Fortuna DHHS Office Closes Tuesday, Reopens Wednesday for Residents

The Humboldt County Department of Health & Human Services closed its Fortuna office at 3306 Renner Drive on Tuesday, cutting off the closest in-person access point for South Humboldt residents who needed same-day help with Medi-Cal paperwork, CalFresh renewals, or CalWORKs appointments. The office was scheduled to reopen Wednesday, April 8, under normal hours.

For anyone who showed up on Renner Drive Tuesday morning, the math of the detour added up quickly. The nearest alternate DHHS office sits 18 miles north at 929 Koster St. in Eureka, a 24-minute drive each way that amounts to a 36-mile round trip and roughly $24 in vehicle costs, plus any wages lost to a mid-week errand that a walk-in from Fortuna did not plan for.

Residents with urgent CalFresh, Medi-Cal, or CalWORKs business had three options Tuesday. The Eureka Call Center at 1-877-410-8809 handled phone inquiries, and BenefitsCal.com allowed clients to apply for, renew, or upload documents for health coverage, food assistance, and cash aid entirely online. For those who needed to submit paperwork by mail, applications go to 929 Koster St., Eureka, CA 95501. Anyone heading to Eureka in person should bring photo ID, proof of residency, income verification, and Social Security numbers for all household members. The Eureka office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The one-day disruption arrived at a difficult moment for the department. DHHS Director Connie Beck has been explicit about the financial pressure closing in from multiple directions: Humboldt County's budget deficit exceeds $15 million, and she has warned publicly that staffing cuts are coming. "We probably will see a loss of health care jobs and as a result, see an increase in morbidity and mortality," Beck said. Federal Medicaid reductions compound the threat. "The proposed federal cuts result in cost shifts to states, counties, hospitals, clinics, and community-based organizations," Beck added. As of a Board of Supervisors meeting in May 2025, the county's General Fund is projected to run dry within two years if deficits continue.

Against that backdrop, even brief closures carry weight. DHHS serves more than 35,000 Humboldt County residents each year through a staff of approximately 1,070, making it one of the county's largest departments and one of only 11 in California authorized to operate under a nationally recognized integrated services model.

Tuesday's closure was not the first operational adjustment at DHHS's Fortuna-area facilities. The Fortuna WIC office closed its Main Street location in early February 2024 and temporarily relocated to the Fortuna Library. The Eureka Social Services Branch at 929 Koster St. is currently out of full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. And in mid-2024, the Board of Supervisors moved to close county offices to the public on Fridays as a cost-cutting measure.

The Fortuna office resumed normal operations Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., with a lunch closure from noon to 1 p.m.