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LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A travel trailer was burned in a Saturday afternoon fire near Lower Lake.
The fire was first dispatched just after 3:15 p.m. at 17050 Morgan Valley Road, according to radio reports.
Smoke and flames were reported by witnesses, and firefighters were informed early on that the blaze was threatening multiple structures.
Lake County Fire responded, initially asking for mutual aid from Kelseyville Fire and Cal Fire, reports from the scene indicated.
The battalion chief arriving on the scene reported a fully involved travel trailer.
While the fire initially was threatening other buildings, the battalion chief canceled the mutual aid requests as he said firefighters could contain the fire before it damaged any other structures.
The fire was reported contained just after 3:30 p.m. No immediate cause was given.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two teenagers who went missing from their homes last weekend have been located in Oregon and are set to be returned home.
The Clearlake Police Department said Saturday afternoon that Sara Beck of Clearlake and Lacy Elwood of Clearlake Oaks, both 15, were located in Eugene, Ore.
The girls were reported missing by their families on Nov. 17, according to Sgt. Nick Bennett of the Clearlake Police Department.
Bennett’s Saturday afternoon report said one of the teens called her parents to let them know they were all right but did not reveal any information as to their whereabouts.
The parent called Clearlake Police Det. Ryan Peterson, who Bennett said traced the number to the owner of the phone used by the juvenile.
After a brief conversation, that person gave Det. Peterson information as to the possible location of the juveniles, Bennett said.
Clearlake Police contacted the Eugene Police Department, with police there able to locate the missing juveniles and take them into protective custody until they are released to their parents, according to Bennett.
The Clearlake Police Department thanked all those who assisted in the investigation of these missing juveniles, including Eugene Police Department, concerned citizens and the press.
“Children are our future and we need to protect them, even when they stumble,” Bennett said in his report.
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE SECOND CRASH.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two vehicle wrecks that resulted in serious injuries occurred at Indian Valley Reservoir over the course of several hours Friday evening and early Saturday morning.
The first crash involved a vehicle versus a quad motorcycle shortly after 4:30 p.m. Friday and an overturned vehicle just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
In the Friday evening incident, a male subject suffered major injuries, including a broken leg, when his Honda quad was hit by a Chevy Tahoe, according to the California Highway Patrol and radio reports.
Northshore Fire and REACH 6 air ambulance responded, reports from the scene indicated.
Just before 6 p.m. REACH 6 lifted off with the patient, reporting that the helicopter was en route to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
The Saturday morning crash involved a single vehicle overturning on the reservoir’s north side, according to reports from the scene.
A 38-year-old was reporting that he had no feeling in his legs, with officials reporting concerns that he had broken his neck.
REACH 6 and Northshore Fire were once again dispatched to the area.
The air ambulance arrived at 1:20 a.m. and lifted off at 1:45 a.m. en route to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, according to radio reports.
Later on Saturday the CHP reported that the man had broken vertebrae and also had head trauma.
Additional information on the crashes was not immediately available.
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COBB, Calif. – A 3.1-magnitude earthquake was reported near The Geysers geothermal steamfield early Saturday morning.
The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 12:10 a.m. one mile northeast of The Geysers, four miles west southwest of Cobb and six miles west northwest of Anderson Springs at a depth of 2.2 miles.
The USGS report is preliminary, and the size of the quake may later be updated.
As of 12:30 a.m., only one shake report had been submitted to the survey from Calistoga.
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When parents no longer adequately provide for the well being of their children, it is grandparents who are often the ones to take charge as guardians of their underage grandchildren. Without their caring intervention, their grandchildren might otherwise be placed with a foster family.
Let us examine how such guardianships can lead to adoptions.
Under California law, grandparents have certain rights in their relationship with their grandchildren. This includes the right to seek partial or full custody when the health, safety and welfare of the child are at stake.
A probate guardian has the following custodial responsibilities for the minor: where the minor lives; ensuring that the minor is properly fed, clothed and sheltered; supervising the minor’s conduct; enrolling the minor in school; and ensuring the minor has proper medical care.
Typically, the grandchild lives with his or her grandparents and is essentially raised by them. The guardianship terminates once the minor reaches 18 years of age, is emancipated, or sooner if the court finds that the guardianship is no longer needed and returns the child to his/her parents.
During the guardianship, it is up to the biological parents, if they intend to regain their parental custody, both to visit the minor and to rehabilitate themselves so that they are able to provide a safe and stable living environment for the child. Unfortunately, that does not always happen.
After two years of guardianship, the guardian may petition the court for adoption of the minor. Adoption of the minor completely severs the parents’ rights to regain custody or to involve themselves in the life of their child.
Recently, in the Adoption of Myah M case, the First Appellate District Court of Appeal held that the probate court was not required to refer guardianship proceedings to the county’s child welfare agency, which would then have investigated the parents’ fitness, because the parents – who were drug users and had anger management issues – had consented to the guardianship as the best option.
The parents had argued that failure to conduct such an investigation prior to the adoption violated their due process rights.
While both the California and United States’ constitutions protect parental rights, the court found that requiring referral to the county’s child welfare agency for investigation would be bad policy.
It was not necessary because the parents had voluntarily agreed to the guardianship; this occurred in the context of family mediation.
In essence, after the second year of the guardianship the parents had forfeited their parental rights by not getting their lives in order.
The Myah M case shows how parental rights can be relinquished in the course of a guardianship.
Grandparents may choose to adopt their grandchildren in order to sever relations with the abusive parents.
In Myah M, the parental grandparents could no longer endure the verbal, and sometimes physical, abuse associated with the parental visitations. They wanted the freedom to relocate outside California.
Had the parents gotten their lives in order – ended their drug abuse and controlled their anger – and been able to provide a safe and stable home, then the outcome might have been different.
That did not happen, and the court found that the adoption by grandparents was in the best interests of the child.
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 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters on Friday were mopping up a fire of undetermined origin that broke out Thursday morning in the State Water Project’s Ronald B. Robie Thermalito Pumping-Generating plant near Oroville.
There were no injuries in the fire, which will not affect water deliveries.
Fire at the plant, four miles west of Oroville in Butte County, was detected about 7 a.m. Thanksgiving day, and was responded to by Cal Fire and local agency firefighters, who brought the flames under control late this morning.
Firefighters on Thursday were forced out of the burning building by life-threatening dangers from collapsing equipment, zero visibility and other conditions, the Department of Water Resources said. There were no personnel in the plant when the fire started.
On Friday firefighters reported fire and smoke damage to the third and fourth floors of the five-story building, and smoke damage to the top floor. There was no damage to the bottom two floors of the structure. All but the top floor of the building are underground.
Monetary and equipment damage from the fire are not yet known, the Department of Water Resources said. After structural engineers declare the building clear of hazards, Department of Water Resources crews will determine the extent of damage. The plant will resume operation as soon as possible.
The plant is operated in tandem with Hyatt Powerplant beneath Oroville Dam and the nearby Thermalito Diversion Dam power plant to produce electrical power to pump State Water Project (State Water Project) water.
The State Water Project delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated farmland.
The damaged plant normally produces about 5 percent of the State Water Project’s electrical output. If necessary, the Department of Water Resources, which owns and operates the State Water Project, will purchase additional power to compensate for generating loss.
Water released from Lake Oroville behind Oroville Dam can be diverted around the damaged pumping-generating plant, minimizing any impact to water deliveries.
In normal operations, water released from Lake Oroville in excess of what is needed to generate power at the pumping-generating plant is pumped back into storage in the lake to be used again for hydropower generation.
In addition to Cal Fire, the fire at the plant was responded to by crews from the cities of Oroville and Chico, and Butte County.
The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the State Water Project, provides dam safety and flood control and inspection services, assists local water districts in water management and water conservation planning, and plans for future statewide water needs.