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The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.
‘Bella’
“Bella” is a female Siberian Husky mix.
She has a long red and white coat.
She is dog No. 4428.
‘Bruce’
“Bruce” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix puppy.
He has a short smooth yellow coat.
He is dog No. 4383.
‘Cindy Lou’
“Cindy Lou” is a female German Shepherd mix.
She has a medium-length tan and black coat.
She is dog No. 4448.
‘Jack’
“Jack” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a short yellow coat.
He is dog No. 4155.
‘Rudolph’
“Rudolph” is a male shepherd mix.
He has a short tan and black coat.
He is dog No. 4436.
‘Sugarplum’
‘Sugarplum’ is a female German Shepherd mix.
She has a medium-length black coat.
She is dog No. 4447.
‘Tinsley’
“Tinsley” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix puppy.
She has a short brindle and brown coat.
She is dog No. 4433.
‘Toby’
“Toby” is a male boxer mix.
He has a short tan and white coat.
He is dog No. 4389.
‘Yule’
“Yule” is a husky of undetermined gender with a black and white coat.
Yule is dog No. 4432.
Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email
Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
County officials said the new sticker for 2021 is now available.
Remember to check in with a participating screener when you return from any out-of-county trips with your boat – it’s the law.
Program screeners have current information on counties and water bodies in the western United States infested with invasive mussels.
Rescreening and inspections, when needed, are free. Resident and visitor stickers are $20.
Clean, drained and dry boats are safe boats. Display your sticker, protect your lake.
A few facts about invasive quagga/ zebra, or Q/Z, mussels:
– Q/Z mussels are voracious feeders, and decimate phytoplankton (beneficial green algae), destabilizing aquatic food chains and threatening valuable sport and game fisheries.
– Q/Z mussels are filter feeders, and drastically alter the chemistry and biology of the water ecosystem, exacerbating disease and increasing concentrations of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) and associated toxins.
– A single quagga mussel can produce 20,000-plus offspring in one season.
– Beaches on Q/Z-infested waterbodies can become littered with piles of sharp shells of dead mussels, causing injury and hindering recreation.
– Introduced in 2005, mussel densities in Lake Mead, Nevada, exceed 10,000m2. Quagga mussels now comprise 40 percent of Lake Mead’s animal population.
– Q/Z mussels can colonize on hard and soft surfaces, mud, plants, docks, boat engine cooling systems and water pipes.
– In other lakes, infestations have caused millions of dollars in maintenance, cleaning, and filtering needs in drinking water infrastructure – costs that are passed down to the consumer in higher drinking water bills.
For the latest list and map of boat screeners and sticker sellers, please visit www.nomussels.com or call Lake County Water Resources Department at 707-263-2344.
Code sections regarding Lake County’s Water Vessel Inspection Program: https://library.municode.com/ca/lake_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH15RE_ARTIXWAVEINPR_S15-58SCINST.
Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires – it's a risk in urban fires, too
When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking water standard.
Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and it’s clear that wildfires aren’t the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk.
In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.
The results, released Dec. 14, show how easily wildfires could trigger widespread drinking water contamination. They also show the risks when only part of a building catches fire and the rest remains in use. In some of our tests, heat exposure caused more than 100 chemicals to leach from the damaged plastics.
As environmental engineers, we advise communities on drinking water safety and disaster recovery. The western U.S.’s extreme wildfire seasons are putting more communities at risk in ways they might not realize. Just this year, more than 52,000 fires destroyed more than 17,000 structures – many of them homes connected to water systems. Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time, and ridding a water system of the contamination can take months and millions of dollars.
A baffling source of contamination
The cause of drinking water contamination after wildfires has baffled authorities since it was discovered in 2017.
After the 2017 Tubbs Fire and 2018 Camp Fire, chemicals were found in buried water distribution networks, some at levels comparable to hazardous waste. Contamination was not in the water treatment plants or drinking water sources. Some homeowners found drinking water contamination in their plumbing.
Tests revealed volatile organic compounds had reached levels that posed immediate health risks in some areas, including benzene levels that exceeded the EPA hazardous waste threshold of 500 parts per billion. Benzene was found at a level 8,000 times the federal drinking water limit and 200 times the level that causes immediate health effects. Those effects can include dizziness, headaches, skin and throat irritation and even unconsciousness, among other risks.
This year, wildfires triggered drinking water contamination in at least two more California drinking water systems, and testing is still underway in other communities.
The problem with plastics
Plastics are ubiquitous in drinking water systems. They are often less expensive to install than metal alternatives, which hold up against high heat but are vulnerable to corrosion.
Today, water pipes under the street and those that deliver water to customers’ water meters are increasingly made of plastic. Pipes that transport the drinking water from the meter to the building are often plastic. Water meters also sometimes contain plastics. Private wells can have plastic well casings as well as buried plastic pipes that deliver well water to plastic storage tanks and buildings.
Pipes inside buildings that carry hot and cold water to faucets can also be plastic, as can faucet connectors, water heater dip tubes, refrigerator and ice maker tubing.
To determine if plastic pipes could be responsible for drinking water contamination after wildfires, we exposed commonly available plastic pipes to heat. The temperatures were similar to the heat from a wildfire that radiates toward buildings but isn’t enough to cause the pipes to catch fire.
We tested several popular plastic drinking water pipes, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE), crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC).
Benzene and other chemicals were generated inside the plastic pipes just by heating. After the plastics cooled, these chemicals then leached into the water. It happened at temperatures as low as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. Fires can exceed 1,400 degrees.
While researchers previously discovered that plastics could release benzene and other chemicals into the air during heating, this new study shows heat-damaged plastics can directly leach dozens of toxic chemicals into water.
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What to do about contamination
A community can stop water contamination from spreading if damaged pipes can be quickly isolated. Without isolation, the contaminated water may move to other parts of the water system, across town or within a building, causing further contamination.
During the CZU Lightning Complex Fire near Santa Cruz, one water utility had water distribution system valves that seemed to have contained the benzene-contaminated water.
Rinsing heat-damaged pipes won’t always remove the contamination. While helping Paradise, California, recover from the 2018 Camp Fire disaster, we and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that some plastic pipes would have required more than 100 days of nonstop water rinsing to be safe for use. Instead, officials decided to replace the pipes.
Even if a home is undamaged, we recommend testing the water in private wells and service lines if fire was on the property. If contamination is found, we recommend finding and removing the heat-damaged plastic contamination sources. Some plastics can slowly leach chemicals like benzene over time, and this could go on for months to years, depending on the scale of contamination and water use. Boiling the water doesn’t help and can release benzene into the air.
Avoiding widespread contamination
Communities can take steps to avoid contaminated drinking water in the event of a fire. Water companies can install network isolation valves and backflow prevention devices, to prevent contaminated water moving from a damaged building into the utility pipe network.
Insurance companies can use pricing to encourage property owners and cities to install fire-resistant metal pipes instead of plastic. Rules for keeping vegetation away from meter boxes and buildings can also lessen the chance heat reaches plastic water system components.
Homeowners and communities rebuilding after fires now have more information about the risks as they consider whether to use plastic pipes. Some, like the town of Paradise, have chosen to rebuild with plastic and accept the risks. In 2020, the city had another wildfire scare and residents were forced to evacuate again.
Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Purdue University; Amisha Shah, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, and Kristofer P. Isaacson, Ph.D. Student, Purdue University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The fire occurred at Olympic Villa Apartments, located at 14580 Olympic Drive, according to radio traffic during the incident.
Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White told Lake County News that the person who died is believed to be a female in her late 60s.
The Clearlake Police said its officers and firefighters with the Lake County Fire Protection District responded to the fire at 10:44 p.m. Tuesday.
The initial reports said there was a possible occupant trapped by the fire inside of the building.
The first firefighters on scene reported heavy fire showing from the building, with dispatch requesting additional help from other fire districts around the lake, including Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire and Lakeport Fire, based on radio reports.
Police said one of the apartments was engulfed in fire, which was beginning to spread to adjacent areas.
The reporting party advised responding officers that he could hear a female yelling from inside of the residence, but the yelling had stopped. Entry into the apartment was attempted, but due to the extreme heat and spreading fire limited entry by personnel was achieved, police said.
While conducting fire suppression to the apartment, police said fire personnel discovered the deceased woman inside.
A fire investigator from the Lake County Fire Protection District was requested to respond to the scene. Along with the fire investigator, officers from the Clearlake Police Department have begun conducting an investigation regarding the death of the unidentified person and the cause of the fire.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division personnel responded to the scene to recover the body of the fire victim, the police department said.
Scanner traffic indicated that firefighters remained on the scene working the fire until after 2 a.m. Wednesday.
As of Wednesday night, police said the cause of the fire had not been determined.
Additionally, the cause of death and identification of the deceased person has not been determined pending an autopsy to be scheduled at a later time, police said.
This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Officer Jesus Loera at 707-994-8251, Extension 537.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
The council will meet beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.
Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEG TV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom.
The agenda can be found here.
Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at
To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.
On the agenda is a discussion regarding an exclusive negotiation agreement for the sale of property at 2890 Old Highway 53.
City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explains that a subdivision was started at the 29-acre property several years ago but the project fell apart due to the Great Recession.
The city now has interest from two parties, one of them the previous developer, in restarting the project.
The council will consider an 180-day exclusive negotiation agreement with one of the two parties, both of which are proposing a 20-lot development.
Proposals have been submitted by Robert Adelman and Mark Flamer, who are offering $100,000 and a five-year option to purchase; and TJG/Summitt Development Corp., whose president is developer Barry Johnson, with a proposed purchase price of $150,000 and an agreement to close escrow within 30 days of the approval of the tentative subdivision map.
In other property-related business, the council will discuss extending the proposed letter of intent with King Management LLC, which is interested in purchasing a portion of the city’s Pearce Field airport property at 6356 Armijo Ave. and 6393 James St. to develop for a hotel.
Flora’s report said the council signed the letter of intent with King Management for the property on July 16 and recently signed another letter of intent with the firm, which wants to develop another hotel on a portion of Redbud Park.
“King Management would like to develop the Redbud project first and then focus on the Airport site,” Flora noted, adding that due to the city’s current efforts at the airport property, “the timing seems to make sense for this phased approach.”
He said the current letter of intent will expire on Jan. 12, 2021, with King Management requesting an extension of the letter for an additional 180-day period to July 11, 2021.
Also on Thursday, consulting city engineer David Swartz will update the council on the improvement project on Pearl, Emory and Mullen streets.
On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrant registers; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action March 19, 2020; adoption of the 2020 Conflict of Interest Code, Resolution No. 2020-61; disposal of surplus vehicles, Resolution No. 2020-63; approval of the reimbursement agreement with the Lake County Watershed Protection District for total maximum daily load and storm water permit compliance approve reimbursement agreement; and adoption of design review standards, a resolution of the Clearlake City Council rescinding Resolution No. 2020-50 and adopting the city’s design standards.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire Protection District’s firefighters are planning to bring some Christmas spirit to the city this Friday.
At 6:30 p.m., the firefighters will begin a lighted parade throughout the city, as shown in the map above.
The fire department will host Santa Claus in the parade.
The firefighters wish to end this year on a positive and uplifting note.
Recognizing that so much of 2020 has brought us a very different world, Lakeport Fire’s volunteers are holding the parade to help spread the Christmas spirit.
Anyone wishing to view the parade is asked to please observe COVID-19 guidelines.
For more information about the parade, visit the Lakeport Fire Department’s Facebook page.
Any businesses who would like to enter the parade are asked to call Brandon Morin at 707-972-1904 for details.