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The quake, recorded at a depth of 1.1 miles at 7:31 p.m., was centered three miles east of The Geysers, four miles south southwest of Cobb and four miles west northwest of Anderson Springs, according to the US Geological Survey.
Four people reported to the US Geological Survey that they felt the quake – two in Cobb, one in Middletown and one in Longview, 823 miles away.
The last quake of 3.0 magnitude or above recorded in the county occurred on Dec. 21, as Lake County News has reported.
Some Cobb-area residents have considered recent earthquake activity out of season.
However, giving another viewpoint, Anderson Springs resident Meriel Medrano believes winter – particularly January and February – are actually the worst times of the year for the area's seismic activity.
Medrano said that they continue to have many small quakes in the area but the larger quakes seem not to be occurring as often.
The shallower earthquakes have been linked to geothermal production at The Geysers, as Lake County News has reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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“Consider this a warning,” said Clear Lake Area CHP Commander, Lieutenant Loveless, “We will be out there taking a zero tolerance approach and will arrest you if you are drinking and driving.”
CHP officers arrested 1,397 motorists statewide for driving under the influence (DUI) during this year’s Christmas MEP compared to 1,661 in 2007, according to a CHP report.
During that same time period, 37 people died in the collisions that occurred in California compared to 43 in 2007. Among those killed this year, 15 were not wearing a seatbelt.
“Remember to designate a non-drinking driver before the celebrating begins, watch your speed and always wear your seatbelt,” Loveless added.
Along with the increased enforcement effort, the CHP is asking motorists to help keep the state’s roadways safe by calling 911 to report a suspected drunk driver. Callers should be prepared to provide dispatchers with a description of the vehicle, its location and direction of travel.
“The holiday season is a time for family, friends, and celebrations; unfortunately it is also a time when we see too many alcohol-related highway fatalities,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Even if we save just one life by getting the message out, that is one life that has been spared.”
In keeping with the state trend, during the Christmas MEP, the Clear Lake Area had less DUI arrests, but also showed a drop in traffic collisions, according to CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
Three drivers were arrested for DUI by the Clear Lake Area compared to 10 in 2007, Garcia reported.
He also noted that in 2008 there were seven traffic collisions with three injured and zero fatalities compared to 11 collisions with three injured and zero fatalities in 2007.
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Marcia Ann Morris, 56, of Upper Lake, who owns Marcia Morris Bail Bonds, was arrested Monday morning along with parolees Jeffrey Scott Boulerice, 38, and Joel Martin Langan, 51, according to Lt. Dave Garzoli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.
At about 8:55 a.m. Lake County Sheriff's deputies conducted a parole search at the home Boulerice and Langan share, Garzoli reported. When the deputies entered the home they contacted the two men along with Morris.
Garzoli said Deputy Steve Herdt found a jacket containing a small baggy of methamphetamine in one of the pockets. In the same pocket was a Marcia Morris Bail Bonds business card folded into a “bindle” that contained a quantity of methamphetamine.
Morris then is alleged to have told Herdt that the meth was hers and that she had begun using the drug about two months ago, according to Garzoli.
During the search Herdt also found a spoon and a syringe that contained evidence of intravenous drug use and a small amount of meth which are alleged to have belonged to Boulerice, and items alleged to belong to Langan including a syringe and two glass pipes used for ingesting meth, Garzoli reported.
Morris was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and booked into the Lake County Jail with bail set at $10,000.
Boulerice was arrested for possession of methamphetamine and a hypodermic syringe, while Langan was arrested for possession of paraphernalia and a hypodermic syringe.
Langan and Boulerice both remained in the Lake County Jail on felony parole violations Monday evening.
Morris had posted bail and was released.
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The collision occurred shortly before 4 p.m. on Highway 29 about a half-mile north of Lower Lake, according to the California Highway Patrol incident reports.
One vehicle was reported to be off the road and power lines were blocking the highway's northbound lanes, the CHP reported.
Pacific Gas and Electric was called to the scene. CHP reported that all lanes of the highway were open shortly after 4:15 p.m.
A mother and daughter, whose names were not available Sunday evening, were involved in the collision and were treated at St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake for minor injuries later in the afternoon, the CHP reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The CHP ratcheted up its coverage on county roads from Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. through midnight on Sunday.
Officers made only two arrests for DUI in that time, according to jail arrest reports.
The first was on Christmas day, when Francis Boettcher Jr., 56, of Windsor was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and causing bodily injury.
The only other arrest of the maximum enforcement period came on Sunday, when the CHP arrested 51-year-old Marsha Schefcick of Lakeport for allegedly driving under the influence and willful cruelty to a child, according to jail records.
The CHP is expected to hold another maximum enforcement period for the New Year's holiday.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The woman, whose name has not been released by local officials, surrendered 70 small breed dogs to county officials after a complaint was made about the animals on Dec. 16, as Lake County News has reported.
Also found on her property at the time was a raccoon, which Animal Care and Control said was turned over to state Fish and Game officials.
Game Warden Loren Freeman told Lake County News that he was investigating the case.
He said Animal Care and Control notified him that they had found the raccoon. "I advised them to seize it."
Under California law it's a crime to possess certain wild animals, including raccoons, Freeman explained.
One concern about raccoons is that they carry rabies but have subdued symptoms when suffering from the disease, he said.
Freeman said keeping wildlife like raccoons is a misdemeanor; convictions can result in up to $2,000 in fines and six months in jail, "but it's typically not nearly that high."
He said he sees one or two cases a year of local people keeping wild animals as pets. "We do have quite a problem" when it comes to keeping wildlife, he added.
"Raccoons, opossums, squirrels – people seem to take them when they're cute and cuddly," said Freeman.
People usually take the animals when they're babies and hand-raise them. "They don't really domesticate," said Freeman.
Freeman said there also is a big problem with people attempting to keep deer as pets.
Deer get food aggressive as they get older, and then people try to release them back into the wild. Freeman said there have been numerous cases where the animals have to be destroyed for public safety reasons.
When people are found with wildlife, Freeman said Fish and Game has several options on what to do with the animals.
First, they can return the animal to where the people got it, putting it back out into the wild.
Second, they can ship it out of state. This works in cases where people have brought animals like alligators from another area. It also works with such animals as ferrets, which are legal to keep as pets in other states but aren't legal in California.
The third choice, said Freeman, is to destroy the animal.
That, unfortunately, appears to be the option for the raccoon in this case.
"I looked at rehabilitating this one and it's not an option," he said, adding that the local wildlife rehabilitation program at Spirit Wild on Cobb is unwilling to take the animal.
The raccoon also has issues because it's been exposed to humans and to dozens of dogs, he said. Trying to release it into the wild likely would not be a success.
"The only choice is to destroy the animal to protect the rest of our population," he said.
Freeman said the investigation could lead to a formal complaint process and prosecution through the District Attorney's Office.
Freeman said it's unfortunate when animals are taken from the wild and then have to be destroyed due to safety reasons.
Taking the animals from their homes in the wild, he added, ultimately is "the wrong thing."
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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