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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Work to contain, patrol and mop up the vast acreage of the LNU Lightning Complex is continuing, with a number of evacuation warnings remaining in effect for southern Lake County.

The complex, burning since Aug. 17, remains at 375,209 acres and reached 88-percent containment on Friday evening, Cal Fire reported.

Cal Fire said the portion of the complex burning in Lake County, the 317,909-acre Hennessey fire – which also has burned in Colusa, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties – is 88 percent contained.

On the west side of the complex, the 54,940-acre Walbridge fire west of Healdsburg is at 94-percent containment, Cal Fire said. The 2,360-acre Meyers fire north of Jenner was fully contained earlier this week.

The complex continues to threaten 1,350 structures. Cal Fire said it has destroyed 1,491 structures and damaged 232 others.

Resources on the complex continue to be released. On Friday, Cal Fire said assigned resources included 1,759 personnel, 135 engines, 41 water tenders, eight helicopters, 39 hand crews and 41 dozers.

Cal Fire said the crews are continuing to work on containment lines and teams also are conducting suppression repair throughout the fire area.

Several evacuation warnings remain in effect for south Lake County. Cal Fire said they include the following:

– East of the Middletown area: East of Highway 29, north of Lake-Napa County line, south of Butts Canyon Road and east of Callayomi Road to Western Mine Road.
– North of the Lower Lake area: North of Morgan Valley Road, east of the Intersection of Morgan Valley Road and Sky High Ridge Road to Highway 20, south of Highway 20 and west of the Lake/Colusa/Yolo County lines.
– South of the Lower Lake area: South of Morgan Valley Road, east of Chimney Rock/Canyon Road, north of Jerusalem Grade Road extending to the Lake/Napa County line, and west of the Lake/Napa County Line.
– The Middletown area: East of Guenoc Road, north Butts Canyon Road, south of Grange Road, west of Lake/Napa County Line, south of Butts Canyon Road, east of Highway 29 and St.Helena Creek Road, west of Callayomi Road extending to Western Mine Road and north of Lake/Napa County line.

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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – The county of Lake, in a joint effort with our local partners and state and federal agencies including the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services will open a Local Assistance Center to support residents affected by the LNU Lightning Complex event.

The Local Assistance Center, or LAC, will be a “one-stop” shop, where individuals and businesses that have suffered disaster-related loss or damage can find assistance and access services all in one place.

This year marks the sixth straight year in which large wildfire disasters have had a major impact on Lake County communities and the local economy.

This year, to ensure they provide accessible services to the public in a safe manner, in light of COVID-19, the LAC will run in a virtual format, accessible online.

Disaster resources available include Individual Assistance for clients whose homes were destroyed or damaged, vital records replacement, immigrant and veteran’s disaster services, postal service address changes and forwarding information, unemployment benefits information if the fire impacted your ability to work, driver’s license and car registration/title replacement, local food resources, utility assistance programs, emotional supports and more.

Local businesses can connect with the Small Business Administration for business loan assistance to cover losses. Local, state and federal agencies assisting in disaster recovery are all accessible through the LAC website.

Disaster survivors whose homes were destroyed or sustained damage will find links to recovery resources and information including property debris removal, hazardous materials cleanup, property tax evaluation and relief, utility and wastewater information, home repair and rebuilding information, tips on navigating the insurance industry, disaster recovery guides and links to local agencies active in community disaster assistance.

Community members are encouraged to access the LAC website.

Phone assistance will be available for clients without the ability to access the website for a limited period of time only, Sept. 7 to 11, at 707-995-4335, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Lake County 2-1-1 emergency line has also been activated for disaster and recovery information.

Requests for information by email may be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has released the name of a woman killed in a Tuesday morning crash near Clearlake.

Lt. Corey Paulich said Renea Pillow, 41, of Clearlake died in the wreck.

At about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Pillow was driving her 2005 Mercedes ML350 northbound on Highway 53, north of Ogulin Canyon Road, at approximately 70 miles per hour when she crossed a broken yellow center line, entering into the southbound lane, in order to pass a large vehicle, the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said.

The CHP said Pillow collided head-on with a 2016 Toyota Camry driven by Jesus Valdes, 53, of Novato, whose wife, Elisha Valdes, 49, of Clearlake Oaks was following him in a 2015 Nissan Altima.

After Pillow and Jesus Valdes collided head-on, Elisha Valdes’ vehicle hit the driver's side of her husband’s Toyota, the CHP said.

Pillow, who was not wearing her seat belt, died at the scene. Jesus Valdes was flown out of county for treatment of major injuries and Elisha Valdes was treated for minor injuries at Adventist Health Clear Lake, the CHP said. The couple was wearing their seat belts.

The CHP said drugs or alcohol are not believed to have been contributing factors.

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has seven dogs ready for new families.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female American Bully mix.

She has a short beige and tan coat.

She is dog No. 3537.

‘Boog’

“Boog” is a senior male American Bully mix with a short brown and white coat.

He is dog No. 4012.

‘Diesel’

“Diesel” is a male border collie mix with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 4023.

‘Jack’

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

He is dog No. 4155.

‘Lady’

“Lady” is a female German Shepherd mix.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3683.

‘Nibbler’

“Nibbler” is a senior male Australian Kelpie mix with a short brown and tan coat.

He is dog No. 4158.

‘Wilbur’

“Wilbur” is a male American Bully mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3999.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A vehicle stop last week in Mendocino County led to the arrests of two Clearlake residents, one for possessing drugs for sale – including heroin and methamphetamine – and the other for warrants.

Joseph Fitzgerald, 37, and Allison Strout, 27, were taken into custody early on the morning of Friday, Aug. 28, according to a report from Sgt. Eric Riboli of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

Riboli said that at 3:15 a.m. that day, Mendocino County Sheriff's deputies were on routine patrol when they observed a bronze-colored Jeep traveling northbound on North State Street in Redwood Valley.

The vehicle displayed expired registration tabs, which is a violation of the California Vehicle Code. As a result, Riboli said the deputies conducted a traffic enforcement stop on the vehicle in the 7700 block of North State Street.

Riboli said the deputies contacted the driver and identified him as Fitzgerald, with Strout identified as the passenger.

A warrants check revealed two outstanding Humboldt County arrest warrants for Strout's arrest. The deputies also learned Strout was on probation with search terms. Fitzgerald came back clear in all systems, Riboli said.

Riboli said a probation search of the Jeep revealed a large quantity of heroin and a smaller quantity of methamphetamine.

As their investigation continued, the deputies developed probable cause to believe Fitzgerald possessed the heroin with the intent to sell, Riboli said.

Fitzgerald was arrested for possession of narcotics for sale and Strout was arrested for the two active Humboldt County arrest warrants, according to Riboli’s report.

Riboli said the two were transported to the Mendocino County Jail. Fitzgerald was booked for the listed charge and was released on zero bail at the conclusion of the jail booking process.

Strout was booked on the warrants and held in lieu of $50,000 bail, Riboli said.

What's up for September? The moon with Mars and Venus, and a star with a planet … that wasn't.

On Sept. 6, you'll find the moon extremely close to Mars in the predawn sky. Now, they were even closer back on Aug. 9, but still a really pretty spectacle this month.

If you're up early and can step outside for a look, they'll be only a couple of degrees apart, meaning they'll appear in the same field of view if you take a look with most binoculars.

On Sept. 13 and 14, look in the east before dawn to see the slim crescent moon slip past brilliant Venus. On Sept. 13 you'll find the moon hanging above Venus with about 20 percent of its surface illuminated.

By the next morning, the moon has moved here, to the left of Venus, and has only about 10 percent of its sunlit surface visible.

Looking toward the south in September, there's really only one relatively bright star for most of us who live near cities. That star is called Fomalhaut, and it's got a pretty interesting story.

The star is about 25 light-years away, meaning it's relatively close by. It's also fairly young, at just a few hundred million years, and it's still surrounded by a disk of debris, which is a common feature for stars during their planet-forming phase.

Now we've discovered thousands of exoplanets – planets outside our solar system – but Fomalhaut appeared to be the first star to have a planet detected by direct imaging with a telescope (that being the Hubble Space Telescope). Astronomers announced the find back in 2008.

So Fomalhaut had itself a planet! But this is where it gets interesting, as the “planet” had a funky orbit, wasn't giving off excess heat like a young planet should, and proceeded to grow fainter over the several years that followed, disappearing by 2014.

In April 2020, another team of astronomers using Hubble announced their finding that Fomalhaut's “planet” wasn't a planet after all.

In fact, their study showed what Hubble detected was likely a giant, expanding cloud of debris resulting from a huge collision of two small bodies made of dust and ice, similar to worlds you might find in our own Kuiper Belt.

The scientists calculate collisions like this happen around Fomalhaut only every couple hundred thousand years, so Hubble just happened to be looking at the right time, not long after the collision took place.

So we may have lost a planet, but we gained a cool insight into how planetary systems form and evolve.

You can find Fomalhaut low in the south a couple of hours after sunset, to the left of the bright pair of Saturn and Jupiter.

Since it's bright and low in the sky, it sometimes appears to flicker from atmospheric turbulence. That can cause some skywatchers to wonder just what the heck it is.

Now you know: It's Fomalhaut, the nearby star where it appears we witnessed a dramatic planetary collision.

Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.