The magnitude of the extensive power outages in Siskiyou County the week of Jan. 19-26, 2010 presented a classic example of what a small community, working together for the betterment of all, can achieve.
From the start Tuesday morning, Jan. 19, the power outage in McCloud drew the concern of resident Catherine Stallings, a member of the McCloud First Baptist Home Church. Phone calls made to Pacific Power throughout the day brought no answers as to when the power might be restored.
Stallings said that Wednesday morning her concern, along with other members of the church, was heightened as the outage continued and numerous reports of more power lines were falling.
“We knew that the families in the Water Street Apartments had only heat from their Monitor heaters, and without electricity they would be freezing,” said Stallings, who trudged through the snow to the apartments, knocking on every door to inform those who answered that the church was set up as a warming shelter and that a hot meal would be provided for everyone.
Word spreads fast in a small community and within a short period of time the church was literally overwhelmed with food donations from residents and many local businesses and organizations.
“Everyone who walked through the door was a volunteer,” said church member Louis Mero.
“Wednesday morning when we got the results of last night’s snowstorm, it painted a pretty grim picture,” said Robert Rowley, deputy director of Siskiyou County Office of Emergency Services. “Sheltering issues became apparent.”
Rowley said the McCloud church was contacted “and asked if they were willing to set up an emergency shelter if we sent over some generators for power. They enthusiastically said they would love to have this role. They didn’t need anything from us. They were getting donations from the community and were already up and running and feeding people.”
Steve Leal, Siskiyou County’s Human Services Department administrative services manager, said, “The Baptist Church was gracious enough to set up their place as a warming shelter during, obviously, an emergency situation.”
“Leal and director Michael Noda were in McCloud Thursday morning to see how McCloud was doing and if they needed anything,” said Rowley. “They reported back to me that not only was McCloud fully operational as a shelter, but the enthusiasm and excitement they saw was beyond what they were expecting to see or had ever seen before.
“So with that taken care of we could now focus our efforts to get a shelter set up and running in Mount Shasta.”
The Office of Emergency Services provided the church with two powerful generators to light towers and 20 cots. The Red Cross provided sheets, blankets and pillows.
Blythe Foster, 27, who resides in the Water Street Apartments and is the mother of three children, said she was grateful to the church for the warming shelter and the hot food.
“We were literally freezing in our apartment,” said Foster.
“I think the shelter is awesome,” said Sonja Benham, mother of three children. “At home it got so cold we could see our breath. We also had frost on our blankets.”
McCloud Volunteer Fire Department chaplain and Community Services District board member Tim Dickinson said, “Our McCloud Fire Department Scout Explorers did an incredible job during the outage, going door to door talking to the people, checking for carbon monoxide, shoveling snow from heater vents, and inviting people without heat to come to the warming center at the Baptist Church. Their enthusiasm is incredible.”
A spokesperson for the McCloud HealthCare Clinic said the new generator purchased by the community kept the clinic open during the power outages. He reported that weather-related accidents during the outages consisted of a couple of sprained backs from shoveling snow and a fall which resulted in a minor injury.
The McCloud Community Services District reported no major problems, and McCloud Volunteer Fire Chief Rick Dexter said they responded to only two weather-related incidents, one line down and one public assist.
Unlike the situation over the hill in and around the town of Mount Shasta, where trees and limbs fell like Lincoln logs and brought down hundreds of wires, McCloud’s power outage resulted from problems with the electricity coming into town.
Manning the kitchen and cooking three hot meals a day at the McCloud shelter were head cook Catherine Stallings, Louis and Rosa Mero, Ann Mero, Melinda Williamson and Debbie Henline.
Randy Halkyard and Rick Dexter kept the generators running, and McCloud Community Resource Center’s Geeia Dexter and Kathaleen McGowan headed up a group of volunteers that delivered hot meals to those who could not make it to the church.
Benito Sagra kept the floors dry and safe, Ben Stallings, Grant McDonald and Theo Morris ran errands and cleaned tables, and several young ladies took shifts providing daycare.
Mero said, “We are grateful to Reginatos Mini Mart, Frank’s Fuel, McCloud Market, Tony Landers Construction, Shasta Sunset Dinner Train, McCloud Elementary School, Siskiyou County Human Services Department, Office of Emergency Services, Rob Rowley and the McCloud Community Resource Center for their generous support.”
The McCloud First Baptist Home Church has a long history in helping the needy. For the past 28 years they have provided emergency food and shelter to needy families, the elderly and the homeless in the community. It has become a focal point in the community and recognized as a place where you can always come and feel at home.
“That’s why we call it the Home Church,” said Mero.
A number of residents reportedly lost food during the outages. Some were more resourceful, burying perishables in the snow.
“We lost all our food,” said Maylon Friday of Squaw Valley.
A shelter for pets was also established by a local couple. More information can be obtained at the church.
“The emergency shelter will continue to operate and serve the community 24/7... as long as the need is there,” said a church spokesperson.
A week after it began, power outages were continuing to interrrupt the normal flow of life in McCloud yesterday.
“When we have a community organization like this that is willing to step up in the time of disaster, the pressure that it takes off our already strained local government resources is difficult to quantify," said Rowley. “We don’t have large government here in the county and when we can have folks like this that can do it, not only can they do it better than us, they also do it with the enthusiasm that the public likes to see, and it frees us up to work on other areas.”
McCloud, Calif. —
