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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – July 4 is synonymous for sun, fun, barbecuing and fireworks.
Cal Fire is reminding everyone to do their part to have a safe holiday and help prevent wildfires and injuries caused by fireworks.
Two out of five fires on July 4 are caused by fireworks, more than any other cause of fires. Most of these incidents are related to the use of illegal fireworks as well as state-approved fireworks that are handled and or lit incorrectly.
Sparklers, which are illegal in California, can reach temperatures of 1,200 degrees, account for roughly 25 percent of emergency room visits for fireworks injuries.
“With the significant rains, and now the dry, warmer months, wildfire activity is quickly picking up," said Chief Thom Porter, Cal Fire director. "Residents need to understand the dangers associated with the use of illegal fireworks or misuse of legal fireworks. Here in California we have a zero tolerance for the use and sale of illegal fireworks. Any person can be held liable for the fire-fighting costs as well as property damage costs associated with the start of a wildfire.”
There are also legal ramifications when it comes to certain types of fireworks.
Possession of illegal fireworks such as sky rockets, bottle rockets, roman candles, aerial shells, firecrackers and other types that explode, go into the air, or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner can lead to a possible fine of up to $50,000 as well as prison time or jail for up to one year.
Even “safe and sane” fireworks taken into a city or county where they are banned are considered illegal. The state fire marshal approved “safe and sane” fireworks are allowed for use in many communities; however, they are not approved state-wide.
Before purchasing these types of fireworks, be sure to check your local ordinances and follow the instructions to avoid accidents and injuries.
“Please do not risk your safety and safety of others by using illegal and dangerous fireworks. Use only state-approved ‘safe and sane’ fireworks or attend public display fireworks shows in your community conducted by a licensed professional,” said acting State Fire Marshal Chief Richwine.
Safe and Sane Fireworks are only as safe as they are used.
Cal Fire wants everyone to enjoy their celebrations in a safe and legal manner. Here are a few tips to help you be safe this July 4:
• If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
• Buy only state fire marshal-approved (safe and sane) fireworks.
• Have a bucket of water and a hose handy in case of a fire.
• Always read directions and have an adult present.
• Use fireworks outdoors only.
• Parents are liable for any damage or injuries caused by their children using fireworks.
• Use common sense and keep a safe distance.
• Never attempt to re-light or “fix” fireworks.
• State-approved handheld devices can reach high temperature, don’t give them to children. Consider using safer alternatives, such as glow sticks, confetti poppers or colored streamers.
Cal Fire has already responded to more than 1,795 wildland fires this year, from Jan. 1 to June 30.
Residents are urged to visit www.ReadyforWildfire.org for tips on how to prepare their homes and family for wildfire.
Cal Fire is reminding everyone to do their part to have a safe holiday and help prevent wildfires and injuries caused by fireworks.
Two out of five fires on July 4 are caused by fireworks, more than any other cause of fires. Most of these incidents are related to the use of illegal fireworks as well as state-approved fireworks that are handled and or lit incorrectly.
Sparklers, which are illegal in California, can reach temperatures of 1,200 degrees, account for roughly 25 percent of emergency room visits for fireworks injuries.
“With the significant rains, and now the dry, warmer months, wildfire activity is quickly picking up," said Chief Thom Porter, Cal Fire director. "Residents need to understand the dangers associated with the use of illegal fireworks or misuse of legal fireworks. Here in California we have a zero tolerance for the use and sale of illegal fireworks. Any person can be held liable for the fire-fighting costs as well as property damage costs associated with the start of a wildfire.”
There are also legal ramifications when it comes to certain types of fireworks.
Possession of illegal fireworks such as sky rockets, bottle rockets, roman candles, aerial shells, firecrackers and other types that explode, go into the air, or move on the ground in an uncontrollable manner can lead to a possible fine of up to $50,000 as well as prison time or jail for up to one year.
Even “safe and sane” fireworks taken into a city or county where they are banned are considered illegal. The state fire marshal approved “safe and sane” fireworks are allowed for use in many communities; however, they are not approved state-wide.
Before purchasing these types of fireworks, be sure to check your local ordinances and follow the instructions to avoid accidents and injuries.
“Please do not risk your safety and safety of others by using illegal and dangerous fireworks. Use only state-approved ‘safe and sane’ fireworks or attend public display fireworks shows in your community conducted by a licensed professional,” said acting State Fire Marshal Chief Richwine.
Safe and Sane Fireworks are only as safe as they are used.
Cal Fire wants everyone to enjoy their celebrations in a safe and legal manner. Here are a few tips to help you be safe this July 4:
• If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
• Buy only state fire marshal-approved (safe and sane) fireworks.
• Have a bucket of water and a hose handy in case of a fire.
• Always read directions and have an adult present.
• Use fireworks outdoors only.
• Parents are liable for any damage or injuries caused by their children using fireworks.
• Use common sense and keep a safe distance.
• Never attempt to re-light or “fix” fireworks.
• State-approved handheld devices can reach high temperature, don’t give them to children. Consider using safer alternatives, such as glow sticks, confetti poppers or colored streamers.
Cal Fire has already responded to more than 1,795 wildland fires this year, from Jan. 1 to June 30.
Residents are urged to visit www.ReadyforWildfire.org for tips on how to prepare their homes and family for wildfire.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday heard the latest about city preparations for the likelihood of public safety power shutoffs over the summer.
City Manager Alan Flora went to the council on Thursday with the update, and also wanted input from the council on its priorities for staff action in the case of a shutoff.
The discussion begins at the 59:57 mark in the video above.
In the wake of Pacific Gas and Electric’s power utility infrastructure having been identified as the cause of numerous wildland fires around the state – including the 2017 Sulphur fire in Clearlake – PG&E has warned that widespread power shutoffs could be triggered across its vast service area in the event of weather, heat and fire conditions.
Flora showed a video from PG&E about its plan for power shutoffs, which can be seen below.
Some of the key recommendations Flora offered to community members included buying a generator when possible, staying with someone who has power, having cash on hand – as most businesses won’t have credit card processing capabilities – and keeping vehicles full of fuel.
He said the city has been doing outreach to local businesses.
“I can tell you, most people aren’t prepared,” he said.
Flora said banks will be closed or have limited ability to do transactions, and few if any ATMs will be working.
He and other city staffers are working on a plan focused on continuing normal city operations during a public safety power shutoff.
City Hall has a generator that will allow it to operate normally through a power shutdown, with the goal of having all city staff on site, working normally. Due to the city’s fiber connection, Flora said they believe they should have full Internet access.
One of the main issues for the city is its fuel supply, as there is no city-owned gasoline storage, only storage for diesel. Flora said that both the police department and Public Works have used up to 120 gallons of fuel a day, so they need a plan to meet that need, as it’s not expected that there will be fueling stations open and operating in the city.
Public Works Superintendent Mike Baker is working on identifying solutions for mobile fuel storage and Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta has offered the city access to a fire fuel storage facility, although Flora said the city doesn’t want to have to rely on that. He added that he expects there to be issues with timely gas deliveries to the city.
Flora said the city’s traffic lights have no battery backup, and city staff is working on getting backup generators installed for the lights as well as at the shop and animal control shelter at the city’s corporation yard.
He said he’s talked with city staff about their personal preparedness so they can come to work.
Flora said people have been asking about a cooling center, and he’s not recommending establishing one at this time for several reasons, including the fact that a shutdown is considered to be a manmade event, not a natural disaster.
As such, there is no state or federal reimbursement available, although there has been some discussion at the state level about freeing up funds respond. “There is some potential that that may happen at some point,” Flora said.
Flora said there is no way the city can support a cooling shelter, adding he believes the city should be providing resources to community members to help them prepare their families and businesses.
If the city does need to respond, it will need to focus on those who are the most medically fragile, he said.
Opening a cooling shelter would draw staff from other necessary city operations, and Flora said the city doesn’t have the depth to run such a center on a 24-hour basis. Red Cross, he added, isn’t going to show up to help.
The power shutdowns also are going to impact city revenues – including sales tax, transient occupancy or bed tax and the PG&E franchise fee, which to the city of Clearlake currently totals about $200,000 – as well as other miscellaneous fees for service, Flora said.
Flora said the city is having conversations with PG&E’s Government Affairs Division representatives, who are considering establishing community resource centers during the shutoffs. They’ve identified two potential sites for such facilities in Lake County and should have all sites identified by the end of July.
PG&E would staff the resource centers, which would not be cooling centers or shelters, Flora said. Rather, the plan so far is that they would be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily during a shutoff and allow people to access information, the Internet and charge their devices.
Flora said the city has recommended Austin Park and the community center as possible sites; PG&E also is looking at Walmart as a location that would work for putting up a large tent, with access to a lot of parking.
He pleaded with the community to prepare for a public safety power shutoff and not rely on the city or county to house, clothe and feed the unprepared.
Flora said that PG&E’s assessment of the city of Clearlake’s needs during a power shutoff found only three critical facilities and 25 medically fragile people, which he said he found hard to believe.
Councilwoman Joyce Overton asked about necessary measures to keep the city’s stoplights working. Flora said the city has received a quote of $8,500 per intersection for battery backup.
Later in the discussion, Councilman Dirk Slooten asked about the stoplights on Highway 53. Police Chief Andrew White said Caltrans is installing generators for its lights on Highway 53.
Slooten said he found it ironic that PG&E is doing these shutdowns to cover its inability to provide power. Other countries put their lines underground, and Slooten – a native of the Netherlands – said it’s hard to put lines underground in old European cities, but it’s done.
Puting lines under ground is the only way to really solve this issue, Slooten said.
District 2 County Supervisor Bruno Sabatier said there’s no good solution. “It’s going to be an emergency that we don’t get to treat as an emergency.”
Sabatier suggested the city use a model similar to the Clearlake Police Department’s You Are Not Alone Program in which volunteers check in with seniors with a daily phone call. He said the city could gather the phone numbers for the medically fragile and have volunteers reach out.
Flora pointed out that city staff who have seen the list have signed nondisclosure agreements.
White said during the public safety power shutoff that impacted part of the county last year, the city had struggled to get the list of those who needed special assistance due to medical issues and, at that time, it totaled just over 150 addresses, compared to the 25 on the most recent list.
Mayor Russell Cremer thanked staff for their work.
“It’s frustrating that we don’t have help from anybody else,” Cremer said, adding that if the city can do anything, it needs to help its medically fragile community members.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
062719 Clearlake City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks woman was arrested Sunday morning near Ukiah after she led authorities on a high-speed chase in a vehicle she had taken during a carjacking.
Jessica Layne Tominia, 36, was arrested shortly before 10:30 a.m. Sunday by officers with the California Highway Patrol’s Ukiah Area office.
The CHP said that just after 10 a.m. Sunday, the Ukiah Police Department was notified of a vehicle that had been stolen from the Quik Mart parking lot at 1105 Airport Park Blvd.
The female subject who took the vehicle, a red 2000 Chevrolet Blazer, was reported to have assaulted the registered owner prior to the theft, the CHP said.
Ukiah Police officers saw the Chevy traveling on Highway 101 northbound at Perkins Street at approximately 10:08 a.m. and attempted to pull it over. The CHP said that when the driver failed to yield, officers initiated a pursuit which reached speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour.
The CHP said that as the Chevy passed Lake Mendocino Drive, Ukiah Police officers requested that the CHP respond to take over the pursuit, which CHP officers did after the SUV traveled onto eastbound Highway 20.
The Chevy’s driver allowed the vehicle to drive onto the right shoulder, cross multiple times into the oncoming traffic lanes and travel at excessive speeds, the CHP said.
The vehicle was driven 50 feet off the roadway edge line where it came to a complete stop and the CHP initiated felony stop procedures.
The CHP said it took the driver, identified at that point as Tominia, into custody without incident.
In addition to the Ukiah Police Department and the CHP, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office also responded to aid in the pursuit.
Tominia was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on Sunday afternoon on felony charges of carjacking and reckless evading and a misdemeanor for unlawful taking of a vehicle, with bail set at $75,000, according to jail records.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Work to improve the Soper Reese Theatre is continuing, with the latest project this spring being a much-needed facelift on the building’s outer south wall.
Work on the south wall, which runs alongside Martin Street, started with scraping away peeling paint.
Then scaffolding went up, a top-of-the-wall moulding was applied, stucco was laid on and then the final touch, new paint.
The theater’s management thanked painter Ron Strate and plastering contractor Mark Bennett for their excellent work on this much-needed project.
This is the first step in the theater’s goal to build modern and spacious restrooms as well as providing Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant access along the south side.
The ongoing “Restroom Re-Do” fundraising campaign is continuing to bring a generous response from the community and from individual donors who support this cause.
The theater wishes to thank to all of its supporters, donors, volunteers and patrons and invites everyone to enjoy the vibrant program of events offered by the theater year round including performances from your favorite local bands as well as from visiting musicians, Classic Cinema Night, Lake County Theatre Co. productions, Lake County Symphony performances, community presentations and more.
Fundraising for the restrooms continues and donations can be made at www.soperreesetheatre.com or by calling 707-263-0577.
The theater is located at 275 S. Main St., Lakeport.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Field Office is initiating fire restrictions, effective July 1, for BLM-managed public lands in Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties, due to wildland fire danger.
The National Interagency Fire Center predicts the likelihood for large wildland fires will be above normal this summer.
An unusually wet winter has produced an abundant grass crop, which has already cured or dried out. These heavy fuel loads have a high potential for creating extreme wildland fire behavior.
In the last decade, nearly 90 percent of wildland fires have been human caused. Individuals who spark wildfires, intentionally or unintentionally, may be held responsible for fire suppression and repair costs.
The public is advised to be extremely careful when recreating outdoors, carry a shovel and water at all times, and check weather forecasts and fire danger ratings before leaving home.
The following restrictions will remain in place until further notice:
– No tools powered by internal combustion engines off established roads or trails (such as chainsaws or lawn mowers).
– No target shooting – hot bullet fragments, exploding targets and metal from recreational shooting can spark a wildfire. Use of firearms for hunting is still allowed. Hunters must abide by state of California laws and regulations. Visit www.wheretoshoot.org for alternative recreational target shooting locations.
– No smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or at a developed recreation site, or other designated areas.
– No fireworks, including “safe and sane” fireworks.
– No welding or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.
– No explosives.
– No campfires, barbecues or open fires, except in a developed campground. Portable stoves with gas, jelled petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel are authorized with a valid California campfire permit available free at all BLM, Forest Service and Cal Fire offices or at www.preventwildfireca.org/Permits .
One less spark means one less wildland fire. Learn more about preventing a wildland fire at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/ .
A listing of fire restrictions throughout BLM California is available at https://go.usa.gov/xmUEG .
For specific questions, please call the Ukiah Field Office at 707-468-4000.
The National Interagency Fire Center predicts the likelihood for large wildland fires will be above normal this summer.
An unusually wet winter has produced an abundant grass crop, which has already cured or dried out. These heavy fuel loads have a high potential for creating extreme wildland fire behavior.
In the last decade, nearly 90 percent of wildland fires have been human caused. Individuals who spark wildfires, intentionally or unintentionally, may be held responsible for fire suppression and repair costs.
The public is advised to be extremely careful when recreating outdoors, carry a shovel and water at all times, and check weather forecasts and fire danger ratings before leaving home.
The following restrictions will remain in place until further notice:
– No tools powered by internal combustion engines off established roads or trails (such as chainsaws or lawn mowers).
– No target shooting – hot bullet fragments, exploding targets and metal from recreational shooting can spark a wildfire. Use of firearms for hunting is still allowed. Hunters must abide by state of California laws and regulations. Visit www.wheretoshoot.org for alternative recreational target shooting locations.
– No smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, or at a developed recreation site, or other designated areas.
– No fireworks, including “safe and sane” fireworks.
– No welding or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.
– No explosives.
– No campfires, barbecues or open fires, except in a developed campground. Portable stoves with gas, jelled petroleum, or pressurized liquid fuel are authorized with a valid California campfire permit available free at all BLM, Forest Service and Cal Fire offices or at www.preventwildfireca.org/Permits .
One less spark means one less wildland fire. Learn more about preventing a wildland fire at http://www.readyforwildfire.org/ .
A listing of fire restrictions throughout BLM California is available at https://go.usa.gov/xmUEG .
For specific questions, please call the Ukiah Field Office at 707-468-4000.
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Fire crews – some of them using pack mules to navigate remote and difficult terrain – are continuing to make progress on a fire burning in the Yolla Bolly Wilderness on the Mendocino National Forest.
The East fire on Monday was reported to be 410 acres and 45-percent contained, forest officials said.
The fire has been burning since June 17. It’s located 23 miles northeast of Covelo in Trinity County.
The Mendocino National Forest said Monday that 50 personnel are assigned to the incident.
The fire continues to smolder deep in the No Name drainage. Officials said containment line will not be constructed in this drainage due to unnecessary risk and exposure to fire crews.
The area that is 45-percent contained is just along an area of the East Ridge on the northeast side of the confinement area, officials said.
The forest reported that the fire may stay at 45 percent containment due to its position on the slope in steep, rugged and inaccessible terrain.
Operations Monday focused on monitoring the fire in No Name drainage, repairing containment lines, transporting crews, hauling supplies and supporting the crews with a pack train and a California Conservation Corps, or CCC, crew.
Using pack mules and the CCCs on this incident reduces the need for helicopter use in the wilderness, forest officials reported.
“We greatly appreciate all of the support we have received during the management of the East and Haynes fires,” said Incident Commander Terry Warlick.
Officials said this will be the last update until significant activity occurs. Maps and photos are available here.
The East fire on Monday was reported to be 410 acres and 45-percent contained, forest officials said.
The fire has been burning since June 17. It’s located 23 miles northeast of Covelo in Trinity County.
The Mendocino National Forest said Monday that 50 personnel are assigned to the incident.
The fire continues to smolder deep in the No Name drainage. Officials said containment line will not be constructed in this drainage due to unnecessary risk and exposure to fire crews.
The area that is 45-percent contained is just along an area of the East Ridge on the northeast side of the confinement area, officials said.
The forest reported that the fire may stay at 45 percent containment due to its position on the slope in steep, rugged and inaccessible terrain.
Operations Monday focused on monitoring the fire in No Name drainage, repairing containment lines, transporting crews, hauling supplies and supporting the crews with a pack train and a California Conservation Corps, or CCC, crew.
Using pack mules and the CCCs on this incident reduces the need for helicopter use in the wilderness, forest officials reported.
“We greatly appreciate all of the support we have received during the management of the East and Haynes fires,” said Incident Commander Terry Warlick.
Officials said this will be the last update until significant activity occurs. Maps and photos are available here.