Many communities of Del Norte and Humboldt counties suffered massive power outages and were left isolated ( or completely cut off from the rest of the state for a period ) , including the region 's larger populated areas around Humboldt Bay , such as Eureka and Arcata , despite the fact that those cities were located on higher ground and not in the path of raging rivers . Unfortunate riverside communities like Klamath , Orleans , Myers Flat , Weott , South Fork , Shively , Pepperwood , Stafford , and Ti-Bar were completely destroyed by flood waters ; some of them were never rebuilt and none regained their former status . Metropolitan , Rio Dell , and Scotia were significantly damaged . The Pacific Lumber Company sawmill at Scotia lost 40 MMFBM of logs and lumber washed downstream . Crescent City , still recovering from the tsunami created by the 1964 Alaska earthquake only nine months earlier , also suffered from the floods
1964 Alaska earthquake
1964 Alaska earthquake
Christmas flood of 1964