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- Written by: LINGZI CHEN
The Boyles fire began around 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 8, in the area of Boyles Avenue and Dam Road.
It was fully contained at 81.2 acres on Sept. 11.
The fire caused immense economic losses that initial estimates have put in the millions. The destruction included 35 homes, 32 garages and outbuildings, and 79 vehicles. Another three homes and four garages and outbuildings were damaged. More than 4,000 residents were evacuated.
For the city of Clearlake and the people impacted by the fire, “It’s huge,” Mayor David Claffey said of the gubernatorial emergency declaration. “Without it, we would struggle to meet the needs of the residents that were impacted.”
City Manager Alan Flora agreed.
“We don’t have a way to help folks really because the estimated damage is $14 million; We have an $8 million general fund,” Flora told Lake County News in an interview after the Clearlake City Council candidates’ Forum on Monday evening. “It's going to be huge for the residents that were impacted.”
Newsom’s emergency declaration notes, “State agencies shall enter into contracts to arrange for the procurement of materials, goods, and services necessary to quickly assist with the response to and recovery from the impacts of the Boyles Fire.”
Flora expects the declaration to “open doors” for fundings to redress some infrastructure damages such as road damage in the city and smoke damage in the community college and the middle schools.
But the biggest impact he anticipates will be on the residents who lost their homes and businesses that have had loss of revenue from the fire and power outages.
“This is going to bring a lot more resources,” Flora said of the governor’s declaration.
Ongoing cleanups
Last week, household hazardous waste cleanup was completed, Flora said. This week, the watershed assessment team will start to install “best management practices” to protect the sites before rain.
“We don't want a big storm washing the ash and everything into the creek,” Flora said.
The next step, Flora said, will be the final debris cleanup. CalRecycle will have contractors coming in to “remove the vehicles, to goop out all the ash, all the burst stuff, and haul it away,” he explained.
“So that, we're hoping, will start in six to eight weeks,” Flora said.
When asked why it will take this long, Flora said there could be some administrative processes and proposal requests.
In the declaration, the governor orders that all requirements and rules that fall within related offices and departments are “suspended to the extent necessary for expediting the removal and cleanup of debris from the Boyles Fire in Lake County or to address other impacts associated with that debris, for implementing any restoration plan necessary for mitigation of the effects of the emergency.”
Flora said that “one of the ideas (of the state of emergency) is you can wipe out all procurement stuff; that is part of the governor’s declaration.” Yet, “I don’t know the inner workings of why it takes so long,” Flora said.
As of Tuesday evening, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services had not responded to Lake County News’ email inquiry on the timeline of the debris removal for Boyles fire.
How do residents impacted by the fire get access to the resources?
“They need to contact us,” said Flora. “This means more resources for them to get back on their feet and to get back into, hopefully, a new house on that property … We’re here to help them recover from this.”
Flora said most of the direct assistance to homeowners and businesses will run through the Small Business Administration, which will set up a base at Clearlake City Hall soon to meet directly with clients and help get resources to them.
So far, 17 families — 35 total individuals who lost their homes to the fire — have reached out to the city for help. Right now, 10 families totaling 24 people are in hotel rooms and the rest in some type of rental housing. North Coast Opportunities, the nonprofit that has been helping with housing, is trying to transition the 10 families into some rental housing too, said Flora.
Some people have offered to help go in and clean up damaged properties and others have even reached out about how to get building permits to start rebuilding, according to Flora. “They’re really motivated,” he said with a smile.
But Flora recommended waiting for the state to do the cleanup: “Now that we got this declaration, it’s probably best to just let the state come in and do all that.”
The state will test the soil and remove the contaminated parts until it’s clean, Flora explained. “They just are going to do a more thorough job.”
Email Lingzi Chen at
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
“The Senate intends to work quickly and efficiently so that we can get Californians the relief they deserve at the pump,” Pro Tem McGuire said. “We appreciate the Assembly's work on this issue, and we’ll be kicking off our legislative process on Oct. 7. I’m grateful to each of the senators who have been committed to this critical issue, now, and over the past many months. We’ll be ready to roll next week.”
The second extraordinary session will be called to order at 2 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 7, and will be followed upon adjournment by a hearing of the new Senate Special Committee on Fuel Supply and Price Spikes.
The Senate Appropriations Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and the Senate floor session will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 11.
Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) will serve as chair of the Special Committee on Fuel Supply and Price Spikes, and Sen. Brian Dahle (R-Bieber) will be vice-chair.
Members will include senators Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento), Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas), Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach), John Laird (D-Santa Cruz), Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta), Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles).
“I’m looking forward to serving as chair of the Special Committee on Fuel Supply and Price Spikes, and am grateful for the Pro Tem entrusting me with this critical responsibility,” Sen. Bradford said. “As we begin our work, protecting consumers remains our top priority. We look forward to hearing the legislation from our partners in the Assembly, and forging thoughtful, practical solutions to avoid price spikes and saving Californians money at the pump.”
“Gasoline reserves are the smart way to save Californians money at the pump. I’m pleased the Senate will be moving with urgency and completing the work we started earlier in the year,” said Sen. Nancy Skinner, who authored similar legislation at the end of the 2023-24 Regular Session and will be temporarily chairing the Senate’s Appropriations Committee next week. “I’m grateful to Pro Tem McGuire, our colleagues in the Senate, and our partners in the Assembly and administration for the focused work and collaboration on this effort.”
The Senate floor session will be held in Room 1200 of the 1021 O Street building (Swing Space) due to electrical work being conducted in the Senate chamber. All public hearings and floor sessions will be streamed on the Senate’s website.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
CLEARLAKE, Calif. — The eight candidates in the fall race for the Clearlake City Council took part in a Monday night forum at City Hall.
Running for the three available seats on Clearlake’s council this fall are incumbents David Claffey, Joyce Overton and Russell Perdock, and challengers Tara Downey, Brett Freeman, Jessica Hooten, James Rivera and Mary Wilson.
The candidates in the largest field of city council hopefuls in decades answered questions submitted by community members over the course of just over two hours.
Elizabeth Larson, editor and publisher of Lake County News, organized and moderated the forum.
Two versions of the video are available on this page, one by Lake County News staff and one by PEG TV 8.
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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The elections office said all registered voters will be mailed a vote-by-mail ballot. Mailing of vote-by-mail ballots will begin on Oct. 7. Supplemental mailings will follow for newly registered or re-registered voters.
To ensure there are no delays in receiving your ballot in the mail, verify that the Registrar of Voters Office has your most up-to-date voter information. Visit https://voterstatus.sos.ca.gov/ or call 707-263-2372 to verify both your residential and mailing address.
Is everything correct? If not, you can update your registration by re-registering to vote at registertovote.ca.gov or by calling 707-263-2372 and requesting a voter registration form be mailed to you.
Return your vote-by-mail ballot
The elections office encourages people to vote safely at home, and return your vote-by-mail ballot in one of the following ways:
• Mail your ballot on or before Election Day – no postage required.
• At any official ballot drop box location. Visit https://caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov/ or call 707-263-2372 for locations.
• Drop it off at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office or at any polling place location within the state of California.
Track your vote-by-mail ballot
Receive your personalized text message, emails or voicemails letting you know when your ballot is mailed, received, and counted by the Registrar of Voters by subscribing to https://wheresMyBallot.sos.ca.gov.
In-person voting
There will be 20 polling place locations on Election Day. Polling place locations will be staffed for voters to drop off voted ballots or to be issued a replacement ballot from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
To vote in-person at your assigned polling place site on Election Day, please call the Registrar of Voters office for instructions. You will be required to vote a provisional ballot if you are unable to surrender your vote-by-mail ballot.
Ballot processing to begin Oct. 7
The Registrar of Voters Office also reported that it will commence processing vote-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 5 General Election on Monday, Oct. 7. The processing of the vote-by-mail voter ballots will continue through Election Day as well as during the official canvass.
The scanning and adjudicating of the official ballots will commence on Monday, Oct. 28 in the Registrar of Voters Office, 325 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport, however, results will not be announced until after the close of the polls at 8 p.m. on Election Day.
The official canvass will commence on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 10 a.m. and will continue daily, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays excepted, for not less than six hours each day until completed.
Observers are invited to view the processing and counting of the ballots, but shall not interfere with the election process.
Observers may contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372, toll-free at 888-235-6730 or by email at
Staff may be required to work on some Saturdays, Sundays and county holidays as needed in order to complete the Official Canvass by the state deadline.