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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Scott Upton has been named the new chief of Cal Fire's Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
Cal Fire Director Ken Pimlott announced Upton's promotion on Friday.
Upton began his fire service career in 1983, as a volunteer firefighter with the Town of Paradise Fire Department, ultimately becoming a permanent fire fighter for the town.
In 2002, Upton accepted a position with Cal Fire as a Fire Captain B in the Conservation Camp Program, working at both Devils’ Garden Camp in the Lassen Modoc Unit and Ishi Camp in the Tehama Glenn Unit.
In 2007, Upton transferred to the Butte Unit where he served as an air tactical group supervisor at Chico Air Attack Base.
He accepted a promotion in the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit to battalion chief in 2009 and again in 2012 to assistant chief, where he was designated as the Napa County Fire chief overseeing the cooperative agreement with Napa County.
In addition to his operational responsibilities, Upton was instrumental in developing the “C” certifier faller curriculum and also served as a member on the Department’s Safety Officer instructional cadre.
He has served as a Type 1 Safety Officer on Cal Fire Incident Command Team 3 and is currently assigned as Incident Commander Trainee on Cal Fire Incident Management Team 6.
Eric Hoffman, who became the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit chief at the start of January 2013, has since been promoted to assistant chief of Cal Fire's Northern Region, which oversees 12 units, including the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Firefighters were able to contain an early Thursday morning wildland fire to a small amount of acreage.
The Dam Fire was first dispatched at about 1:15 a.m. Thursday east of Clearlake, as Lake County News has reported.
The fire, located in the State Responsibility Area, was under the joint command of Lake County Fire Protection District and Cal Fire, according to Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta.
Sapeta said the fire, which burned a total of five and a half acres, was located in a very remote area. Firefighters had reached it by following Dam Road.
“It took us about two and a half hours to get access to it,” with a bulldozer needed to build a road in to the blaze, Sapeta said.
Once firefighters reached the fire, they were able to contain it in about 10 minutes, according to Sapeta.
Radio reports indicated that Cal Fire units remained on scene late Thursday afternoon.
Sapeta said the fire's cause remains under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
There are often particular assets in one’s estate which may require special consideration either due to its nature, value, or significance.
Let us consider some types of special assets and how they might be handled.
Businesses that require a license or special expertise will require that a special trustee (in trust administration) or special administrator (in probate) be appointed to administer the asset.
For example, a doctor’s living trust would nominate another doctor to act as special trustee to manage the professional corporation that owns the medical practice during periods of incapacity.
At the doctor’s death, the special trustee would wind up the affairs and transfer the net proceeds to the general trustee, typically the doctor’s surviving spouse or child.
Guns require a firearm’s license. A gun collection can be held in a special gun trust managed by a trustee who has a firearm’s license.
The trustee can allow for the guns to be shared amongst the various beneficiaries and for the guns to be stored and managed by designated individuals.
Pets depend totally on their owners and continue to need care during their owner’s disability and perhaps a new home after their owner dies.
A pet owner’s trust and power of attorney can provide instructions to use the owner’s resources to pay for veterinary visits, boarding, and money to place the pet after the owner dies.
Further instructions as to using specific organizations that accept and place pets can be provided.
Valuable and/or sentimental jewelry needs to be itemized (listed on a schedule) and kept in a secure location (such as a safe).
If these items are not given away during the owner’s lifetime then a trustworthy person needs to be in charge after the owner dies. This person could be a trustee or special trustee and should have access to the safe where the jewelry is kept.
A special home or lodge or other special residence that has been in the family a long time may be an item that the owner wants to keep in the family.
In order to provide a way for the property to be enjoyed by multiple beneficiaries and to avoid the real property being sold, subject to the beneficiary’s creditor claims, keeping the residence in a house trust may provide a solution.
The trust would provide for the sharing of use and expenses amongst the beneficiaries and their families and guests. It will also provide for how the property may eventually be sold.
Heirlooms that a surviving spouse wishes, at his or her own passing, to distribute to the family of a predeceased spouse can be transferred (at the surviving spouse’s death) to the care of a special trustee, who belongs to the deceased spouse’s own family, for distribution.
It is better to have a member of the deceased spouse’s family in charge of the division rather than someone from the surviving spouse’s family.
One may say that any assets left to a beneficiary receiving SSI or Medi-Cal become special assets in the sense that such assets may impact the beneficiary’s eligibility for such needs based government assistance, or else become subject to estate recovery claims at the beneficiary’s death.
Alternatives to outright bequests, including gifts to special needs trusts, should be considered.
The foregoing is not an exhaustive list of special assets, but should help one consider what special assets exist within his or her own estate and what will become of these assets in the events of incapacity or death.
What special assets do you have? How do you want them handled?
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, California. Fordham can be reached by e-mail at
On Oct. 19, Comet Siding Spring will pass by Mars only 132,000 kilometers away – which would be like a comet passing about one-third of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
The nucleus of the comet won't hit Mars, but there could be a different kind of collision.
“We hope to witness two atmospheres colliding,” explained David Brain of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). “This is a once in a lifetime event!”
Everyone knows that planets have atmospheres. Lesser known is that comets do, too. The atmosphere of a comet, called its “coma,” is made of gas and dust that spew out of the sun-warmed nucleus. The atmosphere of a typical comet is wider than Jupiter.
“It is possible,” said Brain, “that the atmosphere of the comet will interact with the atmosphere of Mars. This could lead to some remarkable effects – including Martian auroras.”
The timing could scarcely be better. Just last year, NASA launched a spacecraft named MAVEN to study the upper atmosphere of Mars, and it will be arriving in September barely a month before the comet.
MAVEN is on a mission to solve a longstanding mystery: What happened to the atmosphere of Mars?
Billions of years ago, Mars had a substantial atmosphere that blanketed the planet, keeping Mars warm and sustaining liquid water on its surface.
Today, only a wispy shroud of CO2 remains, and the planet below is colder and dryer than any desert on Earth. Theories for this planetary catastrophe center on erosion of the atmosphere by solar wind.
“The goal of the MAVEN mission is to understand how external stimuli affect the atmosphere of Mars,” said Bruce Jakosky of LASP, MAVEN's principal investigator. “Of course, when we planned the mission, we were thinking about the sun and the solar wind. But Comet Siding Spring represents an opportunity to observe a natural experiment, in which a perturbation is applied and we can see the response.”
Brain, who is a member of the MAVEN science team, thinks the comet could spark Martian auroras.
Unlike Earth, which has a global magnetic field that shields our entire planet, Mars has a patchwork of “magnetic umbrellas” that sprout out of the surface in hundreds of places all around the planet.
If Martian auroras occur, they would appear in the canopies of these magnetic umbrellas.
“That is one thing that we will be looking for with both MAVEN and Hubble Space Telescope,” said Brain. “Any auroras we see will not only be neat, but also very useful as a diagnostic tool for how the comet and the Martian atmosphere have interacted.”
The atmosphere of the comet includes not only streamers of gas, but also dust and other debris blowing off the nucleus at 56 kilometers per second relative to Mars. At that velocity, even particles as small as half a millimeter across could damage spacecraft.
NASA's fleet of Mars orbiters including MAVEN, Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will maneuver to put the body of Mars between themselves and the comet’s debris during the dustiest part of the encounter.
“It's not yet clear whether any significant dust or gas will hit the Mars atmosphere,” cautioned Jakosky. “But if it does, it would have the greatest effects on the upper atmosphere.”
Meteoroids disintegrating would deposit heat and temporarily alter the chemistry of upper air layers. The mixing of cometary and Martian gases could have further unpredictable effects.
Although MAVEN, having just arrived at Mars, will still be in a commissioning phase, it will use its full suite of instruments to monitor the Martian atmosphere for changes.
“By observing both before and after, we hope to determine what effects the comet dust and gas have on Mars, if any,” said Jakosky.
For the ScienceCast, visit http://youtu.be/2R4yj7DtQbM .
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Firefighters on Friday were able to hold the growth of the Lodge Complex of lightning fires to only 10 acres while increasing the containment.
The complex, burning since July 30 in the rugged Wilderness Lodge/Eel River Canyon area in Mendocino County, had burned a total of 12,346 acres by the end of Friday, with containment increasing to 70 percent.
Cal Fire said fire crews are continuing to patrol areas outside the complex's control lines for any potential new spot fires, with repair work beginning on the fire's west side.
Officials were concerned on Friday that a high pressure system building over the area – and forecast to continue next week – will cause warmer and drier conditions.
The number of personnel working the fire was reduced to 1,527 on Friday, with Cal Fire reporting that 62 fire engines, 60 fire crews, eight bulldozers, seven helicopters and eight water tenders also were still assigned.
Two more injuries were reported on the complex Friday, bringing the total to 15, Cal Fire said.
The estimated suppression costs for the complex climbed by almost $3 million on Friday, reaching $32.8 million, according to Cal Fire.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
COBB, Calif. – Local business and government leaders gathered at Hoberg's Resort and Spa on Thursday morning for a ribbon cutting that symbolized the rebirth of the Lake County landmark, which is preparing to host concerts celebrating the 45th anniversary of Woodstock this weekend.
Sandra Hoberg, great-granddaughter of resort founders Gustav and Mathilda Hoberg, was on hand to help cut the ribbon beneath a sign crafted from trees found on the property.
At the same time as the brief ceremony was taking place, local workers finished guest rooms and installed landscaping around the resort, adding color to the grounds.
A camera crew captured the hurried action to send to Los Angeles for a proposed reality show “Extreme Resort Makeover.”
A security guard barred entrance to the resort, preventing unauthorized visitors from creating distractions from the organized schedule as delivery trucks brought in last minute items. An information technology worker rushed to establish necessary connectivity.
Amidst the bustle of workers putting the finishing touches on the resort for the concert, Ryan Xavier – a Hidden Valley Lake resident who is Hoberg's new general manager – said the big picture is to get the resort “up and running and breathe some life back into the community.”
Xavier said his goals included bringing five-star service to the resort in order to “make it amazing for people to come and stay here.”
The on site force behind the massive project is Dan Nelson, whose role there has changed from advisor to vice president.
Nelson explained that work was being done throughout the resort, with 15 rooms to open at the lodge.
The resort has historically been a spot for big bands and concerts.
Silvester Rabic and Frank Sasselli, who purchased Hoberg's earlier this year, anticipate putting $7.5 million into renovating and operating the resort, as Lake County News has reported.
In April Rabic told Lake County News that the vision for the resort is that the renovated Hoberg’s Club Resort will present a variety of film festivals, concerts, entertainment events and special themed weekends as part of its offerings.
New amenities planned for the resort include a spa that will serve as the centerpiece of the revival of Hoberg’s.
Hoberg’s Resort was founded in 1885. It began as a lodge with a few cottages, and grew to be one of the largest privately owned resorts in California.
At its peak in the 1950s, Hoberg’s hosted more than 1,000 guests a night and was home to celebrities and politicians.
For more information about the resort or this weekend's concerts – tickets are still available – visit http://www.hobergsclub.com/ .
