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State remains on high alert due to critical fire weather, extreme heat
At the direction of Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Cal Fire continue to preposition resources and respond aggressively to new fires.
California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, predeployed firefighting resources and personnel to 12 counties in anticipation of critical fire weather that started last Wednesday and will continue to persist through today.
Since Aug. 22 there have been over 74,000 lightning strikes in the state of California with over 33,000 strikes happening just in the last 24 hours.
The National Weather Service forecasts critical fire weather for Tuesday and Wednesday due to abundant lightning and gusty winds that will increase fire spread.
Officials said this will affect the Inland Region, including Sacramento Valley and mountain ranges.
In addition, portions of the Southern and Inland regions of the state may be under a flood watch due to threats of heavy rainfall.
Despite extreme heat, widespread red flag warnings, and thousands of lightning strikes recorded across the state, California kept numerous new wildfires small and manageable, with most being quickly extinguished within the first 24 hours.
The state has deployed 2,700-plus personnel, 14 helicopters, 248 engines, 75 dozers and 29 water tenders to the Pickett Fire in Napa County — helping stop its forward growth and ramp up containment.
“California continues to be in a readiness posture for extreme heat and fire weather. Our aggressive response to this weather and our predeployment strategy has meant that only a handful of the more than 200 new fire starts have grown past 10 acres. We continue to have thousands of personnel deployed across the state to keep communities safe,” said Newsom.
For more than one week, high temperatures, low humidity and dry lightning were present throughout the state. California took action by predeploying available resources to communities that could be impacted by severe fire weather.
Local fire agencies identify when conditions in their community may require additional resources and submit a request to the state for support.
A total of 78 fire engines, 20 water tenders, nine bulldozers, five helicopters, 10 hand crews, 16 dispatchers, and two Incident Management Teams were approved for 12 counties, including Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Sierra, Nevada, Plumas, Placer, Calaveras, and Trinity.
Staging locations and response assignments are coordinated by local officials.
These efforts ensure that resources are ready to respond quickly, minimizing the potential impact of new fires.
Officials said this proactive approach has proven to be a critical component of California’s wildfire response strategy, reducing response times and containing fires before they escalate into potential major incidents.
The preposition program is in addition to California’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, which remains available for emergency response support throughout the state where resources are needed.
At the governor’s direction, the State Operations Center at Cal OES remains on an “enhanced watch” status for both heat and fire conditions.
Cal Fire responds quickly during fire weather conditions
Since Aug. 21, California has seen more than 200 new fire starts, with 132 of those within Cal Fire's jurisdiction.
Thanks to an aggressive initial attack strategy and strong mutual aid system, only a handful of these fires grew to over 10 acres. Officials call this a “remarkable success rate” that’s a testament to the dedication and preparedness of the state’s firefighters.
In anticipation of the predicted fire weather conditions, Cal Fire bolstered resources by pre-positioning crews and equipment in Southern California.
In Northern California, Incident Management Team four was assigned to the Pickett Fire in Napa County, supporting the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit in combating this quickly spreading fire in a highly populated area.
This strategy of aggressively attacking all fires has proven incredibly effective. By achieving containment quickly, communities face less disruption and worry, and more resources are available for the next new fire starts. This swift and decisive initial attack strategy will continue as challenging conditions persist into the fall.
Residents are urged to stay vigilant during heightened heat and fire weather. Californians are reminded to:
• Prepare a wildfire action plan, including planning evacuation routes and packing a go-bag with essentials.
• Sign up for local emergency alerts to stay informed about changing conditions.
• Visit CalHeatScore.CalEPA.ca.gov to find heat safety information specific to your area.
For more information on fire safety and general preparedness, visit Ready.ca.gov.
Former Lake County Code Enforcement officer sentenced in bribery case
LAKEPORT, Calif. — A former Lake County Code Enforcement officer convicted of bribery was sentenced to a year in jail and two years of probation on Monday afternoon.
Judge J. David Markham handed down the sentence to Antonio Chavez Anguiano, 37, of Clearlake.
Chavez Anguiano was arrested July 31, 2024, on felony charges of extortion, soliciting/accepting a bribe and grand theft, and misdemeanor possession of marijuana for sale, as Lake County News reported last summer.
The District Attorney’s Office originally charged him with 12 felonies including an executive officer accepting a bribe, extortion and grand theft, and a misdemeanor for possession of marijuana for sale.
Following an Oct. 9 preliminary hearing, Chavez Anguiano was held to answer on all of the charges. However, in an agreement with the District Attorney’s Office, he entered a nolo contendere plea in April to just two felony charges — two counts of being an executive officer accepting a bribe — with the rest of the charges dismissed.
In a nolo plea, the defendant accepts a conviction but does not admit or dispute the charges.
Chavez Anguiano’s attorney, Angela Carter, said the bribery amount was $2,000, with another $2,000 that was to have been paid.
Chavez Anguiano was prosecuted for accepting a bribe from a cannabis grower. The victim in the case worked with law enforcement, who caught the transaction on video, Carter said.
Family seeks leniency in sentencing
On Monday afternoon, Chavez Anguiano was accompanied by about 25 members of his large family who came to offer their support for him and ask the judge to give him probation rather than a prison sentence.
Judge Markham said he was inclined to follow the recommendation from the Lake County Probation Department that found that the case presented an unusual circumstance and that Chavez Anguiano had no previous criminal record.
During the sentencing hearing, Carter had been prepared to have 28 people speak in support of giving Chavez Anguiano a more merciful sentence. However, that number was reduced to just four when it became apparent that Markham was inclined to give the lighter sentence recommended by probation.
Those who spoke included Chavez Anguiano’s cousin, Paula Thomas; mother-in-law, Sonya Garcia; brother, Edher Chavez; and wife, Alecia Chavez.
All of them spoke of Chavez Anguiano’s devotion to his family, his role as the key bread winner, his parenting to the blended family of five children — ages 3 to 16 — that he and his wife share, and his admission that he was wrong.
“Antonio has taken responsibility and I feel he understands what the consequences may be,” said Thomas.
His family members also spoke of the hardship his wife and children would face if he was incarcerated for two years in state prison.
In their statements and in court documents it was reported that not only did Chavez Anguiano immediately lose his job after his arrest but that his wife was fired from her job at the county of Lake, making it difficult to make ends meet.
When Garcia said her son-in-law going to prison would have negative impacts on this family, Senior Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg asked her if Chavez Anguiano was teaching his children the difference between right and wrong.
“He is,” Garcia said.
Borg followed up by asking if incarceration would show that you cannot commit crimes and not face consequences.
Garcia said no, that Chavez Anguiano has explained to his children that he’s made a mistake.
His brother, Edher Chavez, said the family relies on Chavez Anguiano for everything.
“My brother’s a good man. We’ve had a rough life,” Edher Chavez said.
He said his brother has never been in trouble and is not violent.
Edher Chavez noted, with emotion rising in his voice, “We all make mistakes.”
He also guaranteed accountability. “We will all be there to hold him accountable, all his family.”
Alecia Chavez said her husband realizes he made a mistake and has done everything he can to make up for it. He’s been working long hours at a minimum wage job to make ends meet.
When Carter asked if she can support their children while he’s in jail, Borg objected but Markham overruled him and allowed Chavez to answer.
“I’m going to do my best,” she said.
She said the crime doesn’t define her husband or who he is to their family. “Our kids need him and so do I, and so does our entire family,” she said.
Prosecution, defense offer arguments; judge gives decision
Borg, in his closing statements, said people commit crimes and sometimes the consequences are unfortunate, having a ripple effect across the lives of others.
He said he felt Chavez Anguiano already was getting a break. Borg also wasn’t convinced about the reasoning behind giving him a reduced sentence because of not having a previous criminal history.
People in a position to extort bribes as government officials are unlikely to have a previous record, Borg said.
“This is a betrayal of trust,” said Borg, noting the trust put in people who hold such jobs.
Such criminal activity negatively impacts trust in the government. “That’s kind of a big deal right now,” Borg said.
“The bottom line is this, he may be a great dad and all that, but he didn’t care about that when he committed these crimes,” Borg said. “He chose to do this. This is a choice he made.”
Borg said there needed to be significant consequences, and he believed Chavez Anguiano should be imprisoned.
In her arguments, Carter emphasized that Chavez Anguiano made a mistake, admitted it and accepted a plea offer as early as he could.
She said he took full responsibility from the first moment he spoke with her, adding he’s one of the most remorseful defendants she had sat next to at the defense table.
“He’s a man with a big heart and there’s no question he made a mistake,” said Carter, noting that he was always ready to accept whatever punishment that came his way and that she didn’t believe there was any risk of him reoffending.
In his decision, Markham noted, “This was a close call.”
While he understood Borg’s points, the judge said that in the end he did find unusual circumstances and decided that rather than send him to prison he would place Chavez Anguiano on felony probation for two years, which resulted in some gasps and tears from family members.
Markham continued, “Although it was a close call on probation, it was never a close call on jail time.”
Altogether, he sentenced Chavez Anguiano to 364 days in the Lake County Jail, but he will only be required to serve half of that time. He will receive seven days’ credit for time served at the time of his arrest, another six days’ credit for good behavior, bringing the total jail sentence to 176 days.
Carter told Lake County News after the sentencing that Chavez Anguiano had been braced for a two-year prison sentence.
Markham ordered that he turn himself in at the jail on Oct. 8.
Editor’s note: A previous version of the story incorrectly stated Alecia Chavez lost her job with the Lake County Office of Education. It was in fact the county of Lake.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Earthquake Brace + Bolt Grant Program opens again for 2025 applications; grant program expands to rentals
The California Residential Mitigation Program, or CRMP, has announced its second Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant registration period for 2025, running from Aug. 20 through Oct. 1.
For the first time, this open registration expands eligibility to include non-primary residential properties, giving landlords and other property owners the opportunity to apply for seismic retrofit grants to strengthen wood-framed, homes built before 1980 with raised foundations against earthquake damage.
Following the successful registration of nearly 19,000 homeowners during the January registration period, CRMP is initiating a second registration phase.
With more than 1,100 eligible ZIP Codes across the state — including 303 added earlier this year — qualified homeowners can apply for grants of up to $3,000 to help cover the cost of bolting houses to their foundations and bracing crawl space walls.
In Lake County, this applies to residents in the following ZIP Codes: 95451, 95423,95443, 95467, 95452, 94939, 95458, 95459, 94941, 95464, 95485, 95493, 95493.
The full list of ZIP Codes can be found here.
These seismic retrofit upgrades help to reduce earthquake damage and provide more resilient housing in high-risk areas.
More than $20 million in grant funding will be available to help offset the cost of seismic retrofits.
Since the 2013 Earthquake Brace + Bolt, or EBB, program launch, more than 32,500 California homeowners have received grant assistance for strengthening their homes against earthquake damage.
The EBB grant program is administered by CRMP, a Joint Powers Authority between the California Earthquake Authority and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
“Offering a second registration period this year is a valuable opportunity in helping us meet the strong demand we’ve seen for earthquake retrofit assistance,” said Janiele Maffei, chief mitigation officer, California Earthquake Authority. “By opening eligibility to include non-owner-occupied residential properties, we are helping ensure more of California’s older homes, including rentals, can be strengthened against earthquake damage. Retrofitting is one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of severe damage in a major quake, protecting both residents and the communities they call home.”
Income-eligible homeowners may also qualify for supplemental grants. Up to $7,000 in additional grant funds are available for households with an annual income at or below $89,040, which may provide up to 100% of the funds needed to cover a seismic retrofit. Grants are contingent upon meeting eligibility requirements and available funds.
“Earthquake retrofits create a safer and more resilient California. Expanding retrofit grants to rental properties means CRMP will provide even greater protection for California’s housing stock and the families who call these properties ‘home,’” said Tom Welsh, chief executive officer of the California Earthquake Authority. “Each retrofit brings us one step closer to a better-prepared California.”
Through Oct. 1, 2025, eligible homeowners can apply for a retrofit grant at EarthquakeBraceBolt.com, where they can also find detailed program information, select a trained California- licensed general contractor and view the full list of ZIP Codes and program areas.
Purrfect Pals: This week’s adoptable cats and kittens
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has many summer kittens waiting for homes.
The kittens and cats at the shelter that are shown on this page have been cleared for adoption.
Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online for information on visiting or adopting.
The shelter is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
