Winter storms bring flooding, downed trees, road closures across Humboldt County

State Route 299 was forced to shut after heavy, low‑elevation snow, falling trees and downed power lines left multiple vehicles disabled between the Blue Lake Weigh Station and milepost 33, the California Highway Patrol reported during the Feb. 19 storm. CHP said crews and utility crews worked to clear the corridor; a 9:55 a.m. update noted, “Cal Trans and PG&E have worked diligently to reopen the road for both directions. We encourage drivers to be cautious in the area.”

The storm followed an earlier heavy‑rain event in late December that produced localized flooding across low elevations. A Humboldt County Public Works Roads Division bulletin posted Dec. 27 listed flooded locations including Hookton Rd at Eel River Dr; Old Arcata Rd between Graham Rd and Jacoby Creek Rd; Graham Rd; Fernbridge Dr northbound lane; Zanes Rd; Howard Heights; Berta Rd; Cannibal Island Rd .1 miles from Eel River Rd to end of the road; Waddington Rd between the addresses of 2504 to 2400; and Nissen Rd from Goble to the end. That same bulletin closed roads including Dillon from address 620 to 197; Coffee Creek at P.M. 1.00 to 1.25; Meridian from P.M. .50 to .90; Camp Weott Rd; Mad River Rd at P.M. 2.75, 2 miles northwest of Miller Lane; and Hall Ave due to Redwood Acres Emergency Staging.

During the Feb. 19 storm, CHP updates showed a shifting travel picture: after the initial SR‑299 closure, a later 4:17 p.m. update said, “Chain control on and off from 17.5 miles east of Blue Lake to 4.5 miles west of junction HUM‑96,” indicating rolling or variable chain requirements along the corridor. KRCR’s reporting listed mandatory chain requirements on Kneeland Road in the Bridgeville area, Showers Pass, Redwood House Road, Snow Camp Road open to Guy Kerr Ranch Road, Guy Kerr Ranch Road and High Prairie Road, and advised drivers to carry chains on Alderpoint Road from Garberville, Pratt Mountain, Shelter Cove Road, Kneeland Road, Fickle Hill Road, Monument Road, Bear River Ridge Road, Bald Hills Road, Titlow Hill Road and Johnson Road. KRCR also reported two localized closures: Bair Road shut due to snow and Stover Road closed because of downed power lines.

Utilities and emergency services reported multiple impacts. PG&E’s North Coast Region posted that “Currently in Humboldt County we have about 270 customers without power due to the series of winter storms,” and added that “Damage to PG&E equipment has been significant in some cases, such as this tree that came down on Highway 299 knocking down our wires in the process.” McFarland told the Times‑Standard crews had restored power to customers west of Willow Creek but were still working to access isolated outages hampered by low‑altitude snow and slides along an access road.

Traffic and emergency responders faced a busy stretch: the Times‑Standard reported CHP recorded 17 weather‑related traffic incidents across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings after recording no incidents on Monday. Cal Fire’s Humboldt‑Del Norte Unit said it was standing by, prepared to respond to heavy rain, mudslides and debris flows, while Humboldt County OES warned on its Facebook page that “Snow is falling across inland and higher elevation areas of the county, and road conditions are changing quickly. Avoid unnecessary travel in higher elevations and plan accordingly.”

Residents seeking real‑time status were advised to follow the county Roads Division social feed and sign up for county road updates, consult Caltrans QuickMap for state highway conditions, or call Caltrans at 707‑445‑6600 for specific route questions. Local social threads reflected access concerns, one commenter known as “Dirt Hippy” asked whether the road to Horse Mountain was plowed and another, “Bill,” reported seeing plowing at the bottom near the sand house.

The National Weather Service warned snow levels could fall to around 1,000 feet with additional snowfall expected through early Thursday morning, and the Times‑Standard noted storms are forecast to resume Friday evening and persist into early next week, keeping higher‑elevation travel hazardous.