Trona infrastructure improving, but more quake damage to property called likely
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Trona residents suffering from damage to their homes, psyches and utilities from a pair of powerful earthquakes last week received some good news on the latter front Wednesday, July 10, at a community meeting organized by San Bernardino County officials.
Water service has been restored to almost all areas of the region, and most major natural gas leaks have been repaired. Myriad services from local, state and federal agencies are being offered in the Trona High School gym, and reports of looting have proven unfounded.
But afterward, San Bernardino County Fire Marshal Mike Horton added some ominous news: As buildings continue to settle in the sandy soil amid the aftershocks, fissures in the foundations and in the homes continue to widen. Those residents returning to their homes that are not red-tagged as uninhabitable will need to contact the county building department or code enforcement for an inspection, Horton said.
“The already compromised buildings will be more damaged and certainly could collapse,” he said.
Horton said 100 buildings have been damaged, and he expects to find “heavy damage” in the Windy Acres area. Inspectors have affixed the red stay-out notices to five homes and eight commercial buildings. Those include the how-small-is-it, 61-year-old St. Madeleine Catholic Church, which celebrates Mass only twice a month because the pastor is also busy holding services in Baker and Barstow, said 91-year-old church clerk Margaret Brush.
The chapel and social hall have been red-tagged. Mass will be celebrated in the priest’s house on the property instead. Brush worries about the paintings in the chapel.
Brush, despite almost a century of experiences, said she has seen “no tragedies like this.”
On F Street, Benny Eldridge, 76, and his wife of 56 years, Anna Sue, 75, are waiting to hear whether the home Benny helped build in 1961 will be red-tagged. They were told that would be the case, but that hasn’t happened yet. Cracks could be seen in nearly every room of the house. As Benny showed the damage, a 4.2-magnitude aftershock rattled the house, which already appeared to be shifted off its foundation.
Until the safety of the house can be resolved, two relatives who came down after the quakes are sleeping on mattresses just outside the front door. The Eldridges are sleeping in what they call the “high rise” — the bed of an old, red, extended cab Chevrolet pickup.
“It’s kind of nice — all the stars up there,” Benny said.
Meanwhile, Trona High buzzed with activity Wednesday, with people parking amid county vehicles and television news vans to pick up cases of bottled water and large bags of ice. California National Guard soldiers filled water tanks, and county Probation Department officers directed traffic on another all-hands-on-deck day in the old mining town of 1,800 where Searles Valley Minerals manufactures boric acid, sodium carbonate and salt, among other products, from the brine in Searles Lake.
Inside the gym, where blue pennants celebrating sports championships line the rafters beneath a sign that reads “Home of the Tornadoes,” an estimated 400 people heard close to a dozen officials update them on recovery efforts in a crisply paced presentation.
“We are here to serve you and make sure nothing slips through the cracks,” said state Assemblyman Jay Obernolte (R-Hesperia), who received loud applause despite his perhaps unfortunate choice of words.
An official with the Searles Domestic Water Co. said service had been restored to all but the Pioneer Point area.
Residents were reminded to continue to boil water before using it for cooking and to drink only bottled water. The shelter at Kerr McGee Community Center in Ridgecrest will remain open as long as needed, and the Trona Library will serve as a cooling center.
The Post Office remains closed. Anyone with a P.O. box needs to fill out a change of address form at the Ridgecrest office. Anyone returning home should call PG&E to come out to turn the gas back on, a representative said. Some residences still lacked electricity, Southern California Edison said.
Residents should go online to SBCounty.gov or the Trona Neighborhood Watch Facebook page for more updates, officials said.
While some Trona residents praised the county’s response to the 6.4 and 7.1-magnitude earthquakes, one asked County Supervisor Robert Lovingood why it took “three days” for services to arrive. Some services, including food and portable showers and bathrooms, arrived in the days after water was brought in.
“You’re never going to be quick enough,” Lovingood responded. Afterward, he said sheriff’s deputies and firefighters visited the homes of those known to them to be the most vulnerable soon after the first earthquake struck.
The agencies set up in the gym include county behavioral health, veterans affairs and aging and adult services; Cal Fresh; Contractors State Licensing Board; Franchise Tax Board, the state insurance commissioner and the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Robert and Juanita Martinez, who are among the church congregants distributing supplies to residents, said food, diapers, baby wipes and personal hygiene items are still needed.
“I thought it was a very good meeting,” said Andy Ledesma, 90, whose nephew says is the oldest Trona-born person still living there. “Hopefully, everything (the officials’ promises) come true.”