Vicki Albiston needs your help

I am Vicki Albiston, local long term resident. I’ve weathered 25 years of Mendocino

coastal storms, this one was different. The date was January 4th, 4 AM… the sound of horse

hooves running across the roof of my new 5th wheel rattled me from my sleep. After 6 months

of searching for housing on the north coast a friend had graciously offered a place for me to

park a trailer, so I had taken out a loan and found the perfect tiny home. I had only lived there 3 weeks.

The community had been warned to stay at home as a bomb cyclone was barreling down on

the coast. The winds began to bend the trees in ways I’d never witnessed, as my new home

rocked. Concerned, I called a friend and she encouraged me to pack a bag and come stay at

her generator supported house in Anchor Bay. In what turned out to be 90 mile an hour winds,

my dog Blue and I made our way to my little Honda Fit through sideways rain. I was nervous.

As I turned onto Ten Mile road, I was shocked. The road was covered with debris thick enough

to hide the yellow line. I made it to Point Arena which resembled a ghost town before I was

turned around by a firefighter warning me of a huge tree blocking highway 1. This began to

feel like a nightmare as I headed back up Ten Mile road, witnessing uprooted cypress trees

with root balls larger than my car along the road. Feeling vulnerable, along with reverence for

Mother Nature and my angels, propelled me through the hour it took to get to Anchor Bay,

where I was greeted with a hug and a warm cup of tea.

The next morning my landlady called to tell me that a tree had crushed my new trailer. Grateful

I hadn’t been there, I began the long process of acceptance that my home was gone. Through

the grace of FEMA and friends I was given shelter and love but the next storm was about to

arrive. Understanding that the insurance had slipped through the cracks during the purchase

process, my home was not covered and the $40,000 I had just borrowed was my liability and I

had no roof over my head.

I’ve taken months to consider my options, including moving back to Utah and claiming

bankruptcy, but staying here in my coastal community is what I want and I need to do. To that

end, I’m humbly asking for help to pay off the $40,000 loan that is

strangling my ability to move forward. I know times are tough for many people, any amount

can help, even if it is just sharing my story.