For people in the Humboldt County community of Ferndale, cleaning up after a major earthquake in December has apparently become a tradition in recent years.

Thursday’s magnitude 7.0 was the latest to reach the area around the holiday.

“I looked at the ceiling and it was like it was made of jelly,” Rayah explained. “And then when I finally came to, I saw the tiles on the floor and I honestly didn’t remember they were there. I thought they were coming from the ceiling.”

Rayah was working at Farmers Daughter when the quake hit, and when it was over it was actually a mess.

“Oh yeah, the floor was covered in glass,” she said. “Covered. And we have a lot of spices and stuff, so there was glass and goo mixed in everywhere.”

“Well, you remember the last one,” Merritt Brodt said.

We definitely remember the last one, because that’s when we met Merritt Brodt for the first time when she was cleaning up the same restaurant in December 2022.

“Well, I think the other thing, remember, it was like the biggest G-force,” Brodt said of 2022. “One of the biggest shocks in California. It was like being on a boat.”

“Yeah, it was definitely a bouncer,” Bob said of Thursday’s quake. “Here in Ferndale it comes from the west, it comes here. It always hits that wall.”

Bob was cleaning up his blacksmith shop, where he says things might actually have been a little worse than the 2022 quake.

“I lost a window,” he said of the damage, “I lost numerous glass panels on the display cases. I lost a few tabletops.”

“There was a door and a broken chair,” said Jenny Oaks of the Victorian Inn. “But we’ll get the door repaired.”

Oaks had cleaned up the inn that afternoon, but there was little mess for such a strong quake, and that’s because they’re prepared.

“Yes, we are,” she said. “The piece of furniture is screwed to the wall. But the soaps flew off the counter.”

After three severe earthquakes in December 2021, 2022 and now this year, even the Christmas trees are now attached to the wall with cables. Residents had some thoughts on the holiday hat trick.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that from a lot of people,” Oaks laughed. “But it’s a great place to live. Mostly.”

“Absolutely,” Bob added. “I’m like, ‘So we’re going to do this every December now?’ This is our jam now.

“If this had happened on the exact same day as those two years,” Rayah said, “I would probably move.”