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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – Fire officials are reporting that the cause of a fire that endangered a Lakeport neighborhood on Saturday was a lawnmower.
As Lake County News previously reported, the blaze broke out near a neighborhood on Alterra Drive and Crystal Lake Way shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday.
About 30 homes are located nearby, and fire personnel advised residents of numerous homes to evacuate their homes as they worked to control it.
The fire was contained later that afternoon, with mop-up operations continuing until late into the evening.
Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells said Monday that the 4.5-acre blaze was traced to an area resident mowing grass.
Wells said because the fire was accidental, charges won't be brought against the person doing the mowing.
Lawn mowing is a serious source of potential fires, said Wells, who urged people to mow early in the morning or late in the evening, when fire danger is much less.
The blaze destroyed one barn, one playhouse, neighborhood fences and numerous junker vehicles, said Wells.
Putting out the fire relied on the efforts of agencies around the lake and beyond, said Wells.
A total of 36 firefighters from Lakeport Fire Protection District; Northshore Fire, including engines from its Upper Lake, Lucerne and Nice fire stations; Kelseyville Fire; the U.S. Forest Service; and Lake County Fire Protection in Clearlake fought the fire, said Wells. Another 30 hand crew members came from Cal Fire.
A total of 10 engines came from all of those agencies, plus a bull dozer and helicopters from Cal Fire and a Forest Service water tender, said Wells. Both Cal Fire and the Lake County Fire Protection District also sent battalion chiefs to assist Wells.
Wells added that there were no injuries, either to residents or firefighters.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Editor
WILLITS – Former Vice President Walter Mondale and his wife Joan, celebrated throroughbred racehorse owner Harry Aleo, and descendants of the owner, trainer, and jockey of Seabiscuit on Saturday paid tribute to the legendary American racehorse as a classic, life-sized bronze sculpture of the equestrian giant was unveiled and formally dedicated at Ridgewood Ranch in Willits.
The private ceremony took place more than 55 years after a Seabiscuit statue had been removed from the ranch where the horse legend spent his final racing and retirement years, died, and was buried.
"Seabiscuit was a most unlikely champion – a down-on-his-luck horse whose looks didn't inspire confidence in anyone – except for the people who mattered most – his owner Charles Howard, his jockey Red Pollard, and his trainer Tom Smith," said Mrs. Mondale, official representative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "They were an amazing team, this horse and these three men. They worked miracles and in the depths of the Depression that seemed to go on and on, they gave people something to feel good about."
Retired Marine Col. Michael Howard, great grandson of Charles Howard, read a statement from Laura Hillenbrand whose best-selling book rekindled national interest and led to an Academy Award-nominated film about the great horse and the remarkable team who owned, trained, and raced him.
"I can say with perfect certainty that nothing could have thrilled (Charles Howard) more than to see people gather here at his beloved ranch to dedicate a statue crafted to celebrate Seabiscuit and to carry the horse's legend forward to new generations," said Hillenbrand. "May the world never forget the magnificent Seabiscuit."
Besides Mrs. Mondale and Col. Howard, other speakers at Saturday's event were Aleo, owner of Lost in the Fog, the most popular San Francisco Bay Area horse since Seabiscuit; John Pollard Sr., nephew of Seabiscuit jockey Red Pollard; Anthea Hartig, Western Director, National Trust for Historic Preservation; Jani Buron, former ranch resident and author of "The Spirit of Seabiscuit"; and Bill Nichols, former ranch hand and author of "Seabiscuit-The Rest of the Story". Dashing Lil'Biscuit, a Seabiscuit descendant, made a brief appearance.
Representing the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation were the emcee, Jacqueline Cooper, owner and breeder of the American Legend Horse Farm which is raising Seabiscuit's descendants at Ridgewood, and Foundation President Tracy Livingston.
The foundation is a nonprofit group formed to protect and preserve the historic buildings and natural resources of the remaining 5,000 acres of the Howard Ranch. "The return of the statue marks the start of a new era at the ranch, one which ultimately will see the completion and execution of a full-blown restoration and preservation plan," commented Livingston.
Famed Western artist and sculptor Hughlette "Tex" Wheeler cast two statues from Seabiscuit in 1940-41 while the horseracing legend was still alive.
About a decade ago, the Howard family donated one of the sculptures to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. In February 1941, Seabiscuit himself helped unveil the second statue at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California where it remains in the garden paddock area.
Custom design statue makers, Icon Bronze of Anchorage, Alaska and its affiliate, Atlas Bronze Casting of Salt Lake City, crafted the replica unveiled today from a new rubber and fiberglass mold of the original in Saratoga Springs. V. Fontana, a family-owned fine granite and marble products manufacturer near San Francisco that made the original five-ton dark diamond gray granite pedestal, used the same polishing equipment to produce the new base. The inscription is the same: "Biscuit's courage, honesty, and physical prowess definitely place him among the thoroughbred immortals of turf history. He had intelligence and understanding almost spiritual in quality."
Chris and Anita Lowe of Bishopstone, Wiltshire U.K., foundation benefactors and collectors of Seabiscuit memorabilia, generously provided funding for the monument. The Lowes were made honorary citizens and given a key to the city of Willits by Mayor Tami Jorgensen. "There have been countless famous racehorses throughout the ages from all over the world," said Chris Lowe. "But few if any have captured the imagination and inspired an entire nation as Seabiscuit."
Nestled in the oak and redwood-studded ranchlands and mountains of northern California, Ridgewood Ranch was where Seabiscuit was nursed back to health after a serious injury. Seabiscuit's recuperation set the stage for an electrifying blaze-of-glory career finish at Santa Anita Park that captivated Depression-era America.
Still a working ranch, Ridgewood has been designated one of America's most threatened historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The current owner, Christ's Church of the Golden Rule, has endeavored to be a model steward of the ranch by keeping developers at bay and by permanently protecting the historic structures that constitute Seabiscuit's legacy. The church has worked toward restoring several historic buildings and has joined the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation, the National Trust, and others to develop an overall preservation and resource management plan and identify necessary funding sources for the effort.
For more information, contact the Seabiscuit Heritage Foundation, Ridgewood Ranch, 16200 Highway 101, Willits, CA 95460, or
For a full gallery of picture from the Seabiscuit statue unveiling, go to http://lakeconews.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,37/.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE – Clearlake Police are stepping up patrol of the Austin Skate Park after a large Sunday evening fight involving as many as eight people left five injured.
A report from Clearlake Police Lt. Mike Hermann noted that Clearlake Police officers responded to the fight at 630 p.m. Sunday.
When they got to the park, Hermann reported officers found three victims, including a 28-year-old male who was on the ground and unconscious. Two more victims also were found.
Police determined that the fight started when one male subject looked at another male's girlfriend. Hermann said several other subjects joined the fight, with as many as eight people becoming involved, ranging in ages from teens to young adults in their mid-20s.
Although police have indications that some of those involved with the fight may have been wearing gang-related attire, Hermann's report stated that there is currently no evidence to prove the fight was “gang provoked.”
Hermann said that none of the subjects involved in the fight were previously known to police.
The 28-year-old male victim was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for neck injuries that authorities later determined weren't life-threatening, Hermann reported. No actual weapon was used on the victim, who mostly suffered from bruising to the throat, said Hermann.
Two other victims, ages 20 and 17, were treated and released for minor injuries, Hermann reported.
Police contacted a witness to the fight and obtained pictures of some of the individuals involved that had been taken with a cell phone, according to Hermann.
The main subject in the case, said Hermann, has been identified but has not yet been arrested.
Because of the incident Hermann said Clearlake Police will be stepping up law enforcement in that area, aggressively patrolling the skate park during the summer months.
Sgt. Brett Rhodes is leading the investigation into the fight incident, Hermann reported. Anyone with information about the fight is asked to call Rhodes at 994-8251.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
KELSEYVILLE – At long last a park in the Clear Lake Riviera is coming closer to becoming a reality.
The four-acre parcel adjacent to the elementary school has been targeted for a community park.
A public meeting was held June 12 at the elementary school to get community input on the park design.
Some of the ideas that are being considered would be baseball diamonds, soccer fields, picnic tables and playground equipment. The cost of such a project is currently up in the air until the community expresses what it wants in a park.
“We have $300,000 to work with,” said Supervisor Rob Brown. “Obviously that won’t be enough but we are not sure how much more we will need. It all depends on what the community wants in a park.”
Brown said the community can help by giving the county as much input as early as possible about what they expect their community park to look like.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Brown. “I know there are a lot of people in the Riviera that have expressed interest in this and I’m glad it is this much closer to being a reality. We’ve had a very good conversation with Superintendent of Kelseyville School District Boyce McClain as well as Riviera Elementary School Principal Enrico Frediani to develop a relationship with them in order to make this happen.”
Presently the elementary school is being used after classes are out for recreation without the benefit of restroom facilities. The new park will create a new recreation area on property already owned by the county and provide much needed public restrooms.
Currently after school a gate is placed across the road into the school to keep vehicles out. In the summer and in the evenings one can see several cars parked in the entrance while the occupants continue to the elementary school on foot.
Plans are also on the horizon for a much larger park on the edge of the Clear Lake Riviera subdivision.
The owner of a large parcel of land to the south of the subdivision and east of Soda Bay Road is planning to submit a subdivision proposal for roughly 150 lots.
The developer has shown a willingness to work with the Clear Lake Riviera Board in order to make this subdivision palatable to the neighborhood. He has proposed donating roughly 250 acres of land for a large public park.
“Aside from the obvious recreational activities, this park would provide much needed wildlife corridors and the protection of the Thurston Creek watershed,” said Alan Siegel, president of the Clear Lake Riviera Home Owners Association. “The placement of a park legally usable by all of our residents would undoubtedly raise property values as well as offer myriad recreational activities. And while we are excited about this possibility we will bring every issue to the neighborhood for input.”
Realtor Ray Perry is a member of the CPS/Country Air Kelseyville office. Visit his Web site at www.rayperry.com.
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