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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has a full kennel of dogs waiting for new homes.

The kennels also have many dogs that need to be reunited with their owners. To find the lost/found pet section, click here.

The following dogs are ready for adoption.

‘Barkley’

“Barkley” is a male American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short red coat.

He is dog No. 3528.

‘Blue’

“Blue” is a female Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short blue and white coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2420.

‘Chevelle’

“Chevelle” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier with a short brindle and white coat.

She is dog No. 3527.

‘Chris’

“Chris” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short brindle and white coat.

He has been neutered.

Chris is dog No. 3319.

‘Clarice’

“Clarice” is a female German Shepherd mix puppy.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3402.

‘Eve’

“Eve” is a female American bully with a short brindle and white coat.

She is dog No. 3480.

‘King’

“King” is a male purebred Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short brindle coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 3034.

‘Linus’

“Linus” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier mix with a short gray and white coat.

He is dog No. 3255.

‘Lola’

“Lola” is a female pit bull terrier mix with a short red and white coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3337.

‘Naomi’

“Naomi is a female American Pit Bull Terrier with a short red coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 1293.

‘Nook’

“Nook” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix with a short brindle and white coat.

He is dog No. 3415.

‘Phoebe’

“Phoebe” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix with a short black and white coat.

She is dog No. 3483.

‘Spice’

“Spice” is a female pug mix with a short tan coat and black markings.

She has been spayed.

Spice is dog No. 3033.

‘Woodrow’

“Woodrow” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 3281.

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

Hours of operation are noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

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.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s Web site.

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.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has completed work on 34 of 35 emergency projects identified last year to help reduce public safety risk in 200 communities at high risk of wildfires.

All of the 35 projects are now working fuel breaks in case of wildfire, with the final project scheduled for completion this spring.

None of the projects are in Lake County, however, there are projects in neighboring counties.

In Glenn County, the Elk Creek Emergency Fuel Break is a 1,046-acre treatment project critical to protecting the communities of Elk Creek and Stonyford adjacent to the Mendocino National Forest. Over the past eight years, four major, fast-moving fires have impacted these communities. This fuel break will also protect the Mendocino National Forest from fires originating on private lands.

In Mendocino County, the Ukiah Emergency Fuels Reduction Project is a 700-acre vegetation management program along ridgelines and roads to reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread around the city of Ukiah and surrounding communities. The project is meant to protect Ukiah and other vulnerable communities, hospitals, roads and power supply. It will also give firefighting resources the upper hand when combating wildfire in the future.

Another project in Mendocino County, the Willits Emergency Fuels Reduction Project is a 15-mile, 720-acre shaded fuel break and 550-acre prescribed burn that will reduce wildfire intensity and rate of spread around the city of Willits and surrounding communities. The primary goal of the project is to improve roadways for safe evacuation routes. A second goal is to create potential control lines in the event of a major wildfire from the east and west side of the Willits valley. This emergency project is phase 1 of a longer-term multi-phase project located within an 11,965-acre area surrounding the city of Willits.

Two of the projects successfully protected Santa Barbara residents during the wind-driven Cave fire before Thanksgiving.

The full list of 35 projects is here.

Recognizing the need for urgent action in the wake of the Camp fire, the Woolsey fire and the Carr fire, among the most destructive and deadliest wildfires in state history, Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an emergency proclamation in March 2019 that directed Cal Fire to immediately implement projects and other measures to protect wildfire-vulnerable communities.

Cal Fire, National Guard, and California Conservation Corps crews worked together at an emergency pace to complete what are typically multi-year projects in less than one year.

The projects collectively have treated 90,000 acres. Work included removal of hazardous dead trees, vegetation clearing, creation of fuel breaks and community defensible spaces, and creation of ingress and egress corridors. These projects, among other things, help keep evacuation routes open in case of wildfires.

“California isn’t just waiting around for next fire season. We are acting quickly – with emergency pace – to protect communities most at risk and save lives before the wildfire starts,” said Gov. Newsom. “The unprecedented scale of the crisis requires an unprecedented response. These projects are part of California’s all-of-the-above and all-hands-on-deck approach to preventing and fighting wildfires.”

Additionally, in November 2019, two of these emergency fuel breaks were used to protect Santa Barbara residents during the wind-driven Cave fire, resulting in no lives or structures lost.

In addition, several longer-term actions are underway to systematically address community vulnerability and fuels buildup. Steps are being taken to build on current home-hardening activities, including educating the public and promoting use of Cal Fire’s Ready for Wildfire web app to identify defensible space and home-hardening techniques residents can take.

The governor’s proposed 2020-2021 state budget reflects the urgency of the wildfire crisis and the state’s continued commitment to scaling solutions.

The budget includes:

– $200 million for forest health and fuel breaks;
– $100 million for home hardening and defensible space;
– $500 million proposed bond funding for community infrastructure hardening;
– $80 million in LiDAR and imaging to support predictive wildfire analytics and ecological monitoring;
– $250 million for upper watershed health to mitigate catastrophic fires;
– $1 billion for a climate catalyst fund which includes sustainable forestry and woody biomass utilization to encourage private sector engagement in forest health and wildfire resilience;
– $120 million in additional funding and 677 additional staff positions to support fire suppression equipment and efforts.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Five Northern California women will be honored for their extraordinary contributions to agriculture and their communities during the 2020 Common Threads North Award dinner to be held at Hotel Winters in Winters on April 1.

Among this year’s honorees is Kelseyville resident and business owner Marilyn Holdenried.

All recipients have deep roots in agriculture, and each has demonstrated a history of service to agriculture and her community through volunteerism and philanthropy.

Also receiving awards will be Denise Carter of Colusa (Colusa County), Sarah DeForest of Chico (Butte County), Yvonne Koehnen of Glenn (Glenn County) and Nita Vail of Sacramento (Sacramento County).

The event will be held at Hotel Winters in Winters on Wednesday, April 1, beginning with a reception at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and awards at 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 each.

For tickets or sponsorship information, contact the Butte Agriculture Foundation at 530-533-1473 or visit www.CommonThreadsNorth.com A room block is available under "Common Threads" at Hotel Winters for $165/night standard or suites are $189/night by calling them directly 530-505-9123.

Common Threads is an annual award coordinated cooperatively by the following organizations; California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, California Women in Agriculture, the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, Center for Land-Based Learning, nine-county Farm Bureaus, several resource conservation districts, California State University, Chico and the University of California, Davis.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday honored the work of Caltrans and the Konocti Conservation Camp to reduce wildland fire risk across Lake County.

Supervisor Rob Brown presented the proclamation Tuesday morning to representatives of the two agencies.

He said that it seems like forever, but over the past five years in particular, Lake County has been full of out-of-county and out-of-state firefighters and lots of smoke. He offered appreciation to those who have come a long way to protect Lake County residents and their homes.

“I don’t think we give enough recognition to those who help us to prevent the fires to begin with,” said Brown, explaining that over the past year they’ve put in a lot of effort to prevent fires.

Brown, now in his last term on the board, said when his term ends later this year, he hopes his greatest accomplishment will be to have prevented the communities that interface with Mount Konocti from burning down.

With the help of Caltrans and the Konocti Conservation Camp, “I think we can do that,” he said.

At the same time as Brown was presenting the proclamation, he said Konocti Conservation Camp inmate crews were at work clearing areas along Bottle Rock Road.

He said inmate firefighters make up 40 percent of the state’s firefighters, saving Californians $100 million a year. “That’s pretty substantial,” he said. “The work that they’re doing right now is unbelievable.”

During the summer, Brown said he worked with both agencies to do a cleanup – the “1,000 Hands” – along Highway 281, or Soda Bay Road. They, along with 300 community volunteers, spent a Saturday morning in August cleaning up brush along six miles of the road.

Brown’s written report to the board acknowledged the work of Paul Johnson and Marty Sills of Caltrans, who met him on a Saturday, on their own time, to discuss the project and identified the area of potential wildfire concern from the Ely Stage Stop to the end of Highway 281/Soda Bay Road.

His report said Cal Fire Battalion Chief Jake Hannan, Division Chief Greg Bertelli and Konocti Conservation Camp put together an inmate crew, and over the course of several days, cleaned 50 to 100 feet on either side of portions of Soda Bay Road to protect residents of Clear Lake Riviera.

“These were significant undertakings that kept Lake County residents safe and kept properties intact, and they warrant our Board’s recognition and commendation,” he wrote to the board.

In the proclamation, it noted that Caltrans “routinely and substantially reduces the risk of wildfire for all Californians by implementing vegetation management practices described in the Penal Code and Streets and Highways Code, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.”

Since April 1963, Konocti Conservation Camp No. 27 has, through cooperative efforts with Cal Fire and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation “valuably contributed to hazardous tree and vegetation removal along public roadways and trails in Lake County,” the proclamation states.

Explaining that a 2019 United States Congressional Research Service report noted that 88 percent of all wildland fires from 2014 to 2018 were human-caused, and many of them started by roadsides, the proclamation recognized the two agencies’ efforts to clear brush along Highway 281/Soda Bay Road to protect the lives and property of 12,000 Lake County residents and assisted Brown with his volunteer effort.

“These preventive efforts collectively contributed to the safety and well-being of residents in the area surrounding SR 281 and all of Lake County,” the proclamation stated.

The supervisors commended the agencies for their efforts.

“Such preventive measures are paramount to limiting profound costs and regional disruption associated with large-scale disasters, and we are deeply grateful for the work of all involved,” the proclamation concluded.

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.

Caltrans District 1 and Konocti Conservation Camp Proclamation by LakeCoNews on Scribd

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Ukiah man died of his injuries Tuesday morning following a two-vehicle wreck on Highway 20 near Calpella.

Joseph Denson, 32, was the victim of the wreck, which occurred at 7:45 a.m. Tuesday on Highway 20 at Road A, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Ukiah Area office.

The CHP said Denson was driving a 2014 Mercedes C250 sedan eastbound, approaching Road A, at approximately 55 miles per hour.

Traveling westbound at the same time was 48-year-old Christian Hunt of Lakeport, driving a 2019 Jeep Cherokee 55 miles per hour, the CHP said.

Conditions were rainy and cloudy at the time of the wreck, the CHP reported.

The CHP said that, for unknown reasons, the Mercedes’ wheels lost traction on the roadway surface, causing the car to begin rotating in a counter-clockwise direction before entering the westbound lane, directly in the path of Hunt’s Jeep.

Hunt attempted to brake and steer the Jeep to the right but was unable to avoid a collision with Denson’s Mercedes. The CHP said the front end of the Jeep collided with the right side of the Mercedes.

The Mercedes came to rest on its wheels, facing in an easterly direction, partially blocking both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Highway 20. The CHP said the Jeep came to rest on its wheels on the highway’s north shoulder, facing in a westerly direction.

The CHP said Denson died of his injuries at the scene. Hunt suffered moderate injuries and was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center for treatment.

Both men were wearing their seat belts at the time of the wreck, the CHP reported.

The highway was closed for nearly two hours, with the CHP reporting that it reopened just before 9:45 a.m.

In addition to the CHP, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Medstar Ambulance, Redwood Valley-Calpella Fire Department and Caltrans responded to the scene.

The CHP said the cause of the collision remains under investigation. So far, neither drugs nor alcohol appear to have been factors in the crash.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The University of California Cooperative Extension, California Pear Advisory Board, Pear Pest Management Research Fund and the and Lake County Department of Agriculture will host the annual North Coast Pear Research Meeting on Thursday, Feb. 6.

The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to noon at the Scotts Valley Women’s Club, 2298 Hendricks Road, Lakeport.

Registration opens at 8 a.m., with coffee and a continental breakfast, with Rachel Elkins of the UC Cooperative Extension for Lake and Mendocino counties to welcome attendees at 8:30 p.m.

They invite growers and the larger community to join them to hear and discuss current pear research including insect and disease control, cover crops, mechanization-friendly orchard systems, and breeding.

At 8:40 a.m., the Lake County Agriculture Department will give an update on paraquat, closed systems and bee registration.

Dr. Jim Adaskeveg the University of California, Riverside’s Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology will offer an evaluation of new bactericides for control of fire blight of pear at 9:10 a.m.

At 9:40 a.m., Elkins and Alan Knight, a researcher based in Yakima, Wash., will give an update on new lure, trap placement and mass trapping trials for codling moth.

That will be followed at 10 a.m. by Elkins’ presentations on brown marmorated stink bug and the screening for potential antagonists for fire blight control.

At 10:40 a.m., Carolina Elena Tweedy of UC Davis’ Department of Plant Sciences, will give an update on UC pear breeding program activities, the development of rooting protocols on non-P. communis pears and promising wild pear germplasm and the Pear Genomics Research Network website.

At 11:10 a.m., Juliana Wu of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences will discuss cover crop effects on soil organic matter, rooting and nutrition in organic pear orchards.

Elkins will close the event with a presentation at 11:30 a.m. on rootstocks and orchard systems for pears.

Continuing education credits are available.

For more information, call the UC Cooperative Extension at 707-263-6838.