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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol released additional information about a crash that killed a Middletown bicyclist on Monday evening.
The victim was a 73-year-old Middletown man whose name was not released in a Tuesday report pending the notification of next of kin.
The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office reported that it received a call at 5:08 p.m. Monday about a call about a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a bicyclist on Highway 175 south of Dry Creek Cutoff Road.
When CHP officers arrived at the scene, they determined that the crash victim was riding his bicycle on Dry Creek Cutoff Road, approaching Highway 175.
Richard Whalin, 60, of Yuba City, was driving a 2019 Ford F-350 dually truck, towing a 2018 Carson utility trailer, eastbound on SR-175, approaching Dry Creek Cutoff Rd.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, the bicyclist entered the roadway directly ahead of Whalin, who attempted to swerve to avoid hitting him.
The CHP said the vehicle and bike collided, resulting in the bicyclist sustaining major injuries.
South Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters attempted lifesaving measures but the man died of his injuries at the scene, the CHP said.
The CHP said the bicyclist was not wearing an approved bicycle helmet at the time of the collision.
Whalin was not injured due to the collision and remained on scene to cooperate with the investigation, the CHP said.
CHP Sgt. Joel Skeen established incident command. Caltrans, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and South Lake County Fire responded to the scene to provide assistance.
The CHP said traffic on Highway 175 was diverted onto Dry Creek Cutoff Road to facilitate the investigation.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected as factors in the crash, the CHP said.
The victim was a 73-year-old Middletown man whose name was not released in a Tuesday report pending the notification of next of kin.
The CHP’s Clear Lake Area office reported that it received a call at 5:08 p.m. Monday about a call about a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a bicyclist on Highway 175 south of Dry Creek Cutoff Road.
When CHP officers arrived at the scene, they determined that the crash victim was riding his bicycle on Dry Creek Cutoff Road, approaching Highway 175.
Richard Whalin, 60, of Yuba City, was driving a 2019 Ford F-350 dually truck, towing a 2018 Carson utility trailer, eastbound on SR-175, approaching Dry Creek Cutoff Rd.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, the bicyclist entered the roadway directly ahead of Whalin, who attempted to swerve to avoid hitting him.
The CHP said the vehicle and bike collided, resulting in the bicyclist sustaining major injuries.
South Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters attempted lifesaving measures but the man died of his injuries at the scene, the CHP said.
The CHP said the bicyclist was not wearing an approved bicycle helmet at the time of the collision.
Whalin was not injured due to the collision and remained on scene to cooperate with the investigation, the CHP said.
CHP Sgt. Joel Skeen established incident command. Caltrans, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and South Lake County Fire responded to the scene to provide assistance.
The CHP said traffic on Highway 175 was diverted onto Dry Creek Cutoff Road to facilitate the investigation.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected as factors in the crash, the CHP said.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — One of the races impacting Lake County that appeared to have a clear outcome on Tuesday night was that for the Fourth Congressional seat.
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) issued a statement late Tuesday thanking voters for their support in his reelection bid for Congress.
The Fourth Congressional District includes all of Lake and Napa counties, and parts of Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties.
Thompson was first elected to Congress in 1998.
“To the voters of the Fourth District: Thank you. It is the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of the community where I was born, grew up, and raised my own family. I am humbled and honored to have earned your trust to continue representing our community in Congress,” Thompson said.
“Know that I will work tirelessly in the upcoming Congress to ensure our community is the best place in the nation to raise a family, start a business, and retire with dignity,” Thompson added. “I remain committed to working across the aisle to find common ground and advance policies that bolster the middle class, lower the cost of housing and health care, address our climate crisis, and help keep our communities safe.”
Thompson easily topped Republican challenger John Munn by a two-to-one margin in the early returns posted by the California Secretary of State’s Office late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
With 100% of the 624 of precincts partially reporting as of 4 a.m., Thompson led with 120,621 votes to Munn’s 62.286, for a 65.9% to 34.1% margin.
Results in all races must be fully certified by Dec. 13, the California Secretary of State’s Office reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Windy conditions have led to the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning through Thursday and a limited-scope public power safety shutoff in parts of Lake County.
The red flag warning remains in effect through 7 a.m. Thursday due to low humidity and northeast winds of up to 45 miles per hour with isolated gusts of up to 55 miles per hour along ridgetops and high terrain.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures that can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Daytime temperatures are expected to be in the low 60s and in the 40s at night this week, with chances of rain in the forecast for the weekend.
Due to the red flag conditions, PG&E said it planned to conduct a public power safety shutoff to as many as 22,000 customers across 17 counties, including 1,168 Lake County customers, through Thursday morning.
In Lake County, those customers are primarily in more remote areas east of Clearlake Oaks as well as east of Lower Lake and near Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.
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 red flag warning remains in effect through 7 a.m. Thursday due to low humidity and northeast winds of up to 45 miles per hour with isolated gusts of up to 55 miles per hour along ridgetops and high terrain.
The National Weather Service said a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures that can contribute to extreme fire behavior.
Daytime temperatures are expected to be in the low 60s and in the 40s at night this week, with chances of rain in the forecast for the weekend.
Due to the red flag conditions, PG&E said it planned to conduct a public power safety shutoff to as many as 22,000 customers across 17 counties, including 1,168 Lake County customers, through Thursday morning.
In Lake County, those customers are primarily in more remote areas east of Clearlake Oaks as well as east of Lower Lake and near Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — As election day arrives, the latest numbers show more than a third of Californians have already returned their vote-by-mail ballots.
Early ballot numbers updated by the California Secretary of State’s Office on Monday showed that 8,058,584 ballots have been cast out of 22,838,522 that have been issued.
That amounts to a 35.2% return rate.
In Lake County, 38,397 vote-by-mail ballots were issued and 9,438 had been returned by Monday, for a 24.5% return rate.
Of those ballots counted so far, 832 were returned at drop off locations, 1,135 were returned through drop boxes and 7,449 by mail.
So far, 99.45% of the ballots returned in Lake County have been accepted, with 52 under review, the Secretary of State’s Office reported.
Lake County’s early ballot return rate is the second-lowest statewide, based on a percentage analysis of all 58 counties.
The county with the lowest early ballot return rate is Imperial, with 23%. The highest rate is Sierra County’s 57%.
The overall ballot return rates for other counties in the region are as follows:
• Glenn: 37%.
• Humboldt: 37%.
• Mendocino: 39%.
• Napa: 38%.
• Sonoma: 45%.
• Tehama: 32%.
• Yolo: 41%.
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.
Early ballot numbers updated by the California Secretary of State’s Office on Monday showed that 8,058,584 ballots have been cast out of 22,838,522 that have been issued.
That amounts to a 35.2% return rate.
In Lake County, 38,397 vote-by-mail ballots were issued and 9,438 had been returned by Monday, for a 24.5% return rate.
Of those ballots counted so far, 832 were returned at drop off locations, 1,135 were returned through drop boxes and 7,449 by mail.
So far, 99.45% of the ballots returned in Lake County have been accepted, with 52 under review, the Secretary of State’s Office reported.
Lake County’s early ballot return rate is the second-lowest statewide, based on a percentage analysis of all 58 counties.
The county with the lowest early ballot return rate is Imperial, with 23%. The highest rate is Sierra County’s 57%.
The overall ballot return rates for other counties in the region are as follows:
• Glenn: 37%.
• Humboldt: 37%.
• Mendocino: 39%.
• Napa: 38%.
• Sonoma: 45%.
• Tehama: 32%.
• Yolo: 41%.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A bicyclist was killed Monday evening after being struck by a vehicle along Highway 175 near Middletown.
The crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m., according to radio reports and the California Highway Patrol’s online reports.
Fire units were dispatched to a possible death from the crash at 5:12 p.m.
There was an attempt to resuscitate the bicyclist, who was declared dead shortly after paramedics arrived at the scene, based on radio traffic.
The CHP reported that Highway 175 at the Dry Creek Cutoff was closed until nearly 8 p.m. while the crash investigation took place.
More information about the crash was not immediately 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 crash occurred shortly after 5 p.m., according to radio reports and the California Highway Patrol’s online reports.
Fire units were dispatched to a possible death from the crash at 5:12 p.m.
There was an attempt to resuscitate the bicyclist, who was declared dead shortly after paramedics arrived at the scene, based on radio traffic.
The CHP reported that Highway 175 at the Dry Creek Cutoff was closed until nearly 8 p.m. while the crash investigation took place.
More information about the crash was not immediately available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Authorities have arrested a Napa man who they said is responsible for burglarizing vehicles in the south county.
Manuel Madrigal, 42, was arrested Nov. 1, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported.
In October, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a series of vehicle burglaries that occurred in Hidden Valley Lake during the early and later part of October.
Several local businesses reported their work trucks were burglarized, with several thousand dollars worth of tools stolen, the sheriff’s office said.
During the investigation, the businesses were able to provide video surveillance that captured the vehicle used during the burglaries. The sheriff’s office said a detective used the automated license plate readers and was able to locate the vehicle in the area of each of the burglaries around the time the burglaries occurred.
The vehicle was found to be connected to Madrigal, the sheriff’s office said.
On Friday, detectives from both the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Napa County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Madrigal's residence.
While searching the residence, detectives recovered over $1,000 worth of stolen tools from the Hidden Valley Lake burglaries, authorities said.
Madrigal was arrested on felony charges related to grand theft, possession of stolen property and vandalism, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies transported Madrigal to Lake County, where he was booked at the Hill Road Correctional Facility in Lakeport.
Jail records showed that he remained in custody on Monday, with bail set at $50,000.
“This is still considered an active and ongoing investigation,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday statement.
The agency said detectives recovered a large number of additional tools, which are also believed to have been stolen from Lake County or other surrounding counties. Detectives are working with other nearby law enforcement agencies in identifying the owners of the property.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Napa County Sheriff's Office for assisting during the investigation.
If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, please contact Det. Matt McCabe at 707-262-4223 or the Major Crimes Unit Tip Line at 707-262-4088.
Manuel Madrigal, 42, was arrested Nov. 1, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office reported.
In October, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office began investigating a series of vehicle burglaries that occurred in Hidden Valley Lake during the early and later part of October.
Several local businesses reported their work trucks were burglarized, with several thousand dollars worth of tools stolen, the sheriff’s office said.
During the investigation, the businesses were able to provide video surveillance that captured the vehicle used during the burglaries. The sheriff’s office said a detective used the automated license plate readers and was able to locate the vehicle in the area of each of the burglaries around the time the burglaries occurred.
The vehicle was found to be connected to Madrigal, the sheriff’s office said.
On Friday, detectives from both the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Napa County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant at Madrigal's residence.
While searching the residence, detectives recovered over $1,000 worth of stolen tools from the Hidden Valley Lake burglaries, authorities said.
Madrigal was arrested on felony charges related to grand theft, possession of stolen property and vandalism, the sheriff’s office said.
Deputies transported Madrigal to Lake County, where he was booked at the Hill Road Correctional Facility in Lakeport.
Jail records showed that he remained in custody on Monday, with bail set at $50,000.
“This is still considered an active and ongoing investigation,” the Lake County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday statement.
The agency said detectives recovered a large number of additional tools, which are also believed to have been stolen from Lake County or other surrounding counties. Detectives are working with other nearby law enforcement agencies in identifying the owners of the property.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Napa County Sheriff's Office for assisting during the investigation.
If anyone has any information regarding this investigation, please contact Det. Matt McCabe at 707-262-4223 or the Major Crimes Unit Tip Line at 707-262-4088.