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Five California Department of Transportation employees who courageously helped save lives have been presented with the Governor’s State Employee Medal of Valor Award.

For the first time a recipient was presented two medals of valor for heroic acts done only weeks apart.

Caltrans Tree Maintenance Supervisor Michael Quinliven, working in Mendocino County, was presented a Silver Medal of Valor for his efforts to save two shooting victims, regardless of any potential danger to himself.

On July 2, Quinliven was off duty when he came upon what he believed was a traffic collision on the Willits Grade and stopped to help. He in fact discovered a homicide scene, where a father and son had been shot.

Quinliven was also presented the Gold Medal of Valor for his sheer heroism during the Ranch fire less than a month later.

According to the award narrative, at 4 p.m. July 29, Quinliven was working on Highway 20 in Mendocino County when the Ranch fire started to pick up momentum.

The Ranch fire was part of the Mendocino Complex fire, the largest reported fire complex in California history, which burned more than 410,000 acres across Mendocino, Lake, Colusa and Glenn counties.

When he arrived at the scene of the fire, he quickly realized that it had the potential to jump the highway. The smoke was so thick that he drove two miles to contact a California Highway Patrol officer, who called in the fire. Quinliven asked CHP to close the road because he could not see, and the roads were no longer safe.

On his way back into the active fire and as he was cresting the hill, Quinliven saw a large column of smoke and he immediately knew that the fire had jumped the highway and was burning on both sides of the road. He made the decision to remain in the area until the CHP arrived to ensure that all vehicles driving through got out of the fire safely.

As traffic was backed up heading westbound, Quinliven took to the eastbound No. 1 lane with his emergency lights on and drove right into the fire. He guided a tanker truck carrying gasoline out of the flames due to his concern about the possibility of an explosion.

He then found a woman and her three children in their SUV, pulled over in a turn out, trapped by the flames and thick smoke. Quinliven tapped on the woman’s window to offer help, advising her to follow him.

“With near zero visibility, using only the center double yellow lines for guidance, he drove in front of the vehicle and guided them through the smoke and fire to safety,” the award narrative explains.

Once the tanker truck and vehicle were safely out, Quinliven remained in the area to assist law enforcement with evacuating approximately one mile of traffic.

His father, Steve Quinliven, also works for Caltrans as an equipment operator II.

“I was shocked, and amazed, and very proud,” Steve Quinliven said of his son’s actions.

Other awardees included Caltrans Electrician II Broderick Carmichael, who was presented with the Silver Medal of Valor.

Carmichael saved his colleague’s life, when he risked his own life to push her out of the way of an out of control car in Hermosa Beach.

Caltrans Highway Maintenance Worker Benjamin Anderson, Highway Maintenance Leadworker Thomas Britt and Maintenance Supervisor Lonnie Swartout were presented the Silver Medal of Valor for their heroic acts during a very dangerous rescue in extreme cold down steep terrain.

Anderson, Britt and Swartout saved a couple and their puppies after their vehicle went over a snow-covered embankment in Trinity County.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Library’s Summer Reading Program is in full swing and there is still time for book lovers to sign up for the program.

Each Lake County Library branch will host a second “Super Sign-Up Saturday” with a fun craft for kids on June 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

You can sign up any time during the program which ends July 27. Once you sign up you can keep track of your reading progress when you return your books to the library. There are three programs, each targeting a different age group from children to adults.

The Lake County Library children’s program is recommended for children ages from newborn to 14.

When you sign up at your local library you can pick up a reading log and start reading library books. When you return library books to the front desk, the library staff will log your page count.

For every page you read you get a reading point. For every 50 points you get a sticker for your reading log.

At end of the program in August, there will be a party for the children who participate.

Tweens and teens ages 11 to 18 can sign up for the Teen program. Visit the library desk when you return books to get reading credit.

For every 200 pages you read, you will be entered in a grand prize drawing. There will also be a variety of events for teens over the summer at the library.

The Lake County Library has a summer reading program for adults. It’s a fun way to challenge yourself to read more this summer.Just like the Teen program, for every 200 pages you read, you will be entered in a grand prize drawing.

For each of these programs, if you read at least 1,000 pages the Friends of the Library will donate a book to the library with your name inside to commemorate your reading achievement.

The Lake County Library Summer Reading Program is supported in part by the Friends of the Lake County Library and Friends of Middletown Library.

For more information contact the library at 707-263-8817 or visit the library website at http://library.lakecountyca.gov .

The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary .

Jan Cook is a library technician for the Lake County Library.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Laytonville man died on Wednesday when his vehicle went off Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks and crashed.

Anthony Bernard Resh-Jarvis, 30, who previously lived in Lake County, died in the crash, according to Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

The solo-vehicle wreck occurred at 3:40 p.m. Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office reported.

The CHP said Resh-Jarvis was driving a 2009 Mazda westbound on Highway 20, west of New Long Valley Road, at approximately 55 miles per hour.

For reasons still under investigation, the CHP said the vehicle veered off the south side of the highway and traveled down the embankment.

Resh-Jarvis did not appear to have been wearing his seat belt at the time of the crash, according to the CHP report.

Northshore Fire and Cal Fire responded to the crash along with the CHP, finding the vehicle 75 feet down the embankment, according to radio reports.

The CHP said Resh-Jarvis died of his injuries at the scene.

The crash 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. – Cal Fire said Thursday that its investigators have determined the cause of the Ranch fire which burned through Colusa, Glenn, Lake and Mendocino counties last year.

Cal Fire said it has concluded that the Ranch fire was caused by a spark or hot metal fragment landing in a receptive fuel bed.

The spark or hot metal fragment came from a hammer driving a metal stake into the ground at an address in Potter Valley. No charges have been filed.

The Ranch fire started July 27, 2018, in Mendocino County and burned a total of 410,203 acres.

It destroyed 280 structures and resulted in one firefighter fatality and three firefighter injuries.

The Ranch fire is currently the largest wildland fire as measured by acres burned, in California history.
 
Cal Fire investigators were immediately dispatched to the Ranch fire and began working to determine the origin and cause of the fire.

After a meticulous and thorough investigation, Cal Fire reached the conclusion that it was caused by a spark or hot metal fragment.

The fire started early afternoon north of the community of Upper Lake in Mendocino County. The tinder dry vegetation and red flag conditions consisting of strong winds, low humidity and hot temperatures caused extreme rates of spread which caused the fire to grow very rapidly.
 
The Ranch fire was one of the two fires that made up the Mendocino Complex. The other fire in the Mendocino Complex was the River fire. Total acreage burned by the two combined fires of the Mendocino Complex was 459,123 acres.
 
During 2018 there were more than 7,570 wildfires that burned over 1.8 million acres within the state of California.

A copy of Cal Fire’s redacted investigative report can be seen below.

060619 Cal Fire Ranch fire investigative report by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – During a special Thursday afternoon meeting, the Clearlake City Council will consider applicants for a vacant council seat.

The council will meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, June 6, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

On May 9, Mayor Nick Bennett resigned as he prepared to move to South Dakota, as Lake County News has reported.

At a May 13 special meeting, the council directed City Clerk Melissa Swanson to advertise the vacancy for appointment and accept applications with a June 4 deadline.

The city has received six applications for the seat, which has a term ending in November 2020.

Applicants are Cristina Azanza, the founder of a nonprofit, Azanza Inc.; David Claffey, a marketing and communications professional who serves on the city’s marketing committee; Desserrie Shaw, who has experience as a board member and president of the Konocti County Water District; Erin McCarrick, who owns cannabis companies Clearlake Ventures and Cara Farms and a consulting business, Madrone Strategies; Russell Perdock, the city’s former mayor who resigned last year to pursue the police chief’s job and now is director of community integration for Adventist Health Clear Lake; and Pattie Duke, a registered nurse case manager.

Swanson’s report to the council said staff is recommending that the council interview the six applicants at Thursday’s meeting. The candidate they pick will be approved for the appointment by motion, majority vote and resolution.

The appointee would then be given the oath and seated at the June 13 meeting, Swanson said.

Also on Thursday, the council will consider a request from Police Chief Andrew White for the purchase of radio equipment and a contract for installation services from Precision Wireless Service, in an amount not to exceed $63,543.

On the meeting’s consent agenda – items not considered controversial that are accepted on a single vote – are an amendment of the contract with Coastland Civil Engineering for an additional $7,690 and authorize the city manager to approve up to 10 percent for additional unforeseen contract amendments; continuation of the declaration of local emergency for the Sulphur fire, issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action on Oct. 12, 2017; and a memorandum of understanding with the Konocti Unified School District for a school resource officer.

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.

060619 Clearlake City Council special meeting agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A fatal solo-vehicle crash was reported on Highway 20 east of Clearlake Oaks on Wednesday.

The crash was discovered shortly after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 20, just west of New Long Valley Road, according to fire and law enforcement dispatch.

Reports from the scene said the four-door car was about 75 feet down an embankment and resting on its wheels, with major front-end damage.

By 4 p.m., Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and the California Highway Patrol were on scene, with firefighters clearing the incident a short time later and the coroner requested to respond.

The CHP confirmed that the crash was a fatal, but additional information wasn’t immediately available.

According to CHP reports, authorities had to wait several hours for a tow truck to remove the vehicle from the scene.

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.