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Since Saturday, more than 4,000 lightning strikes across several counties northeast California sparked 33 fires in Cal Fire's jurisdiction, with more than 250 acres burned, the agency said Monday afternoon.
The US Forest Service reported another 78 lightning-sparked fires have burned 115 acres in its jurisdiction.
In Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction, there was the Constantia Fire, located in Lassen County under BLM's Carson City District, which had burned 1,700 acres and was 10 percent contained Monday, with one home and several outbuildings destroyed, the agency's Susanville Interagency Fire Center reported.
The Potato Fire in Mono County, also under BLM jurisdiction, had burned 610 acres and was 60-percent contained, with full containment expected Tuesday, the BLM said.
Most of the fire activity was taking place in Lassen, Shasta and Siskiyou counties, Cal fire reported. Lassen had 27 fires and 250 acres burned, Shasta had two fires totaling less than an acre of burned land and four fires had burned an additional two acres in Siskiyou.
The largest blaze, the Russell Fire, is located in Lassen County, east of Straylor Lake in the Bieber area, where 14 other lightning-caused fires were reported, according to Cal Fire. It was burning in timber, juniper and brush.
By Monday evening the Russell Fire had burned 250 acres with 30-percent containment. Cal Fire was leading the effort along with the US Forest Service, BLM and California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Nearly 200 firefighters were on scene, along with 13 engines, eight hand crews, one helicopter, six bulldozers and seven water tenders.
Lakeport Fire Protection Chief Ken Wells, the county's operations area coordinator on fire incidents, said Monday afternoon that local jurisdictions like Lake County's fire districts haven't yet received a call to send resources.
Cal Fire urged residents around the state to be particularly cautious now as crews are busy working on the lightning fires.
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LAKEPORT – On Monday Lakeport's Piedmont Lumber & Mill Co. store was shut down as the facility began its transition to the ownership of another local lumber company.
Piedmont Lumber spokesman Jim Simmons said the company entered into an agreement to sell the lumber yard and retail store for undisclosed terms.
Mike Mayfield, president and chief executive officer of Mendo Mill and Lumber, confirmed to Lake County News that his company is purchasing the Lakeport Piedmont store.
“I signed a letter of intent to purchase,” Mayfield said Monday morning.
Mendo Mill, founded in 1944, has four other locations in Clearlake, Ukiah, Willits and Fort Bragg, all of which have been expanded, the company reported. The expansion of the Clearlake store, located on Old Highway 53, was completed in 2007, bringing that facility up to 25,000 square feet of enclosed retail space.
Simmons said Piedmont closed the Lakeport store Monday in order to allow for the transition to the new ownership.
Employees at the store reportedly received the word Monday morning that the business was changing hands. Mayfield said he was scheduled to meet with staff Monday afternoon to discuss the transition.
“Our goal is to retain as many staff as possible,” Mayfield said.
A total number of affected employees wasn't immediately available from Piedmont on Monday. Mayfield said Monday morning that he wasn't sure how many staffers were left at the facility.
“As soon as possible we'll reopen,” said Mayfield, who added that he considers it a matter of “weeks not months” to finish the changeover.
Longtime Piedmont owner and Lake County resident William C. Myer Jr. said in a written statement that he was pleased that many of the jobs at his former store would be saved and that the Lakeport community would continue to be served by a good operator.
He said he and his wife Vicky “are very thankful for the generous support expressed by our customers and the community we have served for over 75 years.”
The sale of the Lakeport store was the latest news from a company that Myer said has been impacted by the economy's severe downturn.
The company also has had a series of other adversities that began to become apparent earlier this year.
On March 1 Umpqua Bank, Piedmont's lender, filed judicial foreclosure actions against company properties including the Lakeport store, which was a securing property on two loans totaling more than $14.5 million, as Lake County News has reported. The company also is facing a federal lawsuit alleging it has failed to pay benefits to its union-represented workers.
Then on March 13 a fire destroyed Piedmont's Walnut Creek store. The company's Pittsburg location had been hit by a fire in August 2009, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District officials reported.
Shortly afterward, Piedmont sold its Oakland store to Economy Lumber, which became effective March 22, according to Economy Lumber officials.
Piedmont then decided to close its Calpella truss plant on March 31, the last day of the quarter, which Simmons said at that time also was a result of the economy, with the facility unable to sustain operations. The inventory from Calpella was then moved to the Lakeport store, Simmons said.
The Piedmont Rock Yard, which retails rocks, blocks and stone at a site next to the Lakeport home improvement center, is not part of the sale of the main store facility, Simmons said.
Tom Fay, the general manager of the rock yard, will continue to operate the yard and will be
one of the business’ new owners, according to Simmons.
Simmons reported that Piedmont is working with its insurance carrier and the city of Walnut Creek
to analyze and evaluate the potential rebuilding its Walnut Creek home center, but no decisions about that locations have been made.
Piedmont also recently completed the sale of its Pacheco Door division to Craftsman Collective Inc., owned and operated by Rob Myer. Simmons reported that Craftsman Collective is an architectural millwork specialist focused on doors, windows, moldings and finish carpentry.
A public auction of Piedmont’s truss manufacturing equipment and fleet of trucks, trailers and forklifts is scheduled to be held by Rabin Worldwide at the Piedmont location in Calpella on Aug. 12, according to Simmons. Details can be found at Rabin’s Web site, http://rabin.com/AuctionsAndEvents/UpcomingNew.aspx.
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KELSEYVILLE – Later this year community members will have the chance to peek inside the renovated version of one of Lake County's most historic buildings.
Work to complete the Ely Stage Stop and Country Museum, as it will be officially known, has been under way for more than a decade.
Now, members of the building's volunteer committee say they hope to hold an open house this fall to let the community see the museum's progress.
In July 2007 the building – one of the oldest stick-built structures in the county, tracing its history back to about 1856 – was moved from its original location on Highway 29 to a five-acre parcel donated by vineyard owner Andy Beckstoffer and located on Soda Bay Road, as Lake County News has reported.
Last year, a group of dedicated community members – including Greg Dills, Wilda Shock, Marilyn Holdenried, Broc Zoller, Keith Petterson, Jim Bengard and Syd Stokes – formed to work with Holdenried on the Kelseyville Pear Festival's pear pavilion.
That group stayed together and began working with Dills and Gerald Shaul, the county's retired Public Works director, to raise funds, organize events and facilitate the effort to create the museum.
Zoller said the members wanted to help take some of the work off of Dills, who had been shepherding much of the effort and is the committee's chair.
Critical partners in the effort are the county of Lake, its administrative officer, Kelly Cox, and Public Services director, Kim Clymire.
The county actually holds the land for the museum, and Cox said at a July 16 committee meeting that the county has set aside $50,000 for improvements, including interior carpentry work that is set to start soon. Dills said the museum has another $50,000 for work on the property.
Once complete, the stage stop building will house the headquarters of the Lake County Historical Society, the committee said. The society signed an April 2007 memorandum of understanding with the county to lead the fundraising efforts.
Since last year, the building has had a new wraparound porch added to it, and earlier this month a new parking lot that is Americans with Disabilities compliant was completed and striped, Clymire said.
The stage stop project has received significant donations of time and materials from local businesses, Dills said.
Jackson Equipment Co. of Middletown donated work to cut a new road through the property in June, and later submitted the lowest bid to do the parking lot, Dills said. The company also helped clear stumps and mow on the property slated to be a new park property in Middletown.
Dills said DeLeon Civil Engineering did the engineering work to clear the permits for the road work and the first barn's concrete pad. Kelseyville Lumber is working on a materials list for the project.
Realistically and optimistically, Clymire said the stage stop building itself may be completed by next spring.
Dills said the full buildout of the property will extend years beyond that. Plans include five barns – all of which were donated – which will house historical farming equipment, also donated by the community.
There has been discussion of building an outdoor amphitheater on the property, and Dills said they would like to create a full-size replica of the historic Bartlett Springs gazebo, which was burned down by an arsonist in July 2007.
The group is interested in seeing any historical photos community members may have of the Ely Stage Stop. They also are seeking volunteers, and donations of materials and funds to continue the work.
More details about the open house will become available closer to the event, the committee said.
To find out more about donations and volunteering, or to share historical materials, contact Dills at 707-263-4180, Extension 12, or e-mail
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
HOPLAND – “Gala on the Green,” an annual fundraiser to benefit Mendocino College students and programs, is scheduled for Sept. 11 at Campovida (formerly Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks Food and Wine Center), 12901 Old River Road, Hopland.
The gala begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be preceded by optional tours of the Campovida gardens between 4:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
Presented by the Mendocino College Foundation, the event features dinner, wine, auctions and music.
Tickets for the event are $85 per person. Tables, with seating for eight people each, may be reserved for $680.
Additional information about tickets and table reservations will soon be available on the Foundation’s website, http://foundation.mendocino.edu.
Proceeds from the event are used to fund scholarships for students and provide support for college programs as recommended by the administrators.
Last year’s Gala on the Green raised more than $30,000 for scholarships and educational programs.
A committee of foundation board members is working on details for the fundraiser.
Richard Cooper of Ukiah is this year’s Special Events Committee chair.
The event will feature dinner catered by Kilkenny Kitchen of Ukiah, cocktails and wine, musical entertainment, and live and silent auctions.
Use of Campovida as the setting for this year’s event is provided by new owners Gary Breen and Anna Beuselinck.
The gala has taken place on the former Valley Oaks property the last two years. Campovida LLC purchased the Hopland acreage from Brown-Forman in April.
“Campovida” translates to “Field of Life,” and company owners Breen and Beuselinck are working to revitalize the 51 acres that feature a dining pavilion, a farmhouse inn, a field house, a tasting room, 10 acres of organic vineyards and organic gardens of more than 2,000 varieties of fresh fruit, herbs, vegetables, and ornamental and edible flowers.
Guided garden tours have been added to this year’s gala festivities.
For more information about the annual Gala on the Green or about the Mendocino College Foundation, visit the foundation’s Web site, http://foundation.mendocino.edu.
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LAKE COUNTY – The Lake County Marketing and Economic Development Program and the Lake County Winery Association reported that they've completed installation of the first of several winery directional signs that will be located at key intersections around Lake County.
These way-finding signs are designed to assist travelers in visiting local wineries and tasting rooms, many of which are located some distance off of key travel routes, and to position and brand Lake County as a major wine region.
Each sign consists of a 10-foot-tall redwood post wrapped in a white vinyl sleeve. White arrow-shaped panels are attached in ladder style down the sides of the post, and each arrow features the name of and distance in miles to a local winery/tasting room.
The goal is to have a total of 11 signs installed around Lake County over the coming months.
The first sign recently was installed at the intersection of Spruce Grove Road and Highway 29 in Lower Lake. It was in place in time to help visitors during this past weekend's Lake County Wine Adventure find their way around. An estimated 1,500 visitors were expected to be the county for the weekend event.
The second and third sign locations will be near the intersections of Highway 29 and State Route 281 (Kit’s Corner) in Kelseyville and Highways 29 and 20 in Upper Lake.
Similar types of signs can be seen in other major wine regions throughout California and beyond.
In developing Lake County’s signs, county staff and association representatives made contact with other wine industry groups for lessons learned and best practices regarding sign policies, identified potential sites and contacted landowners, and worked in consultation with Caltrans to develop a sign style that would be supported by the state’s transportation agency for installation along highway routes.
This visitor-oriented directional signage project has been a collaborative effort between the Lake County Marketing and Economic Development Program, the Lake County Winery Association, with support from numerous property owners throughout the county, including the Fults family, Seely family, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Brooks, James Jonas and Brad Terrill to name just a few of those who already have volunteered to set aside a small section of their parcels for the signs.
This project also is a model for supporting local business; the design and manufacture of the signs was done by RAH Outdoor in Middletown in conjunction with Steel Starts in Lakeport with installation being handled by James Zimmerman of Middletown.
Lake County is part of the North Coast appellation along with neighboring regions of Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino. Within Lake County are five appellations: Benmore Valley, Clear Lake, Guenoc, High Valley and Red Hills.
The Lake County Winery Association (LCWA) started in 2007 with 15 wineries. Just three years later, the association’s winery membership has doubled, bringing the total number of member wineries to 30. LCWA also is supported by its dozen or so associate members.
LCWA works closely with the county of Lake, the Lake County Winegrape Commission, the two area chambers of commerce, and other county organizations to increase tourism in Lake County.
The Lake County Marketing and Economic Development Program is a division of the Lake County Administrative Office and actively works to promote tourism to and commerce in Lake County; efforts include media relations, visitor attraction, film commission, community beautification, and business assistance.
For visitor information visit www.lakecounty.com; for more information about the association and a list of the member wineries, call 707-355-2762 or visit www.lakecountywineries.org.
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LAKEPORT – An emergency repaving project on a portion of Highway 29 that runs through Lakeport will continue this week.
The paving project starts near the junction of Highway 29 and Highway 175 at Lakeport and continues toward Mockingbird Lane, according to Caltrans.
Beginning on Monday, ramps at Lakeport Boulevard (Exit 102), 11th Street (Exit 103), Park Way (Exit 106), and Nice-Lucerne Cutoff Road (Exit 108) will be intermittently closed – but Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie said previously that not more than one onramp and offramp will be closed at a time.
Work hours are 4 a.m. to 4 a.m., weekdays. Traffic will be restricted to one lane in each direction of
travel, and motorists may experience minor traffic slowdowns. Caltrans said motorists will be advised to use an alternate route and may experience minor delays.
The $4 million project is repairing the roadway surface using layer of rubberized asphalt, Caltrans reported.
Granite Construction of Ukiah is the contractor on the project, which Caltrans said will continue into next month.
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