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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....
Governor issues order to expedite emergency housing for Valley fire survivors; Board of Supervisors to discuss housing issues Tuesday
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – With thousands of people having lost their homes in the Valley fire last month, state and local officials are working to find solutions to make sure emergency housing measures are in place as fall begins.
The 76,067-acre fire, expected to be fully contained on Tuesday, has destroyed approximately 1,958 structures, including more than 1,300 homes, according to Cal Fire.
Sheriff Brian Martin recently estimated that the fire may have left more than 3,600 people without homes.
This week, county Social Services Director Carol Huchingson told Lake County News that some of the ways the county hopes to meet the temporary housing needs of those left homeless by the fire is through existing and temporary RV parks.
On Friday, the California Office of Emergency Services reported that Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order to expedite the placement and processing of temporary housing for victims of the Valley fire as well as the Butte fire in Calaveras County.
On Sept. 13, Gov. Brown had proclaimed a state of emergency in Lake County because of the Valley fire, as Lake County News has reported.
Eight days later, he requested a presidential major disaster declaration from President Barack Obama, who granted the request the following day. The president's action made available to the county and fire survivors aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.
Brown, in his Friday declaration, acknowledged that temporary housing options in Lake County are limited, the fire has resulted in the declaration of a health emergency and “rapid action needs to take place in order to assist the disaster survivors, locate housing, rebuild the communities, repair and restore the environment, and mitigate the hazards for future disasters.”
As such, Brown's order suspends for three years parts of the Mobilehome Parks Act – which relates to the specific requirements for park construction, maintenance, use, occupancy and design – and sections of the Special Occupancy Parks Act, which also covers issues related to mobilehome park construction, design and other requirements.
That action will allow the California Department of Housing and Community Development and county agencies “to jointly develop permitting, operating and construction standards to maintain reasonable health and safety standards for the residents and the surrounding communities,” the executive order said.
Brown's executive order calls for requirements that provide “reasonable consistency with appropriate fire, health, flood, and other factors normally considered in the mobilehome park approval process for the construction of a new mobilehome park or manufactured home installation standards” during the three-year suspension of the state rules.
The order also gives priority to advising those who are developing and installing mobilehome and special occupancy parks in Lake County, including expediting permits and inspections.
Brown's action suspends for three years “all local land use and zoning ordinances, and other ordinances which would delay or impede prompt development or construction of temporary mobilehome parks or manufactured home installations, or special occupancy parks, or use of recreational vehicles” in Lake County. The executive order also suspends all fees that normally would be imposed on such developments.
Lake County ordinances prohibiting the placement and use of a manufactured home or recreational vehicle on a private lot for use during the reconstruction of a home are suspended for three years for individuals impacted by the fires, the order states.
However, property owners placing manufactured homes or recreational vehicles on lots must still obtain permits to ensure health and safety standards are met, the governor's order explains.
Supervisors to discuss proposed temporary housing rules
Issues surrounding housing for Valley fire victims will be among the chief topics the Board of Supervisors will tackle when it meets Tuesday.
The supervisors will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Boards/Board_of_Supervisors/calendar.htm . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.
At 9:25 a.m., Community Development Director Rick Coel is scheduled to take to the board a proposed interim urgency ordinance that would defer Lake County Zoning Ordinance provisions pertaining to the use of RVs as temporary dwellings due to the Valley fire.
So far, it's unclear if the board will need to take action or if any action it takes will conflict with the governor's suspension of local rules for the three-year period.
Supervisor Rob Brown told Lake County News that the county has been receiving requests from community members who want to be able to live on their properties in RVs as the recovery phase takes place.
He said most of the requests so far have come from Middletown, but he anticipates more coming from Cobb, the last community where residents were allowed to return. Restrictions to the area were lifted last Saturday.
The Lake County Zoning Ordinance currently prohibits RV occupancy unless a building permit has first been issued for construction of a residence, and either the foundation for the residence is constructed or a septic system or sewer connection exists.
However, it's anticipated that the cleanup process before rebuilding can begin will take months. State officials have a goal of having the cleanup completed by Christmas. Rebuilding likely would have to wait until the normal start of the construction season in the spring.
Because of the extent of the fire's destruction, Coel and his staff are proposing a limited exception to the county's zoning ordinance provisions for temporary dwellings.
Specifically, those who lost homes in the Valley fire and whose properties are at least one acre in size would be able to place an RV as a temporary dwelling for up to one year. That would be allowed as long as the property can accommodate a safe RV location that isn't close to debris from burned structures, with all damaged trees having been taken down.
Coel's proposal also calls for parcel sizes to be confirmed, and sites to be inspected and deemed appropriate for RV occupancy.
He said the proposal will help reduce demand for RV park spaces, which are in short supply.
The deferrals are not recommended for mobilehomes, tiny homes or on-site construction of small temporary dwellings, Coel said.
The other item Coel will take to the board on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. is a proposed interim urgency ordinance deferring provisions for permitting RV parks that are to be used specifically for housing people who lost their homes in the fire.
His report to the board notes that most of the homes lost in the Valley fire were on small lots that would not be appropriate locations for people to live during the debris cleanup process.
“Development of temporary RV parks, as emergency housing facilities exclusively for the Valley Fire victims appears to be a practical solution to provide temporary, transitional housing so that people can move back into or at least in close proximity to their communities soon and begin the process of rebuilding,” he wrote in his report to the board.
Coel said he and his staff believe using the temporary RV parks for 12 months will provide sufficient time for people to start the cleanup and rebuilding process. If needed, he said the board could decide to extend the deferral.
Once the smaller properties are cleaned up, building permits are obtained, foundations are constructed and sewer or other on-site disposal systems are authorized for use, owners could move their RVs back to the properties while they rebuild their homes, he said.
Coel said the temporary RV parks would need to be vetted through a review process involving his department, Cal OES, FEMA and Lake County Environmental Health.
Also on Tuesday at 9:35 a.m., the board will consider another urgency ordinance, specifically to prohibit rental housing price gouging in the county during the present state of emergency.
The proposed ordinance notes that county officials already have been alerted to price gouging by landlords charging in excess of a 10-percent increase in rent compared to rental rates before the fire.
Some existing tenants also have been evicted – or are being evicted – “in order for landlords to take advantage of fire victims whose insurance companies will pay rental amounts far in excess of what that landlord was previously charging,” the ordinance states.
The proposed ordinance seeks to impose a more severe penalty for price gouging in such instances than is certainly provided for in Penal Code Section 396, which makes that crime a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in county jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or both a fine and imprisonment.
If passed, the urgency ordinance would allow for a misdemeanor and a fine of up to $20,000
The governor's executive order also notes that penal code section provisions prohibiting price gouging – specifically Penal Code Section 396 – in times of emergency and disaster shall remain in effect to protect Lake County's disaster survivors.
That penal code section prohibits more than a 10-percent increase in services – as compared to prices in place before an emergency – for a 30-day period after a disaster has been declared.
However, Gov. Brown's order waives that 30-day time period limitation.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Meeting the need: Government officials work to determine housing requirements of Valley fire victims
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Local, state and federal officials are working alongside each other in the effort to get community members displaced by the Valley fire the housing they need as the recovery process begins.
The 76,067-acre fire, which began on Sept. 12, swept through the communities of Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown, displacing around 20,000 residents at its height, when communities near Kelseyville also were evacuated on precaution.
Cal Fire's damage assessments put the total number of structures destroyed at 1,958, which breaks down into 1,280 single-family homes, 27 multi-family structures, 66 commercial properties, and 585 other minor structures such as outbuildings and sheds, with another 93 damaged structures including 41 homes, seven commercial properties and 45 other minor structures.
Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, said in a press briefing last week that a “patchwork of capability” is in place to meet the needs of survivors – including hotels, rentals, reopening resorts like Konocti Harbor and manufactured housing.
On the local level, the county of Lake is working on a number of solutions, according to Social Services Director Carol Huchingson, who also is acting director of the county's Emergency Operations Center.
She said the Local Assistance Center is taking many requests related to temporary housing. However, the center's intake forms don't get into the specifics of what kinds of housing is being sought. More details emerge as case managers work with applicants to look at their needs.
Much of the local focus has been placed on urgent need, Huchingson said.
As of Wednesday, 22 people were still staying at the shelter set up at Twin Pine Casino, with 85 at the Hidden Valley Lake RV park and baseball field, with 60 of those people staying in tents, Huchingson said.
She said that as of Wednesday another 16 people have been staying at the Lake Mendocino campground, 20 at the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge and two at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lakeport, with the county putting up five families in local motels.
The remainder of those who have been displaced are believed to be staying with friends and family, or have other arrangements, she said.
The concern, Huchingson said, is that it's not clear if those other arrangements will hold for long, and what displaced residents will need as time goes on.
“I think there will be many phases to this housing process,” she said.
One of the county's solutions for temporary housing is the reopening of a portion of Konocti Harbor Resort and Spa in Kelseyville.
The resort closed in 2009, but the county – working with the U.A. Local 38 Plumbers and Pipefitters union of San Francisco, which has owned the resort since 1959 – reached an agreement to open some of the resort's suites, Huchingson said.
She said the resort has made 46 rooms available. “They're not all ready yet but they're staging them.”
As of Wednesday morning, 16 families had moved in, with 12 more families lined up. Huchingson said her staff were determining eligibility through a screening process.
Huchingson said the county has a contract with Konocti Harbor and will pay $1,000 per month per unit for the housing.
“At this point we would assume the county is going to be reimbursed for that under the California Disaster Assistance Act,” she said.
She said the arrangements with the resort were set up before President Barack Obama issued a presidential major disaster declaration on Sept. 22, which activated Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance.
There are other alternatives being pursued as well, such as making RV spaces available to displaced residents, she said.
Huchingson said county staffers are trying to determine if there is enough capacity at current RV parks, or if they need to make other arrangements for people who want to live near their properties or on their land.
“We're trying to get a handle on how many people are really interested in doing that,” she said.
If more space is needed, the county is looking at using a portion of the Hoberg's Resort that was undamaged in the fire and equipping it for a temporary RV park, Huchingson said.
The resort's historic main lodge was leveled by the fire, but another portion of the resort the fire didn't harm is sufficient to house up to 140 RVs, she said. However, infrastructure to house that number of RVs will have to be developed.
As such, a plan has been put together and submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for consideration, Huchingson said.
“We're waiting to see is that is something FEMA would do,” she said.
Dan Nelson, the resort's vice president, told Lake County News in a separate interview that he wanted to help and was making the property available for the RV plan.
Jellystone RV Park in Cobb also is involved in the discussion, as that park has vacancies. It also has long-term residents, and Huchingson said the goal is not to squeeze out those people in the process of finding housing for displaced Cobb residents.
Community Development Director Rick Coel told Lake County News that he's drafted two proposals to take to the Board of Supervisors' meeting on Tuesday asking for certain zoning ordinance requirements to be temporarily deferred to accommodate survivors.
He said the first would allow people who lost homes to place an RV on their properties temporarily if the properties are an acre or larger in size.
“The current regulations only allow RV occupancy during construction of a home, under a valid building permit, with the foundation constructed first,” he said. “This is an obvious problem due to the cleanup of debris still needed, tree hazards, and time needed to design new home plans and so forth.”
He said smaller lots are too dangerous for temporary RV placement due to not having adequate separation from an RV location and debris piles on the same and adjacent lots, “plus we don’t want to impede cleanup efforts which need to go efficiently as possible.”
In his report to the board for Tuesday's meeting, Coel said there is a shortage of local rental housing and existing recreational vehicle park capacity in Lake County.
“Allowing a limited number of property owners to live on their larger parcels, when conditions are deemed safe, will reduce demand of local RV parks, thereby making more spaces available for residents of small lots that cannot currently place their RVs on those lots due to the number of safety concerns,” he wrote.
Coel said the second interim urgency ordinance is a request to defer the use permit requirement applicable to RV parks to allow for a few temporary RV parks for transitional housing in locations that are not close to town. This would allow people to live in their communities in an RV even if their lot cannot support doing so.
“We want to at least remove the local regulatory barrier to help facilitate this, and have identified several sites with willing property owners to develop temporary RV parks,” he said.
His report for Tuesday's meeting notes that approximately 45 percent of the students in the Middletown Unified School District lost their homes and many have yet to return to school. He also noted that cleanup is not likely to be completed by Christmas.
Coel said his staff has contacted the California Department of Housing and Community Development – which oversees mobilehome and RV parks – and that agency indicated that it was having similar discussions about the matter on Thursday.
Huchingson said the county has been working on understanding what FEMA can do in its separate capacity.
FEMA process explained
FEMA spokesman Steven Solomon said all levels of government are cooperating on the response. “We're partners and we're working on it together.”
Solomon explained that all assistance begins locally – with community groups, the county and organizations like the Red Cross.
FEMA is on the ground to assist the state of California in responding to the county's needs, he said.
Solomon said there are a number of ways FEMA can help.
First, fire survivors must register for services, he said. They have 60 days from the date of the federal disaster declaration to seek assistance – putting the deadline at Nov. 23.
By that November deadline, Solomon said FEMA was anticipating about 2,000 registrations would come in for both Lake and Calaveras counties for the Valley and Butte fires, respectively.
“In just a few days we've exceeded that number,” he said.
As of Thursday, the number of Valley and Butte fire registrants had reached 2,328, Solomon said.
To register, call 1-800-621-3362 (those who have a speech disability or hearing loss and use TTY, should call 1-800-462-7585 directly; for those who use 711 or Video Relay Service, call 1-800-621-3362); or apply online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or via smartphone at m.fema.gov.
People also can register in person at the Disaster Recovery Center in Middletown, 21256 Washington St., which has hours of 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., or to the new Disaster Recovery Center that opens at noon on Friday in Clearlake, 14848 Olympic Drive.
That center's hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday; and and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. next week, Monday through Friday, Solomon said.
Solomon said FEMA is working to address some misinformation put out into the community over the radio.
For one, “We do not charge a fee to register, or any fees for that matter,” he said.
Neither is FEMA assistance taxable, and it doesn't affect Social Security payments, Solomon said.
Once registered, individuals will need to provide FEMA with several pieces of information to confirm their eligibility.
Those key items include Social Security number, the address of the damaged home or apartment, proof of having lived at that address at the time of the disaster, insurance coverage information, a current telephone number, an address where they can receive mail, and a bank account routing number if they want assistance conveyed in direct deposit. Otherwise, Solomon said FEMA will write them checks.
Solomon said FEMA needs applicants' insurance information and a statement from insurance companies because, he explained. “We don't duplicate insurance coverage.”
Rather, FEMA is meant to assist the uninsured and the underinsured, and applicants won't know what they're eligible for until they file a claim with their insurance companies and register with FEMA so that it can be sorted out, Solomon explained.
Solomon said there are 20 FEMA inspectors in the field who are scheduling times to go out to impacted properties as part of determining eligibility.
Solomon said that for those individuals who are determined to be eligible for temporary housing, there are two forms of assistance – financial and direct.
He said financial is in the form of a check or direct deposit for lodging or rental assistance, while direct assistance is not a cash grant. Rather, it's in the form of temporary housing such as a mobile home or travel trailer, or a rental payment made directly to the applicant's landlord or to a hotel.
Asked about how long it takes to process claims, Solomon said, “Each case is unique and you can't really put a time to it, or even a range.”
As for how long FEMA expects to have a presence in Lake County to assist with the recovery, Solomon said there also isn't a set date, that it's based on getting the job done.
“FEMA will be here as long as it takes to insure that every eligible survivor gets access to the information they need in order to receive the federal assistance that they're entitled to,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Dodd, McGuire celebrate opening of new Lake County district office
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County's two state legislators celebrated the opening of their new district office in Lakeport with a gathering of local, state and federal officials and community members.
Assemblyman Bill Dodd and state Sen. Mike McGuire together cut the ribbon at the Tuesday evening grand opening of the new office, located at 885 Lakeport Blvd., next door to the Lake County Agriculture Department.
Even before the two men were elected to their first terms in the state Legislature last year, they had discussed opening a district office in Lake County, Dodd said.
McGuire reported that the opening represents the first time in nearly four decades that a joint legislative district office has been located in Lake County.
“We're committed to Lake County now, we're committed to Lake County tomorrow,” McGuire said.
Both Dodd and McGuire have given Lake County considerable attention since taking office last December, with both advocating for the county on myriad issues, from lake health to education to affordable water rates.
This summer, as Lake County has been devastated by three major wildland fires in a row – the Rocky, Jerusalem and the Valley – the advocacy of both Dodd and McGuire has become even more concentrated on the community, with both men working to get the county the needed resources and assistance.
Discussion of the Valley fire, which firefighters have not yet fully contained – it remained at 97-percent containment on Tuesday evening – figured prominently at the Tuesday night event, with Cal Fire and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials on hand.
McGuire said he and Dodd had three goals – to focus on continuing fire resources to get the fire out, housing for displaced residents, and economic development and jobs as the county moves into the recovery phase.
Based on estimates so far, McGuire said the county will experience a 12-percent hit to its sales tax, a 5-percent decrease in property tax, a 35-percent drop in transient occupancy tax – or bed tax – and 16-percent decrease in geothermal revenue as a result of the fires.
He said a team composed of representatives from state agencies including the Department of Water Resources, Cal Fire, California Office of Emergency Services and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are exploring the wildfires' impacts – including erosion, mud and debris – on the county's environment and watersheds with a view to protecting Clear Lake.
A final report on their findings is expected to be released next week, McGuire said, with additional funds expected to be directed to the county to deal with those environmental concerns.
Dodd and McGuire also lauded the work of local officials in response to the fires, including Sheriff Brian Martin – who Dodd called an “incredible leader” – and the Board of Supervisors.
McGuire noted that at different times through the Valley fire Supervisor Rob Brown has been carrying out various services on the ground, from directing traffic in the early hours of the incident to delivering dumpsters to the Cobb area earlier on Tuesday.
Brown told the group, “Nothing prepares you for the events we just had.”
He said both Dodd and McGuire have impressed him for their dedication to the county during its time of greatest need.
“The thing that I've felt so strongly about throughout this entire two and a half weeks is there are no Republicans or Democrats, there are only Lake Countians. And you don't have to live in Lake County to be a Lake Countian at this time,” Brown said.
McGuire and Dodd also honored Congressman Mike Thompson – whose district representative Brad Onorato was on hand – for his efforts on behalf of the county during the Valley fire.
Dodd pointed out that Thompson had been set to return to Washington, DC the first week of the fire but instead stayed so he could be in Lake County to respond to the need.
Invited to offer his own remarks, Martin lauded Dodd and McGuire for opening the office in Lake County, which he said was the right thing to do.
He said authorities will be responding to issues related to the Valley fire for at least a couple of years to come. “This affects our entire community,” he said.
Martin added, “This impacts all of us and it's going to be a long process to get through.”
He said he's working to implement extra patrols in the fire area on an ongoing basis, with plans to continue those patrols during the reconstruction process in order to protect building sites.
Martin warned that the community needs to be on the lookout for scammers, explaining that earlier in the day he met with the National Insurance Crime Bureau to discuss protecting the community.
Todd Derum of Cal Fire said the Valley fire remained at 97-percent containment on Tuesday evening,
“We're not out of fire season yet,” said Derum, who was operations chief on the fire in its early hours. He added that he's not sure the 2012 fire season ever ended.
At the event AT&T representatives announced they were donating $25,000 to the fire relief effort, and handed out three checks in the amount of $2,500 each to local organizations making special impacts, including Lake Family Resource Center, North Coast Opportunities and Canine Companions for Independence.
The new district office can be reached at telephone 707-576-0400.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
City of Clearlake to host Oct. 3 open house on Highlands Park Master Plan
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – An open house seeking participation in the development of the Highlands Park Master Plan will be held from 10 a.m. to noon, this Saturday, Oct. 3.
The event will take place at the Highlands Senior Center, 3245 Bowers Ave.
All members of the community, including children, are encouraged to attend and participate in informative and entertaining exercises to identify the ideals of the community.
“We want the participation of the community. We want to know what the citizens want to put here,” City Manager Greg Folsom said in August when staff met onsite with planners to scope the plan's development. “We want a usable park and we want to see people out here.”
Foothills Associates referenced recommendations and concepts identified by the Clearlake Vision Task Force and in the Lakeshore Downtown Corridor Plan in initiating the process to develop the Highlands Park Master Plan.
Potential project details include redesign of the parking lot and added amenities such as horse shoe pits, bocce ball courts, beach access, shade structures, walking paths, picnic areas and other details such as restroom facilities, lighting, fencing, safety and security.
Options for irrigation-friendly landscaping and ground-covering are also among potential improvements to be discussed.
The Highlands Park Master Plan will guide future development of the park and is necessary to provide a cost estimate for implementing park improvements and to obtain planning and regulatory approvals prior to undertaking detailed design and construction.
Its preparation is being funded through a Community Development Block Grant and completion will be assist the city in gaining future state and federal grants to implement park improvements.
Improvements to the park – which are anticipated to begin within the next one to two years – will be dependent upon available state and federal funding.
Email reporter Denise Rockenstein at