For people in the Humboldt County community of Ferndale, cleaning up after a major earthquake in December has seemingly become a tradition in recent years.
Thursday magnitude 7.0 was the latest to hit the area around the holidays.
“I looked at the ceiling and it looked like it was made of jelly,” Rayah Sanchez explained. “And when I finally came to, I saw the tiles on the floor, and to be honest, I didn’t remember they were there. I thought they were coming from the ceiling.”
Sanchez was working at The Farmer Daughter when the earthquake struck, and by the time it was over, the place was indeed a mess.
“Oh yes, the floor was covered in glass,” she said. ‘Covered. And we have a lot of herbs and stuff, so it was glass and goo everywhere.”
Cameras captured the scene and Sánchez feared the worst.
“The ceiling looked like jelly,” Sánchez said. “And if this had been an empty room it probably wouldn’t have been as scary, but all the breaking glass almost made it feel bigger, but it was yeah, it was really scary.”
Despite the massive shaking, only a few tiles fell from the walls. Minimal damage allowed the store to remain open all day.
“Well, you remember the last one,” Merritt Brodt said.
The last was when CBS News first met Brodt, when she was cleaning up the same establishment in December 2022.
“Well, I think the other one, remember it was the biggest G-force,” Brodt said of 2022. “One of the biggest shakers in California. It was like being on a boat.”
“Yeah, it was definitely a bouncer,” Bob said of Thursday’s earthquake. “Here, in Ferndale, it’s coming from the west, it’s coming this way. It always hits this wall.”
Bob was cleaning out his forge, where he says he may have fared a little worse than the 2022 earthquake.
“I lost a window,” he said of the damage, “I lost numerous glass tops from the cabinets. I lost a few table tops.”
“There was a door and a broken chair here,” said Jenny Oaks of the Victorian Inn. “But we’ll get the door repaired.”
Oaks had the inn cleaned up by noon, but in an earthquake of this magnitude there was very little mess, and that was because they were ready for this.
“Yes, we are,” she said. ‘That piece of furniture is screwed to the wall. But the soaps flew off the counter.’
At Valley Lumber, owner Troy Land was inside when he felt the earth moving beneath him.
“How I felt,” Land said. “A lot of shaking, it started shaking and it shook hard.”
He has experienced many earthquakes that caused more damage despite the large number here.
“And if it gets to a seven, you book,” Land said. “Nobody gets hurt, no buildings collapsed, it’s just a mess, so yeah, pretty lucky.”
After three major earthquakes in December 2021, 2022 and now this year, even the Christmas trees are now attached to the wall. Residents had some thoughts on the holiday hat trick.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that from a lot of people,” Oaks laughed. “But it’s a great place to live. Mostly.”
“Sure,” Bob added. “I’m like, ‘So this is what we do every December now?’ This is our jam now.”
“If this had happened exactly on the same date as those two years,” Rayah said. “I’d probably move.”
Wilson Walker
