Humboldt County, Calif. (KIEM)- Hoopa officials say, there is no evacuation for the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation at this time, however Tribal Officials have a plan in place.
Safety Officer for the COVID-19 Management Team Abe Camez urges the Hoopa community not lose sight of both major incidents affecting the Hoopa Valley.
“It is important to understand, we are in two emergency declarations and while the fire is still a threat, we are working on through the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Camez.
According to Safety Officer Abe Camez with Hoopa OES there is still a shelter-in-place order and a 10 p.m. curfew for the Hoopa community. However, there are no evacuations at this time.
Hoopa Valley Tribal Council Chair Byron Nelson asks Tribal members to look out for one another.
“If you have family or neighbors that need extra time or help to leave, talk with them today and ask them to leave at the first sign of danger,” he said.
The Hoopa Valley Office of Emergency Services released a detailed evacuation map which shows how the reservation will be zoned in the event of an emergency.
Chief & Incident Commander Gregory Moon with Hoopa OES says, crews have worked diligently for the last few days – once completed the tribe should be in good shape as far as fire protection.
“We hit this control line-in and the line and the line burnt and it’s been going to plan,
There are now 14 zones within the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation.
Operation Chief Allie Hostler with COVID-19 Management Team explained how the evacuation zones are broken up throughout the reservation.
“This is the North end of the valley, Zone on is mostly mountain area. Same with zone two, this is the center of the valley and there here is the south end of the valley,” Hostler said.
The most medically vulnerable members of their community have been identified.
Every person on that list has been contacted directly in efforts to update all pertinent personal information – and asked specific questions.
“For example, if we say we’re evacuating zone 11,” she said.”We know that there are three people on Tish Tang who need to be prioritized for evacuation.”
Moon ask his community to remain calm, when orders in activated the community will be notified.
“We are not in an evacuation at this time,” he said. “We are not in an evacuation, we are simply planning.”
Those who have yet to be contacted such those who need assistance or an elder – are urged to call (530) 625-8100.
