Humboldt County Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, visits Whale Gulch to Discuss the Road Situation

Michelle Bushnell in her white pickup with Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company Chief and company. [Photo by Pamela Lauer]

On January 30, 2023 at 9 a.m. with the air a frigid 33 degrees, Humboldt County Supervisor Michelle Bushnell took the Briceland/Thorn Rd to the Whitethorn Junction. Then she turned left. Something, she told the community members gathered to meet her, that she had never done before.

Bushnell drove her large white farm truck down a single-lane, winding road with many potholes, redwoods, and a few elk. She traversed a single-lane bridge and turned tight on blind curves overlooking the sea far below. She came out to the off-grid Whale Gulch K-12 school that morning to discuss paving the last 1.4 miles of Humboldt County owned and maintained road where Mendocino meets Humboldt in the tiny unincorporated community of Whale Gulch.

The school, as it happens, is not actually in Humboldt County. Whale Gulch, as a community and as a school family, actually straddles both counties. The school is the only structure the community has. It’s a meeting spot for many things and is directly across the street from the garage that stores the Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company fire truck.

“Let’s be honest, we’re only here because there is a school here,” Bushnell said to the gathered community. “Even though the school is in Mendocino, Humboldt recognizes that we share that school and we need to take part in repairing the road to it.” Bushnell went on to explain that Humboldt County Roads Department is at a deficit and maintaining the roads they have takes up all their time and funding. She went on to explain that some funding will be reimbursed by FEMA for work the roads crew does on county roads. The work, she explained, has to be done long before the payment from FEMA is received.

“There just isn’t money for paving new things right now,” she said. “It won’t happen with county funding.”

Whale Gulch Fire Safe Council meets with Michelle Bushnell in front of Whale Gulch School. [Photos by Pamela Lauer]

This was a hard pill to swallow but Whale Gulch has heard this before and they aren’t willing to give up easily. Besides being the road to the local school, it is the road in and out for the volunteer fire company (and its wonderful support of the Shelter Cove Fire Department). It is also the route taken daily by garbage trucks, the post office, Fed EX and UPS delivery drivers, tourists exploring the Lost Coast and heading to Sinkyone State Park or the King’s Range camp grounds and, of course, locals.

“In a fire emergency, you can imagine what everyone trying to hurry and leave at 5 miles per hour will be like!” a forty-year local told the Humboldt County Supervisor.

Members of the Whale Gulch Fire Safe council and of the community at large brought along letters from years ago begging for attention to this important safety hazard along with petitions, letters of support from the BLM and Shelter Cove Fire Department. Bushnell was realistic though and stated she didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep.

“Grants,” she explained. “That’s what we need to turn to next folks.” She encouraged the fire company, the fire safe council and the school to seek out grants to get the road paved. She explained that there may be Humboldt County support in writing and applying for grants within the next two months. Bushnell then explained that upon gaining the grant funding, it may be possible to get Humboldt County to match funds to finish paying for the paving. She also promised that Humboldt County roads would do the work themselves for a discounted price if the grant money was secured. With the help of county grant writing, non profit groups can get trained and aid in gaining the grants. The road could still be paved and the work could still be done by Humboldt County, just not on Humboldt County funds alone.

As she left Whale Gulch, on the way to her next visit in Shelter Cove, Bushnell followed the Whale Gulch Volunteer Fire Company truck up the gravel winding one lane road. She was able to see how treacherously slow the fire truck has to go to make the sharp curves and how much it hops over the pot holes, water bars and run off marks on the road. Together, she and local volunteer fire chief and crew stopped at two culverts that have failed causing water to rush over the gravel road during high water events. Bushnell took pictures to show the county roads and she explained that the two culverts were already on the list to be repaired next spring, when county roads is coming back to chip seal all the culverts and upgrade the road from Briceland to Shelter Cove.

There is still much work to be done in order to finally secure a safe and drivable road for the rural community, fire company and school of Whale Gulch, but the work has begun. Getting the attention and a personal visit from Supervisor Michelle Bushnell was a huge step forward for a tiny community who’s voices have been crying out for support a long, long time.

Working together, the Whale Gulch Fire Safe Council, the Whale Volunteer Fire Company and the Whale Gulch school plan to continue their pursuit in securing funding to pave the road to their school and homes and as a community they will accomplish it in the not to distant future.