Remember When for the week of 1/10/17
125 years ago
An explosion occurred in a local mine when a shot was fired while gas was in the shaft.
The explosion sent a huge puff of smoke in the air as survivors clambered for the surface. Of the 350 men in the mine, no estimates were available on the number of survivors.
75 years ago
A well-attended meeting of the Law and Order Division, Lassen County Civilian Court of Defense, formulated plans in the event of power blackout or other war-related emergency.
The plan called for Susanville to be divided into eight districts, each with a captain and police to guard the section.
35 years ago
Two Susanville residents were sentenced and another was awaiting trial on charges of smuggling cocaine into Hawaii, according to the U.S. Attorney.
The pair was convicted as being part of an organized effort to smuggle the largest amount of cocaine ever seized in Hawaii.
30 years ago
The California Department of Transportation announced a “lights on” daytime stretch of Highway 395 would go into effect next week, following a request by the city of Susanville and Lassen County.
20 years ago
At the height of last week’s flood on Thursday, Jan. 2, roads were blocked and stores were closed as Piute Creek and Susan River roared.
Homes in the 1300 block of North Street were under three feet of water and Susanville Supermarket closed until water in the parking lot was pumped out.
15 years ago
At the evening session of the Jan. 3 public meeting, Lassen Municipal Utility District President Marino “Buzz” Giannotti announced the LMUD directors would not vote to raise the rates more than one-and-one-half times as expected at the conclusion of the hearing.
Instead, Giannotti told the standing-room-only crowd that the public hearing will reconvene after the state legislature has an opportunity to respond to the statewide crisis in electrical states.
10 years ago
With flood damage already pegged at more than $10 million, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors ratified the local disaster emergency Assistant Director of Emergency Services Chip Jackson declared Saturday, Dec. 31.
At a special meeting Thursday, Jan. 5, the board voted unanimously to forward a copy of the declaration to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
On Jan. 3, Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in 16 counties, including Lassen and Plumas.
Jackson told the board the city of Susanville suffered more than $7 million in flood damages.
County roads suffered almost $2 million in damages.
Jackson said County Agriculture Commissioner Ken Smith’s conservative estimate pegs crop damage at $500,000.
Five years ago
A Thursday evening crash of a private plane near Chester, California has claimed two lives.
The crashed plane was identified as a Beach Craft Twin V owned by Ronald Gilmore, of Chester. Gilmore, 76, has been positively identified as one of the victims in the crash. The second victim has been tentatively identified as his wife, Janet Gilmore.
At approximately 6:49 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 6, the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office received several 911 calls reporting a possible airplane in distress near or at the Chester Airport. Plumas County Sheriff’s deputies, the Chester Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol were dispatched to the area.
At approximately 7:25 p.m., units from the Chester Fire Department located the downed plane approximately one-quarter mile southwest of the airport. Upon further investigation, the two bodies were discovered in the plane, and Plumas County Sheriff’s deputies and Chester Fire Department personnel removed the bodies.
Last year
Great news for local winter sports enthusiasts — the Coppervale Ski Hill located on Highway 36 between Susanville and Westwood is now open for business.
Norm Wilson, Coppervale’s manager, said California’s lingering drought has made it difficult to operate the facility without enough snow, so difficult it’s only been open two of the last six years.
“It’s been bad, really bad,” Wilson said, “but what are you going to do?”
But Wilson said a recent series of storms has dropped about 18 to 24 inches of snow at the top of the hill and about 12 to 14 inches of the white stuff near the bottom. He said the snow base is firm and covered by about 2 inches of powder.
“We still need more snow, but I didn’t want to not open,” Wilson said.
