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KELSEYVILLE Calif. – Local officials will hold a meeting this week with Kelseyville residents to discuss fire mitigation.
The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, at Riviera Elementary School, 10505 Fairway Drive.
One of the key lessons of the past four fire seasons, during which 60 percent of the landmass of Lake County has been burned by wildfire, is that disaster can strike anywhere, anytime.
Lake County is fortunate to have some of the most experienced, strongest and best coordinated disaster response teams in the state of California, but what can we do to stop fires before they start?
It is most productive to recognize the probability that the ongoing presence of brush and other fuels could eventually lead to wildfire, and do all that we can to reduce and mitigate the risk to our communities.
At the Wednesday meeting, representatives from Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire Protection District, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, county administration and the insurance industry will join Supervisor Rob Brown for a public forum to discuss options for fire mitigation, with an emphasis on four communities: Buckingham, Clear Lake Riviera, Riviera Heights and Riviera West.
The discussion will include proposal of a county service area zone of benefit, as enabled by California Government Code Section 25210, for the purpose of removing brush and other wildfire fuel sources from private property.
All county residents are welcome to attend, but this discussion will be most specifically relevant to the 5,000 property owners that comprise the communities of Buckingham and the Rivieras.
“District 5 residents are aware it has been my privilege to serve in coordination with our firefighters and other first responders during each of our eight wildfire events since 2015, to stand with county residents, and bring a bit of comfort to those displaced from their homes, to connect people with resources in their time of great need,” Brown said.
Brown said it’s an even greater opportunity to work with many of those same partner agencies to find ways to proactively protect our communities from disaster, to harden neighborhoods against the threat of fire.
For more information, Brown may be reached at 707-349-2628.
The meeting will take place beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14, at Riviera Elementary School, 10505 Fairway Drive.
One of the key lessons of the past four fire seasons, during which 60 percent of the landmass of Lake County has been burned by wildfire, is that disaster can strike anywhere, anytime.
Lake County is fortunate to have some of the most experienced, strongest and best coordinated disaster response teams in the state of California, but what can we do to stop fires before they start?
It is most productive to recognize the probability that the ongoing presence of brush and other fuels could eventually lead to wildfire, and do all that we can to reduce and mitigate the risk to our communities.
At the Wednesday meeting, representatives from Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire Protection District, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, county administration and the insurance industry will join Supervisor Rob Brown for a public forum to discuss options for fire mitigation, with an emphasis on four communities: Buckingham, Clear Lake Riviera, Riviera Heights and Riviera West.
The discussion will include proposal of a county service area zone of benefit, as enabled by California Government Code Section 25210, for the purpose of removing brush and other wildfire fuel sources from private property.
All county residents are welcome to attend, but this discussion will be most specifically relevant to the 5,000 property owners that comprise the communities of Buckingham and the Rivieras.
“District 5 residents are aware it has been my privilege to serve in coordination with our firefighters and other first responders during each of our eight wildfire events since 2015, to stand with county residents, and bring a bit of comfort to those displaced from their homes, to connect people with resources in their time of great need,” Brown said.
Brown said it’s an even greater opportunity to work with many of those same partner agencies to find ways to proactively protect our communities from disaster, to harden neighborhoods against the threat of fire.
For more information, Brown may be reached at 707-349-2628.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council has approved the purchase of several new vehicles for the Lakeport Police Department’s fleet.
The main item of business on the council’s agenda for Tuesday, Nov. 6, was the proposed purchase by Police Chief Brad Rasmussen of four new fully outfitted 2019 Dodge Charger patrol vehicles.
The city has been gradually upgrading its police vehicles. The four new Chargers would replace aging Crown Victorias, Rasmussen said.
Matt Mazzei Chevrolet and Precision Wireless, both of Lakeport, were the low vendors for the vehicles and the equipment upgrades, respectively. Rasmussen said both asked for the 10-percent local vendor preference the city offers.
Watch Guard is a sole source provider for mobile audio video units required for each vehicle, Rasmussen said. He said the purchase only includes two MAV units, as they can reuse two of the MAVs in the current vehicles for several more years.
He said the total purchase package for the four vehicles is about $163,000, well below the $180,000 budgeted for the cars in the current fiscal year budget.
Councilman Kenny Parlet lauded staff for keeping the purchases local. “I think this is a great move,” and an investment in local business, he said.
Councilman George Spurr pointed out that, originally, the city was only going to get two new police vehicles per year. However, due to savings in past years – based on the hard work of staff to stay within budget – they can now afford all four.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina moved to approve the purchase, which the council approved 5-0.
During the half-hour meeting the council also will approved having City Manager Margaret Silveira execute a professional services agreement with Foster Morrison Consulting for the development of the hazard mitigation plan.
The Nov. 6 meeting also featured the Lakeport Main Street Association presenting several awards to local businesses.
The awards included Business of the Quarter for the year’s second quarter, O'Meara Brothers in Lakeport; Taste of Lake County People's Choice Favorite Restaurant, Mis Chelas Mexican restaurant in Upper Lake; Taste of Lake County People's Choice Favorite Beverage, Kelseyville Brewery; and Business of the Quarter for the third quarter, Gaslight Grill in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
110618 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Police Department said that an apartment building that was damaged in a Sunday night fire remains closed to residents.
The Bel Aire Apartments at 1125 N. Main St. caught fire on Sunday evening, as Lake County News has reported.
Police said that the apartment complex remains closed.
Police and fire investigators were on scene most of the day investigating the cause of the fire. So far, they’ve not reported on a finding.
Additionally, the complex has significant damage and is being posted against occupancy. The police department said it did not yet know when residents may be able to return.
Any apartment complex residents who have not yet contacted Red Cross are asked to call them for any needed assistance at 707-832-5482. Anyone having questions for the city of Lakeport can call City Hall at 707-263-5615 after 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Anyone found attempting to enter the property is subject to arrest for violations of the California Penal code or Lakeport Municipal Code.
City of Lakeport staff are in communication with Red Cross and the property owner and will advise residents of any changes.
The Bel Aire Apartments at 1125 N. Main St. caught fire on Sunday evening, as Lake County News has reported.
Police said that the apartment complex remains closed.
Police and fire investigators were on scene most of the day investigating the cause of the fire. So far, they’ve not reported on a finding.
Additionally, the complex has significant damage and is being posted against occupancy. The police department said it did not yet know when residents may be able to return.
Any apartment complex residents who have not yet contacted Red Cross are asked to call them for any needed assistance at 707-832-5482. Anyone having questions for the city of Lakeport can call City Hall at 707-263-5615 after 8 a.m. Tuesday.
Anyone found attempting to enter the property is subject to arrest for violations of the California Penal code or Lakeport Municipal Code.
City of Lakeport staff are in communication with Red Cross and the property owner and will advise residents of any changes.
Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. on Monday announced that the White House has approved California's request for a presidential major disaster declaration, submitted Sunday, to bolster the ongoing emergency response and help residents recover from devastating fires burning in Butte, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
“We have a real challenge here, threatening our whole way of life,” said Gov. Brown alongside the state’s top emergency management officials yesterday at the State Operations Center. “It is a time of sadness, but also one to reflect on where we are and resolve to pull together and do everything we can to help those in need.”
A presidential major disaster declaration helps people in the impacted counties through eligibility for support including crisis counseling, housing and unemployment assistance and legal services.
It also provides public assistance to help state, tribal and local governments with ongoing emergency response and recovery, including the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities.
The declaration includes hazard mitigation, which helps state and local governments reduce the risks and impacts of future disasters.
On Sunday, Gov. Brown joined leaders of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol and California National Guard at the State Operations Center in Mather to provide an update on the ongoing firefighting efforts.
Major fires burning in Northern and Southern California have claimed lives and caused extensive damage to residences and infrastructure.
The Camp fire in Butte County, which as of Monday night had burned 117,000 acres, claimed dozens of lives and decimated the town of Paradise, is already the most destructive fire in modern California history.
The Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California have burned more than 98,000 acres. More than 8,000 firefighters are working the front lines of wildfires statewide.
A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles, Ventura and Butte counties due to multiple fires and late last week, California secured direct federal assistance to further support the impacted communities – within 24 hours of making the request.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has activated the State Operations Center to its highest level and is coordinating with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address emergency management needs.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.
The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
More information on the FEMA disaster declaration process can be found here.
“We have a real challenge here, threatening our whole way of life,” said Gov. Brown alongside the state’s top emergency management officials yesterday at the State Operations Center. “It is a time of sadness, but also one to reflect on where we are and resolve to pull together and do everything we can to help those in need.”
A presidential major disaster declaration helps people in the impacted counties through eligibility for support including crisis counseling, housing and unemployment assistance and legal services.
It also provides public assistance to help state, tribal and local governments with ongoing emergency response and recovery, including the repair and replacement of disaster-damaged facilities and infrastructure, including roads, bridges and utilities.
The declaration includes hazard mitigation, which helps state and local governments reduce the risks and impacts of future disasters.
On Sunday, Gov. Brown joined leaders of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol and California National Guard at the State Operations Center in Mather to provide an update on the ongoing firefighting efforts.
Major fires burning in Northern and Southern California have claimed lives and caused extensive damage to residences and infrastructure.
The Camp fire in Butte County, which as of Monday night had burned 117,000 acres, claimed dozens of lives and decimated the town of Paradise, is already the most destructive fire in modern California history.
The Hill and Woolsey fires in Southern California have burned more than 98,000 acres. More than 8,000 firefighters are working the front lines of wildfires statewide.
A state of emergency has been declared in Los Angeles, Ventura and Butte counties due to multiple fires and late last week, California secured direct federal assistance to further support the impacted communities – within 24 hours of making the request.
The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services has activated the State Operations Center to its highest level and is coordinating with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address emergency management needs.
Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance tomorrow by registering online at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.
The toll-free telephone numbers will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (local time) seven days a week until further notice.
More information on the FEMA disaster declaration process can be found here.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Firefighters and police remained throughout the night Sunday and into early Monday at the scene of a fire that damaged one of the city of Lakeport’s oldest apartment buildings, displaced all of the tenants and sent two police officers to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
The fire at the Bel Aire Apartments at 1125 N. Main St. was first reported in the two-story apartment building at around 6:20 p.m. Sunday, as Lake County News has reported.
Video of the fire shot by veterinarian Chris Holmes showed flames shooting out of the windows on the south top story.
Arriving ahead of firefighters were Lakeport Police Officers Tyler Trouette and Mark Steele.
The two officers ran into the building to begin evacuating residents, despite not having any of the protective apparatus that firefighters have, said Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen.
“They’re not going to sit out here and let people burn up,” said Rasmussen, who noted his officers have increasingly found themselves responding to – and even helping put out – fires.
Rasmussen said the apartment building’s residents safely evacuated.
The two officers were later taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. Rasmussen said both were cleared and are fine. They were to take the rest of the night off and return for their next shift.
Meanwhile, other officers, command staff and a police volunteer assisted with securing the scene and interviewing witnesses.
In addition to Lakeport Fire and Lakeport Police, Kelseyville Fire, Northshore Fire, Cal Fire, Red Cross, Pacific Gas and Electric and city of Lakeport staff were part of the response to the incident.
The fire had been reported by Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison as knocked down just after 7 p.m.
However, about an hour later, the fire reignited on the roof at the back center of the building, Rasmussen said.
The reignited portion of the fire appeared to have been put out before 9 p.m.
Hutchison explained that the fire ran the roof through two separate spaces. Firefighters thought they had the fire out in the roof initially but there was another roof space above where they had been working where the fire began to burn. That meant they had to get on top of the roof to get it under control.
A Lakeport Fire ladder truck was used to access the north side of the building’s top story. Throughout the night, after the fire was out, firefighters scaled the ladder to get on top of the building to continue overhaul and mop up.
Firefighters with flashlights inspected the top stories of the building and continued to make sure that the fire was out, using hoses to shoot water through the interior roof spaces, which resulted in small fountains of water shooting out the back of the roof.
While only the top south story appeared to be gutted, Hutchison said there was likely water damage and other fire-related damage throughout the rest of the building.
Hutchison said there were about eight to 10 apartments in the building, all of which were evacuated until further notice, with power to the building shut off.
Hutchison didn’t have a number available for how many people had been displaced.
Red Cross responded to provide temporary housing assistance. Those residents who have been affected by the fire and are in need of assistance can call the Red Cross at 707-832-5482.
Hutchison said his agency had not received any reports of code issues with the building, and under fire code are only allowed to inspect common areas in apartment buildings, not the apartments themselves.
He said the fire’s cause is under investigation.
Along with city fire and police, city officials also were on scene, including City Manager Margaret Silveira and Building Official Tom Carlton. They made outreach to the building’s owner, who lives in Sebastopol, and police were planning to monitor the building while it was being boarded up overnight.
Carlton and other city officials didn’t have information as to the age of the apartment building, which has an Art Deco-type exterior, but reader Don Lange said he believed the building – originally the Kuppinger apartments – were built in the late 1930s or the early 1940s.
“Sometime between 1958 and 1960 when I was on the fire department as a volunteer there was a fire in the opposite wing upper front unit where there was one person who perished,” Lange posted on Lake County News’ Facebook page.
Hutchison terminated incident command just before 11:45 p.m., leaving one engine on scene throughout the night for fire watch.
While firefighters remained at the scene, several blocks of N. Main Street, 11th Street and Clearlake Avenue had been blocked off with detours in place.
The Lakeport Police Department said late Sunday night that street closures were to remain in effect until sometime after daylight on Monday in the area of N. Forbes Street between Clearlake Avenue and Main Street, as well as Main Street between 11th Street and Clearlake Avenue.
Police said businesses will be allowed to open, however parking on Main Street will not be permitted in the closed area. Guests of the Skylark Shores motel across from the apartments will need to use the Clearlake Avenue entrance.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Community members gathered on Sunday morning in Lakeport to commemorate the sacrifice and service of the nation’s veterans.
Lake County’s annual Veterans Day celebration was once again held at Konocti Vista Casino.
The day also marked the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
During the ceremony, the county’s annual “Friend of the Veteran” Award was presented to Habitat for Humanity, while the “Veteran of the Year” Award was presented to Darrel Bittle, the founder of the new county veterans museum.
The Military Funeral Honors Team provided honors including the presentation of the service flags and a gun salute.
The Clear Lake High School Jazz Band also performed again this year, with Clear Lake High School Senior Trinity Ingersoll playing “Taps.”
The full ceremony is featured in the video above.