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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – An early December wind event that’s forecast to begin over the weekend could result in a public safety power shutoff that would impact more than 130,000 power customers in 15 Northern California counties – including Lake – on Monday.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Friday began notifying customers in targeted portions of the North State that it may need to turn off power early Monday morning due to a combination of dry and high wind gusts that pose an increased risk for damage to the electric system, with the potential to ignite fires in areas with dry vegetation.

The company said the high fire risk conditions are expected to arrive late Sunday evening. High winds are forecast to continue until early Monday morning, peaking in strength during the day. Those conditions could linger in some regions through early Tuesday.

On Friday evening, PG&E said that while there is still uncertainty about the timing and strength of the wind event, the potential shutoff is forecasted to affect approximately 130,000 customers in targeted portions of Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Lake, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sierra, Sonoma, Tulare, Tuolumne and Yuba counties.

In Lake County, approximately 1,223 customers – 67 of them in the Medical Baseline program – are included in the shutoff area, PG&E said.

A PG&E map, published below, shows the impacted customers are in the south county, west of Middletown and throughout the Cobb area.

Power to those areas in Lake County is to be turned off between 4 and 6 a.m. Monday and restored by 10 p.m. Tuesday.

In the neighboring counties of Napa and Sonoma, PG&E said 6,780 and 1,797 customers, respectively, are expected to be impacted.

PG&E said that, once the strong winds subside, crews will inspect electrical equipment for damage. It said that, based on weather conditions, it will restore most impacted customers within 12 daylight hours.

During PSPS events, PG&E opens temporary community resource centers, or CRCs, to support customers, offering ADA-accessible restrooms and hand-washing stations; medical-equipment charging; Wi-Fi; bottled water; and nonperishable snacks.

Two CRCs are expected to be set up in Lake County: at the Little Red Schoolhouse, 15780 Bottlerock Road in Cobb, and Twin Pine Casino and Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.

They will be open from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily during the shutoff.

Lake County was last impacted by a public safety power shutoff in late October, when more than 21,000 residents were included in a shutoff, as Lake County News has reported.

For more information, visit the PG&E PSPS website.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County’s Public Health officer on Friday offered an update on the governor’s new stay home order and the impact it could have in the days and weeks to come as the county’s COVID-19 caseload and hospitalizations continue to rise.

Due to the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the region and statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday issued new “stay home orders” that will take effect when the intensive care unit bed availability in the region goes below 15 percent, along with restrictions on nonessential travel, as Lake County News has reported.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said Friday that the governor’s orders are not yet in effect in Lake County, but the projections are that they will begin sometime in the next few weeks.

On Friday, Lake County Public Health reported 1,022 confirmed cases in the county, with a total of 21 deaths related to the coronavirus so far.

“The number of cases is rising dramatically, as are the number of people hospitalized with COVID-related symptoms,” Pace said. “Given the way hospitals work in rural areas, our two hospitals operate as a part of a larger regional network. So, when looking at hospital capacity, it is important to evaluate the bed availability in the larger region.”

Pace said 13 Lake County residents were hospitalized as of Thursday with a positive COVID-19 status, with 11 of them are in out-of-county facilities.

Since the trigger for these new restrictions is ICU bed availability, the state is evaluating regional bed capacity on a daily basis, he said.

Lake County is part of the Northern California region, which also includes Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties.

Pace said the current projections are that the Northern California region will likely cross this 85-percent ICU threshold within the next few weeks.

As of Thursday, 78 percent of Lake County’s ICU beds were filled, with 76 percent filled in the Northern California region, Pace said.

The state and the local Public Health team will be checking those numbers daily, and when they “flip the switch,” Pace said the county will have 24 hours to comply with the stay home order.

“The thinking is that the number of ICU beds is limited, and when they start getting filled up, there can be problems in getting necessary care, and the number of deaths can rise,” Pace said. “The best way to try to prevent this is to add more restrictions that can limit interaction with people outside of your household, so we have less virus transmission.”

Pace said approximately 12 percent of the cases end up in the hospital within a few weeks. “Some of these people will end up in the ICU, and a week or two later, we tend to see an increase in deaths. The state’s strategy here is to try to add the restrictions a few weeks before these tragic outcomes.”

He said 85 percent of the ICU beds being filled is the state’s trigger to bring on the strongest intervention in time to try to prevent “this severe situation.”

The new restrictions will be similar to what Californians had to do in the spring, with some improvements, Pace said.

He said the restrictions include the following:

– Nonessential gatherings are not permitted.
– People should stay at home except for necessary activities.
– Gatherings for worship and political expression are permitted outdoors.
– Restaurants, food pickup and delivery only.
– Schools may continue as they are in the purple tier.
– Retail establishments can operate at 20 percent capacity with metering at the door. The "essential" and "nonessential" distinction is not being applied to stores.
– Outdoor recreation can continue, with precautions.
– Lodging is not permitted for recreational travel. People traveling out of the area should self-quarantine for 14 days upon return.

“The next few months will be tough, but we should begin to start going back to a more normal life in spring and summer,” Pace said. “Now is the really important time to take the strongest precautions against the virus, even before the ‘stay at home order’ goes into effect. Stay home whenever possible, cancel travel plans, go out only when necessary.”

Pace urged people to continue exercising and going outside, as indoor gyms and exercise classes are not currently permitted.

He said another closure of Clear Lake – such as was implemented in the spring – is not anticipated, but he urges people to be safe when outside, wearing masks and keeping distant from people not from your household.

“Protect the vulnerable people in your home. Get the vaccine when it is available. We will be through this in a few months, so please take care of your family and friends by being very cautious in the coming months,” Pace said.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom virtually swore in Justice Martin Jenkins to the California Supreme Court, where he becomes the first openly gay California Supreme Court justice and only the third African American man ever to serve on the state’s highest court.

It has been 29 years since an African American man has served on the California Supreme Court.

“In swearing in Justice Jenkins today, our state once again makes history, and we elevate an extraordinary Californian to the bench,” said Gov. Newsom. “The people of our state could not ask for a finer jurist or better person to serve them in this capacity. I join Marty’s friends, family, colleagues and all Californians in congratulating him on this remarkable milestone.”

Justice Jenkins' nomination to the court was unanimously confirmed by the commission on Judicial Appointments on Nov. 10.

Justice Jenkins has held several prominent state and federal judicial positions throughout his career and has served as the governor's judicial appointments secretary since 2019.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has a trio of dogs awaiting their new families.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

‘Inky’

“Inky” is a male German Shepherd mix.

He has a long smooth black coat.

He is dog No. 4324.

‘Carusoe’

“Carusoe” is a male German Shepherd mix with a short tan and black coat.

He is dog No. 4297.

‘Jack’

“Jack” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a short yellow coat.

He is dog No. 4155.

The shelter is open by appointment only due to COVID-19.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

What are some skywatching highlights in December 2020? Catch the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids, in the middle of the month. Then witness an extremely close pairing of Jupiter and Saturn that won't be repeated for decades. And mark the shortest day of the year on the northern winter solstice.

December brings one of the most reliable annual meteor showers – and one of the best in 2020: the Geminids. This shower is active from Dec. 4 through the 17, as Earth plows through the trail of dusty debris left behind in the orbit of asteroid 3200 Phaethon – which might actually be a burnt-out comet.

The Geminids produce a good number of meteors most years, but they're made even better this year as the shower's peak coincides with a nearly new moon. (Thus making for darker skies, with no moonlight to interfere with the fainter meteors.)

The Geminids peak overnight on Dec. 13 into the morning of the 14, with some meteor activity visible in the days before and after.

Viewing is good all night for the Northern Hemisphere, with activity peaking around 2 a.m. local time, and after midnight for viewers in the Southern Hemisphere.

For the best viewing, find a safe location away from bright city lights, lie flat on the ground with your feet pointing south and look up. Meteors can appear in any part of the sky, though they'll appear to radiate from near the constellation Gemini. So here's wishing you clear skies to catch some shooting stars.

Jupiter and Saturn have been traveling across the sky together all year, but this month, get ready for them to really put on a show. Over the first three weeks of December, watch each evening as the two planets get closer in the sky than they've appeared in two decades. Look for them low in the southwest in the hour after sunset.

And on Dec. 21, the two giant planets will appear just a tenth of a degree apart – that's about the thickness of a dime held at arm's length. This means the two planets and their moons will be visible in the same field of view through binoculars or a small telescope. In fact, Saturn will appear as close to Jupiter as some of Jupiter's moons.

This event is called a “great conjunction.” These occur every 20 years this century as the orbits of Earth, Jupiter and Saturn periodically align making these two outer planets appear close together in our nighttime sky.

Even so, this is the "greatest" great conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn for the next 60 years, with the two planets not appearing this close in the sky until 2080.

The 21st is also the date of the December solstice, which is the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. On the December solstice, the sun reaches its southernmost position in the sky, no matter where on Earth you happen to be.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun travels its lowest, shortest path across the sky on that day. Thus, in the north, the winter solstice brings the shortest day of the year, in terms of hours of sunlight.

Now the sun's changing height in the sky throughout the year is caused by Earth's tilt as it orbits our local star. The tilt causes the amount of sunlight each hemisphere receives to go up and down in the annual cycle of the seasons.

You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at www.nasa.gov.

Preston Dyches works from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council on Thursday bid farewell to one of its members, welcomed a new one and the return of two incumbents, and chose its leadership for the coming year.

In the Nov. 3 election, David Claffey was elected to his first term and Joyce Overton to her fifth. Their names appeared on the ballot while appointed incumbent Russell Perdock was a write-in candidate. He won another term.

Claffey is taking the seat held for the past four years by businessman Phil Harris, who decided not to run for reelection.

During the council’s Thursday night meeting, Mayor Russ Cremer stepped down from the dais for a farewell presentation in which he thanked Harris for his service. During his term, Harris served a year as vice mayor.

Harris said he appreciated all of the votes he received from the community and the faith that they put in him to help lead the city.

Over the past four years, Harris said they’ve seen an improvement in the community. “We are on a trajectory, a successful trajectory, and we’re headed somewhere great,” he said.

Harris said it was a great opportunity for Claffey to take his seat on the council. He then received a standing ovation from his council colleagues and staff.

Harris returned to the dais briefly so the council could consider the final election results, presented to them by City Clerk/Administrative Services Director Melissa Swanson.

Vice Mayor Dirk Slooten moved to approve the results, which Harris seconded and the council approved unanimously.

Harris then rose to leave, embracing Cremer and Overton, and shaking the hands of both Slooten and Perdock as he departed.

Swanson then administered the oath of office to Claffey, Overton and Perdock, and Claffey took his seat with the council.

During the two-and-a-half-hour meeting, the council met Inky, a 1-year-old shepherd mix dog available for adoption from Clearlake Animal Control, who made his appearance before the council in a red Christmas sweater.

They also got an update from Retail Strategies, which is working to recruit new business to the city, held a brief discussion in which they decided against signing onto a letter the Board of Supervisors sent to the governor two weeks ago because its concerns about COVID-19 tiers are already out of date, and approved a hiring bonus and referral program for city employees.

After that main business was finished, the council then turned to its leadership for 2021.

Cremer, who has served back-to-back terms as mayor, offered his support for Slooten becoming the next mayor. “Vice Mayor Slooten has been training for this position for a year and eight months now.”

The council voted to appoint Slooten as mayor for 2021, following up with voting for Perdock as vice mayor.

Slooten thanked Cremer for his leadership and for guiding the council through some delicate votes.

Perdock said he’s looking forward to the year ahead. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“A lot of exciting work,” added Slooten.

Cremer agreed that there are exciting but challenging times ahead, but added that he believed they will be up to the task.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.