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Lakeport Police logs: Saturday, Jan. 10
Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026
00:00 EXTRA PATROL 2601100001
Occurred at Lake County Law Library on 3D....
Supervisors discuss Valley fire-related planning issues, appoint recovery coordinator
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday heard updates on the Valley fire, and discussed reduced planning counter hours, a temporary south county permitting center, rules to allow for RVs on larger lots in the fire area, and appointed the county's recovery coordinator.
The hour-and-a-half-long meeting took place in the board chambers on Tuesday afternoon in Lakeport.
At the beginning of the meeting, Deputy Social Services Director Jennifer Fitts presented an update regarding housing-related matters.
Fitts said last weekend the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived and the Local Assistance Center transitioned into the Disaster Recovery Center, located at the Middletown Senior Center and in Clearlake at the Burns Valley Mall, with mobile units also available.
She said that during a two-week period at the Local Assistance Center more than 4,000 families checked in. Right now, state and federal agencies are at the centers, as well as local nonprofit agencies.
The county has placed 42 people at Konocti Harbor Resort and 20 more in hotels, she said.
Since FEMA has approved transitional shelter assistance and rental assistance, she said they are working with the agency to move people the county has been housing into those FEMA programs.
Edgar Perez, Social Services program manager, said the county is working closely with FEMA and the California Office of Emergency Services to help people who are still staying at campgrounds and Moose Lodge and who haven't qualified for FEMA assistance.
When asked for clarification about people who didn't qualify, Perez said there are families who don't have a member with a Social Security number, which is needed to apply.
Fitts said in one case brought to the county's attention on Tuesday morning by FEMA, a family wasn't considered eligible for assistance because FEMA said the family's home was still livable, when the residents didn't consider it to be.
She said she anticipated having a lot of situations where people didn't fit into programs, and they planned to do one-one-one audits to determine how to help them.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington noted during the discussion that price gouging is becoming an issue, reporting that he's getting calls from potential renters who are seeing prices raised above the allowable 10-percent increase during a state of emergency.
Last week, the board approved increased penalties – specifically, doubling the usual fine for price gouging that's specified in the penal code from $10,000 to $20,000 – for landlords raising rental prices.
Farrington queried Social Services staff about what could be done. Supervisor Rob Brown replied, “It's a violation of the penal code,” and therefore the District Attorney's Office should address it.
“Our action reinforced state law,” Brown said.
It was also reported during the meeting that the state-led cleanup on the Rocky and Valley fires is under way.
During public comment, Anderson Springs resident Christopher Rowland reported that 13 massive Douglas fir trees on his property had been taken down.
He said the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, or CalRecycle – which is leading the cleanup – told him they will not remove the trees, but would have had the trees still been standing when the agency arrived to conduct the cleanup on his property.
“This is a huge dilemma for me” and for others, said Rowland, explaining that he can't afford to have the trees removed. “There's got to be a way for the cleanup to be expanded to include this.”
Brown said he was working on a solution. “I think I can safely say, you will not be responsible for removing those trees,” he said.
Brown said he will host a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, at Cobb Elementary School – the first day that the school will be reopened since the fire – to discuss issues related to trees and tree removal on Cobb.
Supervisors consider planning issues
Community Development Director Rick Coel asked the board Tuesday to give him leave to reduce counter hours for his department.
He said the reason was that they were “completely overwhelmed” with staffing shortages – they are down two planners and a building inspector, with a fourth employee expected to leave – plus an “astronomically high” call volume of 2,400 phone calls a month.
The department has closed the counter during lunch, but that hasn't been enough to give staff enough time to deal with its growing workload, which includes planning applications that already are coming in related to the Valley fire, he said.
Coel asked for a few months' time of reduced counter hours. At the same time, he said it will take him about four months to fill the planner vacancies.
Brown suggested reaching out to the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport about the possibility of contracting with them to help meet the needs. Supervisor Jeff Smith offered the idea of looking for retirees who might be interested in temporary work. The board also suggested the need for a phone tree.
Coel said different agencies handle planning differently and he didn't believe the cities had sufficient staffing. He explained that many retirees don't keep up the necessary certifications.
Smith also suggested allowing people to work overtime. Coel said his staff already is getting burned out.
Farrington said Coel's department doesn't have a structurally balanced budget, and it may be the time to begin discussing fee adjustments. “That's the reality of what we're confronted with,” Farrington said, noting the county has had nominal planning fee increases.
The board approved Coel's request to reduce hours unanimously.
Supervisors also gave Coel approval to open a temporary permit center in the Pine Room at the Middletown Senior Center.
While a small space, Coel said his staff thinks it will work. “We know we're going to be busy.”
The goal is to create a micro one stop shop for people wanting to rebuild after the Valley fire. Coel said they probably won't be conducting plan checking at the location, but they will be able to help people get their permit application packets complete in order to expedite permitting.
In other business, the supervisors approved Coel's proposal for an interim urgency to allow RVs to be used as living quarters on lots that are 40,000 square feet – or nine-tenths of an acre – or larger during the rebuilding process.
Specifically, the urgency ordinance waives the existing requirement that a building permit first be obtained for the replacement home prior to approval of a temporary dwelling, in this case an RV.
Coel's requirements include that the site be inspected and deemed adequate for RV occupancy, including parcel size verification, the ability to locate the RV away from dead trees and the presence of a functioning septic system.
He maintained that smaller lots possess too many health and safety concerns, and that RVs are likely to impede cleanup and recovery efforts within the small lot subdivisions.
Coel also received the board's support for waiving the consultant selection process and approving an agreement with Santa Rosa-based Coastland Civil Engineering Inc. for additional building inspection and plan review services in connection to the Valley fire.
He reported that the process to hire additional county staff to fill staffing needs to do the work would result in an up to four month delay in making those services available.
Also on Tuesday, the board approved appointing Social Services Director Carol Huchingson as the county's recovery coordinator.
In that capacity, Huchingson – who served as director of the Emergency Operations Center during the fire – will act as the county's primary point of contact to interface with the recovery coordinators with the California Office of Emergency Services and Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“The anticipated length of this assignment is approximately 6 months until the community rebuilding process is well underway,” according to County Administrative Officer Matt Perry's written report to the board.
The board also approved a letter to state officials requesting that at least 50-percent of workforce for master cleanup of the county's wildland fires be local labor, operators and truckers.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Lakeport City Council waives some housing rules to help Valley fire victims, gets update on cyanotoxin monitoring
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council last week took action to offer temporary changes in city rules in order to help Valley fire victims taking up residence in the city as the recovery process begins, and also heard a presentation regarding cyanotoxin monitoring on Clear Lake.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram took the proposal to help fire survivors to the council at its meeting Oct. 6.
He presented the council with a proposal to waive the maximum 30-day stay allowance for transient housing – such as hotels and other accommodations – as well as lifting the initial service and deposit fees for new sewer and water connections for fire victims who are renting in the city.
Ingram said the city did an audit of local hotels to find out how many people would be impacted by the rule changes.
“The number is actually surprisingly pretty low,” he said, estimating there were about eight impacted families staying in such accommodations in the city.
He said the evacuation of the Clear Lake Riviera in the early days of the fire had the most impact on the city as far as accommodations.
When considering how they could provide relief for the fire's victims, Ingram said the 30-day stay and water and sewer startup fees were identified by staff as areas that likely would be most helpful.
The council unanimously approved the two actions.
In other council business, Sarah Ryan and Karola Kennedy, the environmental directors for Big Valley Rancheria and Elem Colony, respectively, presented an update on the Clear Lake Cyanotoxin Monitoring Program.
Ryan said tribal environmental protection programs have collected and provided the US Environmental Protection Agency with data on Clear Lake since the 1990s.
“The environmental protection programs are all about protecting natural resources,” including native species, in order to continue their use for food, ceremony and recreation, said Ryan.
The programs also seek to reduce the disproportionate impact of pollution on sensitive populations. That includes reducing negative impacts on the tribal communities as they pursue their spiritual and cultural rituals and practices, Ryan said.
She explained that cyanobacteria are naturally occurring bacteria organisms, also called blue green algae.
Cyanotoxins are produced by certain types of cyanobacteria, and some can be harmful to health. People and animals can be exposed to cyanobacteria through water contract, drinking water or – specifically to dogs – eating the mats.
She said 17 water purveyors are pulling water from the lake for drinking water.
In 2014 Elem and Big Valley began monitoring cyanotoxins, “because it was not happening in Lake County,” Ryan said.
They wanted to determine seasonal water quality trends and provide data on cyanotoxin-related toxins to support public health decisions.
“The tribes are concerned about the cyanotoxins and think we need to talk about this in a very transparent way,” Ryan said.
“When you start monitoring there are trends that you can see,” she continued, explaining that part of the program goal was to see if there were hot spots.
The Lakeport shoreline is doing very well this year, and has not exceeded thresholds set by the state. Last year it did, she said.
“It is a health issue,” she said, explaining that when healthy levels are exceeded, that information should be shared with the public.
Ryan said the US EPA requires all monitoring data be collected under a federally approved quality assurance plan that ensures standard operating procedures, a sampling design, standard methods and certified laboratories, and is both scientifically and legally sound.
In 2014 they monitored eight sites; this year, there are 18. Ryan said they're choosing high recreation areas, places where there are tules and septic systems, and tribally sensitive sites.
As for toxins commonly seen on Clear Lake, Ryan identified them as microcystins. They primarily affect the liver and can create issues for drinking water supply. There also are trace levels in the lake of anatoxins.
Nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen at elevated levels impact the proliferation of cyanotoxins, she said.
Phosphorus comes from eroding soils, dirt roads, stormwater runoff, leaching septic tanks and fertilizers, while nitrogen can get into the lake through sewer spills, leaching septic tanks and stormwater runoff, according to the presentation.
The California EPA's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in 2012 created guidelines and thresholds for safe recreation, setting action levels for microcystins and other toxins, Ryan explained. For microcystins, the agency said 0.8 parts per billion for safe recreation. They don't, however, specify actions in response to higher results.
Before that, in 2010 the State Water Resources Control Board's Blue Green Algae Blooms Workgroup set its own safety thresholds, with anything over 8 parts per billion needed to result in the posting of health advisory warning signs, Ryan said.
“Let me just cut to the chase,” said Ryan, explaining that in 2014 the city of Lakeport had a recorded high level of 874 parts per billion at one of its sites. This year, no such detections were made.
Kennedy said the Clear Lake Cyanobacteria Task Force includes local tribes, the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, Lake County Water Resources, Lake County Environmental Health, Lake County Public Health, US EPA Region 9 water and tribal programs, the State Water Resources Control Board, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Department of Public Health, Cal EPA and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.
She said most of the eight monitoring sites in 2014 were tribally sensitive, with some also being recreational, such as Austin Park in Clearlake, and locations in Lucerne and the city of Lakeport.
The location with the highest level in 2014 was in Clearlake Oaks, about 50 yards off the offshore, near the water intake is. Kennedy said it was 17,000 parts per billion.
“The testing is one location at one point and one time,” she said, explaining that last year they advocated for signage along the shoreline where readings were beyond the threshold.
In 2014, the city of Lakeport's highest result was at the First Street boat ramp, where the reading was 877 parts per billion. Kennedy said through the seven sampling events they had, there was only two times during that sampling that Lakeport was over the limit.
This year, they're taking samples at 18 sites, with EPA recommending more recreational sampling, she said. They also now look at cyanotoxins to do cell identification to determine what type of cyanotoxins they're finding.
Kennedy said the Scotts Valley tribe has received a grant to pay for warnings signage to be posted around the lake. The signage can be changed to range from low, medium to high.
She said there has been some testing of drinking water among the 17 water purveyors on the lake.
In 2013 there were no cyanotoxin detects in the finished – or treated – drinking water from those water purveyors, although some raw water had some microcystin levels. As an example, she said Highlands Water, which pulls water from near Redbud Park in Clearlake, had the highest result of 23.8 parts per billion in the raw water.
Since the fires, the lake has become inhabited by diatoms – a group of algae and a type of phytoplankton – and the cyanobacteria has gone away, with that becoming another source of study for the program, Kennedy said.
Kennedy said there are regulations for microcystins in water, just guidelines and recommendations.
In the 1990s the World Health Organization offered guidelines for 1 part per billion, with the US EPA earlier this year proposing 0.3 parts per billion for children under age 6 and 1.6 parts per billion for adults for microcystin, and for cylindrospermopsin – another kind of cyanotoxin – the levels were set at 0.7 parts per billion for children under age 8 and 3 parts per billion for adults, Kennedy said.
Ryan said Clearlake has hot spots this year along its shoreline.
She said Big Valley has been removing weeds manually – not with chemicals – as part of a nutrient removal program. It's also an activity that can access grant funding.
Ryan said they have removed 75 tons of weeds from the lake. They're composting the weeds and have found through lab study that the weeds are high in nitrogen and phosphorus, and make great fertilizer. She said it could be the basis for a business.
The tribe also uses aeration to break up the blue green algae mats, Ryan said. Cyanobacteria would rather be in areas where there is lower oxygen.
As a result of these efforts, the measurements on the Big Valley shoreline have been very low, around 1 part per billion, she said.
Ryan and Kennedy offered the council several suggestions at the end of their presentation.
“We do believe that signage is extremely important to inform the public of risks and options,” Ryan said.
They suggested signage that is more specific than current signage, which says to avoid blooms. Even after blooms die, the toxins can still be present in the water for up to two weeks. People avoiding blooms aren't necessarily avoiding toxins, Ryan said.
Other suggestions included press releases, development of a nonchemical weed abatement program, aerating shorelines and considering water purveyors to test for cyanotoxins in treated drinking water when shoreline levels are elevated.
Councilman Kenny Parlet said he was concerned about the impact of the signs.
“I've been here for 46 years, and if I wanted to close down Lake County, that's exactly what I would do is put those signs up,” he said.
Ryan said the signs would only be present when levels were unsafe. Parlet replied that the last thing he wanted was to see signs up warning of cyanotoxins when it's not necessary and there isn't a problem.
She said Kennedy had done a test at a well-used beach where the level was found to be 10,000 parts per billion, but the results hadn't come in for a week. They're working with doctors and vets to put together a credible list of illnesses resulting from exposures.
Parlet said he wanted to see photographic correlations with areas where test results are high.
Kennedy said notification is important to let people know where they can safely recreate. She added they do photograph sites where testing occurs.
Councilwoman Stacey Mattina asked if there were grants for prevention. Ryan said there was but the deadline had passed. She said the cities and tribes should get together and apply jointly for grants.
Parlet asked about the benefit of the Middle Creek Restoration Project area on the Northshore. Ryan said she's given up as it, because she doesn't believe people will sell their land. Instead, they're looking at doing erosion prevention, tule replanting and other types of project on creeks.
In other business at the Tuesday meeting, the council presented a proclamation designating October 2015 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month to Lake Family Resource Center representatives; Rebecca Southwick updated the council on that week's Lake Leadership Summit; and Lake County Chamber Chief Executive Officer Melissa Fulton presented the city with a check for more than $3,300 to go toward the city's annual July 4 fireworks display.
The council also held public hearings and approved amendments and revisions to existing ordinances relating to establishing a review process for small residential rooftop solar energy systems, imposing additional licensing fees on fortunetellers and allowing for the issuance of special parking permits for residential units in the central business district that don't have access to on-site parking.
The council held another public hearing and adopted the ordinance forming the Lakeport Industrial Development Authority, which was necessary to meet the US Department of Agriculture's funding requirements for the new Lakeport Police headquarters; confirmed current council signatories for city warrants and checks and adopted the a resolution adding the Lakeport Police chief as a signatory.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Supervisors to hold special meeting to discuss Valley fire-related business
LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will hold a special afternoon meeting to get updates from county departments and discuss potential actions relating to the Valley fire.
The board will meet beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting's only timed item, set for 1 p.m., is an update from county departments and other organizations involved in the response to the fire.
Untimed items include a request for support to establish a temporary permit center in Middletown and consideration of reducing Community Development Department hours in Lakeport.
The board also will consider a staff recommendation regarding an engineering contract for building inspection and plan review services as a result of the fire and appointing Social Services Director Carol Huchingson as recovery coordinator.
Also going before the board is a proposed letter of support requesting that at least 50-percent of the workforce for the state-led master cleanup of the county's wildland fires be local labor, operators and truckers.
The full agenda follows.
TIMED ITEMS
4.1, 1 p.m.: Status reports/updates of response and recovery efforts from county departments, assisting agencies and/or community groups consequent to 2015 wildland fires.
UNTIMED ITEMS
5.2: Consideration of reduction of counter hours at Community Development Department.
5.3: Request for support to establish temporary permit center in Middletown in order to assist victims of the Valley fire.
5.4: Discussion/consideration of an urgency interim ordinance authorizing a temporary deferral of certain provisions of Section 21-27.3, Subdivision (P).
5.5: Consideration of staff recommendation to (a) waive county consultant selection process; and (b) approve agreement between the county of Lake and Coastland Civil Engineering Inc. for additional building inspection and plan review services as a result of the Valley fire.
5.6: Consideration of staff recommendation to appoint Social Services Director Carol Huchingson as recovery coordinator.
5.7: Discussion/consideration of a letter of support requesting at least 50-percent of the workforce for master cleanup of wildland fires be local labor, operators and truckers.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
City of Clearlake plans Oct. 15 town hall to discuss policing, code enforcement
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – On Thursday, Oct. 15, the city of Clearlake will hold a town hall meeting on new efforts to reduce crime and to address code enforcement-related issues.
The meeting will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
The community is invited to attend.
The meeting's purpose is to introduce and describe the roles and strategies of the police and code enforcement departments, as well as to introduce the Volunteer in Police Service and Neighborhood Watch programs.
Attendees will learn about the new strategy for crime reduction and the city's code enforcement plan for cleaning up the city.
Officials also will discuss the city's difficulties and successes in moving forward.
In addition, Public Works personnel will discuss the potential upcoming El Niño weather and how the city is preparing for it.
Upon concluding the presentations, a question and answer session will be open to the public.