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The fire, first reported late Tuesday morning at 18390 North Shore Drive, drew dozens of firefighters from around the county.
The Lake County Arson Task Force had been called to the scene Tuesday to lead the investigation.
South Lake County Fire District Battalion Chief Scott Upton, the incident commander on the fire, said Wednesday that the investigation had concluded that the fire’s cause was “accidental but undetermined.”
He said the home’s insurance company is planning to conduct some more advanced testing.
“So hopefully we’ll get more of a determination,” he said.
Upton said the two people injured in the fire were listed as being in critical condition on Wednesday morning.
Both were transported via air ambulances to out-of-county trauma centers, one to UC Davis Medical Center, one to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, officials reported.
The fire victims’ names were not released by the fire district, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office did not have their names for release on Wednesday.
CHP Officer Josh Dye, who had been one of the first on scene and helped tend one of the burn victims, suffered some smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, according to CHP Officer Kory Reynolds, the Clear Lake CHP Area office’s public information officer.
However, Dye was back at work on Wednesday and doing great after getting “a little too much smoke,” Reynolds said.
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Jose Louis Vallejo Ruiz, 28, was arrested for driving under the influence causing injury and driving without a driver’s license, while both of his passengers, 29-year-old Neri Averdano-Rosas and Clemente Sarmiento Rosas, 21, were booked for public intoxication, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The crash occurred at 12:10 a.m. Wednesday on Highway 29 north of Hofacker Lane, the CHP reported.
The CHP said Ruiz was driving his 1994 Honda Accord northbound at an unknown speed when he allowed his vehicle to drift off the roadway, resulting in it overturning several times.
Ruiz and Averdano-Rosas were not injured, but Clemente Rosas sustained minor injuries in the collision, the CHP said.
CHP Officers Jensen and Garcia responded to the crash scene and contacted the three men, arresting all of them, according to the report.
All three men were taken to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake Hospital and medically cleared prior to being booked at the Lake County Jail, the CHP said.
Jail records indicated all three men remained in custody late Wednesday due to no-bail immigration holds.
The collision is still under investigation by Officer Jensen.
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Sgt. Rodd Joseph said an on-duty Clearlake Police officer noticed a suspicious silver colored Lexus sedan on 18th Avenue near Boyles Avenue at 12:44 a.m.
He said the vehicle pulled over to the side of the road and turned its lights off as the officer approached in his marked police vehicle. The driver of the Lexus, reported to be a Hispanic male adult, then turned the vehicle’s lights back on and made a quick U-turn.
Joseph said the officer got behind the vehicle and attempted to initiate a vehicle stop for a vehicle code violation, but the vehicle fled from the officer at a high rate of speed.
The Lexus and its driver led the officer on a high speed pursuit for several blocks before the officer briefly lost sight of the suspect vehicle due to poor visibility from roadway dust, Joseph said.
The officer located the vehicle at the intersection of 21st and and Phillips avenues. Joseph said the Lexus had slid off the roadway and collided with a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the collision.
He said the driver's door was open, with the driver having apparently fled on foot.
Officers discovered two additional passengers in the vehicle. Joseph said the rear passenger was identified as 28-year-old Leona Delapena of Ukiah, while the front passenger was identified as 20-year-old Jason Steele of Ukiah. Both passengers complained of pain.
Delapena initially reported that she and Steele had been carjacked at gunpoint by the suspect at a gas station, Joseph said.
However, during questioning by officers, Delapena became uncooperative and refused to provide any statements regarding the reported carjacking, Joseph said.
He said both Delapena and Steele were transported via ambulance to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake. Steele was later transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital via helicopter. Both passengers have since been released from medical care.
This case is still under investigation, Joseph said.
Any person with information regarding this incident is asked to contact Officer Middleton at the Clearlake Police Department at 707-994-8251. Callers may remain anonymous.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Public Health’s locally produced video “Health Living in Lake County: Keeping Flu Out of the Landscape” tied for a Bronze Award in a national competition hosted by the National Public Health Information Coalition.
The organization considered more than 230 entries and issued awards in a variety of categories.
Lake County’s video was in the “Special AV Projects – Broadcast//Audio Visual” category and the entry with whom it shared the Bronze Award was California Department of Public Health’s “The H1N1 Flu: California’s Response.”
Developed with federal Centers for Disease Control Public Health Emergency Response Funds, the video was produced in 2010 as part of Lake County Public Health’s efforts to develop local capacity for health education of the public.
According to Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait, public messaging is most effective when the message is tailored to the local community.
“There are all kinds of generic messages about hand washing and vaccination, but I wanted to create something that speaks directly to residents of Lake County and which reflects our local values,” said Tait.
The video highlights familiar scenery and faces, noting a general appreciation for Lake County’s natural beauty.
The video also can be viewed in English and Spanish at http://health.co.lake.ca.us/site10.aspx.
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“The times dictate that state government always be on the lookout for ways to reduce costs when possible,” Chesbro (D-Arcata) said in a Tuesday statement.
The new address is 200 S. School St., Suite D, Ukiah, CA 95482. The phone and fax number will remain the same: 707-463-5770 (phone) and 707-463-5773 (fax).
“An opportunity opened up for us to scale back our Ukiah office while still offering the same level of service our Mendocino and Lake County constituents deserve,” Chesbro said. “By moving into the Ukiah Valley Conference Center we cut our office rent in half and also help the city, which owns the conference center. The city has been more than accommodating.”
Chesbro will host an open house at the new location so the public will have an opportunity to become familiar with the new office. The date is yet to be announced.
The Ukiah office services Mendocino and Lake Counties, and will continue to be staffed by Field Representative Ruth Valenzuela.
The new office – in addition to having better parking – is in the same building as State Sen. Noreen Evans’ office making it a sort of “one stop shop” for state legislative business.
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Superior Court Judge Richard Henderson sentenced Cody Fisher, 30, to a four-year state prison term, according to a report from Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster's office.
Henderson characterized his decision as “very, very difficult” after he heard pleas for leniency from the defendant’s family and friends.
The maximum that Fisher could have been sentenced to was 11 years in state prison.
Before the four-year sentence was imposed Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira argued on behalf of the people in favor of a state prison commitment despite an emotional plea for mercy from the mother of victim.
Sequeira contended Fisher needed to be held accountable for Mark Pare’s death, especially in face of Fisher’s prior conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol, and other unusual circumstances of the fatal accident.
While Sequeira acknowledged the courtroom pleas seeking mercy for Fisher, Sequeira countered, “Mercy is the business of God. Justice is the business of the court.”
District Attorney David Eyster said, "Our primary interest as prosecutors is public safety and drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders like Mr. Fisher, put us all at great risk. Prison is appropriate given all the facts of this case and the background of the defendant."
Prosecutors have described Fisher’s case as a story of a birthday celebration turned deadly.
Fisher, Pare and another friend on the night of Aug. 28 left a home in the remote area of McNab Ranch, located west of Highway 101 between Ukiah and Hopland, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Fisher drove his pickup truck down to the intersection of Highway 101 and McNab Ranch Road, where the trio of friends met a cab to take them into town for a night of drinking. They hailed a cab to return to the truck in the early morning hours.
Fisher insisted on driving up the unpaved dirt road despite concerns from his friends about his level of intoxication. On the way home, the pickup suddenly went off the road, overturned and slid down an embankment on its roof before slamming into a tree.
Pare was trapped inside the cab of the truck, but Fisher didn’t call authorities for nearly four hours because he claimed he knew his friend had been killed instantly, officials reported.
Instead Fisher called his fiancée to bring him a pot of coffee to help him sober up before summoning the California Highway Patrol to the scene.
According to the investigation, Fisher initially lied about what happened at the time of the accident, telling investigators first that a deer had run across the road causing him to swerve. Later Fisher admitted he was intoxicated, and missed a turn while driving up the darken road.
“What Mr. Fisher did that night could not have been any more callous,” said Sequeira.
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