, affordable … When most restaurants aren”t operating yet and people of all economic levels need a lift.”
Other businesses worthy of special mention?
“Albion River Inn”s nice 25 percent off for locals was well received and appreciated,” Anderson said.
“KOZT radio is the primo spot to get all the best info on power, roads, emergencies, business offers, etc. While most other stations may not even be on the air, they are there.”
Meredith Smith, owner of the Mendocino Caf?, was miserable and freezing in her home but got a big charge when she got to work and turned on the generator.
“When I saw a few shell-shocked individuals wandering the streets I asked my cooks if we could open early and make some breakfasty food. Normally we serve lunch and dinner. So we made eggs and potatoes and I made fresh coffee and was the waitress (like 20 years ago). Not many people came in, but those who did, yours truly most of all, were relieved and grateful. Everyone talked to each other and offered to help — it was heart (and body) warming,” said Smith.
The chain stores were mostly out, with Longs, then Rite Aid then Starbucks dark. An exception was Perko”s, which was busy even as power surged on and off in the eatery.
“There were lovely candles set on each table which were lit when dark and blown out when it lightened up. With three visiting granddaughters, the experience was most welcome and appreciated,” said Susan Parker of Fort Bragg.
The chains had trouble again when it came to gasoline. At two locally-owned stations, dozens of vehicles formed gas lines, reminiscent of the 1970s, when people realized there was an energy crisis. Cleone Store and Fort Bragg Oil, south of the Hare Creek Bridge, were mobbed. Some people said they waited for two hours for the chance to buy gas.
The Cleone Store hired Jacob Ashley to serve people in their cars, moving the lines along faster.
Being powerless in more ways than one did induce some panic in people.
Cleone Store clerk Sue Holloway said the biggest group of buyers hit right after local radio stations announced there was gas in Cleone, sitting in a line that stretched down Ward Avenue.
“They could have waited a couple of hours and driven right up to the pump,” she said.
A young entrepreneur with generators in the back of his pickup showed up at Rob”s 76 Station and soon had sold out.
The Milano Club, a little neighborhood bar on Oak Street, added breakfast and lunch to their usual menu, feeding a steady stream of locals. Sarah King, bartender at the Milano, said the bar added to its traditional fare and served breakfast and lunch to people packed “wall to wall.”
Although many complained about PG&E”s failure to update the coast power grid and about Comcast”s far away phone room, which knew nothing of the storm and had nobody to send for days upon end, some real local advantages emerged, such as local radio.
Investigative reporters have documented nationally how the precipitous loss of locally programmed radio in many communities due to deregulation forces now threatens the lives of citizens during a disaster. Canned tunes plinked away while desperate people looked for news in places like North Dakota. But on the Mendocino Coast, three radio stations presented a lifeline during the storms.
Many people called radio stations with serious problems like electric lines down or elderly locals in peril. The radio stations then called officials. KOZT had a slight lead on KMFB. KZYX&Z provided the most comprehensive news reports, such as actual live interviews with those involved in the recovery.
Roger Doncaster of the American Red Cross, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties Chapter, said the county had not asked for a shelter but the Red Cross was putting people up in motels.
Middle Ridge Road residents in Albion, some residents of Little River and many areas around Elk were still without power on Tuesday, along with individual homes and streets all over the coast.
“When people have been without power for five days, we are putting them up tonight,” Doncaster said, on Tuesday, the first night that plan was put into effect.
The Red Cross also had dispatched its emergency response vehicle to search out people without power and serve them sandwiches and drinks and find out if they need anything else.
While toppled trees were everywhere, many areas south of Mendocino resembled the aftermath of a tornado, although the National Weather Service said no such event had occurred.
Scott Roat and his wife, Karin Uphoff, live on a ridge top in Little River and listened to tree branches falling around the home all night. The next day the couple joined what quickly became a community effort that resembled a barn raising to clear trees and fix problems.
“I decided to see who else might be in need and set off to see as many neighbors as I could — they were generally surprised by our visit but nevertheless appreciative,” Roat said.
“I don”t think people walk up to other people”s homes much in our neighborhood, unless specifically invited.”
Roat and Uphoff went to help an elderly neighbor first.
“We were surprised when we learned she had been up for well over an hour and had already cleared her long wooded driveway, her generator was purring smoothly, she was fixing a cup of tea, would we like to come in? It was a much different experience than our own — we left feeling the old timers have got it down.”
