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BLUE LAKES – An early morning incident in which a semi truck went into Blue Lakes kept local agencies busy throughout Wednesday with the difficult task of pulling the truck up out of the lake.
The busy recovery scene also has led to traffic delays along Highway 20 in the Blue Lakes area, with Caltrans controlling the flow of vehicles past the curve where the truck went down the embankment. It took agencies more than 12 hours to completely clear the scene.
California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Tanguay said the crash occurred at 3:50 a.m. Wednesday.
Pedro Guevara, 39, of Stockton was behind the wheel of the Safeway tractor-trailer. Tanguay said Guevara had made a delivery at the Lakeport Safeway store and was traveling to Ukiah with four pallets of produce to deliver to the Safeway store there.
Guevara was near Midlake Road when he hit the embankment on the north side of the highway, said Tanguay. That caused Guevara to cross the highway and go down over the embankment into the lake. The truck appeared to have taken out a tree as it went over the edge.
Tanguay said Guevara survived the crash, but was trapped in the cab, which was partially submerged. Initial reports indicated the water was up to Guevara's neck with his legs pinned underneath the dashboard.
That's where two local good Samaritans enter the story.
Keith Hoyt, a member of the Northshore Dive Team, said a man living in a home across the lake heard the crash, came outside and heard Guevara calling for help. The man, whose name Hoyt didn't know, called 911 and then got in his boat and came over to the scene.
At the same time, Bruce Cottrell – a local roofing contractor – responded to the crash, said Hoyt.
Cottrell had a headlamp which he used to light the area. Then he went down the embankment and into the water, where he found Guevara trapped in the cab. Cottrell got into the cab with Guevara and helped hold his head above water.
When Hoyt got to the scene, he got into the water and swam over to the vehicle and recognized Cottrell with Guevara in the cab.
Hoyt said Guevara's leg was trapped but Guevara said he could feel his foot, so they didn't think it was broken. The cab was badly smashed up, with broken windows and a large tree limb sheered off during the truck's trip down the embankment lying across the cab.
Swimming in the dark, Hoyt was able to get the driver's side door open. Inside the cab, he something holding Guevara's leg. Hoyt used a pair of shears to cut the item, which was later discovered to be the cuff of his pant's leg which was caught on something.
Cottrell helped Guevara – who Hoyt said is a pretty big guy – get through the cab's back window and over the crushed muffler, which had a lot of sharp metal and ripped up Guevara's pants. Guevara got up the bank under his own power but with some assistance from Cottrell, said Hoyt.
Once up on the road, medics put Guevara on a backboard, treated him for a head laceration and got him warmed up, according to Hoyt.
Cottrell stayed with Guevara the whole time. “He definitely was a hero,” Hoyt said of Cottrell.
Tanguay said Guevara was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital by REACH air ambulance. There was no word late Wednesday on his condition.
Within 45 minutes of the crash, the Northshore Dive Team had placed “booms” – which look like long rolls of materials – in the water to prevent the spread of diesel fuel into the lake, said Northshore Battalion Chief Pat Brown. Hoyt said they were assisted by the resident from across the lake who had called 911.
Highway 20 was blocked for several hours in the early morning as Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire, Cal Fire CHP, the Office of Emergency Services, California Fish & Game, Caltrans and Konocti Conservation Camp worked to clear the scene. The roadway was reopened with traffic control shortly before 6:30 a.m.
Northshore Fire and CHP were in charge of the incident, sharing a unified command, Brown explained.
In order to get the truck out of the lake the trailer had to be unloaded and the fuel removed. The embankment's thick underbrush also had to be cut away to allow the recovery operation to proceed. Brown said they had to separate the cab from the trailer in order to remove the vehicle.
Two large tow trucks worked to pull the truck up the steep embankment, which was completed a little after 3 p.m., said Tanguay. About an hour later, the cab was pulled from the lake, said Hoyt.
The CHP reported the roadway was clear once again at approximately 5:17 p.m.
Brown said Safeway hired a Bay Area firm to handle environmental cleanup. Though some diesel was believed to have gone into the lake, Brown said he believed the amount was very small.
Speeding isn't believed to have been an issue in the crash, said Tanguay. While it's still under investigation, driver fatigue is emerging as a possible factor.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
They need to be adaptable to deal with life’s changed circumstance – some of which may be foreseeable and others unpredictable. Specifically, flexibility is desirable in regards to (1) who steps-in to manage your affairs during periods of disability and death; (2) whether to allow for Medi-Cal/SSI gifting; (3) whether assets may either be held in trust and otherwise distributed/used (rather than outright cash distributions); and (4) what say your beneficiaries are allowed over their shares of your estate. Let us now examine each area.
Over time, or with later events, it is possible that the person(s) whom you named to manage your financial and personal affairs may not then be either able or willing to carry out these responsibilities. Hopefully, you named worthy alternatives. In addition, however, it may also be desirable to authorize these selected persons themselves to name their own replacements should none of your other named alternatives be available.
If desired, Medi-Cal gifting powers need to be incorporated into your trust and/or power of attorney. For married couples their community property (so-called marital assets) presents a planning opportunity in regards to eligibility for long-term nursing home Medi-Cal benefits. That is, specifically allowing for (e.g., enabling) the “transmutation” of community property assets into the separate property of the well-spouse would facilitate matters while protecting both, in the event that one needs to qualify for Medi-Cal (e.g., for long-term nursing home care) and the other stay at home.
Furthermore, for those who desire that their assets be transferred to their children (not spouse), prior to death, in order to become eligible for Medi-Cal sooner and to preserve their children’s inheritances against later estate recovery by the State (in regards to Medi-Cal and/or SSI benefits received) it is even more important to express these wishes in an enforceable manner — such as by authorizing an agent to make gifts from your estate to desired persons.
Gifting implicates both the welfare of the person making the gifts and the children (usually) receiving the gift (as an advance on their inheritances). As Medi-Cal law is in a state of flux, your trust and/or power of attorney needs to be carefully crafted. Naturally, the person(s) whom you entrust to make these gifting decisions needs to have the good judgment, understanding and integrity to use this gifting authority wisely.
Another area is flexibility in the distribution/use of your estate. That is, whether your estate “may be held in further trust” (e.g., such as a special needs trusts or an asset protection trusts), or “may be used to purchase a single premium annuity”, or “may be used in some other specified manner(s).” These considerations may become important should your beneficiaries later-on develop creditor problems, or become disabled (especially if needs based government benefits are involved). Having “no flexibility” to deal with changed circumstances may mean that the plan will proceed regardless and with undesirable results.
Next, consider giving your surviving spouse, or your other beneficiaries, a so-called “special power of appointment” so they can redirect inheritances amongst a “limited class of beneficiaries.” Why? If circumstances significantly change, then they can reallocate the estate distribution scheme in a more appropriate way. One example, amongst many, involves your surviving spouse reallocating your trust estate amongst your children, so that if any child becomes more needy, then they receive a greater share than other more fortunate children.
Lastly, if circumstances change while you are still alive and competent it is better that you carefully review your estate planning documents and amend them as needed. But, otherwise, if this does not happen, hopefully your existing documents are drafted so as to allow an appropriate response to the changed circumstances.
Dennis Fordham is an attorney who practices in Lakeport. He welcomes your calls to reserve a seat to attend the next free public educational seminar on the topics of wills, trusts and estate planning, and special needs trusts. Call him at 263-3235.
KELSEYVILLE – A small barn and a workshop and all of its contents were destroyed in an early evening fire Monday.
The fire occurred at the Oakie Slopes Vineyard, located five miles west of Highway 29 on Kelsey Creek Drive.
A column of smoke rose high in the evening sky visible from Lakeport as fire personnel from Kelseyville Fire Protection District and Cal Fire ascended the moderately steep hillside scene.
Early radio reports indicated that the barn, a workshop and a pickup camper unit were fully engulfed just before 6 p.m. as fire units arrived.
Vineyard owner Edward Tollefson had been called to the location a short time after leaving for a trip to Santa Rosa. He explained that one of his longtime employees had been working in the shop repairing power equipment.
The unidentified worker was transferring gasoline to a riding mower when, for a not yet specified reason, the fuel caught fire.
The fire spread quickly throughout the wood-framed structures. At least one other gasoline container exploded, spreading the fire to a pickup truck-type camper stored behind the two small buildings.
Tollefson told Lake County News that along with three cords of firewood he lost several motorized farm vehicles and dozens of power tools related to farm and vineyard maintenance.
No persons were injured and medical personnel were not called to the scene. Water to fight the blaze was provided by tanker trucks.
The nearly one dozen fire personnel were cleared and released from the scene at 7:35 p.m.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
LUCERNE – A fire seriously damaged a house in Lucerne on Monday night.
The fire was reported before 9:30 p.m. at 6438 15th Ave.
Northshore Fire personnel, three Northshore Fire engines, an ambulance and three Lake County Sheriff's deputies responded to the scene.
Battalion Chief Pat Brown said the fire's source appeared to be a small propane tank inside the house.
The home was unoccupied at the time of the fire, according to Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jim Robbins. The owner was living down the street while the house was being renovated.
The propane caused two windows – one in the front and one in the back – to bust out, said Robbins.
Although the interior of the home incurred significant damage, the home's structure appeared to be all right. 'We actually made a good save on it,” said Robbins.
The fire itself was extinguished quickly. As firefighters mopped up the scene, Brown and Robbins interviewed the owner and others at the scene to complete the fire investigation.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The crash took place shortly before 9 a.m. on Red Hills Road just over a mile west of the Kit's Corner intersection with Highway 29, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia.
Garcia said 46-year-old Michael Zappelli Jr. of Kelseyville was driving a blue 2002 C-1500 pickup westbound on Red Hills road, with 19-year-old Phillip Martin of Kelseyville coming from the opposite direction in a red 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix. Both men were traveling alone in their respective vehicles.
Preliminary evidence from the crash investigation appears to show that Zappelli's vehicle crossed into the eastbound lane and collided with Martin’s vehicle head-on, said Garcia.
Zappelli was not wearing his seatbelt and he sustained major life threatening injuries. Garcia said Zappelli was flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Martin also sustained major life threatening injuries and was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial hospital
by Cal-Star air ambulance, Garcia said.
Garcia said both vehicles sustained substantial front end damage.
Alcohol is not believed to have been a factor, but Garcia said high speeds contributed to the severity of the collision.
Garcia said Officer Efrain Cortez is investigation the Monday crash.
The annual Lyrid meteor shower will be visible over North America on Wednesday, April 22, according to the National Aeronautic and Space Administration.
It's on that day that Earth will pass through a stream of dust given off by Comet Thatcher, NASA reported. Each April Earth passes through the comet's trail of debris.
Coincident with the meteor shower this year, the crescent moon and Venus will converge for a close encounter in the eastern sky. Viewed from some parts of the world, the Moon will pass directly in front of Venus, causing Venus to vanish, according to Dr. Tony Phillips of NASA.
The University of North Carolina's Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute reports that the Lyrids are best viewed between midnight and dawn from a clear, dark location with a good horizon.
Look to the northeast to find the meteors appearing to radiate out of the constellation of Lyra the harp. Binoculars or telescopes aren't needed. Then, as dawn approaches on April 22, note the brilliant planet Venus just to the left of the rising moon.
Lake County residents – along with other North American residents – will be favored with a full-blown eclipse or “occultation” when, around 5 a.m. Wednesday, Venus will disappear behind the mountainous rim of the Moon and reappear 60 to 90 minutes later, NASA reported. The occultation will be bright enough to see in broad daylight.
The Lyrids form the oldest recorded meteor shower, with observations of the Lyrids noted for at least 2,600 years, NASA reported. A Chinese account from 687 BC described the shower as having “stars that fell [like] rain.”
The Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute reports that Comet Thatcher was first discovered in 1861, and revolves around the Sun every 415 years.
Flakes of comet dust, most no bigger than grains of sand, strike Earth's atmosphere traveling 110,000 mph and disintegrate as fast streaks of light, NASA reported. A typical Lyrid shower produces 10 to 20 meteors per hour over the northern hemisphere, not an intense display.
Occasionally, however, Earth passes through a dense region of the comet's tail and rates increase five- to ten-fold, NASA noted. In April 1803 there was a particularly dramatic appearance with a rate of about 700 meteors per hour. In 1982, observers counted 90 Lyrids per hour. Because Thatcher's tail has never been mapped in detail, the outbursts are unpredictable and could happen again at any time.
This year the Lyrids are predicted to reach a peak of about 20 meteors per hour on Wednesday, the institute reported.
NASA said Comet Thatcher spends most of its time well away from the planets, and is nearly immune to significant gravitational perturbations, which may be why the debris stream has remained stable and the Lyrid shower has been observed for so many centuries.