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Endless winter: Rural Northern California set to endure yet another storm

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Endless winter: Rural Northern California set to endure yet another storm


This isn’t some old-timer’s tall story: Lori Ford has been strolling two miles down a mud highway, with snow previous her knees, simply to get to work this month.

The pharmacy technician lives within the Mendocino County mountains north of Willits. Protecting her eyes peeled for bears and mountain lions, she has been hoofing it — from her home, down a slim mountain highway, to a four-wheel-drive automobile she retains parked on the backside of the mountain for the remainder of her trek to work.

For the final three weeks, and atmospheric river storm after atmospheric river storm, there was over 4 ft of powder at her home. The steep highway grew to become too harmful to drive.

However, by golly, she has nonetheless been clocking in on the Garberville Pharmacy in neighboring Humboldt County.

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She simply can’t imagine there are extra storms on the best way and that her hellish commute is likely to be this manner for some time but.

Is she prepared for spring?

“I used to be prepared yesterday,” Ford stated. “I’m prepared for winter to be over so I can complain in regards to the warmth in the summertime.”

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Throughout rural Northern California, individuals aren’t precisely thrilled to have one more storm this week, fueled by one more atmospheric river.

The storm — which is hitting Northern and Central California the toughest — threatens to set off widespread flooding as heat rain melts a file accumulation of snow.

Rivers and creeks in Mendocino, Monterey, Merced, Stanislaus, Sacramento and San Joaquin counties might see flooding, in line with the Nationwide Climate Service.

A lot of these rivers flooded in January, when 9 back-to-back atmospheric rivers hammered the state, contributing to at the least 22 deaths, together with individuals killed by falling bushes and surging waters.

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In current days, emergency crews have used helicopters to air-drop hay bales to hundreds of cattle ravenous within the snow in Mendocino, Humboldt and Trinity counties.

The storm system pounding the area this week is rather a lot hotter, and at greater elevations, “we anticipate the rain to absorb into the snowpack,” stated Kathleen Zontos, a hydrologist with the Nationwide Climate Service in Eureka.

“That may make any snow a lot heavier, so if there’s quite a lot of snow on roofs, that may be a priority. The snow load could be fairly heavy, and other people ought to contemplate — safely, in fact — clearing off their roofs to lighten the load.”

Zontos stated that though coastal Northern California sometimes will get quite a lot of rain within the winter, this season’s deluges are catching individuals off guard after a number of years of drought.

That area ought to see heavy rain by Friday, with gentle rain over the weekend. One other atmospheric river storm with potential flooding is feasible early subsequent week, she stated.

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Ryan Rhoades, superintendent of the Mendocino Metropolis Neighborhood Providers District, stated that his foggy coastal hamlet has gotten 29 inches of rain to date this yr. It’s proper on the historic common, all the way down to the inch, he stated.

That’s an enormous change from the final two years. Amid Mendocino’s worst drought on file, the seaside city — which has no municipal water system— had wells working dry and relied on costly trucked-in water to avert disaster.

At the very least in Mendocino, the rain this week isn’t such a foul factor, Rhoades stated Thursday, noting that it was pouring exterior.

“I don’t wish to say the drought is over. I don’t wish to say issues are good, as a result of it’s nonetheless early, however it’s rather a lot worse in different elements of the county and the state than it’s right here,” he stated. “Individuals are relieved and completely happy as a result of there’s water of their wells.”

As for Ford, the storms can’t finish quick sufficient.

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Dwelling off the grid in “the boondocks,” she and her husband are used to having to fill up on meals, water and gasoline for his or her generator in case of emergencies. However this winter has been brutal, she stated.

“That is like Colorado snow climate,” she stated her husband — initially from that state — proclaimed this month.

Ford makes the snowy hike and drive to Garberville on Wednesdays. She works and stays with a good friend at a decrease elevation, climbing again up the mountain to be along with her husband and two younger youngsters on Fridays.

She worries in regards to the snow melting this week and what it can do to the lower-elevation cities. And she or he worries about her own residence.

“We might have a landslide on our personal property,” she stated. “The snow has saturated the bottom a lot, the water has nowhere to go.”

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On the Garberville Pharmacy, she’s spent quite a lot of time commiserating with clients.

The pharmacy, subsequent to the Eel River, is at a decrease elevation, so snow will not be a difficulty. However clients from distant areas drive for hours, even in the perfect situations, to get their prescriptions, stated pharmacist Bryan Coleman.

“Most of our sufferers are affected by the storms,” Coleman stated. “We’ve acquired some who’re struggling to get down from the mountains within the snow and a few struggling to rise up from the ocean,” dodging downed bushes and energy traces.

One in every of his fellow pharmacists has been caught at dwelling for days, unable to get to work.

On Wednesday, Coleman mailed a prescription for a snowbound affected person within the mountain city of Zenia, 30 miles away. The put up workplace, he stated, supplied to ship the medicine to a close-by fireplace station the place the affected person might choose it up.

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In current days, the pharmacy employees has rushed to fill prescriptions for far-flung sufferers who’ve made it to the shop, solely to must rush again dwelling earlier than one other storm hit.

“It’s simply — it’s a large number,” Coleman stated.



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California

What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz

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What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz


California has plenty of options when it comes to finding a place with your preferred weather. If you like cool weather, some cities spend nearly the entire year below 70 degrees. If you hate the rain, there are locations that average just a few inches per year.

The Chronicle gathered data about temperature, precipitation, air quality and extreme weather for 61 places across California, including the 20 most populous cities with data available. In total, 53 of the state’s 58 counties are represented in the analysis.

While there may not be a perfect match with everything you’re looking for, this quiz will help pinpoint a place that gets close.



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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years

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California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years


A California woman died of rabies after allegedly being bitten by a bat in her classroom, according to Fresno County health officials.

The woman, later identified as Leah Seneng, 60, marks the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992.

“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is very rare. But when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” said Dr. Trnidad Solis, Fresno County Health Department’s deputy health officer. “It’s transmitted through saliva; it is not airborne.”

RABIES PATIENT BECOMES FIRST FATAL CASE IN US AFTER POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT, REPORT SAYS

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Leah Seneng, 60, was the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992, according to county health officials. (GoFundMe)

Seneng, who was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, was bitten by the bat when she was attempting to rescue it in her classroom, local outlet ABC30 reported.

She first came into contact with the bat in October, but did not display symptoms until approximately a month later, according to Fresno County health officials.  She was admitted to the hospital and died four days later.

Bryant Middle School

Leah Seneng was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, California. (Map Quest)

PEANUT THE SQUIRREL EARMARKED FOR EUTHANASIA BEFORE BEING CONFISCATED AND WAS RABIES-FREE: REPORT

“The most frequent route of transmission is through the bite of an animal that has rabies. With rabies, unfortunately, there is no cure. So, when symptoms develop, there is no treatment, and often when it develops, it is often fatal. So we want the public to know that prevention is key to preventing rabies infection,” Solis said.

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Fresno County officials do not believe there is a threat to public health at this time, but are working with the Merced County Health Department to identify any other possible exposures and administer vaccines.

Rabies vaccination syringe held in gloved hand.

Health experts recommend people and pets get vaccinated for rabies. (iStock)

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Seneng’s coworkers have set up a GoFundMe account to assist her family during this time.



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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu

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Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu


  • Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
  • Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
  • Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.

Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.

Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.

“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.

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She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.

Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)

Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think


raw milk

Containers of Raw Farm raw milk on a shelf at Berkeley Bowl on November 25, 2024 in Berkeley, California.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.

There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.

There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.

Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.

Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.

California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.


raw milk smoothie

Dr. Paul’s Raw Animal-Based Smoothie includes Raw Farm kefir milk, beef organ powder, as well as blueberries, honey, bananas and other ingredients. It’s $19.

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Dania Maxwell/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images



Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”

California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.

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The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.





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