Rural California county hums back to life, defying order

ALTURAS, Calif. (AP) The lights are back on at restaurants, bars and other businesses in California's Modoc County after nearly six weeks.

The county of 9,000 in the far northeast of the state became the first to reopen Friday, in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-home order.

They're relying on guidance from local officials, like the sheriff, and say they're following mandates to stay at least 6 feet apart.

Amber McCandles was at the Brass Rail restaurant. She says Sheriff Tex Dowdy would never allow residents back out if it wasn't safe.

Newsom has declined to address the reopening, saying that the anxiety in rural areas “is not lost on me."