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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Department of Public Works issued a Friday afternoon update on road conditions following the overnight windstorm.
Crews were out all night working to clear roads but are having to wait for Pacific Gas and Electric crews to remove downed lines before they can continue with their work in some areas, according to county officials.
Caltrans reported no closures on state highways in the county.
The following is a roundup of the latest conditions on county roads. Updates will be posted as they become available.
CLEARLAKE OAKS
High Valley Road – Closed to all traffic due to tree across the roadway – four to six miles off of Highway 20.
KELSEYVILLE
Hawaina Way – Power lines hanging low across the roadway (crew on scene).
Aqua Vista Way – Closed to all traffic due to downed tree and power lines (crew on scene – waiting on PGE to power down the line).
LUCERNE
Country Club Drive – One lane traffic from Highway 20 to 17th Avenue (due to debris in the roadway.
Bruner Drive – Bruner Drive is closed to all traffic (except for emergency vehicles) until further notice due to a wildland fire.
NICE
Lakeshore Boulevard – Closed at Hudson Avenue, Stokes Avenue, and Sayer Avenue due to downed power lines and debris in the roadway. No estimate on when the roadway will be reopened.
Floyd Way – Closed between Highway 20 and Merced due to downed power lines and debris in the roadway. No estimate on when the road will be reopened
Marin Street – Closed to all traffic, multiple trees and power lines down. No estimate on when the roadway will be reopened.
Springe Street – Downed tree blocking the roadway near Highway 20.
Black Oak Way – Downed tree partially blocking the roadway at Springe Street.
UPPER LAKE
Bachelor Valley Road – Road closed from Witter Springs Road to East Road due to downed power pole. No estimate on when the roadway will be reopened.
Clover Valley Road – One lane traffic from MP 1.5 to MP 2.0 due to downed debris in the roadway.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Thousands of Lake County residents remained without power on Friday afternoon in the wake of a powerful overnight windstorm.
The storm damaged homes and vehicles, knocked down power lines and upended many trees, according to witnesses and first responders.
Shortly after 1 p.m. Pacific Gas and Electric estimated that more than 4,000 residents still did not have power, with more than 2,200 of those people located in the hard-hit Nice area.
Jill Ruzicka, public information officer for the county of Lake, said 26 PG&E crews were either in the county or en route in an effort to restore power.
She said Public Works Department crews are standing by to work on cleanup, but they have to wait while downed lines are dealt with by the utility crews.
Full assessments of damage to county and other facilities haven't yet been done, she said, as emergency personnel are still responding to incidents around the county, including a wildland fire that had broken out near the Kono Tayee subdivision near Lucerne.
Ruzicka said PG&E has told the county that it expects power to be fully restored to the remaining residents without power within 24 hours.
She said a major concern is downed power lines and the danger they pose for community members.
Residents are warned to assume that any downed line is energized, and to keep children and animals away.
The county and PG&E also urge residents not to use candles during outage because of risk of fire. If they are used, they shouldn't be placed near drapes or under lampshades, be in the reach of children, and must not be left unattended.
Other advice includes turning off or unplugging all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits when power is restored.
Leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns, and turn your appliances back on one at a time when conditions return to normal, officials suggested.
Report downed power lines immediately by calling 911 and PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A ferocious windstorm that tore through Lake County Thursday evening and early Friday morning left thousands of county residents without power, and upended countless trees which took down power poles, damaged homes and vehicles, and in several cases sparked wildland fires.
The National Weather Service had issued a Thursday afternoon wind advisory – later upgraded to a high wind warning – that stated winds would peak on Thursday night, and the prediction held true.
The rain the county had experienced over the last few days, coupled with the onslaught of the winds, served to begin a process in the afternoon of toppling trees.
As the winds picked up – gusts were expected to be as high as 60 miles per hour – there were numerous reports of trees falling across roads and into power lines. There was even a flipped-over carport in Clearlake Oaks.
Firefighters, police and road crews would be dispatched from one call to another, with Central Dispatch inundated by 911 calls throughout the night.
In the early evening, power was cut off to about 5,000 thousand residents, with Pacific Gas and Electric reporting that the outages were largely weather-related.
Power would be restored and knocked out intermittently through the night, with about 10,000 county residents – primarily in the Clearlake and Nice areas – reported to be without power around midnight, according to PG&E. Most of those residents had power restored in the early morning hours.
The winds seemed only to become more fierce, with the night punctuated by the sounds of exploding transformers and arcing lines in various parts of the county, including at a power substation near Lower Lake, according to reports from witnesses and first responders.
Nice and Clearlake both were especially hard hit. A Plumas Street home in Nice had its roof ripped off, and there were countless reports of fallen trees and downed lines in both communities, and several instances of homes damaged by falling trees.
At around 10 p.m. a tree fell on three parked cars at the Drift Inn RV Resort on Lakeshore in Nice, according to a witness.
Near Paradise Cove outside of Lucerne, a wildland fire was reported on the north side of Highway 20 shortly before 9:30 p.m.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli said it reached about 15 acres and was about 50 percent contained when Cal Fire units turned the incident over to Northshore Fire in order to respond to other incidents.
Another wildland fire was reported just before 1 a.m. at Witter Springs, with Lakeport and Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters containing it to about three acres in around 45 minutes, according to reports from the scene.
At the same time, Lake County Fire Protection District personnel were dispatched to a structure fire in the area of Cache Creek Way and Old Highway 53, with entrance to the fire made difficult and dangerous by downed power lines.
Just after 2 a.m., Cal Fire was dispatched to a report of a fire in The Geysers geothermal steamfield, with units responding from Lake and Sonoma counties.
During the night and early morning, several large trees also were reported to have fallen across Highway 20 in Nice and Lucerne, causing temporary highway closures.
Just before 4:30 a.m., lines were reported to be down at Lucerne Elementary School.
The National Weather Service's high wind warning remains in effect until noon on Friday.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
COBB, Calif. – Firefighters early Friday were working to contain a wildland fire at The Geysers geothermal steamfield.
The fire was first reported at around 2 a.m. Friday in the midst of a severe windstorm.
It is located in steep terrain near power plants five and six, according to reports from the scene.
Firefighters at the scene reported south winds in excess of 30 miles per hour that were pushing the fire to the north.
Damage from the windstorm also made it difficult for firefighters to access the scene, with a fallen tree blocking one of the access roads from the Lake County side and power lines reported to be down, according to radio reports.
One firefighter reported seeing two large flashes as he was arriving, which he believed to be arcing power lines.
Incident command asked for three strike teams and eight water tenders, as well as dozers. Both Lake and Sonoma County resources responded.
It was unclear whether aircraft would be able to be used on the fire due to wind conditions, according to radio reports.
Shortly after 3:30 a.m., reports from the scene indicated the fire was 25 acres, with containment at 10 percent.
Additional information will be posted as it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it recently awarded the State of California $174 million in federal funding to invest in water infrastructure projects.
The California Department of Public Health received a $79 million grant for its Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and the California State Water Resources Control Board received a $95 million grant for its Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
The funding will be used for projects to control water pollution and provide low-cost loans for both drinking water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades statewide.
“In the last 26 years, EPA has provided more than $4 billion in funding for California water projects alone” said Jared Blumenfeld, regional administrator of EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “Without this investment at the federal level, many communities would not be able to satisfy Californians’ basic needs for clean and safe drinking water.”
Projects previously supported by the State Revolving Fund include a $34 million loan to Los Angeles County for the construction of a new pumping plant and renovating aging water mains and an $11 million loan to the city of Lathrop to construct an arsenic treatment facility, improve wells and lay down new water mains for over 16,000 residents.
The funds are used for a wide variety of water quality projects, including nonpoint source pollution control, watershed protection or restoration, water and energy efficiency projects, wastewater reclamation, drinking water infrastructure improvements, technical assistance, and traditional municipal wastewater treatment projects.
The EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region administers and enforces federal environmental laws in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands and 148 tribal nations – home to more than 48 million people. The EPA also is a significant source of funding.
In 2013, more than 85 percent of the $631 million regional operating budget flowed to state and tribal agencies, local governments, nonprofit organizations and private-sector companies in the form of grants and contracts.
This funding pays for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, air pollution reduction programs, Superfund site cleanups and many other activities that protect human health and natural resources.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – After almost 30 years with North Coast Opportunities, Patty Bruder began her new role as executive director on Monday, Nov. 18.
Bruder has served as NCO’s Community Action Agency director for the past 15 years, and according to NCO Board President Lisa Ray, Bruder’s loyalty, competence and vision combined to make her the best choice to fill the executive director position.
NCO is blending the Community Action Agency director and executive director positions to improve efficiency and free up funds for new projects, since significant overlap existed between the two positions.
“As a community action agency for Lake and Mendocino counties, NCO serves as a community focal point for fighting poverty by promoting self-sufficiency. It makes good programmatic and fiscal sense for NCO to combine the positions and restructure NCO to integrate our programs so we’re more of a one-stop-shop for the low-income people we serve,” Bruder said.
Bruder’s appointment is also supported by her colleagues, who know firsthand the type of leader she is.
“We are thrilled to have Patty as our new executive director. She knows how to get things done and already has wonderful relationships established with local partners and community leaders throughout Lake and Mendocino counties,” said Chief Financial Officer Carolyn Welch, who has served as interim executive director for the past few months.
Bruder has been active in the local food movement, supporting programs like the Gardens Project, Farm2Fork, BEANS and more.
“It all started about 12 years ago as we were reviewing our community needs survey,” Bruder said. “Community members reported concerns about health, obesity and diabetes; health care costs; access to healthy foods; economic concerns and lack of jobs; food security; lack of cooking skills; and disaster preparedness. These are all big issues, and we wondered what we could do that would have an impact. People were struggling to make ends meet, often the cheapest foods are the unhealthiest, and we wanted to reduce the costs of health care.”
She added, “As our committee talked, we began to develop strategies. ‘Could we reduce health care costs through prevention?’ we wondered. Some poor health is lifestyle-related, and by encouraging people to stay as healthy as possible, we hoped to prevent some illness.”
Bruder and the rest of the committee decided to promote programs that create access to affordable, healthy food.
“Our farmers produce amazing quality vegetables locally; but they are small farmers, and without the benefit of any farm subsidies they need to charge the true cost of production,” she said.
Many families simply can’t afford fresh fruits and vegetables, and some families no longer know how to cook from scratch.
Bruder knew community gardens could provide access to healthy food. At the same time, gardens provide opportunities for exercise and bring people together in ways that strengthen community (both healthy endeavors).
By supporting small farmers and helping to “grow” more farmers, Bruder believed they could also have an impact on job creation.
Today, along with their partners, North Coast Opportunities Community Action brings community resources together to encourage health and hope, according to Bruder.
“We’ve created a structure that develops both individual and community-level food self-reliance while addressing the needs of high-risk, low-income people through education about nutrition, cooking skills, income-patching with value-added foods, and micro-enterprise opportunities,” she said.
NCO’s work with the food movement is significant, but only the tip of the NCO iceberg. NCO’s programs include all the Community Action Agency projects, Head Start Child Development Program, Leadership Mendocino, Rural Communities Child Care, Redwood Caregivers Resource Center, Foster Grandparents, and the Volunteer Network.
To learn more about NCO and its many programs, visit www.ncoinc.org .