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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A solo-vehicle wreck on Highway 20 Monday afternoon killed the male driver and caused a small wildland fire.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 west of Bachelor Valley Road near Upper Lake.
The CHP did not release the name of the man who died or his city of residence pending notification of next of kin.
The man, who was driving a 1998 Mercedes-Benz, was reported at 2:21 p.m. as a reckless driver traveling westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed, the CHP report said.
The CHP said numerous individuals had reported the vehicle as reckless and possibly involved in a noninjury hit and run involving another vehicle at Highway 20 just west of the roundabout intersection with Highway 29.
As the Mercedes continued westbound, it ran off the north edge of Highway 20 and hit an oak tree, which caused the vehicle to roll over, according to the report.
When the Mercedes overturned, the driver was ejected. The CHP said the Mercedes continued in a northeasterly direction, hitting a second oak tree.
The CHP said the vehicle caught fire and started a small wildland fire on the north edge of Highway 20.
Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters arriving on scene reported that the fire was one acre, with a slow rate of spread.
Within minutes firefighters had stopped the fire’s progress, with radio reports indicating they needed to stay on scene for a few hours for mop up.
One-way traffic control was established on scene for approximately two hours, the CHP said.
The Mercedes’ driver was transported from the scene but died of his injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP said the crash is still under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 west of Bachelor Valley Road near Upper Lake.
The CHP did not release the name of the man who died or his city of residence pending notification of next of kin.
The man, who was driving a 1998 Mercedes-Benz, was reported at 2:21 p.m. as a reckless driver traveling westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed, the CHP report said.
The CHP said numerous individuals had reported the vehicle as reckless and possibly involved in a noninjury hit and run involving another vehicle at Highway 20 just west of the roundabout intersection with Highway 29.
As the Mercedes continued westbound, it ran off the north edge of Highway 20 and hit an oak tree, which caused the vehicle to roll over, according to the report.
When the Mercedes overturned, the driver was ejected. The CHP said the Mercedes continued in a northeasterly direction, hitting a second oak tree.
The CHP said the vehicle caught fire and started a small wildland fire on the north edge of Highway 20.
Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters arriving on scene reported that the fire was one acre, with a slow rate of spread.
Within minutes firefighters had stopped the fire’s progress, with radio reports indicating they needed to stay on scene for a few hours for mop up.
One-way traffic control was established on scene for approximately two hours, the CHP said.
The Mercedes’ driver was transported from the scene but died of his injuries, the CHP said.
The CHP said the crash is still under investigation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Several dozen Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in Lake County who were included in a public safety power shutoff had their power restored by Monday evening.
The company took the action due to high winds that came from offshore and impacted the region beginning early Monday.
In Lake County, the 56 impacted customers had power restored by 6 p.m., said PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.
They were among 7,100 customers in 10 counties who PG&E said were included in this latest proactive shutoff.
At the same time, Contreras said power also had been restored to all impacted North Bay and North Coast customers.
As of Monday night, PG&E had not reported how much damage its crews had encountered during the patrolling phase, which occurs after the all clear is called by company meteorologists but before power is restored.
This is the second public safety power shutoff to impact Lake County this year.
In August, 4,500 customers were impacted in areas in and around Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Cobb, Lower Lake, Riviera, Clearlake Highlands, Morgan Valley, Spring Valley and Hidden Valley Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
The company took the action due to high winds that came from offshore and impacted the region beginning early Monday.
In Lake County, the 56 impacted customers had power restored by 6 p.m., said PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.
They were among 7,100 customers in 10 counties who PG&E said were included in this latest proactive shutoff.
At the same time, Contreras said power also had been restored to all impacted North Bay and North Coast customers.
As of Monday night, PG&E had not reported how much damage its crews had encountered during the patrolling phase, which occurs after the all clear is called by company meteorologists but before power is restored.
This is the second public safety power shutoff to impact Lake County this year.
In August, 4,500 customers were impacted in areas in and around Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Cobb, Lower Lake, Riviera, Clearlake Highlands, Morgan Valley, Spring Valley and Hidden Valley Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday ordered insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 325,000 policyholders who have been affected by devastating Northern California wildfires across 22 counties.
This order protects those living within the perimeter or adjoining zip code of a declared wildfire disaster regardless of whether they suffered a loss, including the Dixie, Caldor, River, Tamarack, Antelope, McFarland, Monument, Fly, and Cache fires.
“Climate change-fueled wildfires continue to devastate homeowners and communities. My moratorium orders help provide short-term relief as we address the root causes of these ever-intensifying natural disasters,” said Commissioner Lara. “This California law empowers my office to help give people the breathing room they desperately need as they recover. I will both continue to enforce this law to protect consumers and continue working to create long-term solutions.”
The commissioner’s ability to issue moratoriums is a result of a California law he authored in 2018 while serving as state senator in order to provide temporary relief from non-renewals to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire disaster.
Monday’s moratorium order follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s six emergency declarations this summer and gives protection from insurance company-initiated non-renewals for one year for residential property insurance policies in zip codes within or adjacent to the fire perimeter.
The declared moratorium includes Gov. Newsom’s July 23, Aug. 5, Aug. 10, Aug. 17, Aug. 30 and Sept. 7 declarations affecting parts of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties.
Consumers’ one year of protection from non-renewal starts on the date of the governor’s emergency declaration that included the fire affecting them.
The order protects 325,000 policyholders and is in addition to 25,000 policyholders who were protected in the Commissioner’s moratorium order following the July 23 wildfire emergency in Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties.
In Lake County, the order protects zip codes impacted by the Cache fire: 95422, 95451, 95423, 95987, 95457, 95424 and 95679.
Consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website to see if their zip code is included in the moratorium. Consumers should contact the Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or via chat or email at insurance.ca.gov if they believe their insurance company is in violation of this law, or have additional claims-related questions.
This order protects those living within the perimeter or adjoining zip code of a declared wildfire disaster regardless of whether they suffered a loss, including the Dixie, Caldor, River, Tamarack, Antelope, McFarland, Monument, Fly, and Cache fires.
“Climate change-fueled wildfires continue to devastate homeowners and communities. My moratorium orders help provide short-term relief as we address the root causes of these ever-intensifying natural disasters,” said Commissioner Lara. “This California law empowers my office to help give people the breathing room they desperately need as they recover. I will both continue to enforce this law to protect consumers and continue working to create long-term solutions.”
The commissioner’s ability to issue moratoriums is a result of a California law he authored in 2018 while serving as state senator in order to provide temporary relief from non-renewals to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire disaster.
Monday’s moratorium order follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s six emergency declarations this summer and gives protection from insurance company-initiated non-renewals for one year for residential property insurance policies in zip codes within or adjacent to the fire perimeter.
The declared moratorium includes Gov. Newsom’s July 23, Aug. 5, Aug. 10, Aug. 17, Aug. 30 and Sept. 7 declarations affecting parts of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties.
Consumers’ one year of protection from non-renewal starts on the date of the governor’s emergency declaration that included the fire affecting them.
The order protects 325,000 policyholders and is in addition to 25,000 policyholders who were protected in the Commissioner’s moratorium order following the July 23 wildfire emergency in Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties.
In Lake County, the order protects zip codes impacted by the Cache fire: 95422, 95451, 95423, 95987, 95457, 95424 and 95679.
Consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website to see if their zip code is included in the moratorium. Consumers should contact the Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or via chat or email at insurance.ca.gov if they believe their insurance company is in violation of this law, or have additional claims-related questions.
The more than $400 billion in two rounds of stimulus payments the government distributed during the pandemic helped lift 11.7 million people out of poverty in 2020, according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, or SPM, released this month.
The U.S. Census Bureau publishes SPM, an alternative to the official poverty measure that incorporates the value of noncash government transfers, taxes and necessary expenses into the resources a family has available to meet its basic needs.
The 2020 SPM Report shows how each element — including stimulus payments — impacted the number of people in poverty.
Stimulus payments were included as resources by the SPM in 2020. The report shows that without stimulus payments, the supplemental poverty rate would have increased by approximately 3.6 percentage points.
In other words, approximately 11.7 million more people would have been considered in poverty if Congress had not authorized the payments and everything remained constant.
Stimulus lifted many out of poverty but not all
Stimulus payments provided benefits to millions of people both above and below the SPM poverty threshold (not just those slightly below 100% of their poverty threshold). This widespread impact can be observed by examining income-to-poverty ratios.
An income-to-poverty ratio represents how much income (both cash and noncash) an individual or family receives in relation to its poverty threshold.
An individual whose income is equal to their poverty threshold has an income-to-poverty ratio of 1.00 (100%). Ratios below 1.00 indicate income below poverty and a ratio of greater than 1.00 indicates income above the poverty level.
For example, a ratio of 0.50 means that income was 50% of the poverty threshold.
The figure below shows the distribution of income-to-poverty ratio categories estimated without stimulus payments (pre-stimulus) and with stimulus payments in the definition of income (post-stimulus).
Stimulus payments significantly reduced the proportion of people in the lowest income-to-poverty ratio category (those with income less than 50% of the poverty threshold) by 1.2 percentage points to 3.3%.
It also reduced the proportion of individuals with resources between 50% to 99% of the poverty threshold by 2.4 percentage points, from 8.2% to 5.9% (differences due to rounding).
When including stimulus payments, the distribution of income-to-poverty ratios shifts to the right and more individuals fall into higher income-to-poverty ratio categories.
For instance, including stimulus in an individual’s resources increases the share of people in the second highest income-to-poverty ratio category (200 to 399% of the poverty threshold) by 2.8 percentage points to 38.4%.
Who was helped by stimulus payments?
The 11.7 million people lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments includes (as shown in the figures and Table 1 below):
— 3.2 million children under 18.
— 6.4 million adults between 18 and 64.
— 2.1 million people over 65.
Stimulus payments significantly decreased the number of children experiencing poverty across several race and Hispanic origin groups (Figure 4).
Stimulus payments reduced the Black child poverty rate by 6.8 percentage points, from 23.7% to 16.9%. Overall, this amounts to 756,000 Black children lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments.
Similarly, stimulus payments reduced the Hispanic child poverty rate by 6.8 percentage points, representing 1.3 million Hispanic children. Additionally, 1 million White, non-Hispanic children and 153,000 Asian children were lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments.
The largest group of individuals lifted out of poverty were those between 18 and 64 years old (6.4 million). This includes 2.6 million White, non-Hispanic individuals and 1.3 million Black individuals.
More details on the impacts of policies and programs on the SPM rate are available in the SPM Report. Details about the methodology behind the calculation of the stimulus payments are available in this working paper. Finally, more information on confidentiality protection, methodology, sampling and nonsampling error, and definitions is available.
Kalee Burns is an economist and Danielle Wilson is an intern in the Census Bureau’s Poverty Statistics Branch. Liana E. Fox is the branch chief.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Pacific Gas and Electric said it will move forward with shutting off power to several thousand Northern California beginning early Monday due to an incoming windstorm.
The public safety power shutoff will affect 7,100 customers in small portions of 10 counties, including Lake.
The first wave of targeted safety shutoffs will begin early Monday around 5 a.m.
PG&E said the safety shutoff is due to dynamic weather conditions despite rain activity including a dry offshore wind event that will start Monday morning in portions of its service area.
Due to changing weather conditions Sunday morning, PG&E was able to decrease customer impact, removing 10,000 customers from the PSPS scope.
In Lake County, the original estimate of 756 customers that would be impacted has been reduced to 51 customers, with three of them being Medical Baseline customers.
Other counties to be impacted are as follows:
Colusa County: 568 customers, 36 Medical Baseline customers.
Glenn County: 376 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers.
Kern County: 845 customers, 40 Medical Baseline customers.
Napa County: 1,225 customers, 66 Medical Baseline customers.
Santa Barbara County: 19 customers, one Medical Baseline customer.
Shasta County: 1,848 customers, 149 Medical Baseline customers.
Solano County: 802 customers, 56 Medical Baseline customers.
Tehama County: 1,370 customers, 133 Medical Baseline customers.
Yolo County: 20 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers.
Deenergization is expected to start at 5 a.m. Monday for Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Shasta, Solano, Tehama and Yolo counties, the Cortina Rancheria Tribe and the Grindstone Rancheria Tribe.
Power is scheduled to be shut off to parts of Kern County at 10 p.m. Monday and in portions of Santa Barbara County at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
PG&E anticipates weather “all clears” will occur as early as Monday in the afternoon with varying times depending on individual locations.
The company will notify customers on Monday when the weather system has passed and will provide continuous updates on when to expect the power to turn back on.
Once conditions are clear, PG&E crews will begin patrolling and check deenergized lines for hazards or damage to make sure it is safe to restore power.
Restoration steps include inspecting for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers; repairing damaged equipment; restoring power; and notifying customers.
On Monday morning, 15 Community Resource Centers, or CRCs, in 10 counties will open to support customers affected by this event. CRCs open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. for the remainder of the shutoff.
With the shutoff scope scaled back in Lake County, PG&E does not plan to open a CRC here.
For updates visit the PG&E website.
The public safety power shutoff will affect 7,100 customers in small portions of 10 counties, including Lake.
The first wave of targeted safety shutoffs will begin early Monday around 5 a.m.
PG&E said the safety shutoff is due to dynamic weather conditions despite rain activity including a dry offshore wind event that will start Monday morning in portions of its service area.
Due to changing weather conditions Sunday morning, PG&E was able to decrease customer impact, removing 10,000 customers from the PSPS scope.
In Lake County, the original estimate of 756 customers that would be impacted has been reduced to 51 customers, with three of them being Medical Baseline customers.
Other counties to be impacted are as follows:
Colusa County: 568 customers, 36 Medical Baseline customers.
Glenn County: 376 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers.
Kern County: 845 customers, 40 Medical Baseline customers.
Napa County: 1,225 customers, 66 Medical Baseline customers.
Santa Barbara County: 19 customers, one Medical Baseline customer.
Shasta County: 1,848 customers, 149 Medical Baseline customers.
Solano County: 802 customers, 56 Medical Baseline customers.
Tehama County: 1,370 customers, 133 Medical Baseline customers.
Yolo County: 20 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers.
Deenergization is expected to start at 5 a.m. Monday for Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Shasta, Solano, Tehama and Yolo counties, the Cortina Rancheria Tribe and the Grindstone Rancheria Tribe.
Power is scheduled to be shut off to parts of Kern County at 10 p.m. Monday and in portions of Santa Barbara County at 7 a.m. Tuesday.
PG&E anticipates weather “all clears” will occur as early as Monday in the afternoon with varying times depending on individual locations.
The company will notify customers on Monday when the weather system has passed and will provide continuous updates on when to expect the power to turn back on.
Once conditions are clear, PG&E crews will begin patrolling and check deenergized lines for hazards or damage to make sure it is safe to restore power.
Restoration steps include inspecting for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers; repairing damaged equipment; restoring power; and notifying customers.
On Monday morning, 15 Community Resource Centers, or CRCs, in 10 counties will open to support customers affected by this event. CRCs open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. for the remainder of the shutoff.
With the shutoff scope scaled back in Lake County, PG&E does not plan to open a CRC here.
For updates visit the PG&E website.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — City staff on Thursday gave the Clearlake City Council an update during its regular meeting on the latest developments in the recovery efforts for the Cache fire.
Since the council last met, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Lake County in response to the Cache fire, as Lake County News has reported.
City Manager Alan Flora said he was grateful for that proclamation, which the Governor’s Office said will help quicken removal of the resulting hazardous debris and ash, in addition to streamlining other public services for fire victims.
At that point, Flora said the city hadn’t received any word that the Cache fire would be included in a federal disaster declaration.
However, he said the governor’s declaration is freeing up resources at the state level to help with the recovery effort.
He said that over the previous few days, there had been a flurry of information about the cleanup effort, which has been included in a request for proposals for this fire and a number of others across the state.
Proposals to carry out the cleanup are expected to come in during mid-October with cleanup expected to start in early November, Flora said.
Flora said the Cache fire has been prioritized to be one of the first fire cleanups in the state.
In order to protect Cache Creek from hazardous materials in the fire’s ash and debris, Flora said the state Department of Water Resources, the State Water Board and the California Conservation Corps have installed emergency BMPs — shorthand for best management practices — equipment.
Flora said he didn’t think the BMPs installed so far were adequate for a significant rainstorm. If the cleanup happened within the next 30 days, he said they probably wouldn’t need to be strengthened. However, since the cleanup isn’t expected to start in that time frame, the state is planning to come back and install additional equipment.
Flora didn’t expect the cleanup will be delayed until the heart of winter, but he added there are likely to be some significant rainstorms events that could cause problems.
A site meeting is planned for Wednesday in order to decide on the necessary protective measures. Flora said the city engineer has provided some recommendations to the state Office of Emergency Services.
“It’s been a little bit slow but we’re making some progress there,” said Flora, adding that the state is committed to protecting the watershed.
Regarding the residents who lost their homes, Flora said they are currently housing 10 people, less than the 20 to 25 they had expected.
He said North Coast Opportunities, the agency partnering with the city to help Cache fire survivors, is working with a lot of people to find alternatives for those who need housing.
Flora said that, as soon as this week, the city could be receiving another $100,000 for temporary housing which is coming from CalOES, which is working with nonprofits to get the assistance.
The city’s finance director is working with the California Department of Housing the Community Development and some other funders and programs to find housing options, Flora said.
The city also is looking into some other more permanent housing options that might be able to be put up in the short-term on city-owned properties. Flora said there appear to be some cool and innovative opportunities there, and he would keep the council posted as those plans start to be fleshed out more.
Another issue that Flora said needs attention relates to the water systems in the fire area, specifically around the Cache Creek and Creekside mobile home parks.
He said there is a “patchwork of systems” providing water in that area.
Konocti County Water District is providing water to Cache Creek mobile home park on a temporary basis. Flora said the city is asking its state legislators to expedite Konocti’s application for funding for a water system upgrade down through that area.
Flora said Konocti had already been working on that expansion project before the fire, with the project planned and design pretty much completed.
He said Creekside Mobile Home Park, where most of the damage was concentrated, gets its water from the Lower Lake water districts. He said he thinks that property should also tie into Konocti, so that is being looked at as well.
Flora said the city also is working to get right of entry forms put together for the cleanup to start.
Another issue raised by Councilman David Claffey was about landline telephones being reconnected in the fire area. Flora said the city was still following up and he wasn’t aware at that time if the problem had been resolved.
Flora urged anyone who needs housing due to displacement from the Cache Creek to contact North Coast Opportunities.
Email Elizabeth Larson atThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Since the council last met, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Lake County in response to the Cache fire, as Lake County News has reported.
City Manager Alan Flora said he was grateful for that proclamation, which the Governor’s Office said will help quicken removal of the resulting hazardous debris and ash, in addition to streamlining other public services for fire victims.
At that point, Flora said the city hadn’t received any word that the Cache fire would be included in a federal disaster declaration.
However, he said the governor’s declaration is freeing up resources at the state level to help with the recovery effort.
He said that over the previous few days, there had been a flurry of information about the cleanup effort, which has been included in a request for proposals for this fire and a number of others across the state.
Proposals to carry out the cleanup are expected to come in during mid-October with cleanup expected to start in early November, Flora said.
Flora said the Cache fire has been prioritized to be one of the first fire cleanups in the state.
In order to protect Cache Creek from hazardous materials in the fire’s ash and debris, Flora said the state Department of Water Resources, the State Water Board and the California Conservation Corps have installed emergency BMPs — shorthand for best management practices — equipment.
Flora said he didn’t think the BMPs installed so far were adequate for a significant rainstorm. If the cleanup happened within the next 30 days, he said they probably wouldn’t need to be strengthened. However, since the cleanup isn’t expected to start in that time frame, the state is planning to come back and install additional equipment.
Flora didn’t expect the cleanup will be delayed until the heart of winter, but he added there are likely to be some significant rainstorms events that could cause problems.
A site meeting is planned for Wednesday in order to decide on the necessary protective measures. Flora said the city engineer has provided some recommendations to the state Office of Emergency Services.
“It’s been a little bit slow but we’re making some progress there,” said Flora, adding that the state is committed to protecting the watershed.
Regarding the residents who lost their homes, Flora said they are currently housing 10 people, less than the 20 to 25 they had expected.
He said North Coast Opportunities, the agency partnering with the city to help Cache fire survivors, is working with a lot of people to find alternatives for those who need housing.
Flora said that, as soon as this week, the city could be receiving another $100,000 for temporary housing which is coming from CalOES, which is working with nonprofits to get the assistance.
The city’s finance director is working with the California Department of Housing the Community Development and some other funders and programs to find housing options, Flora said.
The city also is looking into some other more permanent housing options that might be able to be put up in the short-term on city-owned properties. Flora said there appear to be some cool and innovative opportunities there, and he would keep the council posted as those plans start to be fleshed out more.
Another issue that Flora said needs attention relates to the water systems in the fire area, specifically around the Cache Creek and Creekside mobile home parks.
He said there is a “patchwork of systems” providing water in that area.
Konocti County Water District is providing water to Cache Creek mobile home park on a temporary basis. Flora said the city is asking its state legislators to expedite Konocti’s application for funding for a water system upgrade down through that area.
Flora said Konocti had already been working on that expansion project before the fire, with the project planned and design pretty much completed.
He said Creekside Mobile Home Park, where most of the damage was concentrated, gets its water from the Lower Lake water districts. He said he thinks that property should also tie into Konocti, so that is being looked at as well.
Flora said the city also is working to get right of entry forms put together for the cleanup to start.
Another issue raised by Councilman David Claffey was about landline telephones being reconnected in the fire area. Flora said the city was still following up and he wasn’t aware at that time if the problem had been resolved.
Flora urged anyone who needs housing due to displacement from the Cache Creek to contact North Coast Opportunities.
Email Elizabeth Larson at