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The fire was reported just before 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Charlie Diner.
He said the fire was located on the park grounds off of Lakeview Way near the white bridge.
A total of about 30 firefighters from Lake County Fire Protection and Cal Fire responded, said Diener, along with three engines and a water tender from the district and two Cal Fire engines.
The fire was located in tules, said Diener. It burned about seven acres but didn't come near any buildings.
“It was a pretty difficult fire,” said Diener. “It took us a good couple of hours.”
The reason for the difficulty was that they couldn't get engines very close, so they had to do an extensive hose lay to fight the blaze.
The engines and firefighters returned to quarters just after 3 a.m., Diener said.
Diener said an illegal camp fire is believed to be the cause.
Officials found some teenagers in the area who they spoke to about the fire, said Diener. While they don't believe those teens were responsible, they were cited by a state park ranger for another illegal campfire and littering in the park.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
NICE – A garage was destroyed and a home damaged Monday when a controlled burn that appeared to be extinguished caught the buildings on fire.
The fire was reported shortly before 1:30 p.m. at 1757 E. Highway 20, near Red Hills Lane, according to Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins.
Robbins said a woman had been doing a controlled burn of some leaves and thought it had smoldered down to nothing, so she walked out to get her mail and when she came back found her single-car garage was on fire.
The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived and by that point it had started to burn the nearby doublewide mobile, said Robbins.
Radio reports indicated there may have been some explosions within the garage due to gas cans.
While firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the garage fire, fighting to save the house took longer, Robbins explained.
The mobile had wood siding and a second roof. Robbins said the fire got up between the two roofs, which meant firefighters had to use chainsaws to cut holes in the outer roof.
It took 16 firefighters, three engines – one each from Northshore Fire's Lucerne, Nice and Upper Lake stations – and a water tender from Upper Lake about two hours to take care of the fires and the subsequent mop up, said Robbins. At least one Lakeport firefighter also was on scene.
An ambulance from the Lucerne station also was on hand, but Robbins said no one was hurt.
Robbins estimated the fire caused $30,000 in damage.
While the garage was a complete loss, the doublewide mobile was saved, said Robbins. “It will take some repairs.”
Harold LaBonte contributed to this report.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported Monday that Kenneth High, 56, and Tammie High, 46, were pulled over for a traffic violation on North Highway 1 in Fort Bragg just before 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 3.
When they contacted Kenneth High, the deputies observed marijuana and a digital scale inside the vehicle and a false registration tab affixed to the rear license plate. Kenneth High subsequently was arrested for the false registration tab.
Following his arrest the deputies searched the car and found approximately 5.0 grams of methamphetamine in High's pocket, according to the Monday report.
Tammie High, who was riding as a passenger in the vehicle, also was arrested for the false registration tab and for being under the influence of a controlled substance, sheriff's officials reported.
The Highs were transported to the Mendocino County Jail where they were booked and lodged with bail set at $10,000.
MIDDLETOWN – A local school has received state recognition for excellence in education.
For the fourth time, Middletown Middle School has been named a California Distinguished School. The annual award recognizes some of the state's most exemplary public schools.
On April 1 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell called Middletown Middle School's principal, Daniel Morgan, to notify him of the award and to offer his congratulations.
The school, which has 270 students, previously won the award in 2001, 1994 and 1992, according to records of the award. It also has received a National Blue Ribbon nomination, according to the Middletown Unified School District Web site.
Middletown Middle School is among 261 middle and high schools named California Distinguished Schools this year, O'Connell said.
The selected middle and high schools represent about 10.9 percent of California's nearly 2,400 middle and high schools, according to O'Connell's office. Of those schools, only 341 schools met the eligibility criteria based on their student achievement and were chosen from 170 school districts in 46 counties.
An awards ceremony honoring the Distinguished Schools will be held Friday, May 29, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.
“California Distinguished Schools must meet the challenge of providing all their students with a rigorous education and to fully prepare today's students for success in postsecondary education or the workforce,” O'Connell said in a statement. “In an increasingly competitive global economy, it is important that the academic success of all of today's students is directly linked to the effectiveness, competitiveness, and resiliency of our not-too-distant future workforce.”
O'Connell said the schools honored with the award “have shown they are able to increase the achievement of all their students and have provided evidence that they are closing the achievement gaps that, unfortunately, exist at many schools.”
He added, “The Distinguished Schools program always identified schools that are leaders in academic achievement. It now also recognizes schools that are leaders in helping all students succeed, and highlights the best practices that are effective in closing the gap.”
Other local schools that have received the honor since the awards were first given out in 1986 include Cobb Mountain Elementary (2006), Middletown High School (2003 and 1992), Riviera Elementary School (1997), Lucerne Elementary School (1997), Kelseyville High School (1996) and Gard Street Elementary School (1986).
This year, the selection process required schools to provide an in-depth description of two “signature” practices implemented at the schools that are replicable, and directly related to the success of their students, the Department of Education reported.
During an intensive site visitation by a trained team of external educators, additional evidence about the effectiveness of the signature practices was gathered and analyzed.
Information about these successful signature practices will be shared through the California Department of Education Web site, www.cde.ca.gov, and other venues including an upcoming Web tool for educators called the Brokers of Expertise to become operational later this year.
LAKE COUNTY – Local and state officials are looking for a man who has allegedly been running an illegal paving operation for years that has resulted in numerous people being ripped off.
The Contractors State Licensing Board has listed Richard John Williams, 64, of Lakeport among its most wanted.
The Lake County District Attorney's Office also has issued a $750,000 warrant for Williams' arrest, the licensing board reported.
Williams has a long history of unlicensed, illegal contracting and substandard work, officials reported.
He had been living in a motel and operating in the Lake County area for at least the first few months of this year under the business name of “Seal Coat Contractor,” according to the Contractors State Licensing Board.
He's also operated under the business names of “Asphalt Sealing Crack Filling and Patching” and “Richard Williams Seal Coat Contractor.”
Williams has been arrested numerous times, including a 2005 multi-victim case in Mendocino County. He has operated his paving scam in a number of Northern California communities and is known to have worked in Sonoma, Sacramento, Mendocino, Yolo, and Colusa counties.
Among the violations listed against him are grand theft, elder abuse, contracting without a license and illegal advertising, according to the licensing board.
Williams was arrested by the District Attorney's Office on March 19 on misdemeanor charges of advertising as a contractor without a license and contracting without a license, with bail set at $1,000 for each of the charges, according to jail records.
He appeared in Lake County Superior Court on March 23 for sentencing on a prior felony construction-related case and then was released on bail, the licensing board reported.
However, since additional charges were filed following the March 19 arrest, Williams was rescheduled to appear in Lake County Superior Court on April 27. It is believed that he has left the Lake County area.
Williams is described as 6 feet 1 inches tall and 250 pounds, with gray hair, a fair complexion and blue-green eyes. He wears glasses and has tattoos on his forearms.
He is associated with a white 2008 Chevrolet Silverado with an Arizona license plate, ABN8561, and may be pulling or parked near a trailer with a tank with the California license plate, 4KB5826.
The Contractors State License Board said that anyone who sees Williams shouldn't attempt to apprehend him themselves, but should immediately call local law enforcement and then the licensing board itself at 916-255-2924.
The 26th annual Catfish Derby will be held in Clearlake Oaks the weekend of May 15, 16 and 17, and included in this year’s festivities will be the inaugural Catfish Derby Cook-Off.
Get out your old family recipes or pull something new out of your head, because the prestige alone in winning the inaugural event is worth it. We hope to see some really inspired and creative dishes to start this tradition off right.
Cooking will be done at the Live Oak Senior Center, 12502 Foothill Blvd., and judging will take place at the Clearlake Oaks fire station.
The entry fee is $15 if entered before May 2, entries received after May 2 will be $20. Visit www.clearlakeoaks.org for entry forms and complete contest rules.
Wondering where to find catfish? Catfish filets will be available for purchase at the Nylander’s Red and White Grocery store nearby the cooking facilities the week of the competition.
Entries for this contest can consist of any category of food, e.g., breakfast, lunch, or dinner; main course, salad, side dish or dessert; hors d’oeuvres or beverage; but all entries must contain catfish.
Best catfish recipe awards are as follows:
First prize: $250 cash, wines from almost every winery in the county and a trophy;
Second prize: $150 cash, a wine basket from the Lake County Winegrape Commission and a trophy (estimated values, $350);
Third prize $100 cash and a trophy.
There also will be a trophy awarded for the most unique dish, and another for the person who travels the farthest distance to enter.
Anyone over 21 years old can enter (Lake County wines will be among the awards and you must be 21 years old to receive).
The competition will take place on Saturday, May 16.
For the contest's complete rules go to www.clearlakeoaks.org. Failure to follow the complete official rules may result in disqualification.
Here is a brief rundown of the rules.
1. Eligibility. Anyone is eligible to enter, whether amateur or professional cook/chef. Must be 21 years or older to enter (alcoholic prizes will be awarded). Entry fee is $15 per recipe entered. Entries arriving after May 2nd will still be accepted, but the entry fee will then be $20. Entrants may present more than one dish, but each entry will be considered separately. All recipes must contain catfish.
2. Procedures and policies. Anyone can enter by sending their name, address, phone number, and name of dish to be cooked with the appropriate entry fee to: Catfish Derby, P.O. Box 1211, Clearlake Oaks, CA 95423. Entry deadline is May 2, though late entries will be accepted (see above). On May 9, every entrant will receive notification of their time slot when the kitchen at the Live Oak Senior Center will be available for them to do their final cooking and plating. Competition will begin at 10 a.m. Entrants will have 20 minutes to cook and plate their dish. The final cooking and plating must be done at the senior center. Basic food preparations are to be done off site – no facilities for preparation will be provided. To promote uniformity of entries, covered containers will be provided for each entry for transportation and presentation to the judging area. No raw fish of any type may be presented. Entrants will need to prepare four servings of each entry, one for each of the three judges and one for the announcer outside so that he/she may give a description to the audience of what is being judged.
3. Judging. Judging will be based on taste, presentation, and on any particular factors at the judges’ discretion. Judges will rate each dish independently, giving each a score of up to 10 points for taste, up to five points for presentation, and up to five points to be awarded at each judge’s personal discretion. Criteria for “most unique” will be subject to the judges’ interpretation of items that were beyond expectation, represented a new concept, or surprised the judges in some way. The panel of judges will be introduced and present at the time the winners are announced. All decisions by the judges and the Catfish Derby Committee are final.
So get creative, have fun, and we’ll see you there!
Ross A. Christensen is an award-winning gardener and gourmet cook. He is the author of "Sushi A to Z, The Ultimate Guide" and is currently working on a new book. He has been a public speaker for many years and enjoys being involved in the community.