Patricia Miller was planning on visiting Surprise Valley in Modoc County last week to tour a 5-acre farm with an unusual selling point. It came with a geothermal hot well yielding mineral spring water of up to 128 degrees Fahrenheit. Miller, a Colorado-based licensed healer, envisioned turning the farm into a small retreat center revolving around the hot spring.
Backed up into the Warner Mountains facing the Nevada state line, the valley is where the West remains unbridled. Wild horses gallop across the high-altitude desert valley, and on cold mornings, seven natural hot springs can steam up into the sky to form a gaseous, mile-long mushroom. Surprise Valley rests beneath one of the country’s only dark sky sanctuaries, so it’s a fitting location for a retreat, but the more Miller dug in, the more she got cold feet.
A much larger venture next door is also interested in tapping into the geothermal supply underneath the northeast corner of California. Ormat Technologies, one of the biggest geothermal operators in the world, could begin exploratory drilling in Surprise Valley by the end of the year.
The Reno-based company is preparing to develop up to 11 geothermal test wells on nine well pads across a nearly 40-acre span in the valley. One of the well sites neighbors the farm for sale, and after Miller learned that it was less than 100 feet away, she withdrew interest and canceled her trip to Modoc.
Cedarville, the largest town in Surprise Valley, sits above an “ocean” of geothermal potential.
Cedarville, the largest town in Surprise Valley, sits above an “ocean” of geothermal potential.
The real estate agent marketing the property said a half dozen potential buyers have balked after learning about the exploratory drilling. The farm’s sellers reduced the asking price by $70,000 to help grease a sale. “It’s punching property values in the nose,” said broker Tierra Hodge, who’s based in Chico but grew up in Surprise Valley.
Ormat’s project is a hot topic for the region’s roughly 1,200 residents. Over the past year, locals have been beset by infighting as some choose to lease their land to Ormat for drilling while others form an advocacy group to stop or hinder the project.
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If the exploration is fruitful, the company could build a geothermal power plant like it’s done in other parts of the state. Even though folks in Surprise Valley are accustomed to heat sourced from the Earth’s innards — as steam naturally rises from the valley floor — the power plant is dividing the community.
Some see it as a harmless, renewable energy that’s safe and heavily regulated by the state. A power plant could also kick-start the sluggish economy by bringing jobs and families back to the area.
Others worry that if a plant comes online, it would disrupt the valley’s rural character. Some even fear it could be a detriment to the geothermal reservoir. So far, besides a lot of hot air talk in town, the project seems to have already impacted the local real estate, sandbagging sellers like Jeff and Sheila Cotton.
The couple are trying to unload their 5-acre farm with a geothermal well after 25 years in Surprise Valley. Jeff says he needs to relocate to a lower altitude for health reasons, but that the Ormat project is standing in the way. Potential buyers, like Miller, keep walking away.
“Since our life savings is tied up in the property, we are teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and pursuing legal consultation, which, so far, look like long odds of success,” he said.
Downtown Cedarville on June 2, 2026.
Downtown Cedarville on June 2, 2026.
Other locals like Curtis Rose are uniquely tapped into the geothermal reservoir. His great-grandfather founded the Surprise Valley Hot Springs resort in 1953, and Rose took over the family business after working in directional drilling. Geothermal is part of his livelihood. Recently, he put the resort up for sale and is marketing the property for further geothermal development.
At a community meeting in March, Rose heard neighbors condemn the Ormat project and express fears that he thinks are largely unfounded. Ultimately, he said the problem goes far deeper than any drill can reach; in Modoc County, change is a constant disagreement.
“Let’s be honest. Even if it was a perfect, no questions, black-and-white project, people still wouldn’t want it,” Rose said. “Why? Because they moved up and don’t want anything to change.”
Fissures in the valley
Geothermal energy is foundational in Surprise Valley. It powers the school district and hospital in its largest town, Cedarville, while keeping the legacy hot springs resort nicely toasted.
Located along the western shoulder of the Great Basin, the region rests atop several prominent fault zones that offer access to a vast geothermal reservoir thousands of feet beneath the ground. Surprise Valley is among a few “known geothermal resource areas” in the state, and for years, various researchers have studied its “great geothermal potential.”
Ormat’s exploratory drilling is the culmination of years of exploration and planning to tap into what Rose called an “ocean” of clean energy stored underground. Ormat’s project has the full blessing of the state. Geothermal energy is part of California’s ambitious plan to completely abandon carbon energy by 2045.
The Surprise Valley Hot Springs resort opened in 1953.
The Surprise Valley Hot Springs resort opened in 1953.
Nevertheless, concerns remain over the unintended consequences of a huge company siphoning from the reserve. Ormat representatives fielded questions in March from residents who worried about threats to the groundwater from drilling and chemicals.
Broker Hodge added that prospective homebuyers say it’s a deal-breaker. “They’re very concerned about heavy usage and that Ormat could deplete or contaminate the water supply,” she said. “Geothermal is the selling point, but it’s at risk.”
Ormat has contended with public pushback before. A few years ago, Burning Man organizers sued to stop a similar project near Black Rock City, and the festival eventually prevailed.
A spokesperson for Ormat told SFGATE that the company is committed to stakeholder engagement, transparency and respect for the community. “Ormat has a longstanding track record of conducting projects safely, responsibly, and in compliance with applicable environmental and regulatory requirements,” Eden Erickson said in an email.
A geothermal energy plant operated by Ormat Technologies in Brawley, Calif.
A geothermal energy plant operated by Ormat Technologies in Brawley, Calif.
Rose disputed concerns over contamination since California’s Geologic Energy Management Division, or CalGEM, regulates the operation and maintenance of every well. “People talk about how it could affect my well levels — no, it’s not. And if it does, that would be addressed. People would be made whole,” he said. “The state of California would not let you do anything. They’re monitoring the wells.”
Although drilling has not yet begun, fissures have formed across the valley between the longtime residents and a newer crop.
“You and I both know that geothermal is one of the most environmentally safe forms of energy,” Sandy Jo Stevenson, a nearly 30-year real estate broker and treasurer of the Surprise Valley Service Club, said on Tuesday.
She said new people moving in since the pandemic have altered some of the community culture. Cedarville has partially become a satellite community for Burning Man, held just a couple of hours away, and the artsy outpost is attracting urbanites seeking the “Marfa of California,” referencing the West Texas artists’ mecca.
“They are the ones fearmongering,” Stevenson said. “It isn’t the locals.”
Disadvantaged community
A century ago, when the Cottons’ farmhouse was originally built, the folks in Surprise Valley focused less on what boiled beneath the ground and more on what grew above it. Timber was the first major industry established in the region after California became a state, and Cedarville was abuzz with sawmills.
Along with government jobs in the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the timber industry supplied Surprise Valley with jobs throughout the 20th century. That’s now in the past. Most mills have closed, and Stevenson said the Forest Service used to have three times the employees they have now.
Surprise Valley from the Warner Mountains.
Surprise Valley from the Warner Mountains.
That’s why some in Surprise Valley see an opportunity in Ormat. In a 2023 report, CalGEM noted that Modoc County is identified as a “disadvantaged community” by the state, with an unemployment rate of 9.7% in 2020 — well over double the state average.
“Geothermal development means economic development in terms of employment opportunities for Modoc County residents, increased spending in the local community, and increased tax revenues for the county,” the report said.
Surprise Valley resident Sandra Parriott said she remembers families moving in, but now the school numbers are significantly down. “To stabilize our community, I myself would welcome good, permanent jobs,” she said. “Something so that our own kids who graduate high school are not forced to leave to make a decent living.”
Ormat noted in its initial environmental review published this summer that it expects to hire approximately 15 workers for up to about two years during the exploratory drilling.While Ormat previously predicted it would begin drilling by the end of this year, Erickson said that timing is still undetermined. Meanwhile, the Cottons continue to plead with the company to drill away from their farm, but the fight is losing steam.
Looking east toward Nevada from Cedarville on June 2, 2026.
Looking east toward Nevada from Cedarville on June 2, 2026.
In the past, when outsiders arrived in Surprise Valley to start a mill, they did so without regulation or environmental reviews. Stevenson looked back fondly at that mutual exchange between community and commerce.
“During the development of the mills in Cedarville and Modoc, they didn’t have general plans back then. The inventors came in, funded the construction of their mill. The neighbors never got to say no. But the neighbors got the benefit of having jobs and their grandchildren having jobs,” she said. “We have a beautiful place to live. We don’t have jobs.”