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CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Firefighters from around the county responded to a Thursday afternoon fire in the Spring Valley community east of Clearlake Oaks.
The fire, in the area of New Long Valley Road and Pomo Trail, was first reported at 12:49 p.m. Thursday, according to radio reports.
The original calls indicated a small spot fire, which had grown to half an acre by the time firefighters arrived at the scene.
Northshore Fire and Cal Fire responded, with additional engines and water tenders requested from agencies around the county, reports from the scene indicated.
No structures were damaged, said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli.
The incident was first reported at about the same time as three vehicle collisions took place around the county on Thursday afternoon, with additional fire units responding as soon as they were released from duties at the crash scenes.
The fire was on both sides of New Long Valley Road and jumped Cache Creek, with structures threatened, according to scanner reports.
Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown, who was at the scene, said a large continent of fire resources responded due to concerns the fire could quickly grow.
“It was running up into timber,” Brown said.
Northshore Fire sent three engines and a water tender, with an in-county strike team of engines coming from Lakeport, Kelseyville, Lake County Fire and South Lake County Fire.
He said Cal Fire sent three airplanes and two helicopters, with Bertelli reporting that Cal Fire also sent four hand crews, two bulldozers and five engines.
Bertelli said Cal Fire's two helicopters hit the fire spots across Cache Creek. “That was a big help with the spotting,” which has traditionally been a challenge when dealing with fires in Spring Valley, Bertelli said.
Firefighters had to draw water from Spring Valley's water system in order to fight the fire, radio reports indicated.
The fire's location led to the temporary closure of New Long Valley Road. Lake County Public Works reported its staff was on scene to help keep the road closed, but vehicles were driving around the closure.
New Long Valley Road reopened shortly before 3:45 p.m., Public Works reported.
The Cal Fire Command Center said the fire was contained at 3 p.m. It burned between two and three acres.
Bertelli said there was one minor heat-related injury for an inmate crew member, who was taken off the fire line.
Brown said the fire is under investigation, “but we do have an idea” as to the cause.
Resources were expected to remain on scene into the evening, Bertelli said.
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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – An early morning fire in the Kelseyville area burned a home and threatened other structures nearby.
The fire was reported in the 10600 block of Fairway Drive near Point Lakeview Road at 2:15 a.m. Thursday, according to radio reports.
Kelseyville Fire, Lakeport Fire and Cal Fire responded, finding the single-story, single-family home fully involved, with power lines to the home down, radio reports indicated.
Responding units also reported structures on both sides of the burning home were threatened, but the fire had not gone into nearby wildland.
Witnesses reported that the home's occupants were able to safely get out.
The home was reported contained at 3:45 a.m., with a few hours of mop up planned.
Cal Fire engines were expected to be on scene until as late as 6 a.m. Thursday.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of Lake County's members of Congress this week used Lake County as an example of success in the geothermal industry during a speech on the House floor.
Congressman John Garamendi (D-Fairfield, CA), a member of the Safe Climate Caucus, spoke on the House floor Tuesday to urge greater use of geothermal energy, highlighting its strength as an emissions-free, environmentally friendly and sustainable source of energy.
The Safe Climate Caucus is a group of Democratic members who are highlighting the need for action on climate change through daily floor speeches and other activities.
Lake County – the northern half of which is in Garamendi's district – and its geothermal production were given special mention in Garamendi's remarks.
“We have a critical natural resource opportunity in this nation, and it's beneath the soil, beneath the ground, and it happens to be the heat of the earth,” Garamendi said.
He called geothermal an extraordinary natural resource that's clean and abundant.
“And it's often overlooked,” he said, adding that it has the ability to become a key source of energy in the future.
Geothermal also is cost effective, said Garamendi, explaining that the cost to produce geothermal energy has decreased by 25 percent over the past two decades, and it can be produced domestically, in areas of California like Lake County and in Nevada.
Garamendi pointed to the creation of jobs and the estimated $117 million in public benefits that are attributed to geothermal energy in California and Nevada each year.
Lake and Sonoma counties receive more than $11 million in annual tax revenue directly from The Geysers geothermal steamfield, he said.
He pointed out that Lake County has saved millions of dollars in disposal costs by funneling eight million gallons of wastewater per day back into geothermal wells that then generate electricity.
According to information provided by Garamendi's office, The Geysers – the largest geothermal installation in the world – provides energy for over 1.1 million people throughout the northern portion of California.
See Garamendi's speech on the House floor in the video above.
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NICE, Calif. – A local bicyclist was seriously injured on Tuesday when he was involved in a bike crash in Nice.
Stephan Evans, 61, of Glenhaven was hurt in the crash, which occurred at 3:10 p.m. on Tuesday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Rob Hearn.
Hearn said Evans was riding his Kestrel bicycle when he crashed on Lakeshore Boulevard at the Nice-Lucerne Cutoff because of an issue with his front tire.
“He was going pretty fast and lost pressure in his tire,” Hearn said, adding that no vehicles were involved.
Evans suffered a possible broken pelvis, Hearn said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake woman was arrested Tuesday after she led law enforcement on a high speed chase and crashed into a tree.
Heather Fawn Kimbrough, 25, fled after a Clearlake Police officer tried to contact her passenger, David Edward Row, 30, of Clearlake, while they were in the parking lot of the Lower Lake Tower Mart, according to the Clearlake Police Department.
At 4 p.m. Tuesday Det. Travis Lenz was in the area of Tower Mart when he observed a suspicious vehicle in the gas station parking lot, spotting Row in the front passenger seat. Row was a parolee at large with an active warrant for his arrest out of the California Department of Corrections, police said.
When Lenz attempted to contact Row in the vehicle, Kimbrough, the driver, fled with Row. Police said she attempted to evade officers, traveling through Main Street in Lower Lake reaching speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour.
Kimbrough turned onto Lake Street, passing both Lower Lake High School and Lower Lake Elementary at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour, according to the police report.
Shortly after passing the schools, Kimbrough lost control of her vehicle, crashing into a tree off the roadway edge of Lake Street, police said.
The pursuing officers removed Kimbrough and Row from the disabled vehicle, which then caught fire. Lake County Fire Protection District arrived on scene and extinguished the fire shortly afterward, Clearlake Police said.
Both Kimbrough and Row were transported to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake for treatment of minor injuries as a result of the crash, police said. After being medically cleared, they were transported to the Lake County Jail.
Kimbrough was booked into the Lake County Jail on charges of evading with wanton and willful disregard for public safety in a motor vehicle and driving on a suspended license, according to jail records. Row was booked into the Lake County Jail on his parole warrant.
Bail for Kimbrough, whose booking sheet listed her occupation as certified nursing assistant, was set at $35,000. She remained in custody on Wednesday, as did Row, who was being held on a no-bail hold.
Clearlake Police reminded drivers to yield to the right when safely able to do so when emergency vehicles are approaching. This increases public safety as well as the safety of responding emergency units.
Anyone with information regarding this case can contact Det. Lenz at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251.
COBB, Calif. – A 3.3-magnitude earthquake was reported early Wednesday evening near The Geysers geothermal steamfield.
The quake occurred at 6:16 p.m., according to the US Geological Survey.
It was centered three miles west northwest of The Geysers and 14 miles southwest of Clearlake at a depth of just over a mile, according to survey records.
Shortly before 7 p.m. the US Geological Survey had received three shake reports on the quake, one from San Rafael and two from Cloverdale. Lake County News received a separate report of the quake from a Kelseyville resident.
A 3.7-magnitude quake was reported near The Geysers on Sunday, as Lake County News has reported.
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