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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Napa County has developed an interactive online mapping tool that shows the status of local structures impacted by recent fires.
The map can be viewed above or at http://napacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dbb8b63b15b34e8889fdffbcf663dc53.
The map includes a search feature that details whether a building has been red-tagged or yellow-tagged as a result of the fires.
Here’s what red and yellow tag means:
– Red tag: A red-tagged building has been deemed unsafe and should not be occupied as occupancy poses a threat to life safety. Buildings or structures posted with this placard shall not be entered under any circumstance except as authorized in writing by the Napa County Chief Building Official. This placard is not to be used or considered as a demolition order.
– Yellow tag: A yellow tagged building has been tagged for restrictive use. Damage has occurred and has resulted in some form of restriction for current occupancy. The yellow tag notice will note the type of damage and the restrictions on continued occupancy.
For additional information on red- or yellow-tagged buildings, contact the Napa County Planning, Building and Environmental Services Department at 707-253-4417.
For information on calamity reassessment, property tax deferral and
rebuilding options visit http://www.countyofnapa.org/calamity/.
The Napa Sheriff’s Office has increased patrols in damaged areas.
Napa County has opened a local assistance center for those affected by the
2017 wildfires at 2751 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Building A.
Information on hours of operation and available services can be found at www.napalac.com or by calling 707-299-2190.
NASA has authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since March 2015.
The spacecraft will continue at Ceres for the remainder of its science investigation and will remain in a stable orbit indefinitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out.
The Dawn flight team is studying ways to maneuver Dawn into a new elliptical orbit, which may take the spacecraft to less than 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the surface of Ceres at closest approach. Previously, Dawn's lowest altitude was 240 miles (385 kilometers).
A priority of the second Ceres mission extension is collecting data with Dawn's gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures the number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. This information is important for understanding the composition of Ceres' uppermost layer and how much ice it contains.
The spacecraft also will take visible-light images of Ceres' surface geology with its camera, as well as measurements of Ceres’ mineralogy with its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer.
The extended mission at Ceres additionally allows Dawn to be in orbit while the dwarf planet goes through perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun, which will occur in April 2018.
At closer proximity to the Sun, more ice on Ceres' surface may turn to water vapor, which may in turn contribute to the weak transient atmosphere detected by the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory before Dawn's arrival.
Building on Dawn’s findings, the team has hypothesized that water vapor may be produced in part from energetic particles from the Sun interacting with ice in Ceres’ shallow surface.
Scientists will combine data from ground-based observatories with Dawn's observations to further study these phenomena as Ceres approaches perihelion.
The Dawn team is currently refining its plans for this next and final chapter of the mission.
Because of its commitment to protect Ceres from Earthly contamination, Dawn will not land or crash into Ceres.
Instead, it will carry out as much science as it can in its final planned orbit, where it will stay even after it can no longer communicate with Earth.
Mission planners estimate the spacecraft can continue operating until the second half of 2018.
Dawn is the only mission ever to orbit two extraterrestrial targets. It orbited giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012, then continued on to Ceres, where it has been in orbit since March 2015.
The Dawn mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Italian Space Agency and Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.
For a complete list of mission participants, visit https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.
More information about Dawn is available at https://www.nasa.gov/dawn and https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov.
During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since March 2015.
The spacecraft will continue at Ceres for the remainder of its science investigation and will remain in a stable orbit indefinitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out.
The Dawn flight team is studying ways to maneuver Dawn into a new elliptical orbit, which may take the spacecraft to less than 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the surface of Ceres at closest approach. Previously, Dawn's lowest altitude was 240 miles (385 kilometers).
A priority of the second Ceres mission extension is collecting data with Dawn's gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures the number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. This information is important for understanding the composition of Ceres' uppermost layer and how much ice it contains.
The spacecraft also will take visible-light images of Ceres' surface geology with its camera, as well as measurements of Ceres’ mineralogy with its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer.
The extended mission at Ceres additionally allows Dawn to be in orbit while the dwarf planet goes through perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun, which will occur in April 2018.
At closer proximity to the Sun, more ice on Ceres' surface may turn to water vapor, which may in turn contribute to the weak transient atmosphere detected by the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory before Dawn's arrival.
Building on Dawn’s findings, the team has hypothesized that water vapor may be produced in part from energetic particles from the Sun interacting with ice in Ceres’ shallow surface.
Scientists will combine data from ground-based observatories with Dawn's observations to further study these phenomena as Ceres approaches perihelion.
The Dawn team is currently refining its plans for this next and final chapter of the mission.
Because of its commitment to protect Ceres from Earthly contamination, Dawn will not land or crash into Ceres.
Instead, it will carry out as much science as it can in its final planned orbit, where it will stay even after it can no longer communicate with Earth.
Mission planners estimate the spacecraft can continue operating until the second half of 2018.
Dawn is the only mission ever to orbit two extraterrestrial targets. It orbited giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012, then continued on to Ceres, where it has been in orbit since March 2015.
The Dawn mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Italian Space Agency and Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.
For a complete list of mission participants, visit https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.
More information about Dawn is available at https://www.nasa.gov/dawn and https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While overnight rains gave Northern California a soaking, Friday reports from fire officials noted no major gains in containment because of the rain in the region’s wildland fire areas.
The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office reported Friday that California’s wildfire locations generally saw about half an inch to one inch of rain.
In Lake County, where the Sulphur fire is in the mop up stages, rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service ranged between just under two tenths of an inch in Lakeport, jtwo-tenthshalf an inch in Kelseyville and up to 0.68 inches in Whispering Pines.
In the Sulphur fire area itself, rainfall amounts appeared to range closer to a third of an inch, based on the observations.
On Friday, Cal Fire’s last full report on the Mendocino Lake Complex, which includes the Sulphur fire in Lake County and the Redwood fire in Mendocino County, put the complex’s overall containment at 95 percent and size at 38,730 acres.
The Sulphur fire, which remains at 2,207 acres, did not grow in containment overnight despite the rains, remaining at 96 percent. However, Cal Fire’s report noted that the 36,523-acre Redwood fire’s containment grew by 5 percent to 95 percent.
Full containment on the complex is still anticipated on Nov. 1, the agency said.
The Central LNU Complex in Napa and Sonoma counties was at 107,366 acres on Friday, a slight rollback on size, with total containment up to 85 percent, Cal Fire said.
Slight containment increases were reported on all of the fires in the complex, including the Tubbs fire, 36,432 acres, 93-percent containment; the Pocket fire, 16,552 acres, 82-percent contained; the Sonoma Nuns fire, 34,398 acres, and the Napa Nuns fire, 19,984 acres, with 85-percent containment on both of those incidents, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire expects to fully contain the Central LNU Complex, the most damaging fire incident in the state’s history, by Oct. 24.
The Southern LNU Complex in Napa and Solano counties remains at 51,624 acres, with containment up just slightly overnight to 87 percent, Cal Fire said.
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 National Weather Service’s Sacramento office reported Friday that California’s wildfire locations generally saw about half an inch to one inch of rain.
In Lake County, where the Sulphur fire is in the mop up stages, rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service ranged between just under two tenths of an inch in Lakeport, jtwo-tenthshalf an inch in Kelseyville and up to 0.68 inches in Whispering Pines.
In the Sulphur fire area itself, rainfall amounts appeared to range closer to a third of an inch, based on the observations.
On Friday, Cal Fire’s last full report on the Mendocino Lake Complex, which includes the Sulphur fire in Lake County and the Redwood fire in Mendocino County, put the complex’s overall containment at 95 percent and size at 38,730 acres.
The Sulphur fire, which remains at 2,207 acres, did not grow in containment overnight despite the rains, remaining at 96 percent. However, Cal Fire’s report noted that the 36,523-acre Redwood fire’s containment grew by 5 percent to 95 percent.
Full containment on the complex is still anticipated on Nov. 1, the agency said.
The Central LNU Complex in Napa and Sonoma counties was at 107,366 acres on Friday, a slight rollback on size, with total containment up to 85 percent, Cal Fire said.
Slight containment increases were reported on all of the fires in the complex, including the Tubbs fire, 36,432 acres, 93-percent containment; the Pocket fire, 16,552 acres, 82-percent contained; the Sonoma Nuns fire, 34,398 acres, and the Napa Nuns fire, 19,984 acres, with 85-percent containment on both of those incidents, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire expects to fully contain the Central LNU Complex, the most damaging fire incident in the state’s history, by Oct. 24.
The Southern LNU Complex in Napa and Solano counties remains at 51,624 acres, with containment up just slightly overnight to 87 percent, Cal Fire said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In the wake of the Sulphur fire’s destruction, Lake County Animal Care and Control and Clearlake Animal Control are working to get animals found during the fire back to their homes.
Officials reported this week that they actually have taken in a limited number of animals in this recent incident when compared to rescues needed during the Rocky, Valley or Clayton fires.
During the Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 9 and burned 168 structures in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, Lake County Animal Care and Control activated its Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection, or LEAP, volunteers, according to Director Bill Davidson.
“We didn't take in that many animals, nor did we get a lot of calls for service, maybe 55 for the whole week,” Davidson told Lake County News.
That number breaks down to 35 dogs and 20 cats. Davidson said they also helped rescue a cow, a goat, a horse and eight chickens.
He said LEAP teams did daily animal welfare checks on animals throughout the mandatory evacuation area – both in the city and county jurisdiction.
Davidson said almost all of the rescued animals have been returned to their owners, with four dogs and several cats remaining at the shelter. There have been only a handful of injured animals, primarily cats.
He said all strays that came in during the fire will be held 30 days before they are put up for adoption to the public.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department, the agency which oversees Clearlake Animal Control, said they took in four dogs and one cat as a result of the fire.
Davidson said the county’s animal shelter was almost full after the third day of the fire – primarily with animals from Clearlake – and they considered having the SPCA of Lake County in Kelseyville open its facility.
However, at that point the city of Clearlake started repopulation and animals started going home, he said.
Davidson said they also transferred a number of animals out to several rescues.
Regarding the fact that the shelter took in fewer animals this time than in previous fires, Davidson said, “I think two things happened here: Most people were home when it happened so they could take their pets with them, and then I would like to think that our message about ‘taking them with you’ over the last few years has sunk in.”
Marcia Taylor of Clearlake Animal Control said they are still looking to reunite dogs with their families, with pictures of the dogs posted on the front windows at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. Pictures of the dogs also were provided by Taylor to Lake County News and are shown below.
If you are missing a pet contact Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter’s Web site and check out the shelter search at http://publicapps.lakecountyca.gov/publicanimals/shelter/ShelterSearch.
Clearlake Animal Control can be reached at 707-994-8201, Extension 103 or call Extension 118.
Davidson said there are Facebook pages specifically set up to address missing and found pets in the search area; he also suggested dropping off a flier at local veterinarians’ offices.
The animals found in the Sulphur fire area are listed below.
CLEARLAKE ANIMAL CONTROL
This female dog has a short black and white coat.
This female dog has a short tricolor coat.
This female dog has a medium-length black coat.
This male dog has a short brown coat.
This male dog has a short red coat.
LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL
DOGS
Labrador Retriever-poodle mix
This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.
German Shepherd mix
This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.
Border collie mix
This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.
Female boxer mix
This female boxer mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.
She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.
She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736.
CATS
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a brown tabby coat. She is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54a, ID No. 8772.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a gray and white coat. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54b, ID No. 8773.
Female domestic short hair
This adult female domestic short hair was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 13.
She has a brown tabby coat and gold eyes.
She is in kennel No. 88, ID No. 8742.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 94, ID No. 8728.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 13.
She has a torbie coat and gold eyes. She has not been altered.
She’s in kennel No. 99, ID No. 8739.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a black coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147a, ID No. 8731.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a gray coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147b, ID No. 8732.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 153, ID No. 8727.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black and white coat and gold eyes.
He’s in clinic kennel No. 295, ID No. 8729.
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.
Officials reported this week that they actually have taken in a limited number of animals in this recent incident when compared to rescues needed during the Rocky, Valley or Clayton fires.
During the Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 9 and burned 168 structures in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, Lake County Animal Care and Control activated its Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection, or LEAP, volunteers, according to Director Bill Davidson.
“We didn't take in that many animals, nor did we get a lot of calls for service, maybe 55 for the whole week,” Davidson told Lake County News.
That number breaks down to 35 dogs and 20 cats. Davidson said they also helped rescue a cow, a goat, a horse and eight chickens.
He said LEAP teams did daily animal welfare checks on animals throughout the mandatory evacuation area – both in the city and county jurisdiction.
Davidson said almost all of the rescued animals have been returned to their owners, with four dogs and several cats remaining at the shelter. There have been only a handful of injured animals, primarily cats.
He said all strays that came in during the fire will be held 30 days before they are put up for adoption to the public.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department, the agency which oversees Clearlake Animal Control, said they took in four dogs and one cat as a result of the fire.
Davidson said the county’s animal shelter was almost full after the third day of the fire – primarily with animals from Clearlake – and they considered having the SPCA of Lake County in Kelseyville open its facility.
However, at that point the city of Clearlake started repopulation and animals started going home, he said.
Davidson said they also transferred a number of animals out to several rescues.
Regarding the fact that the shelter took in fewer animals this time than in previous fires, Davidson said, “I think two things happened here: Most people were home when it happened so they could take their pets with them, and then I would like to think that our message about ‘taking them with you’ over the last few years has sunk in.”
Marcia Taylor of Clearlake Animal Control said they are still looking to reunite dogs with their families, with pictures of the dogs posted on the front windows at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. Pictures of the dogs also were provided by Taylor to Lake County News and are shown below.
If you are missing a pet contact Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter’s Web site and check out the shelter search at http://publicapps.lakecountyca.gov/publicanimals/shelter/ShelterSearch.
Clearlake Animal Control can be reached at 707-994-8201, Extension 103 or call Extension 118.
Davidson said there are Facebook pages specifically set up to address missing and found pets in the search area; he also suggested dropping off a flier at local veterinarians’ offices.
The animals found in the Sulphur fire area are listed below.
CLEARLAKE ANIMAL CONTROL
This female dog has a short black and white coat.
This female dog has a short tricolor coat.
This female dog has a medium-length black coat.
This male dog has a short brown coat.
This male dog has a short red coat.
LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL
DOGS
Labrador Retriever-poodle mix
This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.
German Shepherd mix
This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.
Border collie mix
This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.
Female boxer mix
This female boxer mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.
She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.
She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736.
CATS
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a brown tabby coat. She is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54a, ID No. 8772.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a gray and white coat. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54b, ID No. 8773.
Female domestic short hair
This adult female domestic short hair was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 13.
She has a brown tabby coat and gold eyes.
She is in kennel No. 88, ID No. 8742.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 94, ID No. 8728.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 13.
She has a torbie coat and gold eyes. She has not been altered.
She’s in kennel No. 99, ID No. 8739.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a black coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147a, ID No. 8731.
Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a gray coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147b, ID No. 8732.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 153, ID No. 8727.
Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black and white coat and gold eyes.
He’s in clinic kennel No. 295, ID No. 8729.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the last of the victims of the Redwood fire to be identified.
The fire, which began early on the morning of Oct. 9, has burned 36,523 acres in Potter and Redwood Valleys and destroyed nearly 300 homes there, according to a Cal Fire damage assessment.
The fire has claimed eight lives, with all of the dead having been Redwood Valley residents, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency on Oct. 13 had released the names of three victims who had been identified and whose families were notified: Kai Logan Shepherd, 14; and married couple Roy Howard Bowman, 87, and Irma Elsie Bowman, 88.
Capt. Greg Van Patten said Shepherd was found near his family residence in the 11300 block of West Road. It appeared he was attempting to evacuate the area on foot when he was overtaken by the fire.
The Bowmans were found in the burned remains of their home in the 4000 block of Fisher Lake Drive in Redwood Valley, Van Patten said.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office released the five remaining victims’ names.
They are Steve Bruce Stelter, 56; Janet Kay Costanzo, 71; Jane Gardiner, 83; Elizabeth Charlene Foster, 64; and Margaret Stephenson, 86, according to Van Patten’s report.
Van Patten said these latest identifications were made from dental records with the assistance of Dr. Jim Wood, who is the California State Assembly representative for District 2.
Stelter and Costanzo were a couple and lived together in the 11300 block of West Road. Van Patten said Stelter was found near a vehicle outside his home; it appeared he was preparing the vehicle to evacuate the area when he was overtaken by the fire. Costanzo was found in the remains of the home, which was destroyed.
Gardiner was found in the burned remains of her residence, located in the 12500 block of Tomki Road, which she shared with her caregiver, Foster. Van Patten said Foster’s body also was discovered in the home.
Gardiner and Foster had telephoned Gardiner's stepson on Oct. 9 at 1:30 a.m., telling him that there was fire all around the residence and the pair were awaiting evacuation by the fire department, Van Patten said.
Stephenson was found in the burnt remains of her destroyed residence in the 12800 block of Tomki Road. Van Patten said it appeared she was evacuating through the residence's garage when she was overtaken by the fire.
The fire, which began early on the morning of Oct. 9, has burned 36,523 acres in Potter and Redwood Valleys and destroyed nearly 300 homes there, according to a Cal Fire damage assessment.
The fire has claimed eight lives, with all of the dead having been Redwood Valley residents, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency on Oct. 13 had released the names of three victims who had been identified and whose families were notified: Kai Logan Shepherd, 14; and married couple Roy Howard Bowman, 87, and Irma Elsie Bowman, 88.
Capt. Greg Van Patten said Shepherd was found near his family residence in the 11300 block of West Road. It appeared he was attempting to evacuate the area on foot when he was overtaken by the fire.
The Bowmans were found in the burned remains of their home in the 4000 block of Fisher Lake Drive in Redwood Valley, Van Patten said.
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office released the five remaining victims’ names.
They are Steve Bruce Stelter, 56; Janet Kay Costanzo, 71; Jane Gardiner, 83; Elizabeth Charlene Foster, 64; and Margaret Stephenson, 86, according to Van Patten’s report.
Van Patten said these latest identifications were made from dental records with the assistance of Dr. Jim Wood, who is the California State Assembly representative for District 2.
Stelter and Costanzo were a couple and lived together in the 11300 block of West Road. Van Patten said Stelter was found near a vehicle outside his home; it appeared he was preparing the vehicle to evacuate the area when he was overtaken by the fire. Costanzo was found in the remains of the home, which was destroyed.
Gardiner was found in the burned remains of her residence, located in the 12500 block of Tomki Road, which she shared with her caregiver, Foster. Van Patten said Foster’s body also was discovered in the home.
Gardiner and Foster had telephoned Gardiner's stepson on Oct. 9 at 1:30 a.m., telling him that there was fire all around the residence and the pair were awaiting evacuation by the fire department, Van Patten said.
Stephenson was found in the burnt remains of her destroyed residence in the 12800 block of Tomki Road. Van Patten said it appeared she was evacuating through the residence's garage when she was overtaken by the fire.