How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
NORTH LAKEPORT, Calif. – A small wildland fire burned in the north Lakeport area on Thursday afternoon.
The fire was dispatched just before 3 p.m. in the 2700 block of Scotts Creek Road, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli.
Shortly after 3:30 p.m., Bertelli said the fire was at about three acres and 50 percent contained.
Two hand crews, two engines, two dozers, Copter 101 – which had earlier been on a fire incident in the Morgan Valley area near Lower Lake – and an engine and water tender from Lakeport responded, Bertelli said.
Bertelli said early indications are that the fire may have started from debris burning.
He urged people to be particularly cautious with burns because of the dry conditions.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A hit-and-run vehicle crash on Wednesday led to a Clearlake woman's arrest for driving under the influence.
Amber Saldana, 35, was arrested following the crash, according to Lt. Jason Ferguson of the Lakeport Police Department.
Ferguson said that shortly before 2 p.m. Wednesday Lakeport Police officers were dispatched to a parking lot in the 800 block of N. Main Street.
He said a witness reported that a vehicle involved in an earlier hit-and-run accident to a stop sign at 11th Street and Main Street was located with the driver’s door open.
Lakeport Police officers responded and contacted a female seated in the driver seat identified as Saldana. Ferguson said an officer made contact with Saldana and learned that she was driving the vehicle but denied hitting the stop sign.
Saldana told the officer the stop sign was already on the ground when she arrived at the intersection of 11th and Main streets. Ferguson said the officer examined the exterior of the vehicle and determined there was sufficient evidence to support that Saldana’s vehicle was involved in the accident.
While speaking to Saldana the officer noted she was exhibiting signs of being under the influence, Ferguson said. Saldana told the officer she was currently taking three separate types of prescribed medication and pulled over because she wasn’t feeling well.
Ferguson said the officer conducted a series of field sobriety tests and determined that Saldana was under the influence of a prescribed controlled medication and unable to operate the vehicle in a safe
manner.
Saldana was placed under arrest for driving while under the influence and transported to Sutter Lakeside Hospital for clearance, Ferguson said.
While at the hospital, due to her condition, Saldana was issued a citation for DUI and released to hospital staff, according to Ferguson.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two Corning residents were arrested on drug charges Wednesday following a verbal altercation in Lakeport.
Anthony Joseph Moron, 24, and Cynthia Leann Fox, 23, were taken into custody, according to Lt. Jason Ferguson.
Just after noon on Wednesday Lakeport Police officers contacted Moron and Fox in the 800 block of N. Main street. Ferguson said they were arguing over a cell phone.
During the contact with the officers, Fox advised them that she had marijuana and a pipe in her purse. A search of her purse revealed a glass pipe with suspected methamphetamine and a plastic bag containing processed marijuana, Ferguson said.
As a result, Ferguson said Fox was placed under arrest for possession of a controlled substance, possession of paraphernalia and possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.
During the contact with Moron, an officer obtained consent to search his person and located a plastic baggie with a white crystal substance which officers believed was methamphetamine, Ferguson said.
Ferguson said Moron was arrested for possession of a controlled substance.
Both Moron and Fox were transported to the Hill Road Jail, where they were booked. Bail for each was set at $15,000, Ferguson said.
As California's fire prevention fee continues to be implemented, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, is providing property owners multiple resources to answer their questions about the fee.
Officials said billing is set to begin March 25 through April 1 in Lake, Lassen and Los Angeles counties.
The state's outreach effort on the fire fee is being implemented as a result of Assembly Bill X1 29, which was signed into law July 7, 2011 establishing a fee for fire prevention services in the 31 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA).
The revenue generated from the fee pays for vital fire prevention services within the SRA, according to Cal Fire.
Fire prevention services funded by the fee include strategic fuel reduction activities, defensible space inspections, fire prevention engineering, emergency evacuation planning, fire prevention education, fire hazard severity mapping, implementation of the State’s and local Fire Plans ( http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/fire_er/fpp_planning_cafireplan ), and fire related law enforcement activities such as fire cause determination and arson investigation.
Cal Fire has established a Web site, www.FirePreventionFee.org , which contains comprehensive information about the fee and helpful links to maps, the law language, and answers frequently asked questions.
Additionally, a customer service call center is staffed Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except holidays) to further aid homeowners that have questions about the fire prevention fee. The call center number is 1-888-310-6447.
Under the law, the Board of Equalization (BOE) is responsible for collecting the fee. The bills scheduled for mailing this spring are for Fiscal Year 2013-14, which includes July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014.
The fee applies to the homeowner of record as of July 1, 2013, for all habitable structures within the SRA.
The BOE began mailing the bills alphabetically by county on March 3.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Deputies responded to a residence in Middletown on Thursday morning to conduct a welfare check of an elderly woman, and later took her son into custody after he refused to allow them entry and a standoff ensued.
Wesley Wayne Tolleson, 49, of Lower Lake was arrested following a standoff that began when he refused to let deputies into his mother's home, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
At 11:10 a.m. Thursday, Central Dispatch received a telephone call from an employee with Lake County Adult Protective Services, Brooks said.
Brooks said the employee attempted to conduct a welfare check of a Middletown woman, due to receiving a report that the woman was not receiving proper medical care and was malnourished.
The Adult Protective Services employee had attempted to check the condition of the woman, but her son, who was later identified as Tolleson, would not let him inside the home, according to Brooks.
Lake County Adult Protective Services was requesting assistance from the sheriff’s office in checking the woman’s condition. They also advised that that Tolleson had several firearms scattered throughout the residence, Brooks said.
Deputies responded to the residence which was located in the 15000 block of Armstrong Street in Middletown. They knocked on the door, but Tolleson refused to let the deputies inside, Brooks said.
Tolleson said they would have to bring several more deputies with them, before they would be able to get inside the house, Brooks said.
The deputies were able to set up a perimeter around the residence and requested that the Sheriff’s Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT) respond, according to Brooks.
The Lake County International Charter School, which was within close proximity of the residence was notified of the incident and placed on lockdown. Brooks said three other schools in the area decided to lock down their campuses after receiving information about the incident.
A line of communication was set up with Tolleson and he gave up peacefully at approximately 2:15 p.m., Brooks said.
Brooks said a welfare check was conducted on Tolleson’s mother and she was transported to the hospital by ambulance so she could receive proper medical attention.
Tolleson was arrested for resisting or obstructing a peace officer in the performance of his or her duties. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked, Brooks said.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Public Health will be hosting an upcoming workshop to help local health care volunteers sharpen disaster response skills.
The workshop will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 25, at Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road in Lakeport.
Registration is required by April 11; visit http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Emergency_Preparedness.htm for the workshop registration form.
County officials hope that in offering the workshop there will be increased interest among local health care workers and support staff to join Lake County’s Medical Reserve Corps.
The Medical Reserve Corps is organized under Lake County Public Health and consists of volunteers whose credentials are verified and who agree to participate in periodic training activities.
The Lake County Medical Reserve Corps volunteers represent a range of disciplines including
physicians, nurses, veterinarians, first responders, EMT/paramedics and ham radio operators. Pharmacists, dentists, nursing and medical assistants and non-licensed support staff also are welcome to join.
The Lake County Medical Reserve Corps is nationally accredited and has been in existence since 2007.
The group enjoys a high level of camaraderie as the result of supporting a wide range of public health activities, including mass vaccination clinics, training on responding to large foodborne illness outbreaks, and a community-wide survey regarding household emergency preparedness.
In addition, some of the members and staff have participated in larger training events that bring Medical Reserve Corps volunteers together on a regional basis.
A full-scale training exercise hosted by Ventura County Medical Reserve Corps held May 3 to 5, 2013, was attended by more than 130 Medical Reserve Corps volunteers from various local, regional and state agencies.
The exercise was held at a remote 200 acre ranch located outside of Ojai. This remote location had no cell phone reception or Internet which demonstrated how Medical Reserve Corps volunteers would respond to medical deployment without access to modern technology in the field.
This type of rural setting is similar to Lake County and was excellent training ground for local Medical Reserve Corps volunteers that helped increase the education and skills of our local volunteers to support a disaster or emergency response in Lake County.
For more information on the Disaster Medical Skills Workshop, visit http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Emergency_Preparedness.htm .