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NICE, Calif. – A Davis man was injured in a Thursday evening crash on the Northshore and later placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Andrew Herbert, 29, was arrested following the crash, which occurred at 8 p.m. Thursday at the roundabout in Nice, located on Highway 20 at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP report said Herbert was driving his 2008 Volkswagen Jetta eastbound on Highway 20 approaching the roundabout at an unknown speed.
As Herbert entered the roundabout and – for reasons that investigators have yet to determine – he failed to negotiate the curve in the roundabout and rolled the Jetta at least once, the CHP said.
The CHP said Herbert's car came to rest on its wheels, facing westbound in the eastbound lane. Traffic was diverted for a short period of time while the roadway was cleared.
It's unknown if Herbert was wearing his seat belt during the crash, the CHP said.
Herbert suffered a major injury to his left hand, and the CHP said he was transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for treatment.
The CHP said it appeared that alcohol was a contributing factor to the crash, and Herbert was placed under arrest for a misdemeanor count of driving under the influence while he was at the hospital.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to the CHP.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County received another healthy dowsing on Thursday, with still more rain expected through the weekend.
Rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service for the 24-hour period ending at 2:30 a.m. Friday included the following, in inches:
– Bartlett Springs, 1.52;
– Cobb, 1.84;
– Hidden Valley Lake, 1.10;
– Indian Valley Reservoir, 0.28;
– Kelseyville, 1.52;
– Lakeport, 1.17;
– Lower Lake, 0.14;
– Upper Lake, 0.90.
Forecasters are expecting rain throughout the day Friday, although totals are expected to be far less than on Thursday – up to one-fifth of an inch for both the day and nighttime totals.
Rain also is in the forecast for Saturday and Sunday, with chances of showers on Monday, and clearing through Thursday, the National Weather Service said.
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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Kelseyville woman was arrested Wednesday for driving under the influence following a crash on Highway 29.
Charlene Marie Gayaldo, 35, was arrested for misdemeanor DUI following the crash, which took place just after 9 p.m. on Highway 29 north of Kelseyville Auto Salvage, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said Gayaldo was driving her 1998 Honda CRV southbound with a 7-year-old female passenger when, for reasons that are still not known, Gayaldo allowed her vehicle to veer across the northbound lane.
The vehicle hit a dirt embankment and came to rest in the northbound lane, blocking traffic, the CHP said.
Gayaldo, who the CHP said was wearing a seat belt, suffered minor injuries, including a laceration to the left side of her head.
The child, who was seated in the right rear seat in a child seat and restrained, was uninjured, and later was released to a family member, the CHP said.
The CHP said alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash and Gayaldo was arrested at the scene. She later was treated at Sutter Lakeside Hospital for her injuries.
Gayaldo was booked into the Lake County Jail on two counts of misdemeanor DUI and a felony charge of child endangerment, with bail set at $75,000, according to her booking sheet.
Jail records indicated she later posted the required percentage of bail and was released, and has a tentative court appearance set for Feb. 8.
The CHP said the crash's cause remains under investigation.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making rental resources available to eligible survivors of the Valley fire.
More than 1,300 homes were destroyed in the 76,067-acre fire, displacing thousands of south county residents.
FEMA spokesman Steve Solomon told Lake County News that the latest available figures through Tuesday showed that FEMA is providing financial rental assistance to 568 Lake County households.
He said that, early on, available rental resources within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development fair market rate were scarce.
In response, he said FEMA approved a 125-percent waiver above the HUD fair market rate, resulting in an increase in available rental resource options.
Solomon said FEMA is contacting rental applicants eligible for financial rental resources– who registered for FEMA assistance by the Nov. 23 deadline – to let them know of the waiver and the resulting increase in available rentals.
“FEMA has identified multiple rental resources in Lake County within a reasonable distance from the disaster-affected areas,” he said.
The rentals, which are privately and not government-owned, are available on a first-come, first-served basis, Solomon said.
“There is currently no waiting list,” Solomon added.
“The number of rentals, in our portal, changes daily,” he said, noting that on Tuesday there were 45, which dropped to 25 on Wednesday.
The assistance in finding and paying for rentals is a different FEMA program than that which offers mobile housing units, which Solomon said are a last resort.
There are currently four of those fully furnished units installed on private property in Lake County and being inhabited by local families, Solomon said.
FEMA has 13 pads leased at Lake Village Estates, but manufactured housing units aren't in place on those pads yet, according to Solomon.
Survivors who need temporary housing assistance are urged to contact FEMA at 800-621-FEMA (3362).
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Walmart Foundation’s California State Giving Council on Wednesday presented a $25,000 check to Habitat for Humanity Lake County to help the organization provide critical repairs to the homes of residents who were displaced by this summer’s devastating wildfires.
The $25,000 grant was presented to Richard Birk, president of Habitat for Humanity Lake County, during a check presentation ceremony at the Walmart store in Clearlake.
The funds presented Wednesday are in addition to the $200,000 in cash and in-kind support which was committed to relief efforts surrounding wildfires in Northern California and other parts of the western U.S. earlier this year.
Nearly 2,000 structures – including more than 1,300 homes – were destroyed in the Valley fire.
The Clearlake Walmart store served as an evacuation point for the community during the fire, remaining open 24 hours a day to ensure the community had access to supplies. The store also provided continuous support with donations of food, water, cots, blankets, hygiene products and other necessities.
The Clearlake Walmart also donated supplies and merchandise to multiple evacuation sites, including the Salvation Army food truck, the local senior center and Moose Lodge, and an evacuation site in Kelseyville, among others.
“We are honored to support organizations like Habitat for Humanity Lake County, which is providing critical services to area families impacted by the recent Valley fire,” said Travis Peck, store manager of the Clearlake Walmart. “Through this grant and our commitment to making a difference in people’s lives, Walmart is helping Lake County and the greater Clearlake community rebuild and rebound.”
Established in 2000, Habitat for Humanity Lake County completed its first home in 2002 and will complete its 19th home by the end of 2015.
In addition, the organization has provided more than 175 homeowners in Lake County with critical health and safety related repairs as part of its Home Repair and Veteran’s Repair programs.
“The fires of 2015 presented our community with a number of unprecedented challenges, including the need to secure safe housing for the hundreds of families that were displaced,” said Birk. “This generous grant from Walmart will help us repair homes which survived the fires and need to be made livable again, as well as build homes for those unable to rebuild or were displaced renters. We’re so thankful for these funds which will make a direct and lasting impact on the lives of so many in our area.”
In 2014, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $58 million in cash and in-kind contributions to charitable organizations across California.
To be considered for support, prospective grantee organizations must submit applications through the Walmart Foundation State Giving Program’s online grant application. Applicants must have a current 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in order to meet the program’s minimum eligibility criteria.
Additional information about the program’s funding guidelines and application process are available online at www.walmartfoundation.org/stategiving .
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Storm conditions moving into the Pacific Northwest are expected to impact Northern California from Wednesday through the weekend.
The National Weather Service earlier this week issued a special weather statement for Lake County and other portions of Northern California due to an impending winter storm, as Lake County News has reported.
On Tuesday, that special weather statement remained in effect, and the National Weather Service reported that an “atmospheric river” – a plume of concentrated moisture between 250 and 400 miles wide in the atmosphere – is moving into the Pacific Northwest and expected to descend over Northern California.
Last December's big storm event was attributed to an atmospheric river.
The precipitation forecast in Lake County is for 2 to 3 inches from Nice northward, 1 to 2 inches for parts of the Northshore as well as Clearlake, Lakeport, Kelseyville, Hidden Valley Lake, Middletown and Cobb, and half an inch to an inch in the lower southeastern portion of the county, according to National Weather Service maps.
A large amount of snow is expected to fall across Northern California's mountains, with as much as 2 feet forecast in the Sierras, based on the forecast.
The far northern parts of Lake County could get between 3 and 6 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Although much of the storm's impact is expected to happen from Wednesday through Friday, forecasters are predicting that chances of showers will continue through the weekend and into early next week in Lake County. There also are chances on Thursday of gusting winds.
Nighttime temperatures over the next several days are forecast to dip into the low 30s at night, with daytime highs in the low 50s, based on the county's specific forecast.
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