GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) – As skies all over the north state filled with toxic levels of smoke, Butte County Health Department made the announcement that it would allow for temporary indoor operations of restaurants.

Butte County restaurants were allowed to resume indoor operations Thursday, September 10^th as long as owners adhered to somewhat simple restrictions: Serve only 25% of max capacity, space tables 6 feet apart, keep staff masked and require customers to wear masks while moving about the facility until seated.

But “temporary” turned into about 24 hours. On Friday September 11^th, the BCPH rescinded its allowance saying in a press release, “The temporary allowance was put in place to ensure that evacuees had a safe space to have a meal while the event was unfolding.” And it cited that the county is still under state mandates.

Assemblyman James Gallagher had urged local businesses to open indoor dining even before the health department’s temporary allowance, and continues to do so, making sure to warn that businesses may risk enforcement by state agencies. Assemblyman James Gallagher writes, “Bottom line: the California Department of Public Health has refused to provide any flexibility on allowing indoor dining. This just further shows that the Governor’s new Blueprint framework is arbitrary and nonsensical. They may be ok with the public, fire victims and first responders eating outdoors covered in smoke and ash, but I am not. My position remains the same: restaurants should open for indoor dining. The more restaurants that open indoors the better!”

Apparently, people are listening.                                                                             

On Monday, business owners and community members gathered at Mike’s Grande Burger in Oroville to rally in support of reopening indoor dining despite state orders. Accounts say that it was standing room only as many business owners and community members voiced their frustrations at legislators and state officials not listening to their constituents. Reopening against state orders could cost these businesses their licenses and according to a Facebook post by Assemblyman Gallagher, the Governor’s Health officials “threatened to take away millions of dollars in Federal CARES Act funding from Butte County when our local health officials gave clearance to open up at 25% capacity indoors.”

Many area restaurants feel that those are acceptable risks as they are fed up with the state's mandates.