Arcata Fire, PG&E stage earthquake, gas leak drill in Arcata Bottoms

What looked like a catastrophic earthquake, vehicle crash and gas emergency in the Arcata Bottoms was a staged stress test for Humboldt’s disaster response. Dozens of Arcata Fire and PG&E employees gathered at the former Sun Valley Floral Farms site to practice what happens when a 4.9 magnitude quake near Arcata snaps power lines, damages gas equipment and leaves injured people trapped in the middle of it all.

The scenario started with shaking strong enough to send a driver into a gas meter set and then into an electric pole. The pole broke, live conductors dropped onto the vehicle and the driver suffered a heart attack. From there, the drill layered on more cascading failures: damage to a gas main, gas migration into a nearby building, ignition at the damaged meter riser and the need to shut off valves as readings kept rising in the structure. Fire crews moved in to rescue the driver trapped under live wires and to pull injured workers out of an earthquake-damaged building.

The mock scene was built to feel messy and urgent. PG&E employees played the victims, including one in a floppy stick-on handlebar mustache playing a nurse named Chad while firefighters wheeled an unconscious patient away. The drill also simulated a structure fire and evacuations tied to downed wires, forcing responders to work through the same sequence of calls, rescues and utility coordination they would face in a real disaster.

PG&E crews from Gas Maintenance and Construction, Field Service, Locate and Mark, and Gas Pipeline Operations and Maintenance all took part. Maintenance and Construction crews were assigned to squeeze a 2-inch steel main, while other teams worked with Gas Dispatch and engineering staff to build an isolation plan. Arcata Fire was joined by Cal Fire, Humboldt Bay Fire, Blue Lake Fire, Fieldbrook Fire and other regional first responders.

Evaluators watched how the agencies handled communication, pre-job briefings, personal protective equipment and safety protocols, especially when evacuations involved downed lines, gas migration and victim recovery. PG&E said the exercise was meant to identify strengths and areas for improvement in joint response efforts. Mike Levasseur, a PG&E emergency management specialist who coordinates drills across the state, said exercises like this make sure agencies know how to work together before an actual emergency, because the day of an incident is not the time to meet each other for the first time.

The drill also reached far beyond Arcata. It was livestreamed to thousands of PG&E employees across California, underscoring how much the utility views this kind of practice as part of a larger safety system. That mattered at the former Sun Valley Floral Farms property, a 191-acre site Cal Poly Humboldt bought for $5.05 million. The land includes a 418,320-square-foot industrial building, sits beside other university-owned parcels on Foster Avenue and remains a visible part of the Arcata Bottoms after Sun Valley Floral Farms closed in July 2024. In a county where earthquakes, gas leaks and power outages can arrive together, the drill was a reminder that readiness starts long before the ground shakes.