News

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Many residents of Lake and Napa counties noticed an unusual sight on Friday morning when a commercial airplane began circling repeatedly overhead.

Hawaiian Airlines 19 left Sacramento International Airport, or SMF, shortly before 7:30 a.m. en route to Honolulu, according to the airlines’ Web site.

However, over the course of the next hour and a half the plane was seen to circle over Lake and Napa counties around half a dozen times, according to the plane tracking Web site,
www.flightradar24.com .

Later on Friday, Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson Alex Da Silva explained in an email response to Lake County News’ inquiry about the situation that the plane eventually returned to the Sacramento airport.

“About 45 minutes into the flight to Honolulu, HA19 returned to SMF to have a cockpit indicator light inspected,” Da Silva said. “No emergency was declared, and the flight landed without incident.”

Da Silva said passengers subsequently deplaned and the flight was rescheduled.

Hawaiian Airlines 19 was set to depart again at 7:25 a.m. Saturday but is being delayed until 3 p.m., according to the Hawaiian Airlines Web site.

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 county of Lake announced that its Mendocino Complex recovery coordinator is continuing to hold office hours in an effort to reach out to fire survivors.

In the aftermath of the Ranch and River fires, the largest wildfire event in California’s history, the county of Lake recognizes that each individual’s recovery journey is unique.

County residents are at various stages. As the process develops, needs can become numerous, detailed and difficult to navigate.

Since Tuesday, Sept. 5, Lake County Recovery Coordinator Nathan Spangler has been meeting county residents where they are, holding office hours throughout the County.

“It has been a privilege to sit with individual property owners, in their time of great need, and provide some clarity and direction,” said Spangler. “I want to help connect Ranch and River fire survivors with the resources they need to heal, to fully recover from this terrible event.”

Spangler will be available 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday, Sept. 10, through Friday, Sept. 21, at the following locations:

· Mondays, Sept. 10 and Sept. 17, the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake Community Center, 9460 Main St., Upper Lake;

· Wednesdays, Sept. 12 and Sept. 19, Scotts Valley Women’s Club, 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport;

· Thursdays, Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, Spring Valley Community Center, 1300 Wolf Creek Road, Clearlake Oaks;

· Fridays, Sept. 14 and Sept. 21, Nylander Park Visitor Center, 12588 Acorn St., Clearlake Oaks.

“Whatever your recovery-related needs are right now, you are not alone,” said Spangler. “I hope to see many of you, and will happily do all I can to help make your next steps a little clearer.”

Spangler can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 916-521-7108.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The 23rd annual Nome Cult walk from Chico to Round Valley will start Sunday, Sept. 9.

The 100-mile trek follows the route that Indians were forced to march from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in 1863.

Descendants of Native Americans who took part in the original relocation and other supporters walk the route each year.

Although the path itself has disappeared, this route is now called the Nome Cult Trail.

The theme of the walk is “Honor their memory…a path not forgotten.”

Their planned schedule is:

· Sunday, Sept. 9: Begin walk toward Orland.
· Monday, Sept. 10: Walk toward Newville Cemetery.
· Tuesday, Sept. 11: Walk to Black Bear Campground.
· Wednesday, Sept. 12: Continue to Log Springs.
· Thursday, Sept. 13: On to Wells Cabin.
· Friday, Sept. 14: Walk to Eel River.
· Saturday, Sept. 15: Finish walk to Round Valley Indian Reservation.

The removal of Indians from Chico to the Nome Cult Reservation in 1863 is one of the many forced relocations following the establishment of reservations in Northern California in the 1850s.

Several different tribes were moved to the Nome Cult Reservation after it was established in Round Valley in 1856.

The Mendocino National Forest asks that people traveling on roads along the trail route – M4, County Road 55 and FH7 into Eel River Station and Covelo – be mindful of the event and careful of the walkers to ensure their safety.

What's up for September? Set your sights beyond the solar system, and take a late summertime road-trip along the Milky Way.

The waning days of summer are upon us, and the sun sets earlier, revealing the starry sky bisected by the Milky Way. While waiting for the Milky Way, check out 2018's outstanding views of the planets.

You'll have to look quickly after sunset to catch Venus. And through binoculars or a telescope, you'll see Venus's phase change dramatically during September – from nearly half phase to a larger thinner crescent! Jupiter, Saturn and Mars continue their brilliant appearances this month. Look southwest after sunset.

Use the summer constellations help you trace the Milky Way. Sagittarius: where stars and some brighter clumps appear as steam from the teapot. Aquila: where the Eagle's bright Star Altair, combined with Cygnus's Deneb, and Lyra's Vega mark the Summer Triangle. Cassiopeia, the familiar "w"-shaped constellation completes the constellation trail through the Summer Milky Way. Binoculars will reveal double stars, clusters and nebulae.

Between Sept. 12 and 20, watch the moon pass from near Venus, above Jupiter, to the left of Saturn and finally above Mars! Both Neptune and brighter Uranus can be spotted with some help from a telescope this month. Look at about 1 a.m. local time or later in the southeastern sky. You can find Mercury just above Earth's eastern horizon shortly before sunrise. Use the moon as your guide on Sept. 8.

And although there are no major meteor showers in September, cometary dust appears in another late summer sight, the morning Zodiacal light. Try looking for it in the east on moonless mornings very close to sunrise.

To learn more about the Zodiacal light, watch "What's Up" from March 2018.

You can catch up on all of NASA's current-and future-missions at www.nasa.gov .

Jane Houston Jones is with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Thursday began the auction process for soliciting proposals from parties interested in purchasing its Potter Valley Project, a hydroelectric facility in Mendocino and Lake counties.

The Potter Valley Project consists of two dams along the upper Main Stem Eel River, a powerhouse in Potter Valley, and about 5,600 acres of land, including Lake Pillsbury in Lake County.

PG&E acquired the Potter Valley Project in 1930, according to PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras. The Cape Horn Dam and powerhouse were built from 1905 to 1908, and the Scott Dam (forms Lake Pillsbury) was built 1920-21 and increased by 10 feet in height in 1925.

PG&E is in the second year of the minimum five-year process of obtaining a new operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, for the project. PG&E will continue to own, operate and relicense the project throughout the auction process.

The new owner will take over the relicensing process after the project sale and transfer is complete.

The current FERC license expires in 2022, but the Potter Valley Project will continue to operate on annual licenses if the relicensing process goes beyond the current license expiration date.

Contreras said the project did not sustain any damage from the Mendocino Complex. There is not a lot of vegetation near the dam, however, PG&E took precautions to protect the facilities and outbuildings in the area, including clearing vegetation and pre-treating all buildings with fire retardant.

PG&E announced it would auction the project last May, and Thursday’s action begins the marketing phase of the auction process.

The company is using a “request for offers” type of auction process that is intended to meet the needs of both seller and buyer – and considers other factors in addition to price.

There is no starting asking price, Contreras said.

“PG&E wants to find a new owner with the appropriate qualifications and experience to operate the project in a safe and compliant fashion. The project has unique characteristics and we believe they have the potential to yield significant value for the right owner,” said Alvin Thoma, Senior Director of Power Generation at PG&E.

The project diverts about one-fifth of the average annual flow of the upper Main Stem Eel River at Van Arsdale Reservoir through a tunnel and penstock to a powerhouse located in Potter Valley where it is used to generate electricity.

The amount of water diverted by the project represents only 2 percent of the total flow of the Eel River at its mouth.

Before it is diverted, some of the water is collected during the wet season and stored in Lake Pillsbury for later release – also providing lake-based recreation opportunities.

After the diverted water leaves the Potter Valley Powerhouse, it enters a canal and the East Branch of the Russian River, where it provides water to farms and communities in southern Mendocino and northern Sonoma counties as well as improving fish habitat in the Russian River.

Per the conditions of the project’s operating license, water flows in the upper Main Stem Eel River below the Van Arsdale Reservoir are managed to closely mimic the upper Main Stem Eel River’s natural flow.

PG&E is seeking a new owner for the project as it no longer serves as an economical source of electricity generation for its customers.

The Potter Valley Project is far from PG&E’s other hydroelectric facilities and regional headquarters, making it especially costly for PG&E to operate.

An increasingly competitive energy market, lower generation needs forecasted on PG&E’s system, and the increasing cost of operating the facilities were all factors in PG&E’s decision.

Depending on how many proposals are received and need to be evaluated, PG&E expects to select proposals and begin formal negotiations with a buyer by mid-2019.

If all goes well, the sale and transfer of the project could be completed within one-and-a-half to two years, PG&E said.

Approval by FERC and the California Public Utilities Commission will be needed prior to transfer of ownership.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The application deadline for the North Coast Opportunities Inc. 2018 Wildfire Relief Fund is Sept. 14.

NCO has collected nearly 1,000 applications from those who suffered a range of hardships, including total home losses, partial home losses or evacuation losses from the Pawnee fire, Eel fire or Mendocino Complex fire.

Applications may be requested by calling 707-467-3200, Extension 236 or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

“We just disbursed our first batch of checks, in the amount of $1,000.00, to those who experienced a total loss,“ said NCO Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Welch. “We’ve assembled an excellent disaster response team this year and we’re processing applications as swiftly as possible.”

The disaster response team will continue prioritizing total loss fire survivors, after which they will shift focus to those who experienced a partial loss.

If funds remain, those who suffered a evacuation loss will be considered. Donations will be accepted throughout the year and will be reserved for long-term recovery needs.

NCO is now in its fifth year of responding to fires and remains devoted to supporting Lake and Mendocino counties rebuild.

Multiple fires impacting the same regions has created layers of trauma, environmental devastation, and compounding financial hardship.

“We know the impacts of this year’s fire season are tremendous,” said Executive Director Patty Bruder. “We wish we could help everyone. We know the thousands of residents who experienced evacuations are suffering financially too. The emotional trauma and loss have hit our communities hard.”

To support those who were evacuated, NCO has established two distribution centers open to all fire survivors.

“We have food, clothing, household and hygiene items, and baby items,” said Bruder. “These distribution centers are intended to help those impacted by providing replacement items quickly.”

The Lakeport Distribution Center is located at 785 Bevins St. and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 707-972-0519 for more information.

The Mendocino County Distribution Center is open daily at 8465 East Road in Redwood Valley. Call 707-489-3970 for hours.

In addition, NCO disaster case managers may be able to assist fire survivors by providing information, resources, and support with the rebuilding process.

Contact a Lake County disaster case manager directly at 707-994-2910, or a Mendocino County disaster case manager at 707-621-8817.

NCO is the Community Action Agency that serves Lake and Mendocino counties, as well as parts of Humboldt, Sonoma, Del Norte and Solano counties. NCO reacts to community needs, including disaster response.

This year NCO celebrates 50 years of community action and was named the 2018 nonprofit of the year.

For more information visit www.ncoinc.org or call 707-467-3200.