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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – North Coast residents who lost their homes in the October wildfires will have a new tool to track the progress of debris removal in their communities.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, with the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has launched a website designed to give a quick view of the status of debris removal by parcel in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.
Owners can see the status of their property by visiting http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/CAwildfire and clicking on the Status Map button.
The site also shows:
–Right-of-entry, or ROE, forms processed: An ROE form has been received by the county and sent to USACE for processing.
–Parcel in process: The process for site assessment, initial soil sampling and debris removal has begun.
–Confirmation sampling pending: Debris removal has been completed and final soil sampling is being conducted.
–Parcel transferred to county: The parcel has been cleared and a final report has been sent to the county.
The removal of hazardous household waste is complete in Lake County and is nearing completion in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.
The removal of ash and debris by USACE contractors is also continuing.
As of Dec. 11, 437,281 tons of debris have been removed from the burn zones.
Anyone who has questions can call the USACE debris removal line at 877-875-7681 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or email:
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–This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, with the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has launched a website designed to give a quick view of the status of debris removal by parcel in Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.
Owners can see the status of their property by visiting http://www.spk.usace.army.mil/CAwildfire and clicking on the Status Map button.
The site also shows:
–Right-of-entry, or ROE, forms processed: An ROE form has been received by the county and sent to USACE for processing.
–Parcel in process: The process for site assessment, initial soil sampling and debris removal has begun.
–Confirmation sampling pending: Debris removal has been completed and final soil sampling is being conducted.
–Parcel transferred to county: The parcel has been cleared and a final report has been sent to the county.
The removal of hazardous household waste is complete in Lake County and is nearing completion in Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma counties.
The removal of ash and debris by USACE contractors is also continuing.
As of Dec. 11, 437,281 tons of debris have been removed from the burn zones.
Anyone who has questions can call the USACE debris removal line at 877-875-7681 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. or email:
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Thick smoke from the fires raging across Southern California moved into Lake County’s air basin on Monday.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart confirmed to Lake County News on Monday that what looked like clouds moving in over Lake County actually was smoke from the Southern California fires.
As of Monday, those fires – the Thomas, Lilac, Creek, Rye and Skirball – had burned nearly 257,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 structures, with according to Cal Fire.
The largest of the fires, the Thomas, located in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, has burned 230,500 acres and is 15-percent contained, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire said the Thomas fire continues to threaten 18,000 homes. About 95,000 residents reported to be under evacuation on Monday morning, with some evacuation orders lifted in the early afternoon.
Air quality conditions in Lake County could become unhealthy if the arriving smoke drops to the ground, Gearhart said.
NASA satellite imagery on Monday showed the smoke from the wildland fires moving out over the Pacific Ocean before circling back to the north and then the east as it approached the northern portion of the state.
Gearhart said no burn days are in effect for another week due to the fire activity in Southern California and the dry conditions here in Lake County.
He said Cal Fire and the local fire chiefs requested no burn days for fire hazard and lack of resources through Dec. 18 and possibly longer.
However, he added that no burn days would have been in effect anyway due to the current air pattern, which has no air movement or dispersion of pollutants. He said that’s likely to be the case for a few more days.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A crash involving a semi on Monday morning resulted in a temporary closure of a portion of Highway 20 in Mendocino County.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Highway 20 from Willits to Fort Bragg had been completely closed three miles from Highway 1, with one-way traffic opened in the eastbound lane at about 1 p.m.
At around 11:15 a.m. Monday the CHP reported that a semi had overturned onto its side near the Wildwood Campground.
At that time, the driver was reported to still be inside the semi. As of 1 p.m., there was no report of injuries.
The CHP reported that the semi had been partially loaded with scrap metal, most of which was on the roadway after the wreck.
Reports from the scene indicated a tow truck had been requested to assist with removing the truck.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Highway 20 from Willits to Fort Bragg had been completely closed three miles from Highway 1, with one-way traffic opened in the eastbound lane at about 1 p.m.
At around 11:15 a.m. Monday the CHP reported that a semi had overturned onto its side near the Wildwood Campground.
At that time, the driver was reported to still be inside the semi. As of 1 p.m., there was no report of injuries.
The CHP reported that the semi had been partially loaded with scrap metal, most of which was on the roadway after the wreck.
Reports from the scene indicated a tow truck had been requested to assist with removing the truck.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Linda Bushta found a great job in 2005 when she became the branch library coordinator at the historic Upper Lake branch of the Lake County Library.
She held that job until her recent retirement.
Bushta came to love the old Hammond Library building and its history, and was instrumental in putting on celebrations for the library’s 90th and 100th anniversaries.
During her time at Upper Lake Library Bushta conducted summer storytimes for children, class visits from nearby schools and worked with several teen volunteers.
The small library is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone and they’re all family. Bushta became very attached to the library and its patrons.
She reflected on what it was like to work there. “The job was never boring. I met so many wonderful people over the 11 1/2 years I ran the library: babes in arms became readers, high school students volunteered to earn graduation credit in community service on the thresholds of their adult lives, senior citizens with a lifetime of interesting life experiences wanting to learn more about today's technology; everyone came in search of information and through them, I learned something new every day. It was such a pleasure to see names of children who came to the library regularly on the honor roll in the local newspaper.”
Bushta’s retirement means that the job of branch library coordinator will open soon.
A routine day in the library includes helping patrons request books, checking books in and out, answering reference questions, shelving books, sorting deliveries of books, taking money for fines, planning displays and introducing patrons to the library’s digital resources.
Application information will be posted on the County of Lake job opportunities Web site http://jobs.lakecountyca.gov in December.
The library has a long and treasured history in Upper Lake.
In 1914 the Upper Lake Women’s Protective Club, or ULWPC, formed in response to water and property rights issues between Lake and Yolo counties.
The club also supported other civic improvements around the town and wanted Upper Lake to have a library.
Upper Lake merchant J. N. League donated space in 1914 for a library in his store downtown, but the ULWPC members still wanted a real meeting room and real library.
Two years later Amy Murdock and Lottie Mendenhall donated the building site at Main and Second streets, and Harriet Lee Hammond financed the library’s construction.
The library opened in October 1916 and was named the Harriet Lee Hammond Library in her honor.
The Upper Lake Library became part of the Lake County Library system in the 1970s. Now 101 years old, it is one of Upper Lake’s oldest continually-operating public facilities.
The Lake County Library is on the Internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and at www.facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary.
Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Board of Supervisors this week will discuss a letter from Harbin Hot Springs regarding difficulties the resort’s management said it is encountering with the Community Development Department in the effort to rebuild in the wake of the Valley fire.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
At 9:30 a.m. the board will discuss and consider the letter from Heart Consciousness Church, which owns Harbin Hot Springs.
The south county resort was destroyed in the September 2015 Valley fire.
Now, as they’re attempting to rebuild, resort officials said in a letter to District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon that they are experiencing challenges with Lake County Community Development, and they lay those issues at the feet of department head Robert Massarelli.
Sajjad Mahmud, senior vice president and managing director, and Julie Adams, vice president and managing director, said in the letter that they have encountered a burdensome and bureaucratic planning process with repeated obstacles that to them seem extreme.
Mahmud and Adams said they had anticipated the entire process for the resort’s general plan/amendment application would be completed by the end of this year, but that they’ve received a letter from Community Development dated Nov. 16 with an extensive list of old and new items required and a meeting date this Wednesday, which pushes the project back much further.
The letter notes that Lake County residents and the resort’s guests are waiting for progress on the rebuild, and the county is losing $150,000 per year in room tax, sales tax and additional property taxes.
In more than 40 years of dealing with the county, Mahmud and Adams said the resort found the county “practical, fair and effective,” adding, “This has been missing in the last year.”
They added that working with Community Development on the rebuild has been “deeply demoralizing.”
“Experientially, going through the Lake County Community Development Department in the last year has been worse than going through the Valley Fire,” Mahmud and Adams wrote.
Simon requested that the matter be placed on the agenda. In his memo to the board for item, he asked for the board to discuss the concerns “and consider giving direction to staff.”
In other business, in untimed items the board will consider a resolution of intent to amend Article 72 of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance related to commercial cannabis and will consider the 2016 Lake County Crop Report prepared by the agricultural commissioner.
At 9:45 a.m., the board will get a report and status update on the CalHOME program for Valley and Clayton fire survivors, and at 10 a.m. will consider accepting a cannabis work plan commencing in early 2018 and giving direction to stakeholder department heads.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Adopt resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to Confidential Unit “A” for the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
7.2: Adopt resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to Confidential Unit “B” for the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
7.3: Approve ground lease agreement between the county of Lake and Personal Network Computing Inc. (DBA Valley Internet) for an initial term of 15 years and monthly rent of $1,200 per month and authorize the chair to sign.
7.4: Approve Amendment 2 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Restpadd Inc. for Acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient hospitalizations for Fiscal Year 2017-18 in the amount of $180,000 and authorize the board chair to sign amendment 2.
7.5: Approve Amendment 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Davis Guest Home for Fiscal Year 2017-18 for an increase of $41,675 and a new contract maximum of $80,000 and authorize the board chair sign the amendment.
7.6: Approve Amendment 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Kings View Corp. for professional consulting services for Fiscal Year 2017-18 for an increase of $18,800 and a new contract maximum of $28,795 and authorize the board chair to sign the amendment.
7.7: Approve resolution of the board of directors, Northshore Fire Protection District, calling a special election on April 10, 2018 for the purpose of imposing a special tax increase for fire protection and prevention, rescue, emergency medical services and transportation, hazardous material, and other services related to the protection of lives and property, and approving an increase in the district's spending limit.
7.8: Approve contract between county of Lake and Industrial Employers and Distributors Association for public authority labor negotiations consultant, annual rate of $22,588 beginning July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018; and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:10 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuation of a proclamation of a local health emergency reaffirmed by the interim county health officer for the county of Lake; and (b) update and discussion on Sulphur fire recovery.
8.3, 9:15 a.m.: Hearing, appeal of nuisance animal abatement, Case Number 2017-11-0037, located at 6687 Blue Heron Drive #E, Upper Lake, Ca (Andrew Nickerson).
8.4, 9:30 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of letter from Heart Consciousness Church DBA Harbin Hot Springs.
8.5, 9:45 a.m.: Report/status update on CalHOME program for Valley Fire and Clayton fire survivors.
8.6, 10 a.m.: (a) Consideration of cannabis work plan commencing in early 2018; and (b) consideration of direction to stakeholder department heads.
UNTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Discussion and consideration of amendments to 2018 Board of Supervisors regular meeting calendar.
9.3: Consideration of the 2016 Crop Report for Lake County from the agricultural commissioner.
9.4: Consideration of resolution of intent to amend Article 72 of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance.
9.5: Consideration of approval of revisions to the county’s harassment policy and Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Plan to conform to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
CLOSED SESSION
10.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): McCarty, et al v. Lake County, et al.
10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing Litigation Pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Shikman v. County of Lake, et al.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
At 9:30 a.m. the board will discuss and consider the letter from Heart Consciousness Church, which owns Harbin Hot Springs.
The south county resort was destroyed in the September 2015 Valley fire.
Now, as they’re attempting to rebuild, resort officials said in a letter to District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon that they are experiencing challenges with Lake County Community Development, and they lay those issues at the feet of department head Robert Massarelli.
Sajjad Mahmud, senior vice president and managing director, and Julie Adams, vice president and managing director, said in the letter that they have encountered a burdensome and bureaucratic planning process with repeated obstacles that to them seem extreme.
Mahmud and Adams said they had anticipated the entire process for the resort’s general plan/amendment application would be completed by the end of this year, but that they’ve received a letter from Community Development dated Nov. 16 with an extensive list of old and new items required and a meeting date this Wednesday, which pushes the project back much further.
The letter notes that Lake County residents and the resort’s guests are waiting for progress on the rebuild, and the county is losing $150,000 per year in room tax, sales tax and additional property taxes.
In more than 40 years of dealing with the county, Mahmud and Adams said the resort found the county “practical, fair and effective,” adding, “This has been missing in the last year.”
They added that working with Community Development on the rebuild has been “deeply demoralizing.”
“Experientially, going through the Lake County Community Development Department in the last year has been worse than going through the Valley Fire,” Mahmud and Adams wrote.
Simon requested that the matter be placed on the agenda. In his memo to the board for item, he asked for the board to discuss the concerns “and consider giving direction to staff.”
In other business, in untimed items the board will consider a resolution of intent to amend Article 72 of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance related to commercial cannabis and will consider the 2016 Lake County Crop Report prepared by the agricultural commissioner.
At 9:45 a.m., the board will get a report and status update on the CalHOME program for Valley and Clayton fire survivors, and at 10 a.m. will consider accepting a cannabis work plan commencing in early 2018 and giving direction to stakeholder department heads.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Adopt resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to Confidential Unit “A” for the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
7.2: Adopt resolution establishing salaries and benefits for employees assigned to Confidential Unit “B” for the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018.
7.3: Approve ground lease agreement between the county of Lake and Personal Network Computing Inc. (DBA Valley Internet) for an initial term of 15 years and monthly rent of $1,200 per month and authorize the chair to sign.
7.4: Approve Amendment 2 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Restpadd Inc. for Acute inpatient psychiatric hospital services and professional services associated with acute inpatient hospitalizations for Fiscal Year 2017-18 in the amount of $180,000 and authorize the board chair to sign amendment 2.
7.5: Approve Amendment 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Davis Guest Home for Fiscal Year 2017-18 for an increase of $41,675 and a new contract maximum of $80,000 and authorize the board chair sign the amendment.
7.6: Approve Amendment 1 to the agreement between the county of Lake and Kings View Corp. for professional consulting services for Fiscal Year 2017-18 for an increase of $18,800 and a new contract maximum of $28,795 and authorize the board chair to sign the amendment.
7.7: Approve resolution of the board of directors, Northshore Fire Protection District, calling a special election on April 10, 2018 for the purpose of imposing a special tax increase for fire protection and prevention, rescue, emergency medical services and transportation, hazardous material, and other services related to the protection of lives and property, and approving an increase in the district's spending limit.
7.8: Approve contract between county of Lake and Industrial Employers and Distributors Association for public authority labor negotiations consultant, annual rate of $22,588 beginning July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018; and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:10 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuation of a proclamation of a local health emergency reaffirmed by the interim county health officer for the county of Lake; and (b) update and discussion on Sulphur fire recovery.
8.3, 9:15 a.m.: Hearing, appeal of nuisance animal abatement, Case Number 2017-11-0037, located at 6687 Blue Heron Drive #E, Upper Lake, Ca (Andrew Nickerson).
8.4, 9:30 a.m.: Discussion/consideration of letter from Heart Consciousness Church DBA Harbin Hot Springs.
8.5, 9:45 a.m.: Report/status update on CalHOME program for Valley Fire and Clayton fire survivors.
8.6, 10 a.m.: (a) Consideration of cannabis work plan commencing in early 2018; and (b) consideration of direction to stakeholder department heads.
UNTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Discussion and consideration of amendments to 2018 Board of Supervisors regular meeting calendar.
9.3: Consideration of the 2016 Crop Report for Lake County from the agricultural commissioner.
9.4: Consideration of resolution of intent to amend Article 72 of the Lake County Zoning Ordinance.
9.5: Consideration of approval of revisions to the county’s harassment policy and Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Plan to conform to California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
CLOSED SESSION
10.1: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): McCarty, et al v. Lake County, et al.
10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing Litigation Pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Shikman v. County of Lake, et al.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Officials with the Yuba Community College District are addressing confusion about the district’s presence in Lake County following the name change for its Clearlake campus.
The Yuba Community College District was founded on a 161-acre site outside of Marysville in 1927.
In 1965, the college district was reorganized to include Colusa, Sutter, and Yuba Counties. In the early 1970s, large portions of Glenn, Lake, and Yolo counties were added to the district.
The district currently stretches across the central valley from high in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the Coast Range and covers 4,192 square miles.
In 2008, the district became a multi-college district with Woodland Community College becoming an accredited second college.
The college has provided courses in Lake County since the fall of 1972. The campus is east of Highway 53 in the city of Clearlake.
In 2012, the campus added 26,600 square feet of modern, new buildings to expand the campus services.
The expansion added a new student services center, library, state-of-the-art kitchen and dining room for the Culinary Arts Program, and new classroom/labs for biology and early childhood education courses.
In July of 2016, the Board of Trustees voted to realign the Lake Campus from Yuba College to Woodland Community College.
Many people in the community have mistakenly thought that Yuba College is gone from Lake County.
In fact, the college remains in the community providing excellent student services and is now known as the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College.
Woodland was recently recognized by Schools.com as one of California’s top 25 community colleges.
Woodland students’ combined UC and CSU transfer rates consistently place the college among the top 10 percent of all community colleges statewide!
Students attending the Lake County Campus receive services for a personal education plan and guidance for a path for transfer, certificate completion, language skill improvement, associate degrees, or career advancement.
Financial aid programs help students afford college fees and provide assistance with living expenses.
The college is proud of the fine instructors, counselors, staff, and administrators who serve Lake County.
Anyone interested in a tour of the campus, enrollment, or with questions about Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College may call 707-995-7900.