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NICE, Calif. – One person was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 20 involving a van and a semi truck on Tuesday afternoon.
The crash on Highway 20 across from the Dollar General was reported shortly after 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Reports from the scene indicated a white Ford cargo van had collided head-on with a semi truck that appeared to have been heading westbound.
Minutes after Northshore Fire units arrived at the scene, they confirmed that one person was dead, with another person having minor injuries. Based on scene reports the fatality appeared to be the van driver.
After the crash, the semi continued traveling westbound and came to rest against a van parked next to the Bent Fir cabinet shop.
The impact with the semi truck pushed that parked van into the side of the shop. Incident command requested a county building inspector respond to check the building’s integrity.
Highway 20 was open to one-way traffic around the scene for a short time after the crash.
About 15 minutes after the fatal crash occurred in Nice, a multiple-vehicle wreck was reported on Highway 20 in the Glenhaven area.
There were reported to be a dozen patients, with two of them flown by air ambulance to regional trauma centers. Three others were transported to county hospitals by ground ambulance, with the rest denying medical transport.
Highway 20 was shut down for a short period of time in the crash area.
Additional details will be published as they become available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With Lake County entering another day without power, schools will once again be closed on Wednesday while local officials wait to hear if an all-clear has been called for the red flag weather conditions.
Pacific Gas and Electric implemented another public safety power shutoff early Tuesday across 29 counties, including Lake, and impacting 597,000 customer accounts, in response to a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service.
That was on the heels of a massive shutoff that impacted 37 counties and 960,000 customer accounts that began on Saturday and also included Lake County.
An estimated 400,000 customers account – including nearly all of those in Lake County – didn’t have their power restored from the weekend shutoff before the Tuesday shutoff began, PG&E said.
Most of Lake County has been without power since Saturday evening.
Local officials reported that about 7 percent of Lake County’s 37,441 customer accounts had power restored briefly on Tuesday morning before the next shutoff was implemented. The area of power restoration was reported to be in Clearlake.
The County Administrative Office on Tuesday also reported that gas supplies in Lake County are waning due to the combined duration of the shutoffs.
The situation on Tuesday prompted Sheriff Brian Martin to declare a state of emergency in Lake County due to “repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shutoffs.” The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a special Thursday morning meeting to confirm his proclamation.
Lake County school districts reported that they will be closed on Wednesday, as power isn’t expected to be restored in time for classes to start.
Mendocino College and the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College said they also have canceled Wednesday’s classes because of the shutoff.
Sheriff Martin said he’s received information from PG&E that the all-clear for the current wind event could come between 6 and 8 a.m. Wednesday.
That time frame was separately reported by PG&E Chief Meteorologist Scott Strenfel during a Tuesday evening briefing.
Strenfel said that, before giving the all-clear, PG&E will have to confirm weather conditions have improved by monitoring the 600 weather stations in the field.
Inspections and repair to any damaged areas would then need to be completed before power is restored. Company officials said the goal is to have power back on within 48 hours of the all-clear.
Mark Quinlan, PG&E’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said Tuesday was an “operationally complex day” as the company restored power to some areas and deenergized others.
At about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the company gave the all-clear for parts of the northern Sacramento Valley; Quinlan said that all-clear had been anticipated at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Quinlan said Tuesday evening that PG&E’s inspections have identified 127 cases of damage so far from the weekend wind event that resulted in its own power shutoff. Damage included wires down, broken poles and vegetation into facilities.
Quinlan said 65 community resource centers are open in the current shutoff area, offering water, wifi and charging capabilities from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the shutoffs. Those have been visited by 24,000 customers so far.
The three community resource centers in Lake County are located at the Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.; Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport; and Upper Lake Unified School District, 725 Old Lucerne Road.
With cold weather coming on and many customers impacted because they use electric heat, Quinlan said there will be 200 blankets at each of the community resource centers for distribution on Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Pacific Gas and Electric implemented another public safety power shutoff early Tuesday across 29 counties, including Lake, and impacting 597,000 customer accounts, in response to a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service.
That was on the heels of a massive shutoff that impacted 37 counties and 960,000 customer accounts that began on Saturday and also included Lake County.
An estimated 400,000 customers account – including nearly all of those in Lake County – didn’t have their power restored from the weekend shutoff before the Tuesday shutoff began, PG&E said.
Most of Lake County has been without power since Saturday evening.
Local officials reported that about 7 percent of Lake County’s 37,441 customer accounts had power restored briefly on Tuesday morning before the next shutoff was implemented. The area of power restoration was reported to be in Clearlake.
The County Administrative Office on Tuesday also reported that gas supplies in Lake County are waning due to the combined duration of the shutoffs.
The situation on Tuesday prompted Sheriff Brian Martin to declare a state of emergency in Lake County due to “repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shutoffs.” The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to hold a special Thursday morning meeting to confirm his proclamation.
Lake County school districts reported that they will be closed on Wednesday, as power isn’t expected to be restored in time for classes to start.
Mendocino College and the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College said they also have canceled Wednesday’s classes because of the shutoff.
Sheriff Martin said he’s received information from PG&E that the all-clear for the current wind event could come between 6 and 8 a.m. Wednesday.
That time frame was separately reported by PG&E Chief Meteorologist Scott Strenfel during a Tuesday evening briefing.
Strenfel said that, before giving the all-clear, PG&E will have to confirm weather conditions have improved by monitoring the 600 weather stations in the field.
Inspections and repair to any damaged areas would then need to be completed before power is restored. Company officials said the goal is to have power back on within 48 hours of the all-clear.
Mark Quinlan, PG&E’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said Tuesday was an “operationally complex day” as the company restored power to some areas and deenergized others.
At about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the company gave the all-clear for parts of the northern Sacramento Valley; Quinlan said that all-clear had been anticipated at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Quinlan said Tuesday evening that PG&E’s inspections have identified 127 cases of damage so far from the weekend wind event that resulted in its own power shutoff. Damage included wires down, broken poles and vegetation into facilities.
Quinlan said 65 community resource centers are open in the current shutoff area, offering water, wifi and charging capabilities from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the shutoffs. Those have been visited by 24,000 customers so far.
The three community resource centers in Lake County are located at the Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.; Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport; and Upper Lake Unified School District, 725 Old Lucerne Road.
With cold weather coming on and many customers impacted because they use electric heat, Quinlan said there will be 200 blankets at each of the community resource centers for distribution on Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A young Fresno County man died in a solo-vehicle crash on Highway 20 late Sunday night.
The crash occurred on Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks, as Lake County News has reported.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office did not release the name of the 25-year-old man from Selma in its Tuesday night report on the crash, citing the pending notification of next of kin.
The CHP said the man was a passenger in a maroon 2006 Toyota Scion driven by 20-year-old Brandon Sadler of Bakersfield.
At approximately 11:20 p.m. Sunday Sadler was driving his Toyota westbound on Highway 20, east of New Long Valley Road, at approximately 55 to 60 miles per hour, the CHP said.
Sadler related to CHP investigators that he entered a right-hand turn too quickly and applied the brakes.
He lost control of his vehicle, causing the Toyota to run into the ascending embankment on the north shoulder, the CHP report said.
Due to hitting the embankment, the CHP said the Toyota began to roll over multiple times and landed on the driver’s side. The vehicle came to rest in the eastbound lane, facing a southwesterly direction.
As a result of the wreck, the CHP said the passenger was rendered unresponsive and succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead on scene by medical personnel.
Sadler was transported to Adventist Health in Clearlake to treatment of minor injuries, the CHP said.
The report said Sadler was wearing his seat belt while his passenger was not.
The CHP said alcohol was not determined to be a factor in this crash.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The crash occurred on Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks, as Lake County News has reported.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office did not release the name of the 25-year-old man from Selma in its Tuesday night report on the crash, citing the pending notification of next of kin.
The CHP said the man was a passenger in a maroon 2006 Toyota Scion driven by 20-year-old Brandon Sadler of Bakersfield.
At approximately 11:20 p.m. Sunday Sadler was driving his Toyota westbound on Highway 20, east of New Long Valley Road, at approximately 55 to 60 miles per hour, the CHP said.
Sadler related to CHP investigators that he entered a right-hand turn too quickly and applied the brakes.
He lost control of his vehicle, causing the Toyota to run into the ascending embankment on the north shoulder, the CHP report said.
Due to hitting the embankment, the CHP said the Toyota began to roll over multiple times and landed on the driver’s side. The vehicle came to rest in the eastbound lane, facing a southwesterly direction.
As a result of the wreck, the CHP said the passenger was rendered unresponsive and succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead on scene by medical personnel.
Sadler was transported to Adventist Health in Clearlake to treatment of minor injuries, the CHP said.
The report said Sadler was wearing his seat belt while his passenger was not.
The CHP said alcohol was not determined to be a factor in this crash.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – After nearly a week of rapid growth, the progress of the Kincade fire on Tuesday slowed in the midst of red flag wind conditions.
The work of firefighters kept the Kincade fire’s growth to less than 2,000 acres in the 24-hour period from Monday night to Tuesday night.
On Tuesday night, the fire’s size was up to 76,138 acres, with containment remaining at 15 percent.
Ongoing damage assessments put the number of destroyed structures in Sonoma County up to 189 as of Tuesday night; of those, 86 are residence and seven are commercial, with 96 other types of buildings. The number of damaged structures is now at 39 – 26 homes, one commercial and 12 other types.
Cal Fire said the number of firefighters increased further on Tuesday, now totaling 4,870 personnel, along with 558 engines, 48 water tenders, 27 helicopters, 91 hand crews and 67 dozers.
Cal Fire Division Chief Jonathan Cox said the Kincade fire has made it to the edge of the Tubbs burn scar from 2017.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said the fire is inside of south Lake County but on Tuesday he was getting reports that firefighters were getting decent containment lines around it.
The fire’s entry into the south county on Friday prompted Martin to issue evacuation warnings first for Cobb Mountain and surrounding communities and then the Middletown area over the weekend. Those warnings remained in effect late Tuesday.
The Middletown Unified School District reported Tuesday that all schools will remain closed until the evacuation warnings are lifted.
During a Tuesday evening briefing on Pacific Gas and Electric’s ongoing public safety power shutoff, Mark Quinlan, the company’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said the California Office of Emergency Services requested that PG&E help scope out areas for more evacuation shelters and size generators for them should they be needed in Lake County.
However, conditions on the fire improved to the point that on Tuesday Sonoma County officials were able to downgrade the northern part of Dry Creek Valley from an evacuation order to a warning, allowing thousands of people to go home.
The area is still at risk from the fire, so Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick urged people to use caution and be alert as they headed home.
He said more than 260 deputies and officers from allied law enforcement agencies, plus 200 National Guard members, are patrolling the evacuation areas.
And they’re not just keeping an eye out for potential looting, but in various cases have offered other help. Essick said Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies helped ranchers feed their cattle and other deputies were assisting returning residents with cutting down downed trees.
Essick said that on Tuesday his agency took three reports of looting in evacuation areas. He described the cases as cold burglary reports made after residents returned to find their homes or businesses had been broken into and items taken.
He said all cases will be investigated and if arrests are made, they will prosecute the responsible individuals to the fullest extent of the law.
The number of arrests for unauthorized entry into evacuation areas remained unchanged at three on Tuesday, Essick said.
Ryan Walburn of the National Weather Service said red flag conditions over the fire area and the region will continue until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Walburn said they were monitoring wind gusts of about 50 miles per hour around Mount St. Helena and about 30 miles per hour in the center of the fire.
Walburn said the winds are expected to die down on Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The work of firefighters kept the Kincade fire’s growth to less than 2,000 acres in the 24-hour period from Monday night to Tuesday night.
On Tuesday night, the fire’s size was up to 76,138 acres, with containment remaining at 15 percent.
Ongoing damage assessments put the number of destroyed structures in Sonoma County up to 189 as of Tuesday night; of those, 86 are residence and seven are commercial, with 96 other types of buildings. The number of damaged structures is now at 39 – 26 homes, one commercial and 12 other types.
Cal Fire said the number of firefighters increased further on Tuesday, now totaling 4,870 personnel, along with 558 engines, 48 water tenders, 27 helicopters, 91 hand crews and 67 dozers.
Cal Fire Division Chief Jonathan Cox said the Kincade fire has made it to the edge of the Tubbs burn scar from 2017.
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said the fire is inside of south Lake County but on Tuesday he was getting reports that firefighters were getting decent containment lines around it.
The fire’s entry into the south county on Friday prompted Martin to issue evacuation warnings first for Cobb Mountain and surrounding communities and then the Middletown area over the weekend. Those warnings remained in effect late Tuesday.
The Middletown Unified School District reported Tuesday that all schools will remain closed until the evacuation warnings are lifted.
During a Tuesday evening briefing on Pacific Gas and Electric’s ongoing public safety power shutoff, Mark Quinlan, the company’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said the California Office of Emergency Services requested that PG&E help scope out areas for more evacuation shelters and size generators for them should they be needed in Lake County.
However, conditions on the fire improved to the point that on Tuesday Sonoma County officials were able to downgrade the northern part of Dry Creek Valley from an evacuation order to a warning, allowing thousands of people to go home.
The area is still at risk from the fire, so Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick urged people to use caution and be alert as they headed home.
He said more than 260 deputies and officers from allied law enforcement agencies, plus 200 National Guard members, are patrolling the evacuation areas.
And they’re not just keeping an eye out for potential looting, but in various cases have offered other help. Essick said Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies helped ranchers feed their cattle and other deputies were assisting returning residents with cutting down downed trees.
Essick said that on Tuesday his agency took three reports of looting in evacuation areas. He described the cases as cold burglary reports made after residents returned to find their homes or businesses had been broken into and items taken.
He said all cases will be investigated and if arrests are made, they will prosecute the responsible individuals to the fullest extent of the law.
The number of arrests for unauthorized entry into evacuation areas remained unchanged at three on Tuesday, Essick said.
Ryan Walburn of the National Weather Service said red flag conditions over the fire area and the region will continue until 4 p.m. Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Walburn said they were monitoring wind gusts of about 50 miles per hour around Mount St. Helena and about 30 miles per hour in the center of the fire.
Walburn said the winds are expected to die down on Wednesday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The efforts of firefighters are bringing a fire that began near Potter Valley on Sunday evening closer to full containment.
Th Burris fire remained at 350 acres on Tuesday night, with containment up to 75 percent, according to Cal Fire.
It began Sunday afternoon in the area of Highway 20 and Potter Valley Road.
Forty structures remain threatened, and the fire has prompted evacuation warnings along Highway 20 south to Highway 175, east of the Russian River and west of the Lake County line, and the Potter Valley area, Cal Fire said.
Due to a red flag warning in effect for Mendocino County and much of the region – which is set to continue through 4 p.m. Wednesday – Cal Fire said firefighters are patrolling and taking action on any possible spotting outside of the current containment lines throughout the night.
Cal Fire said assigned resources Tuesday night included 962 personnel, 72 engines, six water tenders, three helicopters, 14 hand crews and six dozers.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Th Burris fire remained at 350 acres on Tuesday night, with containment up to 75 percent, according to Cal Fire.
It began Sunday afternoon in the area of Highway 20 and Potter Valley Road.
Forty structures remain threatened, and the fire has prompted evacuation warnings along Highway 20 south to Highway 175, east of the Russian River and west of the Lake County line, and the Potter Valley area, Cal Fire said.
Due to a red flag warning in effect for Mendocino County and much of the region – which is set to continue through 4 p.m. Wednesday – Cal Fire said firefighters are patrolling and taking action on any possible spotting outside of the current containment lines throughout the night.
Cal Fire said assigned resources Tuesday night included 962 personnel, 72 engines, six water tenders, three helicopters, 14 hand crews and six dozers.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As electricity remains off throughout Lake County due to Pacific Gas and Electric’s series of public safety power shutoffs, on Tuesday Sheriff Brian Martin declared a state of emergency.
The emergency proclamation, published below, is in response to “repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” particularly in light of the threat of the Kincade and Burris wildfires burning nearby.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting on Thursday to confirm the declaration, Martin said.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Martin told Lake County News that the proclamation opens the door to the possibility of assistance for the county from the state government. He said he does not know if the situation will qualify for federal relief.
The proclamation also adds additional penalties for people committing crimes in the emergency area. As an example, Martin said the sheriff’s office is receiving reports of stolen generators.
He said the county is looking for whatever financial help is to be had in responding to the power shutoffs, the first of which began on Saturday evening, to be followed by another on Tuesday morning, both in response to high wind events.
Most of Lake County didn’t get its power back from the weekend shutoff before PG&E initiated the next shutoff on Tuesday, Martin said. It’s the third time the company has cut power to Lake County this month.
He said he received reports of about 7 percent of Lake County’s 37,441 impacted customer accounts being restored – primarily in the Clearlake area – before the second shutoff began.
Problems from the shutoffs aren’t just impacting Lake County, Martin said.
“It’s a pretty significant amount of havoc statewide,” he said.
Martin said the sheriff’s office has full backup power, but he said problems with generators for agencies throughout the county are starting to surface, with generators not intended to run for a week.
Some water districts and the Lakeport Police Department’s generators have started to have problems, he said.
Separately, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed that the city has had several generator issues, including problems with the one powering his department.
In response, Martin said he’s requested more than a dozen generators from the California Office of Emergency Services and PG&E to help around the county. He said the request is being processed.
Martin said PG&E has indicated an all-clear for the current weather event may be called between 6 and 8 a.m. Wednesday, which would then trigger inspections for damage before power could be restored.
PG&E has stated its goal is to have power back on within 48 hours of an all-clear, which extends the window of power restoration for Lake County into Friday. However, remote areas and areas with damage could be delayed further.
Sheriff Martin’s emergency proclamation is published below.
WHEREAS, Section 6-5 of the Lake County Code empowers the Director of Emergency Services to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency when Lake County is affected or likely to be affected by a public calamity and the County Board of Supervisors is not in session, and;
WHEREAS, the Sheriff, as Director of Emergency Services of Lake County does hereby find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property have arisen within the County of Lake, caused by the repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power ShutOffs. These events have affected all of Lake County, resulting in the loss of primary and critical public services, including water, sewer, communications and public safety services; and have curtailed the ability of schools to remain in session, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently under threat from the Kincade Fire to the south which started on October 23rd, 2019 and has spread from Sonoma County into Lake County, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently under threat from the Burris Fire to the West in Mendocino County, and;
WHEREAS, the County has suffered from, and currently suffers from, repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shut-Offs which have affected the ability of Cities, Tribes and businesses to provide services to their citizens and customers, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 9th, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 23rd, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 25th, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff effective on today's date, after 93% of customers in Lake County have not had their power restored from the October 25th Public Safety Power Shutoff, and;
WHEREAS, the Director of Emergency Services hereby finds:
THAT, the compounding effects of the simultaneously occurring fires and Public Safety Power Shutoffs have exacerbated the negative effects to our County to include, forcing residents to leave their homes, causing spoilage of food, imposing immeasurable financial impacts to local businesses, the inability of residents to heat their homes as nighttime temperatures drop into the 30's which can be especially harmful to children and elderly populations, and leaving people who rely on life-saving medical equipment without power, and;
THAT, these conditions are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of Lake County, and;
THAT, the County Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake is not in session and cannot immediately be called into session;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that a local emergency now exists throughout Lake County, and;
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that during the existence of said local emergency the powers, functions, and duties of the emergency organization of Lake County shall be those prescribed by state law, by ordinances, and resolutions of the County; and that this emergency proclamation shall expire 7 days after issuance unless confirmed and ratified by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, and;
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that said local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist until its termination is proclaimed by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
By: Brian L. Martin
Date: October 29, 2019
Sheriff/Coroner/Director of OES
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The emergency proclamation, published below, is in response to “repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shutoffs,” particularly in light of the threat of the Kincade and Burris wildfires burning nearby.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting on Thursday to confirm the declaration, Martin said.
The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
Martin told Lake County News that the proclamation opens the door to the possibility of assistance for the county from the state government. He said he does not know if the situation will qualify for federal relief.
The proclamation also adds additional penalties for people committing crimes in the emergency area. As an example, Martin said the sheriff’s office is receiving reports of stolen generators.
He said the county is looking for whatever financial help is to be had in responding to the power shutoffs, the first of which began on Saturday evening, to be followed by another on Tuesday morning, both in response to high wind events.
Most of Lake County didn’t get its power back from the weekend shutoff before PG&E initiated the next shutoff on Tuesday, Martin said. It’s the third time the company has cut power to Lake County this month.
He said he received reports of about 7 percent of Lake County’s 37,441 impacted customer accounts being restored – primarily in the Clearlake area – before the second shutoff began.
Problems from the shutoffs aren’t just impacting Lake County, Martin said.
“It’s a pretty significant amount of havoc statewide,” he said.
Martin said the sheriff’s office has full backup power, but he said problems with generators for agencies throughout the county are starting to surface, with generators not intended to run for a week.
Some water districts and the Lakeport Police Department’s generators have started to have problems, he said.
Separately, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed that the city has had several generator issues, including problems with the one powering his department.
In response, Martin said he’s requested more than a dozen generators from the California Office of Emergency Services and PG&E to help around the county. He said the request is being processed.
Martin said PG&E has indicated an all-clear for the current weather event may be called between 6 and 8 a.m. Wednesday, which would then trigger inspections for damage before power could be restored.
PG&E has stated its goal is to have power back on within 48 hours of an all-clear, which extends the window of power restoration for Lake County into Friday. However, remote areas and areas with damage could be delayed further.
Sheriff Martin’s emergency proclamation is published below.
EMERGENCY PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Section 6-5 of the Lake County Code empowers the Director of Emergency Services to proclaim the existence or threatened existence of a local emergency when Lake County is affected or likely to be affected by a public calamity and the County Board of Supervisors is not in session, and;
WHEREAS, the Sheriff, as Director of Emergency Services of Lake County does hereby find that conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property have arisen within the County of Lake, caused by the repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power ShutOffs. These events have affected all of Lake County, resulting in the loss of primary and critical public services, including water, sewer, communications and public safety services; and have curtailed the ability of schools to remain in session, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently under threat from the Kincade Fire to the south which started on October 23rd, 2019 and has spread from Sonoma County into Lake County, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently under threat from the Burris Fire to the West in Mendocino County, and;
WHEREAS, the County has suffered from, and currently suffers from, repeated, extended and continuing Public Safety Power Shut-Offs which have affected the ability of Cities, Tribes and businesses to provide services to their citizens and customers, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 9th, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 23rd, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County was subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff on October 25th, 2019, and;
WHEREAS, the County is currently subject to a Public Safety Power Shutoff effective on today's date, after 93% of customers in Lake County have not had their power restored from the October 25th Public Safety Power Shutoff, and;
WHEREAS, the Director of Emergency Services hereby finds:
THAT, the compounding effects of the simultaneously occurring fires and Public Safety Power Shutoffs have exacerbated the negative effects to our County to include, forcing residents to leave their homes, causing spoilage of food, imposing immeasurable financial impacts to local businesses, the inability of residents to heat their homes as nighttime temperatures drop into the 30's which can be especially harmful to children and elderly populations, and leaving people who rely on life-saving medical equipment without power, and;
THAT, these conditions are beyond the control of the services, personnel, equipment, and facilities of Lake County, and;
THAT, the County Board of Supervisors of the County of Lake is not in session and cannot immediately be called into session;
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that a local emergency now exists throughout Lake County, and;
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that during the existence of said local emergency the powers, functions, and duties of the emergency organization of Lake County shall be those prescribed by state law, by ordinances, and resolutions of the County; and that this emergency proclamation shall expire 7 days after issuance unless confirmed and ratified by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, and;
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that said local emergency shall be deemed to continue to exist until its termination is proclaimed by the Lake County Board of Supervisors.
By: Brian L. Martin
Date: October 29, 2019
Sheriff/Coroner/Director of OES
Email Elizabeth Larson at