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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Exactly one week after it broke out northwest of Lakeport, a wildland fire that had briefly resulted in evacuations and scorched thousands of acres was fully contained.
The Scotts Fire, contained on Friday, was held to 4,618 acres, according to Cal Fire.
The fire burned since last Friday, Sept. 7, on North Cow Mountain, between Scotts Creek and Scotts Valley Road.
That same day, hundreds of people in the Blue Lakes area were ordered to evacuate. They were allowed to return to their homes later that night.
On Sunday, Scotts Valley Road residents were placed under an evacuation warning, but officials ultimately did not require them to evacuate.
The fire's cause remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.
Personnel on scene Friday were scaled back to 504 people, with 30 engines, 15 fire crews, one bulldozer and eight water tenders, according to Cal Fire.
With news of the fire's containment came a report from the county of Lake that it would reopen Mount Konocti County Park, closed last Saturday due to concerns about fire danger. The park will reopen on Monday.
The county also said it will lift the suspension on hunting permits for the Highland Springs area, which it put into effect at the same time as the park closure.
The Bureau of Land Management had closed the Cow Mountain Recreation Area in response to the fire. The South Cow Mountain area is expected to be reopened next week, while the North Cow Mountain area is to remain closed for an unspecified amount of time.
Cal Fire said smoke may continue to be visible within the fire perimeter as mop up and repair efforts continue. Local fire crews will continue to patrol and monitor the fire area.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County officials announced effective on Monday, Sept. 17, Mount Konocti County Park will reopen to the public for hiking and the temporary suspension of hunting permits for the Highland Springs area will be lifted.
As of Friday evening, Cal Fire reported 100 percent containment of the Scotts Fire, which began the afternoon of Friday, Sept. 7, at the northern end of Cow Mountain, west of Scotts Valley Road and east of Ukiah.
On Saturday, Sept. 8, during the early stages of the Scotts Fire when fire resources were committed in Lake and surrounding counties, Lake County officials took precautionary measures by issuing a temporary closure of Mount Konocti County Park and temporarily suspending hunting permits previously issued for the Highland Springs area.
The Bureau of Land Management also plans to reopen access to South Cow Mountain effective on Monday, Sept. 17; access to North Cow Mountain will remain closed.
For specific information regarding the Cow Mountain Recreation Area, contact the BLM at 707-468-4000.
News flash: The Milky Way galaxy just got a little weirder.
Back in 2011 astronomers were amazed when NASA's Kepler spacecraft discovered a planet orbiting a double star system. Such a world, they realized, would have double sunsets and sunrises just like the fictional planet Tatooine in the movie Star Wars. Yet this planet was real.
Now Kepler has discovered a whole system of planets orbiting a double star.
The star system, known as Kepler-47, is located 4,900 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cygnus.
Two stars orbit one another at the center of the system: One is similar to the sun in size, but only 84 percent as bright.
The second star is smaller, only one-third the size of the sun and less than 1 percent as bright. Kepler found two planets orbiting this mismatched pair.
“The presence of a full-fledged planetary system orbiting Kepler-47 is an amazing discovery,” said Greg Laughlin, professor of Astrophysics and Planetary Science at the University of California in Santa Cruz. “This is going to change the way we think about the formation of planets.”
The inner planet, Kepler-47b, closely circles the pair of stars, completing each orbit in less than 50 days. Astronomers think it is a sweltering world, where the destruction of methane in its super-heated atmosphere might lead to a thick global haze. Kepler-47b is about three times the size of Earth.
The outer planet, Kepler-47c, orbits every 303 days. This puts it in the system's habitable zone, a band of orbits that are “just right” for liquid water to exist on the surface of a planet. But does this planet even have a surface? Possibly not. The astronomers think it is a gas giant slightly larger than Neptune.
The discovery of planets orbiting double stars means that planetary systems are even weirder and more abundant than previously thought.
“Many stars are part of multiple-star systems where two or more stars orbit one another. The question always has been – do they have planets and planetary systems?” said William Borucki, Kepler mission principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center. “This Kepler discovery proves that they do.”
Our own sun is a single, isolated star, with a relatively simple gravitational field that rules the motions of the planets orbiting it.
But, as Borucki points out, not all stars are single.
Astronomers estimate that more than half of the stars in the galaxy have companions. There are double, triple and even quadruple star systems.
Any planets in such systems would have to navigate a complex gravitational field, tugged in multiple directions by multiple stars. In fact, for many years, astronomers doubted that planets could even form in such an environment.
Kepler-47 erases those doubts – and poses a conundrum: “These planets are very difficult to form using the currently accepted paradigm,” said Laughlin. “I believe that theorists, myself included, will be going back to the drawing board to try to improve our understanding of how planets are assembled in the dusty gaseous disks that surround many young stars.”
The Kepler spacecraft is on a mission to find Earth-like planets that might support life.
Said Borucki: “In our search for habitable worlds, we have just found more opportunities for life to exist.”
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Professional truck drivers are among the best trained and safest drivers on the road. Many of these commercial drivers make personal sacrifices to deliver freight safely and on time.
The California Highway Patrol joins the trucking industry in saluting these drivers for their hard work and commitment during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Sept. 16-22.
“There are millions of commercial drivers who safely travel on California’s highways each day,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Sometimes it is difficult to appreciate what the trucking industry does for us. One way for fellow motorists to show appreciation is to remember that trucks accelerate and stop at a slower rate than passenger vehicles, and the truck driver’s ability to see other vehicles is limited.”
According to CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS), commercial vehicles are involved in approximately five percent of the collisions that occur in California every year.
The same SWITRS data also shows a 30 percent decrease in the number of truck-involved collisions from 2006-2010. Additionally, there has been a 33 percent decrease in truck-at-fault collisions during that same time period.
The CHP manages safety oversight of approximately 7.4 million commercial vehicles, which travel approximately 30 million miles on 105,000 miles of roadway in California each year.
The CHP works with industry advocates and commercial vehicle operators to ensure the safe operations of commercial vehicles on California’s highways.
The CHP extends its appreciation to the trucking industry for their tireless efforts in promoting highway safety.
In doing so, the CHP facilitates Trucker Appreciation Days periodically during the year at its commercial enforcement facilities throughout the state.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Lake County Sheriff’s patrol deputies responded to a report of found munitions, located inside a residence in Kelseyville on Wednesday.
At approximately 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, deputies responded to a residence on Pine Drive on a report of found munitions and other devices, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks.
Employees of the Public Administrator’s Office had been in the process of cleaning out a residence, which had been occupied by a veteran who had recently passed away, Brooks said. As they were removing items from the residence they located some assorted ammunition and a device they could not identify.
A patrol sergeant responded to the residence in an attempt to identify the device. Believing it was some type of military ordnance, the patrol sergeant contacted the Napa County Sheriff’s Office Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit, according to Brooks.
Brooks said the deputy took several pictures of the device and e-mailed them to the Napa County EOD Unit for identification.
Shortly after receiving the photographs, the Napa County EOD Unit contacted the patrol sergeant and verified it was a live explosive device. Brooks said they identified the device as a Japanese mortar from World War II. The Napa County EOD Unit advised they were responding to the residence to dispose of the mortar.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies evacuated the area and set a 300 foot perimeter around the residence, Brooks said. They also obtained supplies requested by the Napa County EOD Unit, so the mortar could be safely detonated. Kelseyville Fire Department personnel responded to the area as a safety precaution.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., the Napa County EOD Unit arrived at the residence. Brooks said they inspected the mortar with a remote controlled robot and prepared it for detonation.
At approximately 4:30 p.m., the mortar was safely detonated without causing any damage to nearby structures, Brooks said.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Here are the previews and predictions for this weekend’s prep football games involving Lake County teams and their league rivals.
Friday’s games
Upper Lake (1-1) at Portola (2-0), 5/7 p.m. The Cougars rushed for 535 yards in last year’s 47-14 win over the Tigers at Upper Lake, with running backs Bradley Brackett (14x186), Joe Valdez (8x174, 2 TDs) and Ward Beecher (18x121, 4 TDs) producing tremendous numbers. Both teams have most of their starters back for tonight’s rematch at Portola, which should be a much closer game for a few different reasons.
The Tigers, much like Upper Lake, love to run the ball, which usually means handing it to Zach Martinez, who no doubt remembers last year’s second game, when the Cougars stuffed him for a season-low 19 yards as his team fell to 0-2.
But Martinez and the Tigers bounced back from that ugly loss, winning five of their six remaining contests, with their workhorse runner averaging 155 yards a game to finish with 1,025 (a 6.5-yard per carry average) and 16 touchdowns.
Martinez is back on track this season and so are the Tigers, who’ve made it seven out of eight since last year’s trip to Upper Lake with victories over Burney (36-13) and Pershing County, Nev. (21-14), during which the 5-foot-9, 160-pound senior gained 245 yards in 44 carries. The two wins lifted Portola to the top of the Northern Section’s Div. IV ratings.
Strange as it sounds, when Martinez doesn’t get the handoff, it’s often a sign of an imminent Portola touchdown.
Quarterback Ricky Lowdermilk has thrown only nine passes in two games, but he’s hit on four of them for 111 yards and two touchdowns. And Zach’s brother, Michael Martinez, has only five carries this season—but they produced 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Linebackers Klint Williams and Oscar Romero need strong performances to contain a Cougar running attack that sputtered in Monday’s 28-8 loss at Middletown, which UL coach Alex Stabiner attributed to the lackluster play from his offensive line.
“We needed the front eight to take care of the running game,” Stabiner said.
Instead, it was the quick and swarming Mustang defense that took care of UL’s ground game, holding it to 156 yards – and only 55 in the second half after MHS coach Bill Foltmer reminded his defense how to adjust to various Cougar formations.
Cougar QB Travis Coleman gained 87 yards in 14 carries, but Middletown held UL’s speed-power combo of Ward Beecher and Joey Valdez to 51 yards in 15 carries.
Upper Lake would normally have a good shot at beating Portola again, but this isn’t a normal week.
With the Scotts Valley fire pushing back the Middletown game to Monday, the Cougars only had three days this week to recover and prepare, plus that five-hour bus ride across the valley and up the mountain to Portola, 50 miles northwest of Reno.
The Tigers, on the other hand, had two weeks to prepare for the rematch (they had a bye last week). And somewhere in the back of their minds, Portola players like Zach Martinez have been preparing for this one for over a year.
Prediction: Portola 27, Upper Lake 14.
Middletown (1-1) at El Molino (0-3): 5/7 p.m. In past years, this one might have been a good test for Middletown, but El Molino’s football program is reeling these days after taking a couple of huge hits over the past 14 months.
First, the Lions didn’t field a JV team last year because of a low turnout. It was reinstated for this season, but without last year’s feeder team, El Molino’s varsity is playing with only 18 players – about half the number most teams can rely on.
The second blow came when second-year head coach Matt Transue got pinked-slipped from his fulltime teaching job at Elmo (he’s since taken a fulltime position at Rancho Cotate High), but he decided to finish the season as the Lions’ off-campus coach, which limits the time he can spend with his players during the day preparing for games.
Middletown is coming an impressive 28-8 win over Upper Lake, in which Austin Benson broke loose for 192 yards in 24 carries and four touchdowns.
The Lions have yet to score this season in losses to Fortuna (48-0), Justin-Siena (53-0) and St. Bernard’s (41-0), and though they might score against Middletown, they won’t be able to hang with the Mustangs for very long.
Prediction: Middletown 27, El Molino 7.
South Fork (1-2) at Clear Lake (1-1), 5:30/7:30 p.m. at Lakeport: There are issues like the ones facing El Molino, then there are the types of problems that Stellar Prep brought to Clear Lake last week.
“Total disorganization,” is how Cardinal coach Milo Meyer described Stellar Prep’s act, which included 130 yards in first-quarter penalties, some shoving matches with CL players, and a first quarter ejection for unsportsmanlike conduct of an SP player who managed to sneak back onto the field in the second quarter for a couple of plays before a referee recognized him and kicked him out again.
It wasn’t particularly pretty, but the Cards still dominated for a 48-0 victory.
South Fork might not provide Clear Lake with a lot of competition, but the Miranda team, which has a 22-19 win over John Swett and losses to Calistoga (61-28) and Tomales (54-6), isn’t likely to cause the grief and frustration that Stellar Prep did.
The Cards, who took an 0-3 record into league play last year, have alternately surprised and impressed in their first two games, and will likely take a 2-1 mark into NCL action next week.
Prediction: Clear Lake 40, South Fork 6.
Valley Christian (3-0) at Lower Lake (0-2), 5:30/7:30 p.m. The Lower Lake Trojans could use a little John Swett or Stellar Prep or South Fork on their schedule right about now – an opponent they can match up against, maybe even beat.
But after lopsided losses to Hoopa Valley (41-14) and Arcata (44-6), they’ll instead face an even better opponent in powerful Valley Christian, ranked second among NCS Div. V schools.
Lower Lake has the second most-difficult pre-league schedule among NCL teams (only Middletown’s is tougher), so there won’t be any early-season wins to build a little confidence. And then the Trojans play Middletown in their league opener next week.
Prediction: Valley Christian 46, Lower Lake 13.
Esparto (0-3) at Kelseyville (1-1), 5:30/7:30 p.m. The Knights, who matched last year’s win total with a victory at John Swett last week, can surpass it tonight – and take another small step forward in their quest for credibility.
Esparto is a winless Div. III team that’s been that been out-scored 116-25 in losses to Pierce (47-12), Winters (58-0) and Rio Vista (53-13) – a factoid that could be misleading when you consider that Pierce and Winters are undefeated and Rio Vista is 2-1.
In other words, Esparto is a lot better than the John Swett team that Kelseyville victimized last week. The Knights can win this one, but they’ll have to bring their ‘A’ game.
Prediction: Kelseyville 27, Esparto 21.
Calistoga (2-1) at Willits (1-1), 5:30/7:30 p.m. At No. 74, Willits is rated 20 positions higher than Calistoga among all NCS teams, and if the Wolverines want to keep believing they can contend in the NCL I race this season, which starts next week, they need to make a statement tonight. Calistoga, which went 0-10 last year, has made strides with victories over Cloverdale (28-20) and South Fork (61-28), and more impressively, gave California School for the Deaf a scare last week before falling 35-29.
Willits opened with a 38-0 win at lowly Richmond but couldn’t score last week in a 7-0 loss to Ukiah. As tempted as we are to forsake the “class” gauge here in favor of form (and a Calistoga upset), we’re going with the Wolverines to prevail in their home opener.
Prediction: Willits 27, Calistoga 20.
Saturday
Cloverdale (0-2) at St. Vincent’s of Petaluma (1-1). The Mustangs should get their high-powered passing game back in gear after super-quick St. Helena shut it down last week. Cloverdale has hung tight in losses to Calistoga (28-20) and McKinleyville (29-24).
Prediction: St. Vincent 40, Cloverdale 20.
Prediction record: Last week: 3-2. Season: 9-2.
Email Rich Mellott at