Pudding CreekUS Coast Guard

Saturday is crash day! Driver crashes into Pudding Creek and has to be rescued, fishing boat grounds at Point Reyes and another car overturns at Hare Creek

If you don’t know that the US Coast Guard station in Fort Bragg is as important as anything else we have on the Coast, action that has been going on all morning (Saturday) should tell you. Saturday has been a wild morning! Give the first responders a good old fashioned Gen. Patton salute today! Imagine all this without them

1.Someone drove into Pudding Creek and had to be rescued. This is a big story we will be adding to.

2. Also, a car overturned at Hare Creek Bridge.

3. And a significant statewide event at Point Reyes, the grounding of a fishing boat is being dealt with by the Coast Guard and others, including Coasties from Noyo helping out and also responding at Pudding Creek.

Photo provided by US Coast Guard
Shot of the start of the rescue of the fishing boat which involved Marin Volunteer Fire Department, state agencies, the military and federal agencies. COAST GUARD provided photo

We found the following post on Facebook about the Pudding Creek crash from Lonnie M, a friend and then confirmed the case is being investigated as a possible DUI. “Someone coming from north on Highway One took a left onto Pudding Creek Rd, and went off the road into the pond in front of the Pudding Creek dam.  Visitors in the hotel have been videoing the event. According to witnesses the person climbed on top of their car. I didn’t hear how they were rescued. A local tow truck is pulling the car out at this time.”

We got the following from new friend Richard Ulveling about the Hare Creek accident.

08/22/2At approximately 10:50 a.m., a vehicle traveling northbound on Highway 1, just before the Hair Creek Bridge, attempted to turn left into a residence on the left side of the roadway. The driver turned too soon and struck a sign, causing the vehicle to flip over.

Just minor injures everyone’s okay

Here is the Coast Guard rescue of the fishing boat story:

Unified command responds to grounded vessel in Point Reyes National Seashore

U.S. Coast Guard District Southwest Public Affairs: (206) 815-6689

SAN FRANCISCO — A unified command has been established to respond to a fishing vessel that ran aground Friday morning in Point Reyes National Seashore.

The unified command is comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard and National Park Service with support and technical specialists from Marin County Fire, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response.

No injuries, active fuel leaks, or wildlife impacts have been reported at this time. North Beach is temporarily closed to the public to allow responders to operate safely and without interference.

The 58-foot fishing vessel Lake Bay has a maximum fuel capacity of 2,800 gallons and is reported to have approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel onboard. The unified command is coordinating with the responsible party and a contracted salvage company to safely remove all fuel from the vessel.

“Our top priorities are ensuring the safety of the first responders and the public, stabilizing the incident, and limiting environmental impacts,” said Lt. Cmdr. Carey Lewis, Coast Guard incident commander. “Responders are continuously monitoring and evaluating the site for pollution and any potential risk factors so we can approach operations with intention to minimize environmental impacts.”

The cause of the incident is under investigation.


Frank Hartzell

Frank Hartzell has spent his lifetime as a curious anthropologist in a reporter's fedora. His first news job was chasing news on the streets of Houston with high school buddy and photographer James Mason, back in 1986. Then Frank graduated from Humboldt State and went to Great Gridley as a reporter, where he bonded with 1000 people and told about 3000 of their stories. In Marysville at the Appeal Democrat, the sheltered Frank got to see both the chilling depths and amazing heights of humanity. From there, he worked at the Sacramento Bee covering Yuba-Sutter and then owned the Business Journal in Yuba City, which sold 5000 subscriptions to a free newspaper. Frank then got a prestigious Kiplinger Investigative Reporting fellowship and was city editor of the Newark Ohio, Advocate and then came back to California for 4 years as managing editor of the Napa Valley Register before working as a Dominican University professor, then coming to Fort Bragg to be with his aging mom, Betty Lou Hartzell, and working for the Fort Bragg Advocate News. Frank paid the bills during that decade + with a successful book business. He has worked for over 50 publications as a freelance writer, including the Mendocino Voice and Anderson Valley Advertiser, along with construction and engineering publications. He has had the thrill of learning every day while writing. Frank is now living his dream running MendocinoCoast.News with wife, Linda Hartzell, and web developer, Marty McGee, reporting from Fort Bragg, California.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button