News

ST. HELENA – Firefighters were able to save a St. Helena home that caught fire Tuesday morning.

The fire was reported at 7:34 a.m. Tuesday in the 300 block of Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, according to Pete Muñoa, Cal Fire battalion chief and Napa County fire marshal.

The 2,800-square-foot home was undergoing renovation, Muñoa said. An electrician who came to work on the residence discovered the fire and called 911.

Muñoa said units and firefighters from St. Helena City Fire, Napa County Fire, Cal Fire and Calistoga Fire Departments responded to the incident.

The fire was contained at 9:40 a.m. but Muñoa said units remained at scene until 12:30 p.m.

He said the fire is believed to have originated in the subfloor beneath the hallway and bathroom area. The home was not occupied due to the construction work and no injuries were reported.

Muñoa said that damage is estimated at $250,000 with an estimated structural save of $1,000,000.

Investigators from the Napa County Fire Marshal’s Office are working on determining the cause.

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LAKEPORT – Harsh winter weather and the flu season heighten the need for blood donations and Lakeport Fire Protection District is helping to fill the void.

The Blood Bank of the Redwoods is running its fourth annual Bucket Brigade. The blood bank supports Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa and Marin counties.

Lakeport Fire will host their very first blood drive this Saturday, Jan. 16, right in their truck bay at 445 N. Main St. in Lakeport from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm. Middletown Fire Department’s drive was on Dec. 12.

Last year, Geyserville Fire Department won the Bucket Brigade trophy, but this year Brian Hirscher, vice president of the Lakeport Volunteer Firefighter's Association, hopes to change that.

Hirscher feels the community can come through with more than 102 donors, which is how many Geyserville Fire recruited to win last year’s contest.

“Fire departments are very competitive, in a good way,” he said. “This is something that benefits the community greatly.”

Hirscher encouraged people to register for the donation, even though walk-ins will be happily accepted. There have been times where the community has had such a positive response that the drive was overwhelmed with willing donors, he said.

To register, donors may pay a visit to the station, call Blood Bank of the Redwoods at 707-545-1222, Extension 163, or visit the blood bank’s Web site, www.bbr.org .

Donors at Lakeport Fire will receive a light barbecue lunch and a free event T-shirt.

Last year 1,155 people donated blood during the Bucket Brigade from 40 different fire departments through 34 blood drives between the months of November 2008 and January 2009, according to blood bank officials.

“The amount of donors has gone up every year,” said Andrea Casson, account coordinator for Blood Bank of the Redwoods. “The blood is priceless because each unit can help up to three patients, but that’s not where the relief ends. It also affects the lives of those patients’ friends and family.”

A person should only donate one unit, or about one pint, of whole blood each visit, according to the American Association of Bloods Banks. The average person contains 10 pints of blood in his or her body according to their Web site, www.aabb.org .

The American Association of Bloods Banks estimated that about 9.5 million people donate blood every year. The average daily national need for blood is approximately 40,000 units.

Although the Bucket Brigade does generate a lot of blood during the winter flu season, winter is not the only time blood is needed.

When high school and college students go out of town for the summer, the need increases, as they're important contributors, said Casson.

But students don’t hold out when blood is needed. High school students alone contribute 20 percent of the blood supply overall, said Kent Corley, fund development manager and Blood Bank of the Redwoods spokesman.

Corley said the blood is used for various reasons including acute blood loss and surgery, gastrointestinal bleeds and oncology.

According to Blood Bank of the Redwoods' Web site, 37 percent of the US population is eligible to donate – yet only 5 percent do on a yearly basis.

Blood Bank of the Redwoods sends people to Lakeport every two to three weeks to conduct blood drives. The most recent was Sunday and was hosted by Wal-Mart in Clearlake. The next drive after the Bucket Brigade is over will be at Grocery Outlet in Lakeport on Jan. 25 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

The American Association of Bloods Banks recommends that donors be 16 years of age and at least 110 pounds. All donors must also pass physical and health history examinations before being able to donate. Donors should expect to spend more than an hour donating blood.

Only whole blood is being collected at the different fire departments and will be broken down into its three components for storage at the laboratory. An eligible donor can give one pint of blood, which weighs almost a pound, every 56 days, according to the American Association of Bloods Banks.

The blood supplies and demands vary due to unpredictable events and emergencies. Typically blood centers store enough blood for three days and most donations are available 48 hours after being donated, the American Association of Bloods Banks reported.

“When usage is down, we decrease the number of blood drives, so all drives are important,” said Corley. “When the need increases, we add drives. It is a constant balancing act.”

E-mail Tera deVroede at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

WILLITS – Officials are warning about a telephone scam hitting the city of Willits.

On Jan. 8, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office received several complaints of a telephone scam occurring at local businesses in and around the city of Willits, according to sheriff's Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.

A male caller was telephoning local businesses and advising the owner/management that he was a deputy with the "sheriff's office" and that one of their employee's had been arrested or was in the hospital, Smallcomb said.

The caller would purposely be vague when describing the employee and would wait for the owner/manager to volunteer information, Smallcomb explained.

The caller would then request that the owner/manager send between $300-$1,000, via Western Union, to assist the employee, according to the report.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office does not attempt to elicit money for or from anyone, Smallcomb said. Anytime an unknown person requests that you send money, via Western Union, then you should be suspicious of that person and contact your local law enforcement.

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NORTH COAST – In the wake of a large earthquake that occurred off the North Coast Saturday afternoon, numerous smaller quakes continued throughout Sunday.

Saturday's 6.5 quake, reported shortly before 4:30 p.m. 27 miles west of Ferndale in Humboldt County, has appeared to trigger a series of ongoing smaller aftershocks, which began immediately afterward, according to US Geological Survey records.

Those continued when, on Sunday at 3:48 a.m., a 3.9-magnitude quake was reported 23 miles west northwest of Ferndale at a depth of 5.1 miles in the ocean floor, the agency reported.

The US Geological Survey received 37 responses from 18 zip codes around Northern California from people who felt that quake, the power of which was reported at moderate around Eureka and stronger east of the city.

Smaller quakes continued on that west northwest line, moving closer to shore, over the next several hours.

A 2.6-magnitude quake followed at 4:05 a.m. Sunday, 21 miles west northwest of Ferndale, with the epicenter located 9.4 miles down, according to the US Geological Survey. At 8:49 a.m., a 2.7-magnitude quake was reported 18 miles west northwest of Ferndale. That quake was 7.8 miles deep.

Another set of smaller quakes occurred between 20 and 30 miles on a western line from Ferndale, varying between shallower depths of 2.2 miles and deeper, to more than eight miles, based on the geological reports.

Then, at 10:44 p.m., a 4.2-magnitude quake occurred 37 miles west of Ferndale, with a 6-mile-deep epicenter, the US Geological Survey reported. Despite its distance from shore, about half a dozen people from Humboldt County and as far away as Mountain View reported feeling the quake.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported late Sunday that the 4.2-magnitude smaller earthquake would not generate a tsunami. The previous day, it had reported that the 6.5-magnitude quake wasn't expected to generate one of the massive waves.

In other earthquake news, a 3.0-magnitude quake was reported at 7:36 a.m. Sunday at The Geysers, five miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs.

The quake – which was centered 2.3 miles deep – was felt in Lakeport and Kelseyville, and as far away as Placerville, Chico and Redding, the US Geological Survey reported.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf .

LAKE COUNTY – The county of Lake is encouraging all residents to be counted in the 2010 US Census.

Census Day is April 1, 2010.

The information gathered by the US Census – a national population count that occurs every 10 years – is used to determine levels of state and federal funding that come to local government, schools and nonprofit organizations.

The data also is very useful to numerous businesses.

If Lake County's population is undercounted, the county will be in jeopardy of not receiving its fair share of funding for public services such as emergency services, roads, schools, hospitals and job training, officials reported. The census population count also is important in that it determines electoral districts.

Census questionnaires will be delivered or mailed to households in March.

With only 10 questions, the 2010 Census questionnaire is one of the shortest census questionnaires in history and takes just 10 minutes to complete.

All information provided on the questionnaires is kept confidential, protected and safe.

County officials said they're doing their part to spread the message of the importance of the 2010 Census.

They have created a Complete Count Committee made up of local representatives to assist the county in achieving as complete a count as possible and to build local awareness for the 2010 Census.

Local agencies are encouraged to become involved in building this local awareness through the sharing and publicizing of census information.

More information about the US Census can be found at the following Web sites: www.2010Census.gov , www.census.ca.gov or www.californiacompletecount.org .

Contact the Lake County Administrative Office at 707-263-2580 if you would like more information and to become a part of building awareness for the 2010 Census.

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LAKE COUNTY – Following the publication of a gallery of readers' photos last weekend, Lake County News has received dozens more great photos of the county captured by its residents.

The following sampling of the photos shows an assortment of different locations and times of year, plus wildlife.

If you have a great photo of Lake County that you'd like to share for a future gallery, send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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