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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A neighbor is being credited for saving the life of a Middletown man whose home caught fire on Saturday morning.
The fire at the home, located in the 24000 block of Hildebrand Road, was first reported minutes before 10 a.m. Saturday, according to Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Wink.
Wink said the home’s resident was unaware that the home was on fire, but that a neighbor riding by on a motorcycle stopped and got into the home to warn him.
The two men and the resident’s two pets were able to get out without injury, according to Wink.
“They got out just in time,” he said.
At the time of the fire the temperature was 92 degrees, with 12 percent humidity, Wink said.
Wink said the two main factors in keeping the fire from spreading into nearby wildland was a lack of any wind and the availability of a lot of local fire resources, with nine volunteers happening to be at the South Lake County Fire Station when the call was dispatched.
Personnel from South Lake County Fire, Cal Fire and Calistoga Fire Department responded, he said.
The residence and three outbuildings were destroyed, said Wink.
Wink said if there had been wind the fire could have gone right up nearby McGuire Peak, potentially sparking a major wildland fire.
The fire was knocked down within 45 minutes, but Wink said firefighters were on scene until 4 p.m., and checked the scene later that night and again on Sunday.
Wink estimated total losses at $200,000.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Live!, the music and variety program that debuted in January of this year, will present its eighth production on Sunday, Aug. 26, at the Soper-Reese Community Theatre in Lakeport.
This month, the show will feature the group Majide!, featuring the talents of keyboard player Paul Kemp and vocalist Machiko. Joining them for this performance will be Jim Leonardis on saxophone. They present styles including smooth jazz, blues and a variety of other musical genres.
Also on the venue will be the return of Ear Reverence, the a cappella vocal quartet featuring Valerie Reid, Carol Cole Lewis, Bill Bordisso and Nick Reid. They delighted the audience in January, and have more great songs for you to enjoy on Aug. 26.
“We are continually looking for both new and returning guests who can entertain our audience in the theatre and on the air,” said show creator and host Doug Rhoades. “Our audience continues to grow, so I want to make sure we’re giving them the enjoyment they deserve during the hour they spend with us and the show.”
This month’s show will feature the return of Ladies of the Lake, a visit to Kelseyville, a word from Pet Owners, Operators and Proprietors, and a lot of laughs.
“We try to always make the humor topical, but keep it at about a PG rating,” Rhoades added. “We always want to make people laugh, and never offend. I think we’ve met that goal since the first show.”
Lake County Live! airs at 6 p.m. on Lake County Community Radio KPFZ at 88.1 FM and is also streamed live on the Internet via www.kpfz.org .
Tickets are available at the theater box office at 275 S. Main in Lakeport Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Travel Center in Lakeport at 1265 S. Main, and online at www.soperreesetheatre.com .
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A wildland fire complex burning in northern Mendocino County continued to increase in size on Monday.
The Pass Complex grew by more than 400 acres during the course of Monday, reaching 6,015 acres by nighttime, with containment remaining at 10 percent, Cal Fire reported.
The two-fire complex is located along Mendocino Pass Road, 10 miles northeast of Covelo, in both the State Responsibility Area and the Mendocino National Forest. Cal Fire and the US Forest Service have unified command of the incident.
Cal Fire said the Pass Complex was started by lightning.
Burning since Saturday morning, the Pass 1 Fire has burned 6,000 acres, some in the national forest. The Pass 2 Fire, which jumped the fire line and is burning toward Pass 1, has burned 15 acres, Cal Fire reported.
Forty-five residences are threatened. Cal Fire had reported earlier Monday that two outbuildings had been destroyed.
There were 732 fire personnel on scene Monday, as well as 65 engines, 21 fire crews, three airtankers, three helicopters, 14 bulldozers and nine water tenders.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks man was arrested Sunday night after he attempted to evade a California Highway Patrol officer and later was found with drugs, paraphernalia and a large amount of cash.
Anthony Joseph Padilla Jr., 31, was arrested following a short pursuit, according to CHP Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said CHP Officer Matt Norton was working a traffic control detail with Caltrans as they paved a portion of Highway 53 south of 18th Avenue near Clearlake Sunday night.
At approximately 9:25 p.m. Norton observed a vehicle strike a traffic cone and enter the closed lane of southbound Highway 53, Reynolds said. The vehicle then swerved back into the open lane, striking two more traffic cones.
Norton attempted to make a traffic stop on the vehicle, which accelerated away from him onto Old Highway 53. Reynolds said Norton observed the driver throw a plastic baggie from the vehicle.
The vehicle made a left turn and then yielded on Highlands Harbor Drive, Reynolds said.
Norton contacted the driver, identified as Padilla, and arrested him for failing to yield to his activated lights and siren, according to Reynolds.
Reynolds said that during a search Norton located $5,943 in cash on Padilla.
Norton and CHP Officer Adam Garcia returned to the area where Norton saw Padilla throw the baggie from the vehicle and they located the baggie, which contained nearly an once of methamphetamine, Reynolds said.
Padilla was booked into the Lake County Jail for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transporting a controlled substance, driving on a suspended license, evading arrest and a probation hold, according to Reynolds.
Padilla’s bail was set at $35,000. Jail records indicated that he remained in custody on Monday.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A wildland fire complex in northern Mendocino County continued to grow on Monday, destroying another structure in its path.
The two-fire Pass Complex reached 5,700 acres by mid-morning, with firefighters getting 10-percent containment on it, according to Cal Fire Mendocino Unit spokesperson Julie Cooley.
The fires have been burning in heavy timber in the Williams Valley area, 10 miles northeast of Covelo, since Saturday morning. Cal Fire has not yet estimated a time for containment.
Cooley said the complex is showing rapid rates of spread with extreme fire behavior.
By Monday morning, the fire had burned another outbuilding, bringing the total to two that had been destroyed, according to Cooley.
No evacuations had been ordered, but Cooley said there were road closures, including Traveler’s Home Trail and Hams Pass/Blands Cove Road above Traveler’s Home Trailhead.
Resources assigned on Monday morning included 618 personnel, 41 fire engines, 26 fire crews, 14 bulldozers, three airtankers, one helicopter and10 water tenders, Cooley reported.
Cal Fire and the US Forest Service have unified command of the complex. Cooley said a federal Type 2 team is anticipated to arrive at the fire later Monday to take over full command.
The complex has been sending smoke south into the rest of Mendocino County as well as Lake County.
The fire prompted the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District to issue an air quality alert for inland Mendocino County on Sunday evening. The district also issued an air quality alert for Covelo/Round Valley based on high readings recorded in the area.
Both alerts were expected to be extended after they expired Monday morning, according to the district.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
This week’s Fall Football Preview will feature the county’s high school teams as they get ready for the upcoming season. The series starts with the Lower Lake High Trojans.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – For a team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2007, the mood at Lower Lake’s practice sessions last week was surprisingly upbeat. For a team that didn’t win a game last year, the Trojans appeared convincingly confident.
Before heading out the gymnasium door for three and a half hours of drills in the sweltering summer heat, several players were discussing how they couldn’t wait to get another shot at those teams that had their way with them last year, like Hoopa Valley, which beat the Trojans, 54-0, and Middletown, which tagged them with a 35-0 loss.
No one was vowing to even the score, mind you; it was more like anticipating “the opportunity” – a popular term at the Lower Lake camp this summer.
“We expect a lot of improvement,” said Jerald Drummond, the senior running back and safety. “Other teams are going to improve, too. But if we work hard, we have an opportunity to achieve something this season.”
For a few seconds there, you had to wonder what second-year head coach Mike Huffman was slipping into the Gatorade. Whatever it was, his players were obviously lapping it up.
Or maybe offensive coordinator Justin Gaddy, whose Facebook page is brimming with words of inspiration and team spirit, had somehow incorporated some Norman Vincent Peale into his veer option playbook, mixing in some power of positive thinking with the Trojans’ power running game.
Seriously, though, isn’t this the same group that went 0-9-1 last season, managing only a tie with Cloverdale?
In large part, it is. And that’s one of the reasons Lower Lake is projecting a different kind of vibe this summer, the poised and business-like demeanor of a group that’s survived some tough times together, and now believes that some day soon, those hard-knock lessons are going to start paying dividends.
“We were young and inexperienced last year,” Huffman said. “This year we’re the opposite.”
Lower Lake returns six starters on offense, led by Drummond, who rushed for over 600 yards last season, quarterback Richard Tucker, who led the county with over 1200 passing yards, and 240-pound center Mike Warren, who anchors the line.
Also back is receiver Thomas Cross, whose 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame should provide Tucker with a large and mobile target.
Cross demonstrated his athleticism last winter when he emerged as the league’s top wrestler in his weight class – and among the best in the section.
Billy Martin also adds size and experience to the offensive line, which could be the most improved part of the team.
“We were small in the line last year and it was hard to get our running game going,” Huffman said. “We ended up having to pass a lot. Our line should be bigger and better this season on both sides of the ball.”
Especially if sophomore Willie Isaacs, up from last year’s 6-4 JV team, can make a sudden impact on the varsity. At 6-3, 292 pounds, he’s one of those athletic anomalies in Lake County, a kid who, at age 15 and without any varsity experience, already has some folks believing he’s a legitimate college prospect. Maybe even a Division I (large school) prospect.
“Willie has the size and he has the heart (to play Division I),” Huffman said.
Most of the standouts on offense play key roles on a Trojan defense that returns eight starters.
Tucker, Cross and Drummond are fixtures in the secondary and Warren and Martin bring some heft to the heart of the line. You have to figure Isaacs, with the size to clog up a lot running lanes, will get some “D” time as well.
“He’s a throw-back – a country boy with a great work ethic,” Huffman said of his prize sophomore.
The Lower Lake coaching staff is also a “throw-back” of sorts – to the Trojan teams of the mid-’90s that regularly competed for league titles. Nearly all of the coaches are Lower Lake alumni.
Huffman, Gaddy and linebacker/receivers coach Ed Fuchs played for coaching legend Gordon Sadler’s last team at Lower Lake in 1995. The following year, under first-year coach Bill Cox, they won a league championship.
Huffman was an all-league lineman who, knowing he lacked the size to play college ball (at least as a lineman), opted for the Army.
Two years after graduating from high school, he was driving a tank in Kosovo as part of the NATO-led peacekeeping force.
When he came home he went to work at his alma mater, supervising the high school facilities. He also was quick to get back into football, assisting on the high school staff and connecting with the youth program.
When he took over the Trojan program last summer, he knew the job would be a challenge. He came on in late August and didn’t have an off-season program to get his players on the same page. The team spent the first part of the season playing catch-up.
About five games into the campaign, Huffman began to see improvement. “We started being competitive,” he said.
The natural ebb and flow of talent is a big part of small-school football, and with the exception of the powerhouse Middletown program, Lake County’s teams have had their shares of ups and downs over the past decade.
Lower Lake’s football fortunes have been on the ebb for a couple years. But the staff is determined to bring some continuity back to the program – Huffman says he and his coaches are in it for the long-haul. In the meantime, they’re channeling new energy – and a new attitude.
If you’re part of Lower Lake football, there is no room gloom. There are only “opportunities” waiting to be seized.
Unlike some head coaches who work off-campus, Huffman is there every day, along assistant coach Gary Logoteta, another Trojan alumnus who also works as a campus supervisor.
“We help the vice principal with discipline and campus control and safety,” Huffman said. “We have the opportunity to talk with all the kids and help them anyway we can.”
His job as head coach, he explains, “is about recruiting, staying involved with the youth programs; it’s about changing the culture, which means getting everyone involved. We try to get everyone to play. We don’t cut anyone. We look at it as an opportunity to teach the game.”
Players know the Huffman code, which isn’t only partly about football; it’s about 1) doing the right thing; 2) treating others the way you want to be treated; and 3) giving maximum effort all the time.
Everything else, he believes, will take care of itself, including the team’s only goal: “We want to play for the league championship every year,” he said – a lofty goal this year in what promises to be a competitive NCL I race.
But you know the players are relishing the opportunity.
Tomorrow: The Kelseyville Knights prepare for the coming season.
Rich Mellott can be reached at
Lower Lake Trojans
Coach/Record: Mike Huffman (2nd year), 0-9-1.
Assistants: Justin Gaddy, Ed Fuchs, Scott Benefield, Troy Dahneke.
Last year: 0-9-1.
League: 0-6-1.
JVs: 6-4.
Offense: Veer option.
Returning starters: 6 on offense, 8 on defense.
Top players: QB/S Richard Tucker, C/NG Mike Warren, WR-CB Thomas Cross (6-2, 195), RB/S Jerald Drummond (5-9, 145), OL/DL Billy Martin.
Keep an eye on: Sophomore lineman Willie Isaacs, up from the junior varsity, whom Huffman believes has the size (6-3, 292 lbs.) work ethic and potential to play Div. I college ball. Another stat Huffman likes: Isaacs’ 2.78 GPA.
Key games: Though they’ll be big underdogs in their season-opener at Hoopa Valley, how the Trojans hold up against the Div. V section power could be an early indicator of what to expect this season. The Warriors rolled to a 55-0 win in last year’s opener … The NCL contest against Fort Bragg (5-5 ) at home on Sept. 5 could be another tell-tale contest around which a successful season might hinge.
