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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Thousands of Lake County residents were out of power on Wednesday and into Thursday as the result of the powerful winter storm hitting the region.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s online outage center included a map that showed many areas of California were impacted by outages as a result of the stormy weather.
In Lake County, small outages ringed the lake. There was an outage impacting 581 customers in Clearlake that began after 8 p.m. and 154 customers in Clearlake Oaks that began at around 6:30 p.m.
But the largest outages were in Kelseyville and south to the Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown areas.
Those outages began on Wednesday afternoon and evening, and affected several thousand residents.
As of 3:30 a.m. Thursday, PG&E had not given estimated times of restoration for the Lake County outages.
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- Written by: GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
As a powerful winter storm descended on California on Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency throughout the state.
The emergency proclamation supports emergency relief efforts including authorizing the mobilization of the California National Guard to support disaster response, directing Caltrans to request immediate assistance through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program to support highway repairs and other support for local response and recovery efforts.
The governor has also activated the State Operations Center to its highest level, and the state and federal government have stood up the Flood Operations Center, which covers forecasting, reservoir operations coordination, and provides technical support as well as flood fighting materials like sandbags for local agencies.
"This state of emergency will allow the state to respond quickly as the storm develops and support local officials in their ongoing response,” Newsom said.
The National Weather Service is forecasting heavy rain and snow, strong wind and the potential for additional flooding threats this week. Officials said residual flooding impacts could extend into the weekend along with additional storms lingering into next week.
The state has prepositioned fire and rescue equipment and personnel to support local resources across the state. Teams will mobilize quickly in the event of mud flows, avalanches or flash floods.
The California Health and Human Services Agency is engaging with local and community partners to ensure vulnerable groups — individuals with disabilities, older individuals, and unsheltered individuals — are aware of conditions and have access to services should they need them.
The California Department of Social Services will work alongside local partners and the American Red Cross to establish congregate shelters, the Department of Public Health will deploy regional staff to support hospitals and health care facilities, the Department of Health Care Access and Information will deploy structural engineers to health care facilities to evaluate impacts to infrastructure and the Emergency Medical Services Authority will deploy ambulance strike teams.
Driving and road closures
Avoid non-essential travel during the peak of the storm on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. If you must drive, download the QuickMap app or visit QuickMap to learn up-to-the-minute information on road conditions, traffic, closures, chain control, and more.
Power outages
Take inventory of the items you need that rely on electricity. Plan for batteries and other alternative power sources to meet your needs if the power goes out such as a portable charger or power bank. Have flashlights for every household member. Determine whether your home phone will work in a power outage and how long battery backup will last.
Emergency alerts
Californians are reminded to dial 2-1-1 or 3-1-1 to get help or ask questions. If you have a critical emergency, call 911.
Staying informed by signing up for emergency alerts including warnings and evacuation notices. Go to www.CalAlerts.org to sign up to receive alerts from your county officials.
Flood risk
If you are under a flood warning:
• Find safe shelter right away.
• Do not walk, swim or drive through flood waters. Turn Around, Don’t Drown!
• Remember, just six inches of moving water can knock you down, and one foot of moving water can sweep your vehicle away.
• Stay off bridges over fast-moving water.
Know your medical needs
Talk to your medical provider about a power outage plan for medical devices powered by electricity and refrigerated medicines. Know how long your medications can be stored at higher temperatures and get specific guidance for any medications that are critical for life.
Generator safety
Portable back-up generators produce the poison gas carbon monoxide, or CO. CO is an odorless, colorless gas that kills without warning. It claims the lives of hundreds of people every year and makes thousands more ill.
Follow these steps to keep your family safe.
When using portable generators:
• Never use a generator inside your home or garage, even if doors and windows are open.
• Only use generators outside, more than 20 feet away from your home, doors, and windows.
CO detectors
• Install battery-operated or battery back-up CO detectors near every sleeping area in your home.
• Check CO detectors regularly to be sure they are functioning properly.
Food storage
• Have enough nonperishable food and water for every member of your household for three days. Open freezers and refrigerators only when necessary. Your refrigerator can keep food cold for four hours. A full freezer will maintain temperature for two days. Use coolers with ice if necessary. Monitor temperatures with a thermometer. Throw out food if temperatures reach 40 degrees or higher.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Northern and Central California are bracing for a significant storm set to hit on Wednesday and Thursday, bringing with it a large amount of rain.
The National Weather Service said a very powerful Pacific cyclone “is rapidly strengthening and heading closer to the West Coast.”
The storm will bring “heavy rain and flooding, strong to damaging winds, very large surf, isolated strong thunderstorms and heavy, high elevation snow,” according to the forecast.
The forecast calls for up to 6.5 inches of rain this week, 4 inches of it on Wednesday and Thursday alone.
The intense rainfall in the forecast is expected to be associated with a moderate to strong atmospheric river, the National Weather Service said.
This follows a wet week in Lake County that also brought several inches of rain, leading to saturated soils and concerns for flooding.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for southern Lake County that’s in effect from late Tuesday through Thursday afternoon.
The agency also has issued a wind advisory that runs from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 10 a.m. Thursday for both the southern and northern area of Lake County due to southeast winds of between 25 to 35 miles per hour and the potential for gusts of up to 60 miles per hour.
During the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, city staff gave the council an update on the outlook for this week as they prepared to respond to the storm.
Lakeport’s city staff and other local officials participated with the county of Lake, the National Weather Service, Pacific Gas and Electric and Mediacom in a county Office of Emergency Services meeting on Tuesday to plan for the situation.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the storm is expected to hit at about 4 a.m. Wednesday.
He said his department and city staff were preparing to respond.
Public Works Director Ron Ladd said the city will have extra crews on call, and they’ve already positioned generators at city facilities and readied other equipment — from wood chippers to barricades — in preparation for the large amount of rain and high winds in the forecast.
Ladd said he’s also met with Public Works staff and they’re ready to handle the storm situation.
“I feel like we’re as prepared as we can be,” Ladd said.
Lakeport City Manager Kevin Ingram said it’s highly likely there will be high water in flood-prone areas due to the storm.
He urged people to be careful on Wednesday.
Pacific Gas and Electric said Tuesday night that it has more than 3,000 of its employees, and contract and mutual aid personnel mobilized to respond to the storm.
Those preparations are in place following work to restore nearly of its 500,000 customers who lost power during the strong New Year’s Eve storm last Saturday, PG&E said.
The company said that poised to respond to outages are approximately 360 four-person electric crews, 397 troublemen, distribution line technicians and system inspectors who serve as the utility’s first responders and another 800 personnel who will monitor electric incidents for public safety.
Hundreds of PG&E employees also are serving in roles in the company’s emergency operations center as well as in regional and divisional emergency centers. Approximately 250 vegetation-management personnel also are at the ready.
PG&E said it is currently being supported by 16 crews from Southern California Edison and has requested mutual-aid assistance from additional West Coast power providers.
The company said its customers can view real-time outage information at PG&E’s online outage center and search by a specific address, by city or by county. This site has been updated to include support in 16 languages.
PG&E customers also can sign up for outage notifications by text, email, or phone. PG&E will let customers know the cause of an outage, when crews are on their way, the estimated restoration time and when power has been restored.
Community members are offered the following storm safety tips:
Never touch downed wires: If you see a downed power line, assume it is energized and extremely dangerous. Do not touch or try to move it — and keep children and animals away. Report downed power lines immediately by calling 9-1-1 and then PG&E at 1-800-743-5002.
Use generators safely: Customers with standby electric generators should ensure they are properly installed by a licensed electrician in a well-ventilated area. Improperly installed generators pose a significant danger to customers, as well as crews working on power lines. If using portable generators, be sure they are in a well-ventilated area.
Use flashlights, not candles: During a power outage, use battery-operated flashlights and not candles, due to the risk of fire. And keep extra batteries on hand. If you must use candles, please keep them away from drapes, lampshades, animals and small children. Do not leave candles unattended.
Have a backup phone: If you have a telephone system that requires electricity to work, such as a cordless phone or answering machine, plan to have a standard telephone or cellular phone ready as a backup. Having a portable charging device helps to keep your cellphone running.
Have fresh drinking water and ice: Freeze plastic containers filled with water to make blocks of ice that can be placed in your refrigerator/freezer to prevent food spoilage.
Turn off appliances: If you experience an outage, unplug or turn off all electrical appliances to avoid overloading circuits and to prevent fire hazards when power is restored. Simply leave a single lamp on to alert you when power returns.
Safely clean up: After the storm has passed, be sure to safely clean up. Never touch downed wires and always call 8-1-1 or visit 811express.com at least two full business days before digging to have all underground utilities safely marked.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
ERTH issued its agenda on the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 1, which was more than the required 72-hour notice.
However, just after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, County Administrative Office staff informed ERTH in an email that the meeting didn’t meet the Brown Act posting requirements.
While ERTH distributed the agenda to the community and posted it online, the issue appears to have been related to the county’s offices being closed until Tuesday because of the New Year’s holiday.
As a result, the agenda reportedly was not posted at the courthouse within the required timeframe. It was, however, found on the ERTH webpage on the county website.
After that email from the county, ERTH Board member Pamela Kicenski said in a followup email that the group would still hold an informational meeting.
However, later in the afternoon, Kicenski said the meeting was canceled “due to lack of proper noticing because of the holidays.”
She said the next meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 1, at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge.
ERTH members also were told on Tuesday that all five of the board members needed to reapply for new terms.
Similarly, County Administrative Office staff told the Lucerne Area Town Hall, or LATH, that all five of its members also needed to reapply for new terms.
That’s despite all of the Northshore town halls — ERTH, LATH and the Western Region Town Hall — having staggered terms for board members, as established in their bylaws, to avoid having all of them reappointed at the same time.
A county spreadsheet of local appointments shows the staggered terms for ERTH and WRTH, but not for LATH.
The spreadsheet shows as last being updated in September, the month before the Board of Supervisors approved the newest version of the LATH bylaws, however both the current and previous LATH bylaws explicitly dictate staggered terms.
The County Administrative Office reported on Tuesday that at that point only Kicenski had applied for reappointment to ERTH.
The Board of Supervisors is set to consider a number of appointments to county boards, committees and commissions on Jan. 10, its first meeting of the new year.
Email Elizabeth Larson at