The San Francisco call., 1903-01-25
RUNNING RAIN
MAKES HAVOC
IN HUMBOLDT
Tremendous Floods
Destroy Costly
Property.
Supervisors Meet to
consider measures
for Safety.
Damage Will Reach Into
Hundreds of Thousands
of Dollars.
- - . Fl. 81.


EUREKA, Jan 24-The storm that is
ROW raging throughout Humboldt County
gives every evidence Of being the most
disastrous that this section has ever ex-
perienced. The reports OF the damage al
ready done show that the aggregate loss
ID the county IN the destruction Of
bridges and roads and 10 individual inter
eets VIII exceed any destruction Of recent
years. The rain is still falling steadily
and hard and the oversOaked ground can
not take Up the water The consequence
must he that the water viii go into
streams already bank full. with the re-
suit that the loss viii be very severe At
present IL exceeds $4,000.
So great has been the destruction to the
county that the Supervisors are now
meeting In special session 10 devise plans
% repair bridges and roads where the
greatest injury has been done TO traffic.
The county road between Loleta and
fortuna Is closed, owing TO about seventy
feet OF the long bridge across Palmer
Creek having been swept away. Travel
erz are now compelled TO swim their ami
mails across the stream. then go back and
haul their vehicles across the trestle IL
they want 70 traverse the highway.
FLOODS AT BRIDGES.
A report from l. H Campbell, a mali
carrier, shows that there are numerous
slides on the road TO Bridgevile. A big
slide has taken out a large portion Of the
new road over kneelsnd. Another serious
side is on the old Kneeland road near
Cape Horn The stage has been forced TO
discontinue its trips and the mail is car
Tied on horseback. The new county bridge
81 Alton cannot be reached from this side.
the water having flooded the lowlancs.
Some residents there believe that the
Van DUzen has cut z new channel north
O. the former one. # such is the case
the county bridge may be rendered prac-
tically useless. This bridge has recently
been constructed at very large cost to
the county
Individual property interests have al
ready suffered even 70 a greater extent
tran the county The loss will be greatly
EWeIled when the reports OF last nights
and tO-day's dOwnpour reach Eureka. The
damage done the Bucksport and Elk Riv-
e. logging road by the overflow OF Elk
River is large and although work is be
ing pushed as rapidly as possible until
81 is repaired the Press shingle mill and
several other industries dependent upon f.
VIII be unable 10 obtain bolts and other
needed timber from the Elk River woods.
The county road along the North Fork Of
the river has been made impossible by
the destruction Of the bridge at the Bell
place. This prevents stages from reach
ing FsIk
TIMBER MEN ALARMED.
u Is estimated that the loss In the Elk
River section alone viii aggregate more
than $50 900. Mckay e. Co. Of the Occi-
dental mil had their entire woods crew
a. work yesterday repairing the damages
done their logging road 70 such an extent
would allow the passage OF the en-
Eins, which was caught up IN the woods,
down 70 the dump at the county road.
where their pile driver Is stored The lat
ter VIII be taken out and the road and
treste and bridges strengthened en- route.
This VIII have to be done before any tim
Der can be hauled over the line
The reclaimed tract Of Gross & Sin
clair, between this city and Freshwa-
ter, was flooded. the immense volume OF
water carrying away section Of the Eu
reka and Freshwater Railroad embank-
rent. Hansen. the lessee. who conducts
dairy there, and his family were at
home az the time. So high did the water
rise that they were forced 10 seek ref
UEe IN the second story OF the house late
Wednesday night and were compelled 70
remain there until noon yesterday. The
harms and outbuildings were flooded and
many head Of hogs drowned The cattle
were on a high knoll and escaped.
Along the county roads south OF Furo-
ka many bridges and trestles were dam
aged 70 greater or less extent. while
slides innumerable contributed 10 make
traffic on them out Of the question. The
trains over the Eel River and Eureka
Railroad by proceeding slowly have been
able 10 reach Eel River Valley II is NOT
known how long they viii be able to keen
Up the connection between Southern Hum
boldt and Eureka. II the storm continues