Flood impacts continue, as some Shasta tenants face displacement – Shasta Scout

77-year-old Patricia Webb woke up from a nap on her couch last week to use the bathroom and found herself standing in water up to her ankles. Confused, the longtime resident of an apartment unit off Hartnell Avenue wondered if her toilet had overflowed. 

Like others in the area, she’d received flash flood warnings on her phone around 3 p.m. But she didn’t think her home, which isn’t close to a river or other moving body of water, would be impacted. Over the next few hours, the water rose to a high of 6 to 8 inches in her apartment, taking days to recede and leaving her carpets still wet more than a week later.

“The water went down little by little,” Webb said, “and after three days it was mostly gone, but you could still hear it squelching when you walked.” 

Yesterday, a Red Cross damage assessment team took photos of her unit along with others at the apartment complex as residents across the building packed belongings into cars, pickup trucks and horse trailers. The units are being cleared to allow for cleanup including carpet replacement, the Red Cross said. 

But some who live there still aren’t sure how they’ll move their belongings, as they don’t have family who can help. Others, like Webb, face an additional challenge — they have nowhere else to go. Webb and other tenants who spoke with Shasta Scout yesterday said they have renters insurance, but they’ve been told by their insurance companies that it doesn’t cover flood damage.

Residents of the Hartnell complex pointed out deep grooves in the grass left by Redding firetrucks, which were driven up onto the complex lawn to avoid deep water in the parking lot on the evening that flooding peaked. Webb and others who spoke to Shasta Scout said they didn’t call 911 that night because by the time they realized flooding was occurring, first responders were already there, helping limited-mobility tenants leave their residences. 

So far, little public information has been released about how many people were impacted by flooding, which occurred suddenly on Dec. 21 after a high volume of rain fell over a short period of time.

Kalie Brisbon, executive director of the United Way of Northern California, said by email today that the current challenge for those engaged in disaster response is understanding who has been impacted and what their needs are. She said her team is updating the county’s 211 resource page as information comes in and is directing people to an event that will be held by the Red Cross this weekend.

“It’s really challenging as everyone is still struggling to understand the full scope of impact from flooding,” Brisbon said. “The Red Cross is the primary entity serving people right now, but we are gathering more information from other partners, including Haven Humane and Legal Services of Northern California as they increase resources. United Way is making all of this information available via 211 Shasta.”

A press release from the City of Redding today indicated that staff continue to assess impacts and encouraged residents and businesses that have experienced flooding to complete a damage reporting form on the City’s website so that information can be shared with state agencies for potential emergency or flood-related assistance.

71-year-old David Richman was on site at the Hartnell apartments yesterday to help his sister move some of her belongings into storage. Downed trees and floodwater on Kenyon Drive briefly floated her vehicle, his sister said, as she drove home from a family member’s house on Sunday to find her own home flooded. 

Richman said he’s lived in Shasta his whole life but can remember experiencing rain events like this only three times. He said the conditions were right for flooding, saturated ground followed by heavy downpours. Chemtrails, he speculated, pointing to the sky, don’t help either. 

The city has said that the flooding occurred after a high volume of rain fell quickly, pushing debris into overwhelmed stormwater drainage systems. One 74-year-old man perished in the flood water on Dec. 21 after driving past a law enforcement barricade into standing water, Redding Police said. His is the only reported fatality so far. 

Both the city and the county have declared local emergencies as a result of the flooding, an action which will help facilitate aid and rehabilitation efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom has also declared an emergency in Shasta and several other counties across the state.

A Red Cross damage assessment team spoke to impacted residents yesterday in areas including Redding, Bella Vista and Shingletown. By mid-afternoon they were at the Hartnell complex, going door-to-door as they asked community members about damage to their units. Volunteers Darren Courtney and Briana Frazier took photos of the outside of each apartment and spoke to residents they found at home as they updated a Red Cross app to flag each affected unit with details, including photo evidence. 

Frazier, a Shasta resident who’s volunteered for the Red Cross since August 2025 as a damage services associate, handed the phone she was using over to tenants asking them to take photos of water lines within their residences that were then uploaded into the Red Cross’s digital system. Courtney, who lives in Yuba City, said he’s been officially volunteering with the Red Cross since 2015. As he moved from unit to unit yesterday, he listened to resident stories as he documented assessment details within the Red Cross app. 

Some residents at the far end of the complex reported the water rising to more than a foot inside their home at the peak of the flooding. Damage assessments will be used by Red Cross administrators to make decisions about where to share available donations to provide help where most needed.

The damage assessment is just one step in the Red Cross’ disaster response process. Over the weekend, another set of volunteers gave out flood cleanup supplies — including shovels and garbage bags, gloves and face masks — from in front of the local Red Cross headquarters on Bechelli Lane. 

Caedy Minoletti, who’s based in Chico, serves as the executive director of the Northern California Chapter of the Red Cross. Speaking to Shasta Scout over the weekend, she said the Red Cross has received about 15-20 calls a day since the flooding occurred. 

The Northern California Chapter has about 25-30 core volunteers, Minoletti said, some of whom served through Christmas in response to flood needs. Angie Irmir, a regional mass care lead with the Red Cross, has been volunteering for nine years. She said she became a client of the Red Cross after being evacuated as a 25-year-old and began giving back as a volunteer as soon as she could. This weekend she served local community members at the cleanup supply event.

Another volunteer, Dwayne Taaffe, was also staffing the local Red Cross headquarters on Saturday. He’s a regional program lead for the Red Cross based in Susanville. As a substitute teacher he signed up to join the Red Cross response teams seven years ago to give back to his community, he said, explaining that he’s one of a few Lassen-based Red Cross volunteers.

“I truly love what we do,” Taaffe said, explaining that the Red Cross also helps with individual disasters like house fires. “Helping people usually, at the worst possible moments of their lives. We all try to help in any way we can. And at the minimum you’re going to get a hug, a blanket and a comfort kit. And if you have a little one … I carry a bunch of little Mickey Mouse dolls that we pass out to the kids.”

Red Cross spokesperson Steve Walsh represents the Red Cross’ California Gold Country Region, which comprises 26 counties including areas north of Sacramento. He said the evacuation center that the Red Cross opened in Shasta last week was utilized by only a single individual. 77 people picked up clean up supplies over the weekend, Walsh said, and dozens more have requested assessments of their homes. This weekend, Walsh said, the Red Cross will be holding a local multi-agency event as the organization works to continue to meet the needs of Shasta residents impacted by flooding. 

“Basically we extend an invitation to any government agencies or nonprofits who might have information or resources for those whose homes are impacted by this flood. It’s kind of like one stop shopping,” Walsh explained. “A person can go there and talk to multiple agencies about their needs.”

The event will be held Jan. 2-4 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Northern Valley Catholic Social Services building located at 2400 Washington Avenue in Redding. Partner agencies who will be at the event include Northern Valley Catholic Social Services, California Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, the Redding Community Emergency Response Team, Legal Services of Northern California, Team Rubicon, the Lions Club and the United Way of Northern California.

Shasta community members can also reach the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROSS or find additional resources at 211 NorCal.

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