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Rural Community Services in Modoc CountyRural community services such as power, water, sewer, and a basic transportation infrastructure are as important to residents of rural areas as they are to residents of large cities, maybe more so. Equally important to today's homeowners are telephone, television, and Internet access, no matter where they live. The ready availability of hotels, motels and restaurants is as important to area economic development as it is to residents’ comfortable living. Shopping outlets are also community services, and should provide at least access to basic staples. Adequate community services are essential for comfortable living both in rural and urban or suburban locations. Rural Modoc County and most of its population centers offer adequate community services for a modern family to live comfortably. Modoc also offers enough open space so that if you prefer to live strictly off the land, you can. We don't have the same variety of service providers to select from that people in an urban center do, but then we also don't have as many decisions to make! Electric power and water availability would probably be considered mainstays in community services. Electricity to most areas of the county is provided by one of two predominant power companies. The limiting factor for access to power is the distance from an existing power line to the homeowner’s property. An added benefit of living here is that the Modoc County area is not part of the western power grid, so subscribers are less affected by power price fluctuations. We enjoy some of the lowest rates in the west! As for water availability, most population centers in the county have city water systems, but for homeowners in the more rural areas a well is about the only option available. Likewise, sewer-systems are offered in more populated areas, but septic systems are used in most areas. Transportation access and road systems are community services that are most often taken for granted. If you live in or near a metropolitan area, you’re probably used to having access to a large airport. Likewise, you’re probably not too far from an Interstate or at least a major 4-lane highway linking to an Interstate. Here in rural Modoc County, we have no 4-lane highways. Access to an air terminal serving major carriers is at least a 2-½ hour drive away. We are not totally isolated here, though, as two highway systems serve the area, US 395 and CA 299. The rest of the roads in the county are county-maintained roads or city streets. Alturas also has a small airport and a few other small air facilities are located throughout Modoc County. The reason for the lack of major transportation access is also one of the major benefits of living here, which is low population density. Of course, that’s also one of the trade-offs to decide on when moving to a rural area. One of the rural community services important to a majority of residents is not one of basic necessity, but more one of comfort. That service is the availability of telephone, television and the Internet. Telephone service is available virtually anyplace in Modoc County with the limiting factor again being the distance your property is from an existing line. Although Alturas is the only city in the county to offer cable television service, satellite TV is available everywhere in the rural areas. Dial-up Internet service is available anywhere in the county with access to telephone lines, and high-speed service is expanding. The local telephone company offers Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) service for high-speed Internet access in Alturas and a few other locations. In areas of the county where DSL is not offered, satellite is about the only viable option for high-speed access. Probably the most important of community services for visitors to our beautiful rural area is the availability of hotels, motels and restaurants. Alturas and most of the other larger towns have numerous lodging and eating options available. Alturas offers a historic downtown hotel, seven motels, two lodges and a comfortable RV park that is close to amenities. Alturas also has many fine restaurants offering a variety of cuisines to choose from. Surprise Valley to the east offers numerous guest ranches and lodges, motels and bed & breakfasts and many eateries. Likely in the south has a quaint country-style restaurant on the main thoroughfare and many guest ranches available. Adin, Lookout and the Big Valley area to the west also offer limited accommodations, as does the Newell area to the north. Although not necessarily considered part of community services in the strictest sense, shopping options are extremely important to most people. Alturas has perhaps the largest concentration of stores in the county. Fresh produce, meats and other foodstuffs are offered in three grocery stores in Alturas, one a small chain supermarket. The city of Alturas also has merchants who offer auto parts, jewelry, hardware, books, hunting and fishing gear and thrift or second-hand items as well as gas and auto service. There are numerous clothing stores in Alturas as well as two drugstores, one of them a major chain store. Almost every other town in Modoc County also has stores that offer the basics as well as many outlets for local craft and art items. The following pages will provide more details on rural community services available in Modoc County. We will discuss power, water and sewer options, transportation, telecommunications, lodging and restaurants, and shopping.
This link will provide more details on community services such as the rural utilities of power, water and sewer systems.
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