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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
LAKE COUNTY – Officials are still investigating the cause of a fire that burned near homes in north Lakeport on Wednesday.
Two fires merged and created a larger blaze, which Cal Fire investigators on Thursday said burned a total of 22 acres.
The fire threatened several dozen homes in the Lakeside Heights subdivision near Sutter Lakeside Hospital, as well as the subdivision's former clubhouse, now a private residence, and a recent development just east of the fire area.
A single structure, located 600 feet west of the nearest residence, was destroyed in the blaze. The building was used as a storage area as well as housing utility and service equipment specific to the subdivision.
Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells said he had two engines and a water tender on scene from his agency, along with three engines from Northshore Fire, and an engine and a water tender from the US Forest Service.
Cal Fire had four engines, one helicopter, one air attack, three air tankers and a hand crew on scene, said Wells.
Only the helicopter dropped water – mostly on the burning building – while the air tankers and spotter circled overhead. “I held them in orbit for a while,” said Wells, explaining that the planes can help spot additional fires in such situations.
Each successive water drop by the helicopter extinguished the building's fire, with the resulting electrical arcing reigniting the heavy wood framing left smoldering under the buildings collapsed tile roof.
Firefighters eventually extinguished the remnants of the structure but were initially ordered not to attack the building from the ground due to the live heavy voltage electrical connections contained therein.
Wells initially had organized the response, which was then handed over to Cal Fire because the blaze was located in the state responsibility area (SRA).
Later, Wells said he looked toward Nice and saw smoke coming from the Robin Hill area off of Lakeshore. There, they found a third and separate grass fire, measuring about 100 feet by 100 feet, which they extinguished.
Cal Fire Capt. Bob Farias was called to the scene late Wednesday afternoon and began his investigation as soon as the bulk of ground personnel had left the site.
He said he's trying to determine the ignition points of the two separate fires as well as the cause of each.
He returned Thursday and was joined by a Cal Fire command engineer, and they began dissecting the clues left behind in the charred fuel bed.
By the end of the day Thursday, Farias could not offer any solid conclusions as to the cause of the two fires.
Also on scene Thursday were three AT&T trucks working to restore communication lines. Pacific Gas and Electric workers appeared to have their work completed earlier in the day.
Elizabeth Larson contributed to this report.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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The low weather system that has predominated throughout the week pulling cool air from the north will move across Lake County on Saturday, allowing warmer temperatures that are closer to normal July temperatures to move back into the area beginning Saturday afternoon into Sunday.
The Weather Channel predicts that highs Friday and Saturday will reach the mid- to upper-80s, and begin increasing into the 90s on Sunday, which will then usher in a return to normal beginning on Monday, when highs should reach the mid-to upper-90s.
Skies should be sunny to mostly sunny Saturday and Sunday, according to The Weather Channel forecasts, with lows in the mid-5 to upper-50s throughout the weekend.
Tuesday is expected to be the warmest day next week, with a high temp near 100 degrees, but cooling a few degrees each day through mid-week.
The National Weather Service in Sacramento forecasts that Lake County weather will be a few degrees cooler each day than The Weather Channel predicts.
For updated weather, please follow the "Forecast" link on the LakeCoNews homepage.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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Kim Louise Lemoine, 36, who passed counterfeit state government checks totaling $308,000, was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison on charges of identity theft, forgery and grand theft, according to a report from state Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s office.
Two of Lemoine's associates are in custody; two remain at large.
"This band of counterfeiters fabricated 235 state government checks that looked and felt like the real thing," Brown said. "They were able to pass these forgeries and amass more than $300,000."
On March 11, 2009, Brown filed 63 criminal charges of grand theft, possession of counterfeit card making equipment, identity theft, forgery of a California driver's license, forgery of a check and forgery of the California state seal against:
Kim Louise Lemoine, 36, arrested on March 13, pled guilty in Sonoma County Superior Court on April 28 and was sentenced today to five years in prison;
Hiedi Lynn Roth, 36, arrested on April 22, and is expected to be sentenced to 8 years in prison on July 21;
Daria Inessa Sidorkina, 23, who is being held in Solano County jail on unrelated charges;
Laura Renee Harkey, 29, who remains at large; and
Mary Nicole Holstein, 35, who remains at large.
The defendants cashed 235 counterfeit checks at Bank of America branches located in 20 California counties from October 2007 until September 2008. The counterfeit checks ranged from $777 to $3,000.
Attorney General's Office spokesman Evan Westrup told Lake County News Wednesday that it doesn't appear, from a review of the case, that any of the counterfeit checks were passed in Lake County.
The counterfeit checks looked similar to state-issued checks and included the state seal, bank routing information, and the state Controller's signature. The driver's licenses that the defendants used to verify their identifications also appeared valid. In reality, both the checks and driver's licenses were forgeries, created at Lemoine's home in Sonoma County.
On July 28, 2008, a bank teller in Sebastopol refused to cash one of the checks. After being informed that the check would not be honored, the suspect grew angry and demanded the items back. The bank employee refused, and the bank's staff then contacted the California State Controller's Office.
The Controller's Office launched an investigation in conjunction with Brown's office. Last September, agents discovered counterfeiting equipment capable of producing fraudulent checks and driver's licenses, including laminating machines, printers, check paper and blank driver's license cards at Lemoine's home in Sonoma County.
The agents also discovered personal information for more than 50 individuals and businesses in a duffel bag. The information included credit reports, driver's license numbers, social security numbers, and dates of birth.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Indian Health Service (IHS) on Wednesday announced $90 million nationwide in “shovel ready” infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country.
“On tribal lands, 10 percent of homes lack access to safe drinking water compared to less than one percent of non-native homes. Together with the Indian Health Service, EPA is using Recovery Act funds to provide much-needed support for water and wastewater systems in Indian Country,” said Laura Yoshii, acting regional administrator for the U.S. EPA in the Pacific Southwest.
Yoshii said the funding creates jobs for tribal members, addresses critical infrastructure needs and will increase access to drinking water and basic sanitation services.
“By 2010, over 4,400 tribal homes in the Pacific Southwest are expected to receive piped drinking water or basic sanitation services for the first time,” she said.
The tribes receiving funds include the following:
Tule River Indian Reservation will receive $6,371,470 to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant serving 268 homes;
Round Valley Indian Tribes will receive $474,380 to expand its wastewater treatment facility serving 132 homes;
Redwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians will receive $316,770 for improvements to its wastewater treatment plant serving 32 homes;
Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California will receive $205,310 to upgrade sewer connections serving 10 homes;
Redding Rancheria will receive $180,070 to expand sewer connections serving 13 homes;
Quechan Tribe will receive $340,630 to upgrade sewer lines serving 15 homes;
Campo Band of Kumeyaay Indians will receive $753,100 for drinking water treatment serving 29 homes.
Continuing a tradition spanning 20 years, EPA and IHS’s combined effort to improve water services in Indian Country contributed to their identification of 95 wastewater and 64 drinking water priority projects to be completed by IHS’s Sanitation Facilities Construction Program through EPA Recovery Act funds.
The projects exceed the Recovery Act requirement that 20 percent of the funds be used for green infrastructure, water and energy efficiency improvements and other environmentally innovative projects.
President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 on Feb. 17 and has directed that the recovery act be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability. To see how every dollar is being invested, visit www.recovery.gov .