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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Friends of Clear Lake State Park will host a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the state park system this Saturday, Aug. 23.
Everyone is invited to attend the event, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Clear Lake State Park, 5300 Soda Bay Road.
Join them for a few hours or for the day, and experience the beauty of Clear Lake State Park.
Families are especially welcome to bring and enjoy a picnic lunch, spend time in the Visitor Center to learn more about Lake County history, or take the kids on a self-guided nature walk.
Free s’mores fruit, water and lemonade will be available for all.
Come browse the health and wellness booths staffed by local businesses, and listen to the music of David Neft.
Local exhibitors will include Accomplished Insurance Marketing, Anderson Marsh Interpretive Association, Audubon, county of Lake Invasive Species Program, Clear Lake Research Center, City Fitness, Gleaners, Hunger Task Force, Konocti Senior Support, Lake County Search and Rescue, Lake County Vector Control, Move More 2014, REACH, St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Sunrider, Stand up Paddleboard and Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
Admission to the park will be free for the event.
If visiting this jewel of Lake County has been on your list of things to do, Aug. 23 is your chance.
For more information, call Julie Berry at 707-245-5046.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will hold two public meetings to discuss a proposed change to the stream gauge that controls the low flow closure status of Mendocino Coast streams.
The meetings will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 20, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Alex Rorabaugh Ukiah Community Event Center, 1640 South State St., Ukiah, and on Wednesday, Sept. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Fort Bragg Town Hall, 363 North Main St., Fort Bragg.
A CDFW representative will detail the proposed regulation changes. Following the short presentation, interested parties can make comments and provide input that will help shape CDFW’s final recommendation to the Fish and Game Commission.
CDFW anticipates presenting the regulation change proposal at the Commission’s December meeting in Sacramento.
Mendocino Coast streams provide critical life-stage habitat for coastal Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout. All three of these species are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), and coho salmon is also listed under the California ESA.
CDFW is preparing regulatory changes for Title 14, Chapter 3, Article 4, section 8, Part (b), to base the flow closure status of Mendocino Coast streams on the Navarro River gauge, which is more representative of conditions in these streams than the regulated flows of the Russian River.
The proposed regulatory change provides for angler opportunity and addresses fishery impact concerns that have arisen during drought conditions.
During the past two winters, Mendocino Coast streams have at times remained open for fishing while salmon and steelhead were concentrated into the remaining pools by low flow conditions.
In addition to these public meetings, individuals and organizations may submit comments in writing.
Written comments can be sent by email to
LUCERNE, Calif. – A Lucerne woman was flown to a regional trauma center following a Monday morning crash.
Guadalupe Rea, 39, sustained moderate injuries in the solo-vehicle wreck, which occurred at 11:45 a.m. Monday on Country Club Drive in Lucerne, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP said Rea was riding as the passenger in a 1994 Jeep Cherokee driven by 32-year-old Lucerne resident Paul Mitchell.
Mitchell was driving the Jeep westbound on Country Club Drive at approximately 30 miles per hour, just west of Ninth Avenue, when he allowed the vehicle to travel off the roadway and onto the shoulder, the CHP said.
When the Jeep went onto the shoulder it hit a wooden bridge railing before coming to rest facing westbound with its wheels partially blocking the westbound lane, according to the CHP report.
The CHP said alcohol was not a contributing factor in the crash, which is still under investigation.
Northshore Fire personnel transported Rea to a landing zone at Lucerne Harbor Park, according to radio reports.
REACH 6 met firefighters at the park and flew Rea to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, officials reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local firefighters have returned home after a 17-day deployment to the Lodge Complex in Mendocino County.
The complex began early on the morning of July 30 as the result of lightning in the Wilderness Lodge/Eel River Canyon near Laytonville.
As of Monday night, the fire had burned 12,535 acres and was 85-percent contained, Cal Fire reported.
Northshore Fire Protection District reported that Lake County Strike Team XLK 2101-C – working under the California Mutual Aid System – responded to the incident.
The team consisted of firefighters and type three fire engines from Lakeport Fire District, Kelseyville Fire District, Northshore Fire District and Lake County Fire District. The fifth engine in the strike team came from the Bennett Valley Fire District in Sonoma County, officials reported.
Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Mike Ciancio was the strike team leader.
The Lake County strike team conducted multiple days of fire operations that included setting back fires to set containment lines. Days of operation also included building and setting a 4,000-foot-long hose lay with direct fire attack to protect structures near Laytonville, local fire officials reported.
To date, there have been 15 injuries to firefighters on the incident, Cal Fire reported.
Local officials said no Lake County fire personnel were injured while working the incident, but there was some damage to fire apparatus due rugged conditions and high temperatures.
The Lake County strike team was working in the area where six firefighters were injured during a entrapment and burn over, Northshore Fire reported.
Along with Lake County's firefighters, many others have been released from the incident.
Cal Fire reported that approximately 823 personnel were still assigned on Monday night, several hundred fewer than the previous day. Other resources on scene included 25 fire engines, 28 fire crews, 17 bulldozers, one helicopter and 10 water tenders.
Cal Fire said fire crews that are continuing to work the incident are mopping up, looking for hot spots within the fire lines and making repairs.
Suppression costs on the incident to date total $38.2 million, Cal Fire said.
The California Fire Chiefs Association reported that the California Mutual Aid System “is one of the most robust and well-managed networks in the nation.”
The system partners local government agencies with each other and with state and federal agencies including Cal Fire, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
As in the case of the Lake County strike team, the California Mutual Aid System deploys local government firefighters from cities, counties, tribal fire departments and special districts through a variety of contract agreements, which in many cases provide for complete reimbursement by the state or federal government to the local government agency.
The California Office of Emergency Services reported that in late July and early August alone local government agencies have deployed more than 490 fire engines to incidents throughout the state, with more than 2,050 firefighting personnel and more than 244 overhead personnel also deployed to various fire incidents.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County has received two new grants to help it with its mission of building new homes and improving existing ones in Lake County.
The organization reported that it has received $10,000 from the Pacific Gas and Electric Corp. Foundation.
The funds are designated towards the installation of solar systems in the new houses Habitat builds throughout Lake County.
Habitat for Humanity Lake County reported that, to date, it has built 17 homes in Lake County, most in the city of Clearlake and most with solar installed.
The organization reported that it builds to green standards and strives to make each home as energy efficient as possible. Donations from entities such as PG&E help to support this goal.
Habitat for Humanity also received $3,000 from the Tri Counties Bank Community Relations/Donations program.
The Tri Counties Bank donation is for Habitat for Humanity Lake County’s Wheelchair Ramps and Lifts for Living program, which provides wheelchair ramps and lifts and other accessibility repairs to low-income, disabled homeowners throughout Lake County.
“We want to thank our customers for banking with Tri Counties Bank,” said Kim Ngo, manager of the Middletown Tri-Counties Branch. “Tri Counties believes in supporting local businesses such as giving scholarships to high school students and local charities. Our new team is very knowledge in banking, and want to assist customers achieve their financial goals.”
Bank officials said they are excited about the ability to work with Habitat for Humanity Lake County and look forward to future collaborations.
Habitat for Humanity Lake County, in turn, expressed its deep appreciation to Tri Counties Bank for the contribution, which allows it to continue it work locally.
Since the start of 2014, Habitat for Humanity has reached 45 percent of its $75,000 goal for the Wheelchair Ramps & Lifts for Living program.
Through donations the community can assist in the mission of allowing mobility impaired individuals to remain in their homes while providing them the gift of being able to get into and out of their homes, many for the first time in a long time.
To help reach this goal please contact Habitat for Humanity Lake County at 707-994-1100, or send your contributions to PO Box 1830, Lower Lake, CA 95457.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Planning Commission is set this week to choose its new leaders for the year and hold a public hearing on a residential project.
The commission will meet beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 19, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
An Aug. 5 commission meeting that was to have hosted the hearing and leadership selection was canceled due to lack of quorum.
The rescheduled public hearing is for the purpose of adopting a mitigated negative declaration, extending the use permit, and adding or amending conditions of the project approval for Monte Vista Homes.
Owen O'Donnell and Ashwin Gulati are proposing to build the project at 3595 Old Highway 53.
Project plans call for subdividing the Old Highway 53 parcel into 23 residential and four commercial lots, allowing for duplexes or single family homes.
The Clearlake Planning Commission approved the project's tentative map in January 2008. When O'Donnell in August 2013 sought an extension to the tentative map, city staff discovered that the use permit had expired and that other issues with the project needed to be updated.
Tuesday's agenda also calls for the commission to select its new chair and vice chair for the remainder.
Alvaro Valencia and Bill Perkins serve as the commission's current chair and vice chair, respectively. Al Bernal, Cheryl Hutchinson and Carl Webb also serve on the commission.
Email Elizabeth Larson at