The Christmas flood of 1964 swept through 40 years ago
by Jessie Wheeler
Many residents in Humboldt County remember the awesome power of Mother Nature in
the 1964 flood. Many of these folks lost everything, often getting out of their homes with
their lives and the clothes they were wearing. A lot of people left their homes in boats,
either their own or those of rescue crews. No one was prepared for the speed and force of
this flood.
On Winter Solstice, December 21 and 22, 1964, a great mass of tropical air
supersaturated with water, was driven in from the Pacific over these northern ranges.
There was a heavy snow pack in the Trinity area and the watersheds were already soaked
with winter rain. The sodden air from this mass cooled rapidly as it was pushed upward
by the mountains and dropped its massive load of water. On those two winter days,
torrential rainfall in overwhelming amounts covered most of the north coast counties.
It had been less than 10 years earlier that the 1955 flood had devastated the area, and it
was hard to believe that the water would rise any higher from this storm. Rebuilding had
taken into consideration the height of the '55 flood, and lumber mills had raised their log
decks beyond the high-water mark. Scotia Lumber Company had built a special platform
for its lumber in the sheds to compensate for high water.
The deluge ran off the mountains as soon as it hit the saturated ground. By December 22,
all the major river systems of northern California were flooding heavily and rising. The
rivers were awesome sights. In many places the water rose several feet per hour. The
reporting became spotty as gauges were either washed away or covered by the raging
floods.
Entire towns were swept away in the lower South Fork of the Eel River. Homes were not
gently lifted off their foundations to float away - the power of the river was so great they
were ripped off their foundations and tossed along almost as if they had been hit with a
giant fire hose. Cattle had been driven to what was thought to be high ground, and
hundreds were washed away.
Many lumber mills were located in the river canyons and most had "cold decks," logs
stockpiled to keep the mill running through the winter. The river grabbed these logs,
some weighing up to 30 tons, and shot them into the stream at speeds of 15 to 20 miles
per hour. Large trees on the river banks, old snags that had been in place for years, brush
and buildings all piled up against every bridge in the area. Occasionally a smaller log
speeding down the river would hit one of these jams and shoot straight up into the air
from the sheer force of the collision.
The intense pressure that built up from the speed of the river on these jams took out
bridge after bridge. Some 18 state highway bridges were taken out. At Pacific Lumber
Company in Scotia, 18 million board feet of logs from an elevated deck were swept away
along with some 15 million board feet of finished lumber. Railroad boxcars on a siding
were tossed about like toys. Watching the power of this flood was at times mesmerizing.
Only those who actually saw these events could truly appreciate the wonder of that much
force.
Nearly 100 miles of the NWP railroad tracks were swept away or left dangling and
tangled as the cliffs washed away beneath them.
According to measurements taken at the Fernbridge time gauge, at 9 p.m. Dec. 21 the
water was at 22.4 feet; the next day it rose to a new record of 28 feet at 3 p.m. and to 29.1
feet at 8:45 p.m. The river stayed above the previous all-time crest for more than 24
hours, which in itself is a record for any type of flood. By 9:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve
day, it was down to 23.1 feet, still flood stage.
Many brave and heroic stories are told about this flood and how individuals and
communities helped each other out, in many cases risking lives to help others. It bears
remembering that the awesome powers of nature cannot always be predicted here, and it's
necessary to be as prepared as possible for the unexpected.
Jessie Wheeler grew up in Bridgeville on the Van Duzen River. She was living in
Ferndale at the time of the '64 flood. She is a member of the Senior News Editorial
Advisory Board. Her e-mail is pioneer@saber.net.