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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
Capt. Rob Howe of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said that sheriff's personnel, along with officers and agents from the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), infiltrated five large marijuana cultivation operations during the Tuesday operation.
The marijuana grows were located southwest of Blue Lakes, said Howe.
One of the five grows was on private property, Howe said, while the other four were on BLM land.
Howe said law enforcement personnel seized 15,000 marijuana plants, combined, from the five grows.
He said the grows were uninhabited at the time of the operation and no arrests were made.
So far this year, law enforcement personnel in Lake County have seized 322,063 marijuana plants and 12 firearms, and have made 14 arrests in connection to these marijuana cultivation operations, according to Howe.
Last year, approximately 499,508 marijuana plants were eradicated on public and private lands in Lake County during the July through October eradication season, as Lake County News has reported.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported Wednesday that the remains, found at 19400 South Harbor Drive in Fort Bragg, on July 16, were identified as belonging to 49-year-old Michael Ray Larsen of Fort Bragg.
In December 2003 the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office was contacted by one of Larsen's family members.
The family member, who advised that Larsen was transient and last known to be living in the Fort Bragg area, was concerned because Larsen had not telephoned his family members for the holidays as was his normal routine.
Mendocino County sheriff's detectives conducted several investigations into Larsen's whereabouts and learned his ATM/debit card was last used at the Fort Bragg McDonald's on Aug. 8, 2003.
At approximately 9:15 a.m. July 16, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office was summoned to the hillside behind the Caito Fisheries business located on South Harbor Drive in Fort Bragg.
When they arrived detectives learned the business' employees had located human remains in a skeletal condition while clearing heavy bush on the hillside. Found on the ground near the remains was a wallet containing photo identification of Larsen.
While conducting a scene examination detectives noticed the remains were located below a steep drop off in the terrain. Above this drop off was the area of a transient encampment. Detectives also noticed the location of the Fort Bragg McDonald's was above this transient encampment.
On Tuesday the teeth of the remains were compared against known dental records of Larsen. Based upon this comparison the remains were identified as Larsen's.
A further examination of the remains were conducted by the Mendocino County pathologist and the remains showed no signs of physical force or violence that would suggest Larsen's death was the result of foul play.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The Sheppard Fire, located in the Spanish Canyon and the Oak Knoll area outside of Ukiah, burned 105 acres after it was sparked Monday afternoon, as Lake County News as reported.
Cal Fire reported that the fire was 100-percent contained at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
There were no injuries reported and no structure loss, according to Cal Fire spokesperson Tracy Boudreaux.
She noted that several structures had been in “potentially devastating conditions.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Boudreaux said.
Success in containing the fire quickly was credited to rapid response of aircraft, fire crews and homeowners keeping defensible space around their homes, Boudreaux said.
More than 325 firefighters were involved in the incident, including engines and overhead – or leadership – positions from out of county, Boudreaux reported.
Boudreaux said crews came from Cal Fire's Mendocino Unit, Ukiah Valley Fire, Ukiah City Fire, Redwood Valley/Calpella Fire, Hopland Fire Protection District, Potter Valley Fire, Brook Trails Fire, Little Lake Fire Protection District, Long Valley Fire Protection District, Comptche Fire, Albion Little River Fire, Mendocino Fire Protection District, Fort Bragg Fire, three office of Emergency Services engines staffed by Mendocino County local fire agencies, and the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office and the California Highway Patrol.
West winds on Monday night carried smoke from the fire into Lake County.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said Tuesday that there were several hours on Monday night when there were measurable impacts from the smoke on local air quality, but those issues clear up.
Much of the initial smoke moving into Lake County on Monday remained elevated, only mixing to the ground late in the afternoon as the west winds subsided, Gearhart noted.
The smoke primarily impacted Northshore communities and the Mendocino National Forest, with residual smoke dispersing though the Lake County air basin late in the evening and overnight, he said.
On Tuesday, there were no measurable impacts on air quality from the Sheppard Fire's smoke, although in some areas minor smoke impacts might have been visible or noticeable, Gearhart said.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The majority of callers had questions about health care reform, according to Thompson's office.
The congressman also fielded questions on climate change, renewable energy, the peripheral canal and the state of our economy.
“It was great to hear from so many people and have a chance to talk about the issues facing our country,” said Thompson. “While I didn’t have a chance to get to everyone’s question, it was an important opportunity for me to hear from constituents about what’s important to them. People are understandably concerned about their access to quality, affordable health care, and I’ll continue to keep my constituent’s feedback in mind as Congress fine-tunes its reform legislation.”
Thompson will respond in writing to 565 voice mails left by participants after the call that were not able to ask their question during the hour long forum.