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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office will conduct a driving under the influence and driver license safety checkpoint on Friday, Aug. 2, somewhere within the unincorporated area of Lake County.
The goal of the CHP is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of intoxicated or unlicensed drivers.
A sobriety/driver license checkpoint is a proven effective tool for achieving this goal and is designed to augment existing patrol operations.
Vehicles will be checked for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs or driving unlicensed.
The objective is to send a clear message to those individuals that consider driving and mixing alcohol or drugs, or driving when unlicensed, that you will be caught and your vehicle will be towed away.
Funding for this program was provided from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The goal of the CHP is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of intoxicated or unlicensed drivers.
A sobriety/driver license checkpoint is a proven effective tool for achieving this goal and is designed to augment existing patrol operations.
Vehicles will be checked for drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs or driving unlicensed.
The objective is to send a clear message to those individuals that consider driving and mixing alcohol or drugs, or driving when unlicensed, that you will be caught and your vehicle will be towed away.
Funding for this program was provided from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The effort to build a major new resort near Middletown is taking another step forward with the issuance of a new draft environmental document that comes two and a half years after a judge ruled that the county approved it without adequately considering wildfire evacuation impacts.
Last week, the county of Lake released the notice of availability for the new draft partially revised environmental impact report, or DPREIR, for the Guenoc Valley Mixed-Use Development Project, which also is known as Maha Guenoc Valley.
The document includes the project’s improvements to address wildfire, prevention safety and emergency response measures as well as additional measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect local water supplies, which have been concerns since the project got off the ground about eight years ago.
“The release of the DPREIR is an important milestone for the Guenoc Valley Project, which has undergone extensive environmental review by state and local officials. Proposed modifications to the project outlined in the DPREIR include enhancements to emergency evacuation and response and wildfire prevention, and additional measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect local water supplies. These revisions build on our mission of protecting the community and environment and will make this master planned community the benchmark for wildfire and climate resiliency in California,” said the Guenoc Valley Project team in a statement released to Lake County News.
The Board of Supervisors approved the first phase of the project in July 2020.
At that point, the plan included 385 residential villas in five subdivisions; five boutique hotels with 127 hotel units and 141 resort residential cottages; 20 campsites; up to 100 workforce housing cohousing units; an outdoor entertainment area, spa and wellness amenities, sports fields, equestrian areas, a new golf course and practice facility, camping area and commercial and retail facilities; agricultural production and support facilities; essential accessory facilities, including back of house facilities; 50 temporary workforce hotel units; emergency response and fire center; a float plane dock; and helipads.
Two months after that approval, the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society, with the California Attorney General’s Office intervening in support of them, sued the county over the project.
Judge J. David Markham presided over the trial in the case in the fall of 2021, and in January of 2022 handed down a ruling that found that the county had based its conclusions about the impact on community fire evacuation routes being less than significant on the opinions of traffic engineers, law enforcement and fire personnel.
Markham found that those opinions “were not based on any identifiable facts,” and therefore were not legally insufficient to be considered as “substantial evidence” under the California Environmental Quality Act.
He ruled the county’s environmental impact report, or EIR, was insufficient due to its conclusions on wildfire evacuation routes matter and ordered the county to set its final EIR certification aside, along with findings regarding the emergency evacuation plan and the project’s approval.
As a result, the document had to be revamped.
A reworked plan
Asked about the specific changes to the plan, the Guenoc Valley Project team told Lake County News that the new DPREIR’s amendments would allow for the development of up to 400 hotel rooms, 450 resort residential units, 1,400 residential estates, and 500 workforce co-housing units within the zoning district.
That’s not much different in size from the original plan that the county approved. However, the Markham ruling addressed evacuation routes, not density.
The team said the project modifications revise the original project analyzed in the 2020 EIR such that 25 building sites within the equestrian center area and 39 building sites within the northeastern portion of the project site would be relocated further from the wildland/urban interface, and various connector roads and road buffers would be added.
The project modifications include voluntary measures and some contained within a January 2023 settlement agreement with the state of California, and which are intended to further reduce the wildfire risks and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the proposed project, the team reported.
The team listed the following project modifications of note:
• A new proposed emergency route called the Grange Road Connector will connect the Guenoc Valley Site with the county-maintained Grange Road to the north. The Grange Road Connector will be approximately 3.9 miles, with 2.2 miles occurring on the Guenoc Valley Site and 1.7 miles sited on the off-site property to the north.
• Relocating 25 residential building sites that the 2020 Project would have located on a hilltop near the proposed equestrian center and 39 residential building sites that the 2020 project would have located within the northeastern portion of the project site such that they would be located further from the wildland/urban interface.
• Reconfiguring the roadway plan so that there are no dead-end, non-looped road segments that exceed 1-mile in length;
• Improving an area of approximately 10 feet on each side of roadways with hardscape, to the extent topography permits;
• Removal of the camping area in the northern portion of the property;
• Funding and staffing commitments for the onsite Emergency Response Center; and
• Various renewable energy commitments and greenhouse gas reduction measures that will not change the development footprint.
“We remain focused on working with county officials, community members and fire safety experts so that this first-of-its kind project can continue to move forward and bring increased fire safety and economic opportunity to the region,” the Guenoc Valley Project team said in its statement.
More information about proposed modifications included in the DPREIR can be found at guenocvalley.com/dpreir-summary/.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Last week, the county of Lake released the notice of availability for the new draft partially revised environmental impact report, or DPREIR, for the Guenoc Valley Mixed-Use Development Project, which also is known as Maha Guenoc Valley.
The document includes the project’s improvements to address wildfire, prevention safety and emergency response measures as well as additional measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect local water supplies, which have been concerns since the project got off the ground about eight years ago.
“The release of the DPREIR is an important milestone for the Guenoc Valley Project, which has undergone extensive environmental review by state and local officials. Proposed modifications to the project outlined in the DPREIR include enhancements to emergency evacuation and response and wildfire prevention, and additional measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect local water supplies. These revisions build on our mission of protecting the community and environment and will make this master planned community the benchmark for wildfire and climate resiliency in California,” said the Guenoc Valley Project team in a statement released to Lake County News.
The Board of Supervisors approved the first phase of the project in July 2020.
At that point, the plan included 385 residential villas in five subdivisions; five boutique hotels with 127 hotel units and 141 resort residential cottages; 20 campsites; up to 100 workforce housing cohousing units; an outdoor entertainment area, spa and wellness amenities, sports fields, equestrian areas, a new golf course and practice facility, camping area and commercial and retail facilities; agricultural production and support facilities; essential accessory facilities, including back of house facilities; 50 temporary workforce hotel units; emergency response and fire center; a float plane dock; and helipads.
Two months after that approval, the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society, with the California Attorney General’s Office intervening in support of them, sued the county over the project.
Judge J. David Markham presided over the trial in the case in the fall of 2021, and in January of 2022 handed down a ruling that found that the county had based its conclusions about the impact on community fire evacuation routes being less than significant on the opinions of traffic engineers, law enforcement and fire personnel.
Markham found that those opinions “were not based on any identifiable facts,” and therefore were not legally insufficient to be considered as “substantial evidence” under the California Environmental Quality Act.
He ruled the county’s environmental impact report, or EIR, was insufficient due to its conclusions on wildfire evacuation routes matter and ordered the county to set its final EIR certification aside, along with findings regarding the emergency evacuation plan and the project’s approval.
As a result, the document had to be revamped.
A reworked plan
Asked about the specific changes to the plan, the Guenoc Valley Project team told Lake County News that the new DPREIR’s amendments would allow for the development of up to 400 hotel rooms, 450 resort residential units, 1,400 residential estates, and 500 workforce co-housing units within the zoning district.
That’s not much different in size from the original plan that the county approved. However, the Markham ruling addressed evacuation routes, not density.
The team said the project modifications revise the original project analyzed in the 2020 EIR such that 25 building sites within the equestrian center area and 39 building sites within the northeastern portion of the project site would be relocated further from the wildland/urban interface, and various connector roads and road buffers would be added.
The project modifications include voluntary measures and some contained within a January 2023 settlement agreement with the state of California, and which are intended to further reduce the wildfire risks and greenhouse gas emissions associated with the proposed project, the team reported.
The team listed the following project modifications of note:
• A new proposed emergency route called the Grange Road Connector will connect the Guenoc Valley Site with the county-maintained Grange Road to the north. The Grange Road Connector will be approximately 3.9 miles, with 2.2 miles occurring on the Guenoc Valley Site and 1.7 miles sited on the off-site property to the north.
• Relocating 25 residential building sites that the 2020 Project would have located on a hilltop near the proposed equestrian center and 39 residential building sites that the 2020 project would have located within the northeastern portion of the project site such that they would be located further from the wildland/urban interface.
• Reconfiguring the roadway plan so that there are no dead-end, non-looped road segments that exceed 1-mile in length;
• Improving an area of approximately 10 feet on each side of roadways with hardscape, to the extent topography permits;
• Removal of the camping area in the northern portion of the property;
• Funding and staffing commitments for the onsite Emergency Response Center; and
• Various renewable energy commitments and greenhouse gas reduction measures that will not change the development footprint.
“We remain focused on working with county officials, community members and fire safety experts so that this first-of-its kind project can continue to move forward and bring increased fire safety and economic opportunity to the region,” the Guenoc Valley Project team said in its statement.
More information about proposed modifications included in the DPREIR can be found at guenocvalley.com/dpreir-summary/.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
UPDATE: Police say he has been located.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The Clearlake Police Department is asking for the community’s help in finding a missing teenager.
Shawn Rodriguez Stokes, 17, was last seen in the area of Sunset and Davis avenues.
He is a Hispanic male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 120 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police said he was last seen wearing a white long sleeve shirt, purple Jordan sweatpants, animal print Air Force shoes.
If you have any information regarding his whereabouts please contact the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251, Extension 1 for dispatch.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — After nine days of work, firefighters on Monday contained the Ridge fire.
The fire began on July 20 east of Clearlake Oaks in the Walker Ridge area, along the Lake and Colusa County line.
Cal Fire said it burned a total of 2,756 acres.
The fire prompted evacuations as 50 structures were threatened. Cal Fire did not report any damage to structures.
In addition to Lake County’s firefighters, Cal Fire recognized law enforcement, including the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Colusa County Sheriff's Office, for their assistance.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The fire began on July 20 east of Clearlake Oaks in the Walker Ridge area, along the Lake and Colusa County line.
Cal Fire said it burned a total of 2,756 acres.
The fire prompted evacuations as 50 structures were threatened. Cal Fire did not report any damage to structures.
In addition to Lake County’s firefighters, Cal Fire recognized law enforcement, including the Lake County Sheriff's Office and Colusa County Sheriff's Office, for their assistance.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
On Monday, amid dangerous levels of heat across much of the United States, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) led five Senators in calling on the National Weather Service to publish an official federal definition for heat domes.
Ongoing heat domes have blanketed much of the United States this summer, shattering temperature records and threatening the health and safety of millions of Americans.
California has experienced record-breaking, dangerously high temperatures this summer, as cities including Bishop, Palmdale, Lancaster and Barstow-Daggett Airport recorded at least four consecutive days with temperatures of 110 degrees or more, with Palm Springs totaling 22 straight days.
Death Valley reached at least 125 degrees for nine straight days, and Ukiah, Redding, Palmdale and Lancaster all recently experienced their warmest weeks on record.
However, despite heat domes becoming more prevalent and more severe, there is currently no official, standardized federal definition for these events.
Formalizing a federal definition for heat domes is critical to provide clarity and help unlock federal funding and coordinate disaster responses across federal agencies.
The American Meteorological Society, or AMS, defines a heat dome as “an exceptionally hot air mass that develops when high pressure aloft prevents warm air below from rising, thus trapping the warm air as if it were in a dome.”
“As the foremost government agency tasked with defining hazardous weather and natural disasters, we believe the [National Weather Service] has a responsibility to define heat domes,” wrote the senators. “… We believe such a definition will be essential in improving interagency responses to extreme heat and will help save lives.”
Heat-related deaths have increased throughout the United States in recent years, with approximately 2,302 deaths in 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
In California, extreme heat exposure caused about 3,900 deaths from 2010 to 2019, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
In addition to Senator Padilla, the letter is signed by Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
The full text of the letter is available below.
Dear Director Graham,
We write to request that the National Weather Service (NWS) publish a federal definition for the increasingly frequent weather phenomena known as “heat domes.” Despite heat domes becoming more prevalent and more severe, there is currently no official, standardized federal definition for these events.
Over the past two months, we saw deadly heat domes blanket much of the country, leading to record high temperatures for tens of millions of Americans. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued extreme heat advisories for much of the Southwest, where temperatures reached 113 degrees in Phoenix and 122 degrees in Death Valley. The heat domes then shifted eastward, setting record high temperatures from Texas to Georgia to New England.
During the heat dome in late June, the NWS also recorded two record highs in Maryland just days apart – June 24th in Beltsville and June 26th in Baltimore. Several news outlets have reported that the region’s “second-hottest summer” has led to a surge in heat-related hospitalizations and deaths and may even trigger a drought in Virginia. Coastal states and their major cities, which are often heat islands, experience the compounding impact of heat domes during heat waves due to their proximity to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
We commend the NWS for declaring excessive heat advisories and helping state and local governments stay aware of the threats that these heat domes pose. Tragically, heat-related deaths have been increasing in the U.S., with approximately 2,302 deaths in 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The grave human threat from heat domes requires a precise definition that can be universally applied across federal agencies.
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) defines a heat dome as “an exceptionally hot air mass that develops when high pressure aloft prevents warm air below from rising, thus trapping the warm air as if it were in a dome. The subsidence associated with the high pressure also causes further warming by compression. Heat domes are often associated with calm upper-level flow directly overhead and/or with blocking patterns.” News outlets have also provided similar definitions for the public to understand this natural weather phenomenon, but an official federal definition is needed for clarity and for coordinating responses.
As the foremost government agency tasked with defining hazardous weather and natural disasters, we believe the NWS has a responsibility to define heat domes. We strongly urge the NWS to utilize existing scientific definitions, including the definition published by the AMS, to publish a federal definition of heat domes to the NWS Glossary and any other publicly available information database. We believe such a definition will be essential in improving interagency responses to extreme heat and will help save lives.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Ongoing heat domes have blanketed much of the United States this summer, shattering temperature records and threatening the health and safety of millions of Americans.
California has experienced record-breaking, dangerously high temperatures this summer, as cities including Bishop, Palmdale, Lancaster and Barstow-Daggett Airport recorded at least four consecutive days with temperatures of 110 degrees or more, with Palm Springs totaling 22 straight days.
Death Valley reached at least 125 degrees for nine straight days, and Ukiah, Redding, Palmdale and Lancaster all recently experienced their warmest weeks on record.
However, despite heat domes becoming more prevalent and more severe, there is currently no official, standardized federal definition for these events.
Formalizing a federal definition for heat domes is critical to provide clarity and help unlock federal funding and coordinate disaster responses across federal agencies.
The American Meteorological Society, or AMS, defines a heat dome as “an exceptionally hot air mass that develops when high pressure aloft prevents warm air below from rising, thus trapping the warm air as if it were in a dome.”
“As the foremost government agency tasked with defining hazardous weather and natural disasters, we believe the [National Weather Service] has a responsibility to define heat domes,” wrote the senators. “… We believe such a definition will be essential in improving interagency responses to extreme heat and will help save lives.”
Heat-related deaths have increased throughout the United States in recent years, with approximately 2,302 deaths in 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
In California, extreme heat exposure caused about 3,900 deaths from 2010 to 2019, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation.
In addition to Senator Padilla, the letter is signed by Senators Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).
The full text of the letter is available below.
Dear Director Graham,
We write to request that the National Weather Service (NWS) publish a federal definition for the increasingly frequent weather phenomena known as “heat domes.” Despite heat domes becoming more prevalent and more severe, there is currently no official, standardized federal definition for these events.
Over the past two months, we saw deadly heat domes blanket much of the country, leading to record high temperatures for tens of millions of Americans. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued extreme heat advisories for much of the Southwest, where temperatures reached 113 degrees in Phoenix and 122 degrees in Death Valley. The heat domes then shifted eastward, setting record high temperatures from Texas to Georgia to New England.
During the heat dome in late June, the NWS also recorded two record highs in Maryland just days apart – June 24th in Beltsville and June 26th in Baltimore. Several news outlets have reported that the region’s “second-hottest summer” has led to a surge in heat-related hospitalizations and deaths and may even trigger a drought in Virginia. Coastal states and their major cities, which are often heat islands, experience the compounding impact of heat domes during heat waves due to their proximity to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
We commend the NWS for declaring excessive heat advisories and helping state and local governments stay aware of the threats that these heat domes pose. Tragically, heat-related deaths have been increasing in the U.S., with approximately 2,302 deaths in 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The grave human threat from heat domes requires a precise definition that can be universally applied across federal agencies.
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) defines a heat dome as “an exceptionally hot air mass that develops when high pressure aloft prevents warm air below from rising, thus trapping the warm air as if it were in a dome. The subsidence associated with the high pressure also causes further warming by compression. Heat domes are often associated with calm upper-level flow directly overhead and/or with blocking patterns.” News outlets have also provided similar definitions for the public to understand this natural weather phenomenon, but an official federal definition is needed for clarity and for coordinating responses.
As the foremost government agency tasked with defining hazardous weather and natural disasters, we believe the NWS has a responsibility to define heat domes. We strongly urge the NWS to utilize existing scientific definitions, including the definition published by the AMS, to publish a federal definition of heat domes to the NWS Glossary and any other publicly available information database. We believe such a definition will be essential in improving interagency responses to extreme heat and will help save lives.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The temperatures that impacted Lake County as part of an early July heat wave didn’t just seem extremely hot — they actually broke records.
In response to questions from Lake County News about the early July heat wave, the National Weather Service’s Eureka office offered an analysis of 30 years of data from long term weather stations in Lake County, most of them used for fire weather.
James White of the National Weather Service reviewed data from a RAWS weather station on the slopes of Mt. Konocti that has been in place since 1995.
Of that station's top 10 high temperatures ever recorded, four occurred in the first two weeks of July, White said.
Those four top temperatures were as follows:
• No. 1: July 6, 112 degrees.
• No. 2: July 7, 110 degrees (tied for second with Sept. 6, 2022, and July 10, 2002).
• No. 5: July 5, 109 degrees (tied for fifth with June 25, 2006, and July 11, 2002).
• No. 8: July 13, 108 degrees (tied for eighth with Sept. 5, 2022; Sept. 2, 1998; and Aug. 4, 1998).
“That information is impressive in its own right. Looking at the same station, it is clear this heat wave was exceptionally long lived,” White said. “For example at the same station, this past heatwave had by far the hottest 10 day average of any heatwave.”
White said that the period of July 3 to July 13, 2024, had an average daily high of 107, which “blows the next highest record out of the water.”
That next highest heat period was the 10 days from July 15 to July 25, 2006, which had an average daily high of 103, White said.
“The longevity of the heat wave is also obvious in the number of days over 100,” White said.
He pointed out that there were 12 days in a row with highs over 100 degrees at the Konocti RAWS weather station between July 1 and July 13.
White said that also tops the previous record of eight days over 100 degrees, which occurred between Aug. 8 and Aug. 16, 2002.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
In response to questions from Lake County News about the early July heat wave, the National Weather Service’s Eureka office offered an analysis of 30 years of data from long term weather stations in Lake County, most of them used for fire weather.
James White of the National Weather Service reviewed data from a RAWS weather station on the slopes of Mt. Konocti that has been in place since 1995.
Of that station's top 10 high temperatures ever recorded, four occurred in the first two weeks of July, White said.
Those four top temperatures were as follows:
• No. 1: July 6, 112 degrees.
• No. 2: July 7, 110 degrees (tied for second with Sept. 6, 2022, and July 10, 2002).
• No. 5: July 5, 109 degrees (tied for fifth with June 25, 2006, and July 11, 2002).
• No. 8: July 13, 108 degrees (tied for eighth with Sept. 5, 2022; Sept. 2, 1998; and Aug. 4, 1998).
“That information is impressive in its own right. Looking at the same station, it is clear this heat wave was exceptionally long lived,” White said. “For example at the same station, this past heatwave had by far the hottest 10 day average of any heatwave.”
White said that the period of July 3 to July 13, 2024, had an average daily high of 107, which “blows the next highest record out of the water.”
That next highest heat period was the 10 days from July 15 to July 25, 2006, which had an average daily high of 103, White said.
“The longevity of the heat wave is also obvious in the number of days over 100,” White said.
He pointed out that there were 12 days in a row with highs over 100 degrees at the Konocti RAWS weather station between July 1 and July 13.
White said that also tops the previous record of eight days over 100 degrees, which occurred between Aug. 8 and Aug. 16, 2002.
Email Elizabeth Larson at