In a sharply worded letter to state officials released this week, Lassen County Sheriff John McGarva detailed a disturbing series of wolf depredations that occurred over the New Year holiday just north of Susanville, incidents he says demonstrate an escalating threat to public safety.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, deputies received a report of wolf depredations on January 1st, at the Willow Creek Ranch on Horse Lake Road. Upon arrival, deputies met with ranch owners Wyatt, Brad, and Jack Hansen, who directed them to a pasture immediately adjacent to the main residence.
The investigation revealed a grisly scene where a horse named “Smoke” had been attacked while tied in the pasture. Deputies found blood and wolf tracks throughout the area, with a blood trail leading from the southern fence line to the eastern fence. Notably, Sheriff McGarva highlighted the extreme proximity of the attack to the family’s living quarters, noting that the blood trail was “within approximately a dozen yards” of a children’s playground.
The horse suffered a massive, deep avulsion to its right hind quarter, approximately six inches long by four inches wide. While the animal was still alive when deputies arrived, the injuries were severe enough that the Hansens were forced to euthanize the horse.
A 600-pound calf was also killed in a pasture to the east of the residence, in a location where the main ranch house was clearly visible. The calf had been attacked at the rear inside hind quarter and near the left ear.
A USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services trapper on the scene confirmed the kills were wolf depredations. Tracking software indicated that wolves from the Harvey Pack had been present just a short distance away in Rice Canyon the day prior.
“Upon completion of the investigation, no evidence was present to show this was a kill for food or sustaining life by the wolves,” McGarva wrote. “These attacks were purely for the act of killing.”
Two days later, on January 3rd, the Sheriff’s Office received another report of depredation at the nearby Hagata Ranch, located just southeast of Willow Creek. In that incident, a calf was violently attacked and eaten within close proximity to a main residence. This attack has also been attributed to the Harvey Pack.
Sheriff McGarva expressed frustration with the current management of the situation, noting that Lassen County has now experienced 45 depredations, with 42 confirmed to be caused by wolves—mostly attributed to the Harvey Pack. The Hansen family alone has suffered 11 confirmed depredations.
“With the majority of the producers removing their cattle for the winter, the wolves have predictably begun to encroach on the residential areas of the ranches as the livestock has been moved closer to home,” McGarva explained.
The Sheriff is calling on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and state officials to intervene, referencing a previous request for help sent in March 2025 that he feels went unaddressed. He argues that the wolves are no longer hunting solely to survive, but present “a continuing and looming danger to the residents of Lassen County.”
“I am increasingly concerned about the health and mental wellbeing of Lassen County as these attacks continue to happen without meaningful intervention,” McGarva wrote. He is urging the state to allow for “Phase III” of the wolf plan, which would allow for lethal intervention when necessary, and is supporting pending legislation to delist the Gray Wolf from the Endangered Species Act.
“We need to address this in partnership before it becomes the public safety risk it is on course to become.”
