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COVELO, Calif. – The closure order for the North Pass Fire area was adjusted on Tuesday, reopening Forest Highway 7 between the Eel River Station and Mendocino Pass, while maintaining the closure within most of the fire perimeter on the Mendocino National Forest.
Closure Order Number 08-12-14 will go into effect at midnight tonight, replacing Order Number 08-12-13.
While it opens up FH7, Forest Road M4 at FH7 north to Road M2 remains closed, as well as Forest Road M2 between M4 and Green Springs.
The closures were in response to the North Pass Fire, which started Saturday, Aug. 18. It has consumed approximately 41,983 acres north of FH7 between Anthony Peak and the community of Covelo. On Tuesday evening it remained at 97-percent containment.
Access to the Yolla Bolly Middle Eel Wilderness on the Covelo Ranger District remains closed from the southern portion near FH7 to the Forest border to the north.
The closure also extends to the western edge of the Forest.
While FH7 is once again open, drivers should still watch for increased traffic in the area.
The closure area includes popular recreation sites both inside and outside the wilderness.
Residents and landowners or lessees of land within the closure area are exempt from the order to the extent necessary to access their property.
“We are happy to restore access to the forest on FH7 again,” said Forest Supervisor Sherry Tune. “We are asking the public to respect the closure order for the remainder of the North Pass Fire area, including M2, M4 and the wilderness and the many roads and trails within the area. This will help us maintain public and firefighter safety as we continue suppression efforts to achieve control of the North Pass Fire.”
Violation of the closure order is punishable by a fine of no more than $5,000 for an individual, $10,000 for an organization, or up to six months imprisonment or both.
For more information, please visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino or contact the forest at 530-934-3316.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A small wildland fire broke out along Scotts Valley Road on Tuesday afternoon, not far from a major wildfire that has been burning since last week.
The Tuesday fire was first reported in the 7000 block of Scotts Valley Road just after 1:30 p.m.
Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos, in whose district the fire was located, said it occurred right off the parking lot for the Bureau of Land Management’s Glen Eden Trail, which has been closed due to the nearby Scotts Fire.
Beristianos said the fire on Tuesday afternoon burned a total of five acres.
Initial reports from the scene said the fire moved from grass into an area of heavy timber, with power lines in the middle of the fire area.
Beristianos said it also burned into a nearby walnut orchard, and was bordered by a dry creekbed.
Several helicopters were diverted from the Scotts Fire to make water drops, Beristianos said.
An air tanker that had been ordered was released en route, according to radio reports.
Along with Northshore Fire and Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire and Lakeport Fire also responded, Beristianos said.
It took about 45 minutes to control the fire, with several hours of mop up, Beristianos said.
Beristianos said the cause remains under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE PARK, Calif. – A 96-year-old Clearlake Park woman died on Monday in a fire that destroyed her home.
Hazel Jeannie Black was identified as the victim of the fatal structure fire, according to Sgt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Lake County Fire Protection District Chief Willie Sapeta said the fire occurred in a modular home with additions that was located at 2881 10th St.
Firefighters were dispatched at 6:49 a.m. Monday. A volunteer who arrived on scene two minutes later found the home 50-percent involved, Sapeta said. The first engine arrived at 6:53 a.m.
A total of three Lake County Fire engines, a rescue unit, two medic units, three battalion chiefs and a mutual aid engine from Northshore Fire responded to the incident, Sapeta said. A Cal Fire engine also responded to help cover the district.
Sapeta said firefighters arriving on scene were hampered by a downed power line that energized the chain link fence around the home.
He said because of that danger firefighters had to make controlled access, going into the scene one or two at a time.
It took firefighters about half an hour to control the fire, with several hours of mop up, according to Sapeta.
Capt. Brice Trask, the district’s arson investigator, was on scene all day Monday trying to ascertain the fire’s cause, Sapeta said.
Sapeta said the investigation was continuing, with Trask still processing evidence.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A wildland fire burning for the past week in Colusa and Yolo counties was fully contained on Tuesday morning.
The 16 Complex, two fires burning four miles apart off of Highway 16 in the Rumsey Canyon area, was 100-percent contained at 17,944 acres, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire said firefighters were continuing to patrol the fire perimeter and perform fire suppression repair and mop up on Tuesday.
Approximately 980 firefighting personnel remained assigned to the incident Tuesday, with plans to begin releasing them and the equipment that remained on scene, including 37 engines, 31 fire crews, eight bulldozers and 10 water tenders, Cal Fire reported.
Motorists traveling along Highway 16 are advised to continue to be cautious as they travel through the area, and to be on the lookout for fire vehicles still working on the incident as well as possible debris on the roadway.
Cal Fire said the 16 Complex’s cause remains under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – If there was any question about who Lake County’s best football was (and there seemed to be some opposing opinions floating around recently in both the clear skies over Middletown and the smoky haze that’s enveloped Upper Lake), the Middletown Mustangs gave the definitive answer in a rare Monday night performance.
Austin Benson rushed for 192 yards in 24 carries and scored all four touchdowns and Middletown’s defense, after some adjustments at halftime, shut down Upper Lake’s power running game as the Mustangs pulled away for 28-8 victory at Bill Foltmer Field.
The game, originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Upper Lake, was pushed back to Monday afternoon – still at Upper Lake – because of all the smoke in the air generated by the Scotts Valley fire west of Scotts Valley Road and east of Ukiah.
But when Monday morning came around, the air quality wasn’t any better, so it was decided that if the non-league game was to be played, it had to be played at Middletown on Monday night. Kick-off was at 5:30 p.m. and, not surprisingly, a smaller-than-usual crowd attended the game.
“Playing at home is always an advantage,” said Mustang coach Bill Foltmer, but that could only partially explain Upper Lake’s problems on both sides of the ball.
The Cougars, who ran over Kelseyville in its opener, 52-6, had just one impressive drive, marching 74 yards midway through the second quarter, with Travis Coleman running it in from the 4.
Coleman’s pass to Wes Thaxton on the PAT gave the Cougars an 8-7 lead.
And it looked like a good game was starting to unfold between the county’s top two teams.
But that was about it for Upper Lake, which not only couldn’t stop Benson and the Middletown offense, but couldn’t generate any offense of its own.
“Middletown wanted it more than we did,” said a disappointed Alex Stabiner, coach of the Cougars.
Benson played like he wanted to score a lot of touchdowns. On the Mustangs’ first possession of the game, it looked like he would score on what would have been a 15-yard run, but had the ball stripped from him inside the Cougars’ 5-yard line, with Ward Beecher recovering for Upper Lake.
“I thought it could be a break-out game for him,” Foltmer said of his 5-foot-10, 180-pound running back. “He’s come close to breaking a few runs, nearly broke a couple against Salesian (in the season-opening 7-3 loss).”
And breaking out is what Benson did. The big play for him on Monday is called “toss right,” where he takes a quick pitch from quarterback Ben Pike and tries to get outsides the Cougar defense.
His 14-yard sweep made it 7-0 early in the second quarter and his 20-yard sweep made it 14-8 with 2:30 left in the half (with Tyler Drew adding both PAT kicks).
Benson, in a career-best performance, scored on yet another “toss right” touchdown on a 10-yard sweep that pushed the lead to 20-8 with 10:30 left in the third quarter.
And he added a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter to close out the scoring.
The Mustangs made some adjustments on defense in the second half, basically involving the linebackers and defensive backs remembering to shift accordingly to the Cougars’ offensive formation.
“We weren’t making the adjustments,” Foltmer said, “and they put together a couple of early drives on us. It was something we practiced all week, but we didn’t execute.”
Upper Lake coach Alex Stabiner had a different explanation for his team’s poor showing. “We got our butts whipped,” he said.
Email Rich Mellott at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local officials said air quality conditions are expected to be much improved on Tuesday following days of heavy smoke due to a wildland fire on Cow Mountain.
With firefighters making significant advances in controlling the Scotts Fire and favorable weather in the forecast, the Lake County Air Quality Management said air quality in the “good” range is expected on Tuesday.
Air quality conditions on Monday afternoon were notably improved over the weekend, the district reported, due primarily to better meteorological conditions and increasing control over the fire, which by Monday night had burned 4,618 acres, with containment at 35 percent.
Areas close to the fires may have experienced degraded air quality early Monday, but most areas of the Lake County experienced good to moderate air quality much of the day, according to county Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart.
Gearhart said levels of ozone and particulate were elevated, but did not exceed state health-based air quality standards.
The prediction is for “good“ air quality in Lake County, though areas near active burn areas and where cleanup efforts are under way may experience “moderate” air quality intermittently on Tuesday and until recovery efforts are complete, Gearhart said.
Despite the favorable forecast, Gearhart urged county residents to be cautious, as conditions can change rapidly.
Residual haze and particulate from the wildfires can be expected to intermittently impact areas of Lake County until the fires are out and recovery efforts are completed, Gearhart said.