In the mid-1990s, Betsy Pratt, then-owner of Mad River Glen, did something many businesspeople would consider unthinkable. She turned down a lucrative offer to sell.
January 13, the fork of Mad River next a home home in Korbel swelled. At first, everything seemed business as usual, as the river rises every winter, and Gorgie Coffelt-Lane considered going back to sleep. But when it became clear how rapidly the water was rising within a matter of minutes, Coffelt-Lane and her husband, Wes Lane, fled their home.
More rain, wind, and some flooding is expected for this week, though a meteorologist noted flooding would be less severe in Humboldt County than a storm that caused widespread damage earlier this month and sparked Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal to proclaim a local emergency.