Lakeport senior apartment complex fire claims one life, injures several other people

LAKEPORT, Calif. – One person has died and several others are injured as the result of a fire at a senior apartment complex that occurred on Sunday evening in Lakeport.

The fire began at around 5:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Lakeview Housing senior apartment complex at 525 Bevins St., according to Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison, the incident commander.

Units from Lakeport Fire, Kelseyville Fire, Lake County Fire, Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and the Lake County Sheriff's Office rapidly converged at the scene, with the first units to arrive reporting that they saw smoke and flames coming out of one side of the building.

Lakeport City Councilman Martin Scheel, who arrived on the scene shortly after the fire was dispatched, said the fire response was rapid, with firefighters quickly moving in and out of the building to control the blaze and evacuate the residents.

Hutchison directed firefighters to take a ladder truck to the back of the two-story building, where people were reported to be coming out of windows.

Deputies assisted firefighters in conducting a room-by-room search of the 36-unit complex, according to radio reports. Firefighters also reported rescuing pets from the fire.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen confirmed to Lake County News that there was one fatality as a result of the fire.

The victim, a woman, was found in an elevator, Rasmussen said.

Reports from the scene indicated firefighters found the woman during a sweep of the building just before 7 p.m., not long after Hutchison said over the air that the fire was contained.

In addition to the one death, Rasmussen said there were several injuries. He said one person was transported via air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, and three others were taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Rasmussen said about 30 of the apartment complex's uninjured residents were moved by Lake Transit Authority buses to the Lakeport Senior Activity Center on Konocti Avenue, with the last residents leaving the fire scene just after 8 p.m.

“We believe we have everybody accounted for but we'll be checking that again down at the senior center,” said Rasmussen, noting that some of the residents have cars and so may not have been at home when the fire occurred.

At the center, Red Cross and city officials planned to assess the residents' needs, including what medications they require, and determine if they had been reunited with their pets, Rasmussen said.

He said those who need a place to stay overnight will be taken to the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church at Park Way and Hill Road, which had served as an evacuation shelter for the Clayton fire this past week.

The initial dispatch attributed the incident to an oxygen tank that had caught fire in a first floor unit. However, Rasmussen said a final determination about what led to the fire hasn't yet been made.

“We believe that it's probably an accidental cause,” he said.

He said a joint investigation involving Lakeport Police, Lakeport Fire, Cal Fire and the Lake County Arson Task Force will determine the cause.

Rasmussen said shortly after 8 p.m. that Bevins Street from Bevins Court to Martin Street was to remain closed for up to five hours while fire personnel worked at the scene. Once they were done, the road would be reopened.

As for the complex itself, Rasmussen said it would be sealed off and secured overnight, with no one outside of law enforcement or fire officials allowed onto the scene.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

Officials offer update on Clayton fire situation as last evacuees return home

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Another milestone in the fight against the Clayton fire was reached on Friday, as the last evacuation order was lifted and firefighters moved into the home stretch of fully containing the blaze.

The evacuation order for Lower Lake was lifted on Friday at 4 p.m., clearing the way for the remaining evacuees to at last return home.

Authorities urged everyone returning to the fire area to be aware of hazards such as downed lines and hot spots.

A short time later, Cal Fire said the fire was 75-percent contained at 3,929 acres. Officials continue to estimate full containment will be achieved on Sunday.

The latest damage assessment put the total number of structures destroyed at 299, including 189 single-family homes, eight commercial structures, and 102 other structures such as sheds and smaller outbuildings, with another 28 damaged.

Sheriff Brian Martin said Friday evening that the repopulation was going smoothly, and that his deputies would be continuing increased patrols of the fire area in the days ahead.

Martin said that all reports of missing persons related to the fire have been resolved, with the individuals all located. No fatalities have been reported.

But there were close calls. Martin said there were numerous cases of people refusing to leave their homes as the fire approached.

In one case, one of his sergeants had to drag a woman for her home just before it burst into flame, Martin said.

State Sen. Mike McGuire hosted a town hall meeting at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake Friday evening in which local and state officials gave updates on various aspects of the fire and the transition into recovery. An estimated 300 people crowded the center for the presentations.

On hand was Congressman John Garamendi, who urged the community to take time in its healing and to ask for help in facing what's ahead.

Board of Supervisors Chair Rob Brown, who will be sharing recovery coordinator duties with County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson, said the county has learned a lot from last year's Valley fire, and plans to put those lessons to work in the Clayton fire recovery.

He said an assistance center is to open at the Adult Services building, 16170 Main St. in Lower Lake, on Saturday and Sunday, with the center to open on Monday in the old bank building in downtown Lower Lake.

Cal Fire Unit Chief Shana Jones said that at the fire's height, which occurred on Tuesday, there were 2,372 firefighters, 248 engines, 61 hand crews, 36 dozers, 19 water tenders and nine helicopters assigned to the incident.

Those resources came from 126 local and state agencies across California, Arizona and Nevada, Jones said.

“You definitely had a lot of folks thinking about you and trying to help keep your community safe,” she said.

As of Friday evening, those resources had been halved as fire crews move into mop up, based on Cal Fire's report.

At the meeting Sheriff Martin credited Supervisor Brown for his tireless efforts during the incident.

Martin said one evacuation center – at Twin Pine Casino in Middletown – was remaining open. On Thursday night, he said the shelter census had been at 56 people, which he said indicated the community was sheltering many others who had been evacuated.

Along with continuing patrols of the fire area, sheriff's resources in the form of its team of chaplains, along with mental health staff, will be available to speak with fire survivors if they wish, Martin said.

Konocti Unified Superintendent of Schools Donna Becnel said the district's schools in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks will open on Monday.

Also on Monday, staff at the Lower Lake schools will prepare for the start of school, with students returning to classes at those campuses on Tuesday, Becnel said.

Becnel said cleaning crews have been making their way through the school facilities to make sure they're safe for students and staff to return.

She said Lower Lake Elementary School had some damage from the fire, but arrangements have been made to reorganize classrooms to accommodate students.

The Lower Lake County Water Works District also continues to work to get back on line, reported district representative Frank Haas.

The district had reported earlier this week that it had to turn water off to many surviving homes to try to stop leaks and restore pressure, and that all residents were under a mandatory boil water order.

Haas said the power is back on and the district's tanks are almost full. At the same time, district staff is disinfecting the system and is required by the state to conduct two tests of the water.

He said crews from all around the county had responded to help his district make repairs and get back online.

Haas encouraged people to remember to boil their water, adding that an announcement would be made when the order is lifted. He also urged people to use bottled water, which he said will be given out in the fire area.

McGuire lauded Haas for his around-the-clock efforts to get the district fully functional again – despite losing his own home in the fire.

Lower Lake Postmaster Josh Vanatta thanked Cal Fire for saving the the post office, reporting that firefighters had stood on the roof and fought off the fire.

While power has been restored to the post office on Main Street in Lower Lake, there are still issues with the facility, he said.

Vanatta said the lobby has been reopened so that people can collect mail from their post office boxes. However, incoming mail temporarily will be available at the Clearlake post office on Olympic Drive. He said there will be mail distribution from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Additionally, Vanatta said postal officials are working to make post office boxes available for those whose homes burned. He said the “general delivery” service can be used for those who lost homes in the fire area, guaranteeing their mail will be delivered.

The Red Cross reported that it will have disaster response vehicles in the fire area and also will open a service center at the Highlands Senior Center. The organization will offer supplies including dust masks for those in the fire area.

On Saturday at 6 a.m. the Brick Hall will be open for a breakfast and some other services to help the returning community members.

Beginning on Saturday, fire survivors can stop in at the Lake County Fire Protection District Lower Lake fire station to pick up gloves, masks, water and trash bags, officials said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

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Lakeport City Council approves school resource officer agreement

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday gave its unanimous approval to an agreement for a school resource officer, restoring the position after a four-year hiatus.

Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented to the council the memorandum of understanding with the Lakeport Unified School District.

The agreement will restore the school resource officer position, which the Lakeport Police Department had provided to the district from 1995 to 2012 until staffing and budgetary issues forced the agency to stop filling the job, according to police officials.

Rasmussen told the council that both the district and the city had budgeted for the position prior to the adoption of the fiscal year 2016-17 budget, which was approved in June.

The agreement, which runs from its approval this week to June 30, 2017, calls for the district to cover $70,000 toward the officer's pay and benefits during the school year, from August to June, for an average monthly cost of $7,000.

According to the agreement, the officer will provide a uniformed presence on the district's campuses during school hours and at events, respond to law-enforcement related matters and document crimes at the schools, conduct classroom education programs relating to gangs and drugs, assist with district critical response plan training and school safety plans, and be a liaison for Child Protective Services and home visitations, among other responsibilities.

The city and school district are to meet by mid-January to discuss the agreement and budgeting for the next fiscal year, according to the document's requirements.

The city will pay the salary and benefits for the two months of summer when school is out, at which point the officer would be on general duty with the department.

When the school district board approved the agreement on Thursday, it added a sentence that prorates the contract to the officer's start date, Rasmussen said.

He said his department had intended to have an officer starting on the first day of school on Aug. 10. But because one of his officers is injured – due to an off-duty motorcycle wreck – the school resource officer's start date has been pushed back to Oct. 1.

Councilman Martin Scheel said he and Rasmussen have talked about the issue for a long time, and Superintendent Erin Smith-Hagberg and Lt. Jason Ferguson have been working on it.

“I'm glad we're finally here and the resources are available,” Scheel said.

The council subsequently voted 5-0 to approve the memorandum of understanding.

In other business on Tuesday, the council heard a presentation by a bicycle club on planning for a criterium bike race in downtown Lakeport next summer, and received checks from the Lakeport Main Street Association and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce to go toward the costs for the city's annual July 4 fireworks display.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.