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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Twenty-three new law enforcement cadets graduated from the California Wildlife Officer Academy during ceremonies at the Performing Arts Center in Paradise on Aug. 12.
The badge pinning and swearing-in ceremony included 12 sponsored warden cadets and two current peace officers who transferred as laterals from other agencies.
These new wildlife officers have a few additional weeks of formal training before setting out on their first patrols with field training officers, or FTOs.
The other 11 graduates were self-sponsored cadets who paid their way through the academy and are now eligible to apply for a wildlife officer position, or any other California law enforcement position. Three were already hired by the Butte County Sheriff’s Office as deputies.
“Our cadets and academy staff have worked extremely hard to develop the skills necessary to protect California’s fish and wildlife, and the public alike,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Chief of Enforcement David Bess. “I am confident they will serve our state well.”
CDFW’s Wildlife Officer Academy is certified through the California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) and offers training consistent with every law enforcement agency in California.
Field training with experienced FTOs is also mandated by POST to be sure new wildlife officers can apply the skills they learned during the academy to real life circumstances.
FTO is the final stage of formal training. Upon successful completion, these officers will begin patrolling California to protect the natural resources of this great state.
Two veteran wildlife officers had the special honor of passing the torch to family members. Twenty-five year veteran wildlife officer Lieutenant Marty Wall pinned his son, Douglas Wall.
“It’s a proud moment and a true honor to see your son follow in your footsteps, sharing your values and continuing your life’s commitment to protecting California’s wildlife,” said Lt. Wall.
Thirty-year veteran wildlife officer Lieutenant Sam Castillo also pinned a badge on his nephew, Daniel Castillo.
Annually, wildlife officers make contact with more than 295,000 people and issue more than 15,000 citations.
These officers primarily work alone, in remote areas, contacting subjects who almost always have some form of weapon, and they do so knowing that backup could be hours away.
Wildlife officers have large patrol districts and great responsibilities, and frequently a sole officer will cover an entire county. The average California wildlife officer’s patrol district exceeds 500 square miles.
In 2008, CDFW teamed with Butte College to provide peace officer academy training for prospective wildlife officers. That partnership provided CDFW a state of the art POST-certified academy facility with 40 years of police training history.
CDFW anticipates the next round of warden cadet selection to begin in September or October of 2016, with the next academy beginning in January 2017.
For more information about becoming a wildlife officer and the application timeline, please visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/enforcement/career .
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County First 5 Lake Commission will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 24.
The meeting will begin at 2:30 p.m. at the Legacy Court training/conference room at 1950 Parallel Drive in Lakeport.
Agenda items include reappointment of commissioners Susan Jen, Ana Santana, Pam Klier and Laurie Daly; a discussion of Brown Act refresher training; a program presentation on the Hero Project; authorization for the executive director to enter into an agreement with the Lake County Fair for a breastfeeding station; and authorization for the executive director to sign supporting partner documents for the Local Dental Pilot Program.
There also will be reports from the executive director and commissioners, and public comment and announcements.
Commissioners include Jim Brown, Laurie Daly, Brock Falkenberg, Kathy Maes, Susan Jen, Pam Klier, Ana Santana and Jeff Smith.
For more information call the Lake County First 5 Lake Commission at 707-263-6169 or visit www.firstfivelake.org .
In a rare occurrence, biologist Steve Zalusky of Northwest Biosurvey testified before the Lake County Planning Commission on Aug. 11 that his work had been altered in favor of conclusions drawn by a report on Wild Diamond Vineyards.
Standing before the commission, he accused the consulting firm that hired him, SHN Engineers and Geologists, of multiple instances of irregular practices.
SHN, contracted by Wild Diamond Vineyards to produce an environmental impact report, determined in their draft document that there would be no significant impact to people or the environment from a proposed vineyard/winery/event center development next to Hidden Valley Lake.
Zalusky came forward of his own accord and I find his integrity very moving. His testimony should raise questions about the validity of the entire report for those who weren't already asking them.
Elizabeth Montgomery lives in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Tuesday morning fire burned structures at a lakeside resort and led to temporary evacuations.
The fire at the Edgewater Resort, 6420 Soda Bay Road, was reported at 10:46 a.m.
The original dispatch report indicated one structure was fully involved and a small amount of vegetation was on fire.
Kelseyville Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire were dispatched, with resources from Cal Fire including air resources.
The first units on scene reported one fully involved structure, one partially involved and a minimal exposure to wildland. Propane tanks also were reported to be exploding in the area, and the fire had a fast rate of spread.
Kelseyville Fire Chief Joe Huggins said some residences in the resort in the immediate vicinity of the fire were temporarily evacuated.
Huggins said it took about 45 minutes to fully contain the fire. Units would remain on scene for a few hours for mop up.
Altogether, the fire burned a cabin and a garage-type outbuilding, along with about six to seven cords of wood and a few large oak trees, Huggins said.
As for what caused the fire, “We have some ideas,” said Huggins.
It's believed to be accidental, he said, adding that investigators will be on scene Tuesday afternoon to determine the cause.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – State and local firefighters contained a wildland fire that threatened homes in the Spring Valley area on Monday, several hours after they had put out a fire on the hillsides above Lucerne.
The fire in a field in Spring Valley was reported shortly before 5 p.m. in the 2700 block of Shasta Road, according to radio reports.
Initial reports stated that witnesses believed the fire could have begun due to a blown transformer, but that has not yet been confirmed as the cause.
The fire units on scene from Northshore Fire and Cal Fire reported finding power lines down, blocking Shasta Road. The Lake County Sheriff's Office responded to help shut down the roadway.
Lake County Fire also sent resources at Northshore Fire's request, according to radio reports.
Cal Fire air tankers and a helicopters worked the scene before Cal Fire's dispatch indicated that two of the tankers needed to be diverted to a new fire in Humboldt County.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said the fire burned a total of an acre and a half of vegetation and destroyed a pump house.
The fire's forward progress was stopped within a few hours of dispatch, with Beristianos reporting that full containment was expected at about midnight.
The fire led to a power outage in Spring Valley that impacted 569 customers as of 6:30 p.m., according to Pacific Gas and Electric. As the evening went on, customers gradually had their power restored, with PG&E estimating that the outage would be over by 3 a.m. Tuesday.
Also on Monday, firefighters wrapped up work on a wildland fire that had begun at around 12 a.m. and burned in the area of Highway 20 east of Rosemont Drive in Lucerne.
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Mike Ciancio said that fire burned a total of 11 acres, a size estimate rolled back significantly from the 40 acres that had been reported from the scene early Monday.
Ciancio said Northshore Fire units cleared the scene at about 6:30 a.m. Monday, with Cal Fire keeping firefighters in place to work on mop up into Monday afternoon.
A portion of Highway 20 – which had been closed for several hours because of the fire – had reopened by late Monday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Ciancio said the fire's cause is under investigation by Cal Fire.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Two Sonoma County men were arrested during the Clayton fire last week for stealing equipment from United States Forest Service firefighters who were working to contain the blaze.
Larry Robert Hunter, 52, of Sonoma and 47-year-old Paul Owen Albini, both of Sonoma, were arrested in the case, according to Clearlake Police Sgt. Tim Hobbs.
At 9:45 a.m. Wednesday the Clearlake Police Department received a transferred call from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch center regarding a theft at the Eastlake Landfill just outside the city of Clearlake, Hobbs said.
As a courtesy to the sheriff’s office, Hobbs said Clearlake Police Officers Travis Parson and Leonardo Flores responded to the landfill and contacted several United States Forest Service Firefighters.
The firefighters took the officers to the location of their two Forest Service bulldozers, which were being used to make a containment line for the Clayton fire, about one mile south east of the city's limits, Hobbs said.
The firefighters reported numerous items were stolen from inside and on the bulldozers. Hobbs said some of the items stolen were lights off of the bulldozers, one emergency fire shelter, a chainsaw, numerous tools and a handheld GPS unit.
Hobbs said the firefighters described seeing a late 1990s white Chevrolet dual wheel pickup truck, with a bicycle in the bed and occupied by two white males in their 50s, leaving the location when they arrived.
While checking for evidence at the scene, officers located two different style shoeprints on the bulldozers and on the ground near the bulldozers that did not come from the firefighters' shoes, Hobbs said.
At 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Det. Elvis Cook observed a vehicle matching the description provided by the firefighters driving west on Lakeshore Drive, conducting a traffic stop on the vehicle as it pulled up to a parked truck at Redbud Park, according to Hobbs.
Hobbs said Cook contacted the drivers of the two trucks, who were identified as Hunter and Albini.
Numerous items stolen from the bulldozer were located in plain view in the bed of the two pickup trucks and inside the cabs. Additionally, Hunter and Albini were found to be in possession of methamphetamine, Hobbs said.
Hobbs said the two Forest Service firefighters responded to Redbud Park and positively identified Hunter and Albini as the persons they observed driving away from the bulldozers in the white pickup truck.
Additionally, Hunter and Albini were wearing shoes that matched the two different style shoe prints on the bulldozers, Hobbs said.
All of the stolen items except for the handheld GPS unit were located in the pickup trucks belonging to Hunter and Albini, Hobbs added.
Hobbs said Hunter and Albini were arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for grand theft and possession of a controlled substance.
Booking records showed that each had bail set at $15,000, and both remained in custody on Monday, with their arraignments tentatively scheduled for Tuesday.