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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As firing operations continue on the Mendocino Complex on Tuesday, the incident’s acreage gain was held down while containment rolled back.

Cal Fire said the Mendocino Complex reached 406,532 acres on Tuesday night. Containment dropped to 74 percent.

The Ranch fire, the active portion of the complex, grew 6,055 acres over 24 hours to reach 357,612 acres, with containment at 67 percent, Cal Fire said.

Officials said the fire grew primarily in the area northeast of Lake Pillsbury and continued its push into the western edge of Glenn County.

Cal Fire said the Ranch fire continues to burn in steep, rugged terrain in the north and northeastern areas of the fire area.

Fire activity is expected to decrease overnight due to increased humidity and lower temperatures, Cal Fire said.

To date, the Mendocino Complex has destroyed 157 residences and 120 other structures while 1,050 structures remain threatened.

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This story has been updated regarding the motorcyclist’s safety equipment.

FINLEY, Calif. – A motorcyclist died on Tuesday afternoon from injuries he suffered in a crash with a pickup truck.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the 66-year-old Finley man died at the scene of the wreck, which occurred on Stone Drive East off of East Finley Road.

The CHP did not release the man’s name later on Tuesday afternoon, as they said his family is still being notified.

The report on the wreck said that at approximately 12:38 p.m. 73-year-old Kenneth Lee Barr of Kelseyville was driving his 2016 Ford F250 pickup westbound on Stone Drive East in Finley, while the motorcyclist, on a 2016 Harley Davidson, was traveling eastbound.

The CHP said Barr made a left hand turn toward a private driveway, traveling into the motorcyclist’s path.

The motorcyclist hit the pickup head-on, the CHP said.

Kelseyville Fire and Lakeport Fire were dispatched to the scene and initially requested an air ambulance to fly the crash victim out of county, according to radio reports.

However, a short time later they canceled the air ambulance as they attempted to revive the man. Just before 1 p.m., the fire chief at the scene requested the coroner respond.

The CHP separately confirmed that the motorcyclist died of his injuries at the scene.

Barr, who was wearing his seat belt, was uninjured in the crash. The motorcyclist also was using safety equipment, according to an updated CHP report.

The report said driving under the influence is not believed to be a factor in the crash.

The CHP reminded motorists to share the road and look twice for motorcyclists.

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. – Federal officials are opening a disaster recovery center this week to assist Lake County residents impacted by the Mendocino Complex, a development aided by the lobbying efforts of California’s members of Congress.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will operate the center, which will be open daily beginning Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 9460 Main St. in Upper Lake, where the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake Tribal Community Center is headquartered.

Hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

FEMA disaster assistance for individuals in Lake County became available last week when President Trump approved an amendment to the presidential disaster declaration of Aug. 4, made at the request of Gov. Jerry Brown.

That amendment added Lake County to the declaration, previously approved for Shasta County, which has been hit hard by the Carr and other fires.

Now at more than 400,000 acres, the Mendocino Complex is the largest wildland fire incident in state history, according to Cal Fire.

Getting the disaster declaration and the accompanying assistance was assisted by a bipartisan effort that included members of California’s Congressional delegation.

On Aug. 7, 2018, Congressman Mike Thompson and Congressman John Garamendi, who represent Lake County in the House of Representatives, along with Rep. Jared Huffman led a bipartisan group in sending a letter to President Trump asking him to immediately grant California’s request for a major disaster declaration for the destructive wildfires that hit Lake, Mendocino and Napa counties over the previous two weeks.

Twenty-six members of the California delegation – both Republicans and Democrats – signed the letter, including Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

“These catastrophic fires are a disaster of major scope and consequence. Therefore, we strongly support the State of California’s request for a major disaster declaration for these communities,” the letter said.

Some of the factors considered in determining eligibility for federal disaster assistance include localized impacts, insurance coverage in force, hazard mitigation and recent multiple disasters within a 12-month period, according to federal guidelines.

On its own, Lake County may not have met the federal threshold for assistance as had been the case with the 2015 Valley fire, officials said.

Instead, the group approached its request by linking the Mendocino Complex to other wildland fires around the region.

“The Mendocino Complex fire was part of a larger fire event,” Thompson told Lake County News.

“The nexus between the different fires was the weather system that really caused these fires to get out of control so quickly and burn so much,” he said.

Still it was a challenge getting Lake County added into the declaration. “We lobbied hard,” Thompson said.

He said local officials provided the data they needed. “We had to make our case to the administration,” he said. “It took longer than a lot of us thought it should.”

While individual assistance is now in hand, there’s another piece pending, Thompson said.

“We still have to get the administration to approve our request for public assistance. I think that will be forthcoming,” he said, noting that it’s also a threshold issue.

Public assistance will help local governments address costs incurred during the disaster as well as make repairs to facilities and infrastructure, he said.

“We sustained quite a cost,” said Thompson.

He said every person associated with local or county government was out working on the fire to keep people safe. In addition, the inmates in the Lake County Jail has to be evacuated and housed out-of-county.

And just what the total cost will be to Lake County isn’t yet known, as the fire is still actively burning.

“The public assistance part is going to be very important,” said Thompson, noting it’s a grant not a loan.

In the meantime, residents and business owners in Lake County who suffered damage or losses from the Mendocino Complex can register for disaster assistance with FEMA either at the disaster assistance center, online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by phone at 800-621-3362 or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service may call 800-621-3362.

The toll-free numbers are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Thompson’s office has created a resource guide with information for individuals and businesses to apply for assistance. Find it here.

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. – Thirteen months after his conviction and with his motion for a new trial denied, a Clearlake man has been sentenced to life in prison for killing one man and wounding two other people in a September 2013 shooting.

On Monday, Judge Andrew Blum sentenced Joshua Robert Beavers, 29, to a prison term that includes two life sentences plus nearly a century more for the murder of David Ferrell and shooting and wounding Paul Cressy and Rachel Patterson, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Beavers’ trial began at the start of June 2017. A month later, at the trial’s conclusion, the jury deliberated for four and a half hours before convicting Beavers of second-degree murder for the point-blank shooting of Ferrell, a 29-year-old husband and father of four, in front of Ferrell’s home on Sept. 8, 2013.

The jury also convicted Beavers of the attempted murder of Cressy and Patterson; assault with a firearm on Ferrell, Patterson and Cressy; discharge of a firearm in a grossly negligent manner; unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person or in a vehicle; unlawfully possessing a short-barreled shotgun; and numerous special allegations attached to the main charges including firearm use and inflicting great bodily injury, as Lake County News has reported.

Hinchcliff said Beavers was sentenced to 15 years to life for Ferrell’s murder plus a 25-years-to-life enhancement for use of a gun causing great bodily injury; a life term for the attempted murder with premeditation for the shooting of Cressy, along with 25 years to life for use of a gun causing great bodily injury; a life term for the attempted murder with premeditation for the shooting of Patterson plus 20 years for use of a gun not causing great bodily injury; and three additional years for possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

All terms total about 102 years to life, Hinchcliff said, while defense attorney Andrea Sullivan calculated the basic prison time at 88 years.

At the heart of the shootings was escalating animosity between Beavers and his one-time friend Cameron Fallis, whose parents became close friends with Beavers.

Beavers accused Fallis of failing to perform his duties as a growing in a marijuana operation.

On the morning of the shooting, Beavers – accompanied by Fallis’ mother, Angel Esquivel, and her husband, Orlando Esquivel Sr. – confronted and assaulted Fallis near Ray’s Food Place in Clearlake.

What followed was a series of phone calls between Beavers, Fallis and Ferrell. Afterward, according to trial testimony, Beavers went to the Esquivels’ home where he retrieved a .22-caliber Ruger handgun that he put in his waistband and a sawed-off shotgun that he gave to his friend, David Cunningham, who testified at trial.

Beavers, Cunningham and another man, Brenden Alicea, along with the Esquivels then went to Ferrell’s home. Ferrell had told Beavers and Fallis that he wanted them to deal with their issues one on one.

However, following a brief discussion in front of Ferrell’s home at 19th and Gardner, Fallis testified that Beavers pulled out the handgun and shot Ferrell once in the face. At trial, a medical examiner said Ferrell died almost instantly.

Ed Savin and Sullivan represented Beavers in the case.

The prosecution maintained Ferrell was unarmed, while the defense argued he had a weight bar in his hand.

“Several percipient witnesses to the shootings that led to the prosecution initially stated David Ferrell had a barbell-type weapon in his hands before the shooting,” Sullivan told Lake County News. “However at jury trial those witnesses changed their statements to either there was no weapon in Mr. Ferrell’s hands Or they could not remember if there was a weapon in Mr. Ferrell’s hands. This change in statements significantly damaged Mr. Beavers’ defense.”

Once he had shot Ferrell, Beavers ran back to the Esquivels’ van, continuing to shoot as he fled. Cressy was hit in the elbow by a bullet while Patterson had a minor wound to her side, according to testimony.

Hinchcliff said it took a year for the defense to investigate the case further and file a motion for a new trial.

That motion was heard two weeks ago and denied, Hinchcliff said.

Before sentencing on Monday, Sullivan said Hinchcliff argued that Beavers participated in gang activity and the shooting of Ferrell was an intentional and willful act. Savin argued that the shooting of Ferrell was a split-second reaction and not intentional.

“It was also pointed out that nowhere in the charges was Mr. Beavers alleged to have participated in gang activity during the incident that led to his arrest in this case,” Sullivan said.

Because of a change in law, use of a firearm enhancements may be eliminated by a judge at sentencing, Sullivan said.

While Judge Blum chose to impose use of firearm enhancements in this case, Sullivan said many of the charges and enhancements were stayed because many of the charges revolved around the same set of operative facts.

Sullivan noted that Beavers’ actual sentence would have been several hundred years if all of the charges and enhancements were to run consecutive.

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – One of the newest quilt blocks joining the Lake County Quilt Trail is named “Johnny Around the Corner.”

It is located at 3850 Main Street in Kelseyville, on the side of Paul Borgesani’s Solar & Suns and Jim Warren’s Art/Photography right next door to John’s Market at 3860 Main St.

This brings the total of quilt blocks in Lake County well into the 100s.

This quilt block is in honor of the memory of John Puccetti, longtime Kelseyville resident and businessman.

It was donated by his dear friends, Juan and Marta Huerta, owners of this property.

Puccetti, who owned Affordable Travel and John’s Market, helped many in Lake County with their travel plans.

He also helped for many years as treasurer for the Kelseyville Pear Festival.

The Lake County Quilt Trail is an agricultural and tourism project designed to promote community pride.

The 4-foot by 4-foot quilt block was drawn and painted by the Lake County Quilt Trail team, a group of dedicated volunteer quilters, graphic artists, painters, writers and carpenters.

For more information about the Lake County Quilt Trail visit www.lakecountyquilttrail.com or visit its Facebook page.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has a group of new dogs waiting for their new homes.

The available dogs are Earl, Gianna, Lady, Randy, Valentina, Yang and Ying.

To meet the animals, call Clearlake Animal Control at 707-994-8201 and speak to Marcia at Extension 103 Monday through Thursday, or leave a message at any other time.

‘Earl’

“Earl is a male hound mix.

He has a short brown coat with white markings, and has been neutered.

‘Gianna’

“Gianna” is a female pit bull mix.

She has a short brown coat with white markings.

‘Lady’

“Lady” is a female German Shepherd.

She has a short black and tan coat.

Lady has been spayed.

‘Randy’

“Randy” is a male hound mix.

He has a short brown coat with black and white markings.

Randy has been neutered.

‘Valentina’

“Valentina” is female pit bull mix.

She has a short brown and white coat.

‘Yang’

“Yang” is a male Chihuahua mix.

He has a short black coat with a white ruff.

‘Ying’

“Ying” is a male Chihuahua mix.

He has a short all-white coat.

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.