Parts of Trindad to remain without power for up to two weeks

TRINIDAD, Calif. — As Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) crews race to restore power throughout Humboldt County, one Northern Humboldt community has resorted to other means of survival after receiving notice that their power will not be restored for up to two weeks.

County officials and organizations, including Pay it Forward Humboldt and Food for People, have come together to provide resources to community members in and around Trinidad who will remain in the dark until PG&E makes it to their area.

"The fact that they can't deal with this within 14 days is kind of third-world, honestly," local resident Jason Self said. "It kind of feels like a lot of the more rural places are getting neglected right now."

Much of Northern California have been without power at some point during the past week's storm, but some communities north of Trinidad must remain in the dark for an estimated two weeks, according to PG&E.

"The time of restoration there is Jan. 18. That's because the place that we need to make the repairs in a more remote location where we've been having trouble getting access," PG&E Public Information Officer Megan McFarland said.

In the meantime, people living in those areas must figure out how to survive without access to basic resources.

"Without power, most of us are on wells and pumps. So that also means we don't have water or flushing toilets or anything like that," Self said.

With PG&E unable to restore power in the area sooner, city officials and organizations have taken it upon themselves to use the small portion of Trinidad that does have power to provide resources to the rest of the area in the dark.

"At this point, it's batten down the hatches and help each other and check on your neighbors," District Five County Supervisor Steve Madrone said. "Our biggest concerns right now are elderly, disabled people on CPAP machines, oxygens, things like that."

Since power has been restored in Trinidad proper, the Trinidad Town Hall is being used as a charging station, a warming station and a resource distribution center with help from various local organizations.

"We're providing coffee and snacks and charging stations, and this afternoon, we'll be joined by Pay it Forward Humboldt and we'll be providing MRE and snacks and hopefully some non-perishable food as well," Trinidad Mayor Cheryl Kelly said.

According to Kelly, the town hall resource center will be available through the weekend, and further efforts will depend on whether PG&E is able to restore power before the estimated restoration date. As of Friday evening, that date is Jan. 18, according to McFarland.

McFarland said that the rest of Humboldt County's power would be restored by Jan. 14.

Any updates to the estimated restoration dates will be reflected on PG&E's outage map.