News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric, which said it is continuing to monitor weather conditions, has updated its plans for a massive public safety power shutoff encompassing 30 counties and more than 600,000 customers that’s proposed to take place this week.

It if takes place, the shutoff – which is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. Wednesday – could impact approximately 645,456 PG&E customers across Northern California, among them 26,549 medical baseline customers, the company reported.

Besides Lake, the counties slated to be included in the public safety power shutoff are Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Glenn, Mariposa, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tehama, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba, PG&E said.

All of the counties listed as subject to the power shutoff for Wednesday and Thursday are still under the “watch” stage, based on PG&E’s Web site. In that stage, PG&E’s Emergency Operations Center “is activated for a reasonable chance of executing PSPS for public safety in a given geographic zone due to a combination of adverse weather and dry fuel conditions.” The “watch” stage is the stage second only to “warning.”

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin had warned on Sunday night that a power shutoff could begin on Wednesday at 6 a.m. and continue until Thursday, with reenergization expected to take up to five days due to the large anticipated shutoff area, as Lake County News has reported.

The power shutoff in Lake County is anticipated to be wide-ranging. PG&E said that, as planned, the shutoff will impact 26,430 customers, including 1,662 medical baseline customers, in Clearlake, Clearlake Oaks, Clearlake Park, Cobb, Glenhaven, Hidden Valley Lake, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Loch Lomond, Lower Lake, Lucerne, Middletown, Nice, Upper Lake and Witter Springs.

Driving the planned shutoff is weather. Lake County and much of Northern California remains under a fire weather watch issued by the National Weather Service that’s in effect from 5 a.m. Wednesday through 5 p.m. Thursday, and on Monday was expanded to include much of the northern San Joaquin Valley.

On Monday the the National Weather Service issued a wind advisory beginning at 5 a.m. Wednesday and continuing until 12 a.m. Thursday.

The National Weather Service said the wind event forecast to start on Wednesday is expected to be the strongest of the season so far.

Based on the latest weather forecasts and models, PG&E anticipates the period of peak winds will occur from early Wednesday morning and last through Thursday midday.

While it had posted on its Web site about the potential for power shutoffs beginning over the weekend, Pacific Gas and Electric directly notified Lake County customers via phone, text and email on Monday that it was considering proactively turning off power on Wednesday due to the weather conditions.

Schools, local governments prepare

Lake County News confirmed with the superintendents of Lakeport Unified, Lucerne Elementary, Middletown Unified and Upper Lake Unified that if the shutoff started while school was in session they would finish the school day.

However, if the power is shut off outside of school hours – as PG&E now proposes to do – no school will be held that day and as long as the shutoff continues, school officials said.

Middletown Unified Superintendent Catherine Stone said the district doesn’t have generators that would allow it to remain open in the event of a shutoff.

“When we have no power, we have no school,” Stone said.

Lakeport Unified Superintendent Jill Falconer sent out a statement to families on Monday night, which also was posted on the district’s Facebook page, sharing with them the plans for when school would be open or closed.

She said the district determines the start of the school day to be 6 a.m., when the buses go out to start picking up students, “therefore if we have no power at 6:00 a.m., all schools will be closed until the power is restored.”

Falconer said the district will keep families updated through its student information system, Web site and Facebook page.

For the public at large, a customer resource center will be open and operational on Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Clearlake Senior Center, located at 3245 Bowers Ave. in Clearlake, PG&E said.

At a Clearlake City Council meeting last month, City Manager Alan Flora reported that the city had entered into a contract with PG&E to use the senior center as the community resource center, the only local for such a facility confirmed in Lake County so far.

Flora said the center will provide water, information, electronic device charging and wifi capability but no food or other services. PG&E is to staff the center exclusively and provide security.

In neighboring Mendocino County, 6,000 customers in Boonville, Calpella, Fort Bragg, Hopland, Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, Talmage, Ukiah and Willits are in the proposed outage area, PG&E said.

In Napa County, PG&E said 32,124 customers in American Canyon, Angwin, Calistoga, Deer Park, Lake Berryessa, Napa, Oakville, Pope Valley, Saint Helena and Yountville could be without power.

The county of Sonoma and the city of Santa Rosa reported that they are preparing to respond to the impacts of a possible power shutoff.

PG&E said there are 66,289 customers that will be impacted in Santa Rosa, Sonoma, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Cloverdale, Glen Ellen, Penngrove, Geyserville, Kenwood, Rohnert Park, Windsor, Annapolis, Stewarts Point, Cotati, Cazadero, Guerneville, Larkfield, El Verano, Boyes Hot Springs, Fulton and Bodega Bay.

The city of Santa Rosa activated its emergency operation center at 3 p.m. Monday and the county of Sonoma will active its emergency operation center at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Officials said both the county of Sonoma and the city of Santa Rosa have declared proclamations of local emergency, so that both agencies may be better prepared to quickly respond to the needs of the community in the event of a widespread shutdown.

To learn more about a PG&E’s power shutoff, visit www.PGE.com/weather or www.pge.com/psps, or call PG&E’s 24-hour power outage information center at 1-800-743-5002.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Caltrans reported that it has begun the process of removing hazardous trees along several state highways that run through Lake County.

Caltrans said it has identified dead and dying trees that are hazardous and pose a significant threat to the safety of motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, impacting the safety of the traveling public along Routes 20, 29, 53 and 175.

Most of the identified trees were damaged by the Valley fire in 2015, Caltrans said.

After the initial removal of dead trees during the Valley fire cleanup, it was determined that a certified arborist would reassess trees that were identified with the potential for recovery at a later date. Caltrans said these trees are located along our right-of-way and on personal property.

Each tree is evaluated for health, viability, and the potential to become an immediate or future hazard to public safety, according to Caltrans.

Property owners will be contacted by Caltrans to perform the tree assessments along the right-of-way on their property. They will be sent a “permission to enter” that will allow Caltrans to cut and remove the identified trees or keep the timber for personal use.

If homeowners refuse the removal of the trees by Caltrans, they will be held liable if the trees fall, causing damage or harm to utilities or the traveling public, Caltrans said.

Caltrans said reasons for removing live trees include the presence of internal decay, insect damage, fungus, signs of stress such as excessive pitching and/or deformed growth, loose bark, signs of instability and fire damage.

The arborist has currently identified more than 500 trees that need to be removed, although there are many more miles of road to assess, Caltrans said.

Dead or dying trees will be marked with a blue paint ring to facilitate identification. Caltrans said hazardous tree removal began Monday, Sept. 30.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A two-vehicle crash near Williams on Sunday evening killed two Bay Area women, injured four others and caused a closure of Highway 20.

The California Highway Patrol’s Williams office said the crash occurred at approximately 7:26 p.m. Sunday on Highway 20 west of Walnut Drive in Colusa County.

The two women who died were the 32-year-old driver of a 1996 Toyota Camry and her 29-year-old passenger, both from Oakland, the CHP said.

The CHP said the Toyota’s driver was heading westbound on Highway 20 when she lost control of the car, which turned sideways as it crossed into the opposing lane of traffic.

The Toyota traveled into the path of a 2009 Ford Expedition driven by 61-year-old Tamara Gomez of Rocklin, the CHP said.

Gomez was unable to avoid the collision and the front of her Ford broadsided the Toyota, according to the report.

The CHP said the two Oakland women in the Toyota died at the scene.

Gomez suffered minor injuries and was taken to Enloe Hospital in Chico for treatment, according to the CHP.

Gomez’s three passengers also were injured. They included Rocklin residents Jodi Richardson, 23, who suffered major injuries; 17-year-old Martina Ortega, who had minor injuries; and 16-year-old Angelica Ortega, who sustained moderate injuries, the CHP said.

Richardson was transported to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment, the CHP said, while the Ortegas were taken to Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento.

The CHP said all six crash victims were wearing their seat belts.

Highway 20 was closed for three hours while the collision investigation and roadway clean up took place, according to the CHP.

The CHP said the collision remains under investigation.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters office reported on the mailing of absentee, or vote-by-mail, ballots for the upcoming Northshore Fire Protection District Measure N parcel tax and the deadline for district residents to register to vote.

The special election for Measure N takes place on Nov. 5.

It is a special tax on parcels of real property to be used for the costs of funding local emergency medical and fire services, hiring firefighters, and replacing outdated fire equipment and apparatus.

Additional information about the upcoming election can be found online at www.lakecountyca.gov/rov .

Oct. 21 is the voter registration deadline for the Nov. 5 special election.

Lake County voters can register online at https://registertovote.ca.gov/ or fill out a paper California voter registration/pre-registration application available at the Registrar of Voters office, public library, DMV, post office or other local government offices.

When filling out the application, you can choose to register to get your ballot by mail before each election (permanent vote-by-mail), fill out a form to get your ballot by mail for just this election, or go to your assigned polling place location on election day to vote.

After the voter registration deadline you can apply for conditional voter registration in person only at the Registrar of Voters Office through election day.

Ballots were mailed to vote-by-mail voters starting today, Monday, Oct. 7. Polling place voters will vote at their assigned polling place location on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. You can contact the Registrar of Voters Office to check if you will receive a vote-by-mail ballot or vote at a polling place location.

The Office of the Registrar of Voters asks that voters check that their address, party affiliation and name are up-to-date in their voter registration record.

Official voting materials, including sample ballots, vote-by-mail ballots, and voter information guides cannot be forwarded to another address and will be returned to sender by the U.S. Postal Service.

Voters can update their information online at https://registertovote.ca.gov/ or with a paper California voter registration/pre-registration application.

The Lake County Registrar of Voters wants all voters to be able to vote easily, privately and independently; understand the steps in voting, understand elections rules, and know who to ask for help. Each voter’s situation can be different.

Call 707-263-2372 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for assistance, visit the office in person or online at www.lakecountyca.gov/rov.

The Registrar of Voters Office is located in the Courthouse (Room 209) at 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, and is open Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The office is closed on Fridays.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Due to a weather system later this week that’s anticipated to bring winds similar to those during the North Bay fires two years ago, Pacific Gas and Electric has increased the likelihood that Lake and many other counties across Northern California could be subject to a public safety power shutoff.

The situation prompted Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin on Sunday evening to issue a social media message warning county residents that the power could be cut for several days.

The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather watch for parts of Northern California including Lake County that will begin at 5 a.m. Wednesday and continue through 5 p.m. Thursday.

A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur, the agency said.

The forecast says a low pressure system will create gusty north to east winds over portions of interior Northern California Wednesday and Thursday, with winds of between 10 to 20 miles per hour, and gusts ranging up to 45 miles per hour, coupled with low relative humidities.

Those conditions will lead to critical fire weather conditions for the northern Coastal Range and foothills, the Sacramento Valley, and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 6,000 feet, the National Weather Service said.

In response, PG&E has placed Lake County under a public safety power shutoff “watch” for Wednesday and Thursday, which means that the company’s emergency operations center “is activated for a reasonable chance” of executing a power shutoff due to a combination of adverse weather and dry fuel conditions.

A PSPS watch, the company said, is typically only issued within 72 hours before the anticipated start of an event.

Lake County also is listed by PG&E as being under an “elevated” risk of a power shutoff on Friday, due to conditions.

The company said weather models are continuing to indicate the potential for a widespread and strong offshore wind event Wednesday through Friday. “Based on forecasted wind speeds and pressure gradients from high resolution and global forecast models, this is expected to be the strongest event of the season and is of significant concern.”

PG&E said the north and northeast pressure gradients – which relate to atmospheric pressure – that are forecast to develop over Northern California this week have not been as strong since the North Bay firestorm event of Oct. 8 and 9, 2017. The Sulphur Fire in Lake County was one of the fires that occurred at that time.

On Sunday evening, Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin posted a Facebook video in which he said that he had been on a conference call with PG&E and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services about the situation.

He said they discussed the likelihood of 39 counties experiencing some level of public safety power shutoff as early as 6 a.m. on Wednesday.

The good news is, the county has a few days to prepare. “The bad news is, this is going to be pretty likely to occur,” Martin said.

Martin said there are 21 counties, including Lake, that have a high probability – meaning, 75 percent chance or greater – of experiencing a power shutoff.

The power shutoff is anticipated to hit Lake County at around 6 a.m. Wednesday, Martin said.

He said it’s a very large event, and so it may be an extended outage due to the number of customers.

That could mean that power is out for as long as five days from the “all clear” which would be expected to occur on Thursday, he said.

“This is going to have some significant impacts here in Lake County,” Martin said.

As of Sunday night, no maps of the proposed outage area were available, although Martin said it’s expected PG&E will provide them on Monday. He and his agency also are to be on a rotating cycle of phone calls with the utility.

Martin said the predictions are for winds of up to 60 to 70 miles per hour on the high elevations, such as Mount St. Helena.

Martin said there were no numbers available Sunday night as to how many customers in Lake or neighboring counties could be impacted by the shutoff.

In recent weeks there had been concerns of power shutoffs to Lake County that didn’t occur, but Martin said Sunday that, it “sounds like it’s going to be the real deal this time.”

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is set to consider whether to continue to delegate oversight of the county’s investment authority to the treasurer-tax collector or if it should explore other options.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 8, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

The discussion of investment authority is an untimed item on Tuesday’s agenda.

Supervisors Bruno Sabatier and Moke Simon, who are serving on an ad hoc committee working with Treasurer-Tax Collector Barbara Ringen regarding issues surrounding her department, wrote in a memo to their board colleagues that the committee has identified the required review of the board’s investment delegation “as an opportunity to examine best practices available to the County.”

The memo explains that state Government Code makes the Board of Supervisors “the agent of the county who serves as a fiduciary and is subject to the prudent investor standard,” unless, under another section of the code, it has delegated that authority to the county treasurer.

“Subject to Government Code Section 53607, our Board may continue to delegate this authority to the Treasurer-Tax Collector, who is then required to provide a monthly report on the investments. Alternatively, our Board may direct staff to review other options. For example, there are licensed investment firms that act as consultants to counties. This can be particularly valuable in smaller counties that have strained resources, as these firms have the capability to assist with investment selection, monitoring, and reporting,” the memo said.

The memo continued, “Exploring other practices may yield alternatives that would allow our Board to meet its fiduciary duties while potentially allowing staff resources in the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s office to be made available for other priorities.”

Also on Tuesday, in another untimed item, the board will discuss the proposed purchase, for $10,225, of personal protective equipment for Code Enforcement officers, including multi-threat vets, Kenwood portable radios and accessories, portable radio holsters and officer safety training.

At 9:06 a.m., the board will present several proclamations designating the month of October 2019 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Lake County, the week of Oct. 6 to 12, 2019, as National 4-H Week in Lake County, the week of Oct. 7 to 13, 2019, as Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week in Lake County and the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Lake County.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Adopt proclamation declaring the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Lake County.

5.2: Adopt proclamation designating the month of October 2019 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Lake County.

5.3: Adopt Proclamation designating the week of Oct. 6 to 12, 2019, as National 4-H Week in Lake County.

5.4: Approve the minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held Sept. 10, 2019.

5.5: Adopt resolution approving the application of the Lake County Arts Council for the California Arts Council Grant for FY 2020-21 and authorizing the Lake County Arts Council to execute the grant contract.

5.6: (a) Approve Revisions of Personnel Rule 1801, Holidays; (b) approve a side letter to Lake County Correctional Officers July 9, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2019, MOU; (c) approve a side letter to Lake County Deputy District Attorney’s Association July 1, 2015, to Dec. 31, 2016, MOU; (d) approve a side letter to Lake County Deputy Sheriff’s Association May 7, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2019, MOU; (e) approve a side letter to Lake County Employees Association Units #3, #4, #5 July 23, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2019, MOU; (f) approve a side letter to Lake County Safety Employees Association July 23, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2019, MOU; (g) approve a side letter to Lake County Sheriff’s Management Association Calendar Year 2019 MOU; (h) adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 2018-125 Establishing Salaries and Benefits for Management Employees for the Period from July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019; (i) adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 2018-126 Establishing Salaries and Benefits for Employees Assigned to the Confidential Unit, Section A, for July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019; (j) adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 2018-127 Establishing Salaries and Benefits for Employees Assigned to the Confidential Unit, Section B, for July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019.

5.7: Adopt proclamation declaring the week of Oct. 7 to 13, 2019, as Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week in Lake County.

5.8: Approve budget transfer to facilitate the completion of counter and work space remodel within the Community Development Department and authorize the chair to sign.

5.9: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, adopt resolution accepting the Anderson Springs Sewer Collection System Project, Contract #4364 as complete and authorize the Special Districts administrator to sign and record the notice of completion.

5.10: Sitting as Lake County Watershed Protection District Board of Directors, adopt resolution authorizing Lake County Watershed Protection District to file grant application jointly with Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California and the Lake County Resource Conservation District to the CDFW Wetlands Restoration for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant Program.

5.11: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Atmospheric River Event 2019.

5.12: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire incident (River and Ranch fires).

5.13: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee fire incident.

5.14: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Sulphur fire incident.

5.15: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Clayton fire.

5.16: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Atmospheric River Storm 2017.

5.17: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of the goods or services; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Pavement Recycling Systems, Inc. for the rehabilitation of Big Canyon Road in the amount of $142,800 and authorize the Public Works director to sign the agreement.

5.18: Approve request for long distance travel to attend a training conference in Macungie, Pennsylvania, from Oct. 16 to 18, 2019, for Social Worker Angie Wynacht.

5.19: Approve the rejection of all bids for the Soda Bay CSA-20 Redwood Water Tanks Replacement Project, Bid No. 19-12.

TIMED ITEMS

6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of (a) proclamation designating the month of October 2019 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Lake County; (b) proclamation designating the week of Oct. 6 to 12, 2019, as National 4-H Week in Lake County; (c) proclamation designating the week of Oct. 7 to 13, 2019, as Code Enforcement Officer Appreciation Week in Lake County; and (d) proclamation declaring the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Lake County.

6.3, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transportation and disposal of fire debris for the Mendocino Complex fire.

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: Consideration of delegation of investment authority.

7.3: Discussion and possible direction regarding the purchase of code enforcement officer personal protective equipment.

7.4: Sitting as Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, consideration of Contract Change Order #5 with KJ Woods, for Anderson Springs Sewer Collection System for an increase of $3,659.39 and a revised contract amount of $7,001,693.87.

CLOSED SESSION

8.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): County of Lake, et al. v. PG&E, et al.

8.3: Public employee appointment pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Appointment of Public Health officer.

8.2: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code section 54956.9(d)(2)(e)(3): California River Watch.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.