Mojave Water Agency's Operations Department helped restore Trona's water system in July after two massive earthquakes caused havoc in the Ridgecrest area. Pictured from left: Mike Simpson, Robert McCall II, Curtis Croteau, Fred Murphy III, Chris Pattison, Hunter Lent, and Doug Kerns.

A new normal

The sun was low in the sky when Mojave Water Agency Superintendent of Operations Mike Simpson unknowingly stepped into the office of a top Searles Domestic Water Company administrator. Simpson and his crew of three were seeking direction, having just arrived in Trona on July 10 following a call from the Department of Water Resources requesting assistance in restoring water to an unnerved community.

After assessing its own water system — checking for any possible damage to pipelines, wells, and monitoring sites — the Agency had assembled a team to provide aid to a community struck by two of the largest earthquakes the state had seen in nearly a decade — the biggest measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale.

“I immediately asked what we could do,” said Simpson whose team was eager to get working as efficiently as possible on a water system that had sustained significant damage just days earlier.

But before instructions could be fully given, Simpson found himself bolting for the door. The ground began to tremble beneath his feet, fixtures swung from side to side, but his counterpart seemed to hardly flinch at what had become a familiar occurrence.

Simpson was in the middle of an aftershock, one of many microseisms he would learn to work through over the course of the next few days. According to a Los Angeles Times report, more than 80,000 aftershocks were recorded July 4-23. 

“I ran out of the office as quick as I could and I looked back and they were just shaking their head as if this is the norm,” Simpson said. “I thought to myself, ‘How could someone work through this?’

“I told them, ‘I’m just going to wait out front here for the crew leader and follow them out.’”

Which is exactly what Simpson did.

There outside he stood, surrounded by cracked brick walls, split tiles, and raised asphalt, quickly realizing what was in store for him and his team that included Hunter Lent, Curtis Croteau, and Robert McCall II.

The team had only left two staff members from the Operations Department behind to keep an eye on things at home — Doug Kerns and Fred Murphy III — whose work allowed the Agency the opportunity to send staff to the far reaches of the desert. And though no problems would arise, the team in Trona knew they could be called back to the Victor Valley at a moment’s notice should anything happen at the Agency.

Over the course of the next three days and under an illusion of normalcy, the Agency’s relief team worked 12- to 18-hour days in less than ideal working conditions. This included daytime temperatures exceeding 100 degrees, with the early morning and late evening hours providing only limited relief. Overbooked hotels and restaurants would also complicate the trip. And the threat of the area being hit with another large earthquake loomed large. 

But all of this was not unexpected, especially following such a shaky welcoming. 

Leave with four, come home with four

Safety was a top concern. The team was instructed to be hyperaware of their surroundings, including paying attention to electrical lines and railroad tracks. But perhaps, there was nothing more worrisome than working next to a high-pressured gas main just feet away at the first worksite.

“We (were) in a situation where it could be dangerous,” Simpson said, “so all of us needed to take care of each other, and watch each other, and work as safely as we could.”

One by one, they swiftly identified and fixed leaks. However, the dangers of working under uncertain conditions was never far from thought.

With the ground rumbling throughout the day from a seemingly endless series of aftershocks, it was difficult for the crew to assess if there was something more nefarious happening or if it was just another earthquake.

“There are all these things running through your mind in that kind of situation because there’s so much going on everywhere,” said Simpson, who made sure the team was scrupulous in their safety precautions. “We left with four guys and we wanted to make sure we’re coming home with four guys.”

Fueled by adrenaline and beef jerky

After an exhaustive first day in the field, the team was in desperate need of a hotel room.

Consumed with the emergency situation at hand, no one had thought to book a hotel room until their day was over at nearly 10 p.m.

With many outside organizations and agencies in town providing assistance — not to mention the numerous media members covering the earthquakes’ aftermath — trying to secure a hotel room became more of a question than a guarantee.

“We had no room. Every hotel we called was booked,” Simpson said.

After reaching out to nearly every hotel in the region, the group finally discovered a Hampton Inn with a pair of newly available rooms after a recent cancellation.

Simpson told the receptionist, “Ma’am, we are at your mercy here. I’ll take one room or whatever you got.”

With a bit of luck, the crew had found a place to sleep. But before turning in for the night, they needed to stop for food. Up until that point, the four men had relied on a healthy supply of granola bars, beef jerky, and water bottles to get them through the day.

With many restaurants temporarily shuttered, late-night options were limited. Simpson, Lent, Croteau, and McCall II turned to one of the only diners open — Denny’s. 

“I was still wound up on adrenaline,” Simpson said. “I could not sleep until 1:30 in the morning.”

Beginning their first day at 5 a.m., Agency operations staff would not settle into their hotel until around midnight. After catching some much-needed sleep, they would meet in the hotel lobby at 5:45 a.m. the next morning, each ready to start anew.

Scorching heat and endless leaks

The dog days of summer were unkind to Agency staff. Temperatures flirted with 110 degrees each day, and heat radiated from the pipelines and ground below.

“It was scorching,” Simpson said. “Thankfully we had a canopy, but we were drinking water nonstop.”

Shirts soaked in sweat and perspiration seething from the brow, staff had to be conservative in their movements to avoid heat stroke.

But the need to be quick was paramount in restoring water to a community in a state of emergency.

“Just point us in the right direction, give us parts, give us locations and we will handle it from here,” Simpson said to local water officials, recognizing the importance of working self-sufficiently while the water officials dealt with a myriad of other issues.

But their work would prove to be arduous to say the least, repairing 14-inch steel mains, excavating earth riddled with boulders, and chasing leaks where the source was unknown. The problems were incessant.

On the third day, the crew received news of its last assignment — a leak that would be fixed in about 45 minutes.

“(The crew) was always willing to go the extra mile and didn’t complain once,” Simpson said. “They were great to work with and they understood what was at stake.

“I’m really proud of my team, including those who stayed back and monitored the Agency’s system. It was nice to know we made an impact in people’s lives. It’s a great feeling.”

FUN FACT

Stretching 444 miles, the California Aqueduct delivers water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to San Joaquin Valley and Southern California — including to the High Desert! The aqueduct is the primary feature of the State Water Project, and moves millions of acre-feet of water throughout the state each year.