UPDATE: Cal Fire has reported that it has changed the burn permit suspension date from Nov. 13 to Nov. 14.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 14, Cal Fire will lift the burn permit suspension in the State Responsibility Area in Sonoma, Lake, Napa, Solano, Yolo and Colusa counties.
Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Chief Shana Jones is formally canceling the burn permit suspension and advises that those possessing current and valid agriculture and residential burn permits can now resume burning on permissible burn days.
Any burns larger than 4 foot by 4 foot piles must be inspected by Cal Fire prior to burning until the end of declared fire season.
Inspections may be required for burns other than agriculture burns. This can be verified by contacting the local air quality management district.
Contact your local Cal Fire station to obtain a burn permit.
Cooler temperatures, higher humidities and winter weather have helped to begin to diminish the threat of wildfire.
Property owners and residents are asked to use caution while conducting debris or agriculture burns, follow all guidelines provided and maintain control of the fire at all times.
Individuals can be held civilly and/or criminally liable for allowing a fire to escape their control and/or burn onto neighboring property.
Residents wishing to burn must verify it is a permissive burn day prior to burning. Contact Lake County Air Quality Management District at 707-263-7000.
Pile burning requirements
– Only dry, natural vegetative material such as leaves, pine needles and tree trimmings may be burned. – The burning of trash, painted wood or other debris is not allowed. – Do NOT burn on windy days. – Piles should be no larger than four feet in diameter and in height. You can add to pile as it burns down. – Clear a 1- foot line down to bare soil around your piles. – Have a shovel and a water source nearby. – An adult is required to be in attendance of the fire at all times.
Safe residential pile burning of forest residue by landowners is a crucial tool in reducing fire hazards.
State, federal and local land management and fire agencies will also be utilizing this same window of opportunity to conduct prescribed burns aimed at improving forest health on private and public lands.
For more information on burning, visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov.
Each year, Americans pause on Nov. 11 to celebrate Veterans Day.
While the date marks the anniversary of the end of World War I, the annual holiday is designed to honor everyone who served and is serving in the armed forces of the United States.
Many of those include NASA astronauts.
When the agency selected the first groups of U.S. astronauts, all were military pilots.
That held true until selection of the fourth group, selected in 1965. They were scientists, three of whom served in the military.
As NASA approached the space shuttle era, scientists, doctors and engineers were needed along with pilots.
The 35 selected in 1978 included the most diverse group to date including the first women and ethnic minorities.
The selections included 13 pilot astronauts along with 22 mission specialists. All of the pilots served in the military, as well as 13 of the mission specialists.
With the 12 NASA astronauts selected in the group announced in June this year, the total number of individuals selected by the agency totals 375 – 216 served in one of the branches of the U.S. armed services.
During the April 9, 1959, news conference in which NASA's "Original Seven" astronauts were announced, John Glenn commented on the sense of duty he felt serving in the Marines and as an astronaut.
“I think we would be almost remiss in our duty if we didn’t make full use of our talents,” he said. “Every one of us would feel guilty, I think, if we didn’t make the fullest use of our talents in volunteering for something that is as important as this is to our country and the world.”
Bob Granath works for NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While there are still ballots to be counted, the preliminary results are in for the Kelseyville Fire Protection District Board and the Upper Lake County Water District Board.
On Tuesday the general district election was held to fill three seats on the fire district board and two seats on the water district board.
In the fire district election, the initial results showed Felicia Bridges topping the five-person field, with 824 votes, or 22.9 percent, followed by John “JT” Traller with 787 votes, 21.9 percent; Paul Lauenroth, 743 votes, 20.6 percent; Herbert Colt, 643 votes, 17.9 percent; and Justin Molloy, 604 votes, 16.8 percent.
The top three vote-getters win the seats.
In the race for the water district board, which has two available seats, Rich Simondi received 38 votes, or 40.9 percent, followed by Jackie Meri, 28 votes, 30.1 percent; and Shirley Dutcher, 26 votes, 28 percent.
Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley said the results aren’t yet final, as she and her staff are continuing the count.
She said that as of Thursday there were 208 ballots that remained to be counted, including 66 vote-by-mail, or absentee, ballots dropped off at the polls and the registrar’s office counter on Election Day; 79 absentee ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 7; 54 vote-by-mail ballots that require further review for various reasons; and nine provisional ballots.
Fridley said there are nine vote-by-mail ballots for the Upper Lake County Water District Board race, and 190 vote-by-mail and nine provisional ballots for the Kelseyville Fire Protection District election.
Absentee ballots had to be postmarked by Nov. 7 but could still be received by Monday, Nov. 13, Fridley said.
She also reported that provisional ballots and absentee ballots requiring further review may be entirely counted, partially counted or not counted at all.
Fridley and her staff are now working on the official canvass, which is part of the process of certifying the election’s final results. The canvass is expected to be done by Nov. 20.
Some of the tasks that Fridley said are to be completed included a 1-percent manual count on Wednesday, Nov. 15; counting the remaining ballots prior to certifying the election results, with a Nov. 20 target date; delivering certificates of election to those who win seats; and taking the final results to the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 28.
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. – Lake County Library’s Know Lake County lecture will turn the spotlight on the Lakeport Library itself on Saturday, Nov. 18, with a tour of the library at 2 p.m.
Refreshments will be provided by the Friends of the Lake County Library.
The library is located at 1425 N. High St.
The library has undergone renovations recently including new carpet, a new circulation desk and a rearranged layout to facilitate a 21st century library operation.
The tour will show off the changes and introduce the public to the library’s many services and collections.
The library’s services and programs supply both information and entertainment for adults, teens and children.
The tour will cover the library’s digital services that include magazines, ebooks, music and video from an array of providers.
Come learn about the library’s time machine and find out why there’s a tree growing in the library.
Lakeport Library, the headquarters of the Lake County Library system, administers public library services for Lakeport, Upper Lake, Clearlake and Middletown.
The library on High Street opened in 1986 when the Carnegie Library in Library Park was outgrown.
The Lake County Library now shares a catalog and circulation system with Sonoma and Mendocino counties, allowing patrons to borrow items from anywhere in the tri-county area.
The Friends of the Lake County Library will be in the library to promote what they do for the library. The organization provides financial support for library programs and for new library materials.
“Libraries are thriving in the information age,” County Librarian Christopher Veach said. “The programs and services provided by public libraries are designed to increase literacy levels and help people navigate the increasingly complex amounts of information available due to the internet and speed of the publishing industry.“
The monthly Know Lake County lectures feature speakers from a wide array of organizations and disciplines, each representing some aspect of Lake County.
Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.
The Lakeport Library is the subject of the Lake County Library’s Know Lake County program on Saturday, November 18, 2017. Photo courtesy of Lake County Library.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A ceremony next week will be held to lower the flag that has flown over Austin Park since spring.
On Monday, Nov. 13, the city of Clearlake, along with children from Konocti Unified School District, the Park Study Club, the Lake County Fire Protection District, and the American Legion, will hold the annual flag lowering and retirement ceremony at Austin Park at 11 a.m.
The flag, donated by the Park Study Club, is flown above Austin Park each year between approximately Memorial Day and Labor Day.
“This year we were asked to keep the flag up until Veteran’s Day in honor of the local veterans and their service to our country,” said City Manager, Greg Folsom. “The event will be held on the Monday after Veteran’s Day so that the local school children can continue to participate in this annual event.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Association of Realtors, or LCAOR, reported that sales remained strong in September.
The number of sales dropped 9.5 percent from August, but were up 41 percent from September 2016.
Eighty-six single family residences sold in September with 95 selling in August and 61 selling in September 2016.
The median sales price remained relatively stable. The September median was $234,250, down 2 percent from August and down less than a half percent from September 2016.
The inventory level hovered at six-months with 346 listings currently active and another 137 under contract, but not yet closed.
“After all the regional fires Lake County’s available inventory can give people housing options as they put their lives back together again,” said LCAOR President Bobby Dutcher.
Distressed home sales continued to decline with 3.5 percent of the sales falling into that category. In September 2016 the percent of distressed home sales was 6.6 percent.
Buyers exercised a number of options when it came to financing. Just over 25 percent of the sales were financed with cash. Conventional loan financing accounted for 35 percent of the deals, FHA loans 17.4 percent and VA loans 7.4 percent.
The California Association of Realtors, or CAR, reported existing, single-family home sales totaled 436,920 in September on a seasonally adjusted annualized rate, up 2.2 percent from August and 1.7 percent from September 2016.
September’s statewide median home price was $555,410, down 1.8 percent from August and up 7.5 percent from September 2016, CAR said.
Statewide, active listings continued to decline in September, dropping 11.2 percent from a year ago, according to CAR.
Mortgage rates declined further in September as 30-year, fixed-mortgage interest rates averaged 3.81 percent in September, down from 3.88 percent in August but was up from 3.46 percent in September 2016, according to Freddie Mac.
The five-year, adjustable-rate mortgage interest rate edged up in September to an average of 3.16 percent from 3.15 percent in August but was up from 2.74 percent in September 2016.
LAKE COUNTY NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
September 2017 Median price: $234,250 Median days to sell: 47 Units sold: 86
August 2017 Median price: $239,000 Median days to sell: 24 Units sold: 95
September 2016 Median price: $235,000 Median days to sell: 91 Units sold: 61
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
