Looking Back to the 1964 Flood

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It was high above the cliffs on the Trinity River on Hwy. 299 !  Even after the water went down and you made it over new man made dirt roads going along on the mountain tops, to get people out to the Pacific Ocean Coast, You could see barns and cattle floating in muddy brown water going way out into the blue green ocean waters!

Talkabout an Adventure you could never forget ! Some big trucks could not make it through the mud and sunk. Where old oldsmobiles loaded to the gills with personal belongings seemed to float across each new mud hole in low gear. As the big Cats lead the way making the path to travel. Wow Whew!

IF NATURE GIVES US A BLUEPRINT that shows us how to live, Nanette Dusi follows it well. In her pantry you’ll find bags and bags of rice and beans and what seems like far more pasta and tomato sauce than the 64-year-old Arcata artist could ever eat. She keeps a year’s supply of food because she once saw nature’s blueprint up close.

In 1964, Dusi left her three-week-old daughter, Gina, with her mother in Brookings and headed down to Eureka to do some Christmas shopping. Before she could get back, a 75-year flood ravaged Humboldt County, ruining roads, rail tracks and bridges along Highway 101. When they reunited it was at the Klamath River, with the 22-year-old Dusi waiting on the south bank for the Army Corps of Engineers to bring Gina, now almost four months old, to her in a pontoon boat.

In her small and comfortable home in downtown Arcata, surrounded by her artwork and sleeping dogs, Dusi exudes well-being and hospitality, her halo of white curls and ready smile always present. Her children grown, she can now enjoy the fruits of her labors, and focus her energy on her art and hypnotherapy clients. She speaks with an ironic twist regarding the 1964 flood, describing a significant event in an almost offhand manner. She is no stranger to hard work and fickle weather, having lived in Humboldt County since 1960, when she moved up from the coastal town of Bodega to become the wife of a cattle rancher. When she wasn’t on horseback, helping her husband with the livestock on their 2,000 acres of land, she could be found canning produce from their garden, or dressing venison, or making sausage. The 1964 flood simply meant more work — moving the horses and cattle to higher ground, transferring 50-gallon barrels of flour and rice to drier storage.

The flood cost the state an estimated $213 million — almost $1.2 billion in today’s dollars, when adjusted for inflation — and isolated Humboldt County from the outside world. The Mad River jumped its banks all the way to the bay, transforming the Arcata Bottom into a vast inland sea. Towering waves kept the port closed. The Arcata Airport became the busiest in the nation for a short time, with traffic resembling the Berlin Airlift.

“The most shocking thing was the cattle,” Dusi said of the flood. “You could see these trucks, camouflaged dump trucks, and truck after truck would go by [on the 299] removing dead cattle. That was shocking. Absolutely shocking. Then, for months on the beach the tide would wash up pieces of barns and cows and horses. And the mud on the [Arcata] bottoms; all you could see was the tops of fence posts. We watched barns float down the river with cats on the roof. Those are the things that really stand out.”

That was more than 40 years ago. But long-time residents and business owners know it doesn’t take a 75-year flood to turn Humboldt County into an island. Heavy storms close Highways 101 and 299 just about every year. Built on unstable geology, the roads slide and crumble. Little money is available to fund any but the most urgent repairs. Meanwhile, major fault lines threaten major road projects like the upcoming Confusion Hill bypass. For people like Nanette Dusi, stocking up isn’t just a matter of planning for the catastrophe, it’s just smart planning.

CE Neal Slide Narration 1964 Storm & Flood Damage Northwestern Pacific RR

http://www.ovguide.com/christmas-flood-of-1964-9202a8c04000641f800000001c53fa1f

Signs of the High Water markers still along old Highway 101

http://www.pbase.com/image/105956100

Photos after the Flood

The Old Photo Guy | 1964 Flood of Humboldt County | Aerial view of …

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Apr 21, 2011 – Aerial view of the 1964 flooding at Weott, California. … photo guy.com, The 1000 year flood, Things to see in Humboldt County, Weott California.