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- Written by: Lake County News reports
The goal of the Regulate Aggressive Driving and Reduce Speed, or RADARS, VI grant is to decrease traffic crashes attributed to speed and the number of people killed and injured in these crashes.
In federal fiscal year 2018-2019, speed was a factor in approximately 45 percent of all fatal and injury-causing crashes in California. That year, 36,036 speed-related crashes killed 335 people and injured 53,060 others.
“Reckless driving behaviors are a significant threat to all who use California’s roadways,” said CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray. “The RADARS grant will provide for a focused education and enforcement campaign targeting speeding motorists and aggressive driving behaviors, including street racing and sideshow activities, to help prevent crashes resulting in death or injury.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, CHP has noted a significant increase in incidents of unsafe driving behaviors: motorists exceeding 100 miles per hour on state highways, illicit street racing and sideshow activities, and speed-related crashes.
Between April 1, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2021, the CHP issued more than 44,500 citations to motorists traveling in excess of 100 miles per hour.
To address the issue, the CHP used federal grant funding to conduct enhanced speed enforcement operations on state routes with a history of speed-related incidents, collaborated with local law enforcement agencies to create street racing and sideshow task forces, and conducted social media campaigns to educate the public about the dangers of speeding, aggressive driving, and street racing.
The RADARS grant will allow the CHP to conduct a comparable campaign from Oct. l, 2021, through Sept. 30, 2022.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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- Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a San Francisco man who has been missing since he went kayaking on Clear Lake on Sunday.
Deputies received a missing person’s report regarding Dylan Rockne Flanagan, 28, on Sunday night, said Lt. Rich Ward.
Flanagan and friends were reported to be staying at a vacation rental this week to celebrate his birthday when he decided to go out kayaking late Sunday afternoon, heading toward Rattlesnake Island, according to information a friend of Flanagan’s shared with Lake County News.
Ward said deputies responded to the report of an overdue kayaker near East State Highway 20 and Olson Road in Clearlake Oaks at 8:20 p.m. Sunday.
He said they spoke to Flanagan’s girlfriend, who said he was last seen at approximately 4:45 p.m. while kayaking on Clear Lake.
Ward said Flanagan was last seen wearing a navy-colored Hawaiian shirt, straw hat and pink shorts. He is reported to be 6 feet, 1 inch tall.
His girlfriend contacted Flanagan on his cellphone at approximately 5:06 p.m. Sunday and he advised he was on the kayak and was OK. But all of the subsequent calls went to his voicemail and no one has seen or heard from Flanagan, Ward said.
Ward said deputies contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Unit and requested their assistance.
Marine Patrol conducted a search of the area as well as a visual search of the shoreline along Highway 20 and the Rattlesnake Island area. Due to weather conditions and high wind, Marine Patrol ceased their search efforts until Monday morning, Ward said.
Ward said Marine Patrol continued a search of Clear Lake for Flanagan on Monday.
At approximately 9:37 a.m. Monday, Marine Patrol units located a dark green kayak in the area of Widgeon Bay, Ward said. Deputies suspected the kayak to be associated with Flanagan and took possession of the kayak for safekeeping.
Marine Patrol continued their search of Clear Lake throughout the day and utilized side-scan sonar to assist in their search efforts, Ward said.
On Tuesday, Ward said Marine Patrol units continued their search efforts and are actively searching Clear Lake for Flanagan.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is actively working with Flanagan’s family and friends in an effort to locate Flanagan, Ward said.
Anyone with information pertaining to Flanagan’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Central Dispatch nonemergency line at 707-263-2690.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Firefighters on Monday afternoon quickly stopped a fast-moving fire in the city of Clearlake, with some early help from passersby, one of them an off-duty firefighter himself.
The Box fire was first dispatched around 1:30 p.m. Monday on Dam Road near Jack in the Box.
The first firefighters on scene minutes later reported it was two acres, with a high rate of spread.
Radio traffic indicated the fire was between Dam Road and Highway 53, near the city’s major shopping center.
Lake County Fire responded with Cal Fire sending a full wildland dispatch, including Copter 104 and other air resources.
However, at 1:44 p.m. Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta said forward progress had been stopped, and additional units responding were told to cancel.
Copter 104 continued in to help size up the fire but left the scene shortly afterward.
The firefighters got help in quickly knocking out what could have been a damaging blaze from some passersby who were the first on the scene.
Stephenie Hargrove, a nurse practitioner who works in Lake County, said she and her boyfriend, Tommy Scalfaro, were driving through the area when they saw the fire and noticed that fire resources hadn’t yet arrived.
Scalfaro, a Cal Fire firefighter who was off-duty at the time of the incident, turned his truck around, made sure his 2-year-old son, Hargrove and their newly adopted puppy were safely away from the danger, grabbed the McCleod firefighting tool that he keeps in his pickup for emergencies and ran into the fire, Hargrove said.
She said Scalfaro “went right into the fire to cut hand line to stop the spread of fire to keep it from jumping across Highway 53 due to the high winds.”
Hargrove shared video with Lake County News of Scalfaro at work at the scene.
Two other men also pulled over. Hargrove said they had a shovel and switched off with each other to try to get fire under control, lauding them as heroes for their actions.
When the on-duty firefighters arrived, Hargrove said Scalfaro helped the crew with fighting the fire and discussed where the fire appeared to have started.
Hargrove noted the very high winds in the area, and said she wasn’t sure how much further it would have spread had Scalfaro not quickly gotten to work.
She called Scalfaro a hero, noting that he couldn’t bear to pass this fire and not fight it. That’s despite the physical toll — including coughing and vomiting due to the smoke and having no protective gear. But, she said, he noted he’s “used to that.”
The weather occurred during a red flag warning that was in effect for much of Lake County due to high winds and dry vegetation. The warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Tuesday, the National Weather Service said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The company began turning off power early Monday to an estimated 24,000 customers in 23 counties, including Lake, due to high winds that had also led to a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service.
The public safety power shut-off, or PSPS, is impacting 4,008 Lake County customers, of which 304 are in the medical baseline program. Those customers primarily are in and around Cobb, Hidden Valley and Middletown, with some also north of Clearlake Oaks.
PG&E said some of the highest wind gusts reported in the PSPS de-energized areas included Butte County, 55 miles per hour; Shasta County, 52 miles per hour; and Tehama County, 47 miles per hour.
With its meteorologists calling the all clear by Monday night, PG&E said it had begun restoring power where possible.
However, the company said before power can be turned back on in the PSPS area, its crews must patrol 2,549 transmission and distribution lines to ensure that no damage or hazards exist before those lines are re-energized and those customers restored.
Efforts related to this PSPS event will include up to 1,494 ground patrol units and 43 helicopters, the company said.
No estimated time of restoration was given by PG&E on Monday night for Lake County’s impacted customers.
While the PSPS continues, four community resource centers in Lake County will remain open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. so impacted customers can charge medical equipment and electronic devices, get up-to-date information about the PSPS, and also pick up water and snacks.
The centers are located at:
— Live Oaks Senior Center, 12502 Foothill Blvd., Clearlake Oaks;
— Little Red Schoolhouse, 15780 Bottle Rock Road, Cobb;
— Hidden Valley Lake Association mailboxes, 18090 Hidden Valley Road, Hidden Valley Lake; and
— Twin Pine Casino and Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.
Another PSPS possible this week
PG&E said it is also monitoring weather forecasts that could bring high winds to parts of the company’s service area from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, which might trigger another shut-off.
The company said that the incoming weather system could impact portions of its northern, central and southern regions of its service area.
Specifics of which communities could be impacted were not released on Monday night.
Email Elizabeth Larson at