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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....
Board of Supervisors discusses Valley fire repopulation and recovery issues
LAKEPORT, Calif. – During an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon the Board of Supervisors gave Department of Public Works staff the go ahead to begin contracting for Valley fire recovery work and got an update from the sheriff on plans to repopulate evacuated areas.
The board met for about 40 minutes at the Lake County Courthouse. Supervisor Jeff Smith was absent.
At the beginning of the meeting, Supervisor Jim Comstock led the moment of silence, asking to remember those whose lives have been lost in the fire.
Comstock's south county district has been ravaged by the Valley fire. He told Lake County News before the meeting that he watched the fire move over 10 miles in a half-hour when it began last Saturday.
Eight of his family members have lost their homes and much of his 1,700-acre ranch has burned. On Saturday night, he fought to protect his house and barn, with arriving firefighters helping build a line to save the structures – just in time.
He said he knows of many more who narrowly escaped with their lives, having lost their homes and all of their other possessions.
In addition to the matter involving contracts and purchasing rules for the recovery effort, Comstock told Lake County News that he asked for the discussion regarding the plans to repopulate the south county to be added to the emergency meeting's agenda, noting he has many concerned constituents who want to know when they can return to their homes.
County Administrative Officer Matt Perry took to the board a request to authorize staff – in particular, Department of Public Works Director Scott De Leon – to begin hiring independent contractors to perform fire-related repair work.
Perry also asked the board to waive the competitive bidding process because it is not in the public interest due to the state of emergency.
Perry would ask for – and ultimately receive – approval on both counts, with De Leon able to approve contracts in amounts up to $1 million each, up from a ceiling of $175,000 each.
Assistant Public Works Director Lars Ewing explained during the meeting that they asked to bring the matter to the board immediately so they could begin preparing contracts before the board's next meeting on Tuesday.
Perry said the amount of repair work that needs to be done exceeds the ability of Public Works staff to perform on its own.
His memo to the board noted that the supervisors could require that staff submit to the board any and all contracts entered into for board approval at its next meeting on Tuesday.
“We're overwhelmed with the amount of damage,” said De Leon.
He said there are more than 4,000 feet of guardrail that need to be replaced; miles of roads lined with hazardous, burned trees; and a bin-wall on Socrates Mine Road – a recently completed stormwater project – that now has been burned up.
“We've got some very immediate needs,” De Leon said.
“I'll just say that we don't have all the answers in place,” he said, explaining that county staff is working through the competitive bidding requirements set forth by the California Office of Emergency Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
De Leon said they need to make sure that whatever they do has the potential for reimbursement down the road, and he and his staff are working with Cal OES on that issue.
Ewing said it's important to follow the right rules to be eligible for the money from the government. He said it's the federal funding, not the state funding, that they're concerned about when it comes to the rules.
De Leon said the Federal Highway Administration has placed huge emphasis on procurement procedures, with agencies suffering significant penalties for noncompliance. “We're trying to make sure we don't fall into that trap.”
Sean Smith, Cal OES' recovery liaison who also assisted during the Rocky fire, said there will be tricky issues for each of the recovery projects, and he wasn't sure if the board could do a blanket waiver of the competitive bidding process for all of them.
“The waiver of your local procurement policy for the emergency projects is not any trouble, that's normal,” he said, adding they needed to work within each projects to make sure it meets the federal procurement standards.
Board Chair Anthony Farrington noted that time is of the essence, and the board action would allow staff to work on the issues during the weekend. “I think you have full board support and community support.”
Comstock moved to waive the competitive bidding process due to the local emergency and authorize staff to approve contracts of up to $1 million each, with the board voting 4-0.
Board gets update on repopulation
Following the vote, the board asked Sheriff Brian Martin to give the latest on repopulation.
Martin said the discussion about repopulating evacuated areas has been going on since Tuesday.
While the fire appears to be out in some areas, and the smoke in those areas also is gone, that doesn't mean the danger is gone, he said.
Martin reported having himself been trapped in Anderson Springs during a recent visit due to a fallen tree.
He said Pacific Gas and Electric has been tremendous in its efforts to get power restored, and is working with Cal Fire to remove hazardous trees. There also are concerns because of hazardous materials left behind after fires, as well as ash pits.
“We won't be able to eliminate all of those hazards,” but Martin said the goal is to mitigate them and educate the public about the fact that they will be moving back into a hazardous area – and entering at their own risk.
Martin urged the public not to sift through debris. Officials are making available to the public personal protective gear to keep them safe from harmful materials they may encounter on their properties.
The repopulation of the south county is taking place in a phased approach, Martin said. “We can't do it all at one time.”
His agency also continues to search for missing people. “We still have some people that are unaccounted for,” with a concern that there may still be more fatalities.
The phased repopulation approach takes many factors into consideration, and the decisions behind it involve the sheriff's office, utilities and Cal Fire, he said.
Martin said a new shelter will be set up at Twin Pine Casino, along with a local assistance center.
He acknowledged, “It's never going to be as fast as everyone wants,” adding that these are small steps “in a very, very long journey.”
There has been a great deal of mutual aid from agencies across the state. “It's a huge disaster, but I'm surrounded by professionals,” Martin said.
He told the board that looters are being arrested. “The ones we're catching, you're going to hear about it.”
The sheriff's office is following up in reports of price gouging, and so far have found some of the reports to be inaccurate, he said.
In addition to the looters stealing from homes, Martin said here is the “blue collar looter” – including unlicensed contractors and adjusters. He urged community members to only use licensed contractors and to make sure they need public adjusters.
Martin said the state insurance commissioner visited Lake County on Friday to get a sense of the situation.
He also informed the board that the National Guard was sending in 50 teams of military police to assist with patrolling and protecting the community. They also will assist with escorting evacuees into some of the fire areas to feed livestock and pets.
During public comment, Pat Trujillo – a resident of Harrington Flat near Adams Springs – thanked Martin for being able to have one of the escorted visits to her home to see her cat.
“Can I go home, please?” she asked.
Martin said he couldn't let her go quite yet. “We truly recognize this is a concern,” he said, adding they were working to get her home as soon as possible.
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Valley fire: National Guard responding to help protect and patrol communities
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The California National Guard is set to arrive on Friday night in Lake County to assist local law enforcement with the task of protecting evacuated communities from looters and trespassers.
Sheriff Brian Martin told the Board of Supervisors during an emergency Friday afternoon meeting at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport that the National Guard was on the way.
On Friday Martin requested National Guard military police respond to assist his agency as well as the many other law enforcement agencies from around the region that have been working to protect neighborhoods and arrest looters.
Several individuals have been arrested over the course of the week after they were discovered in the evacuated areas.
Many of the individuals had burglary tools and some had stolen property. One Bay Area man found near Hidden Valley Lake with two others was armed with a concealed weapon. A Cobb man was found driving a vehicle stolen from the Lower Lake area.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's office had started escorts into some of the evacuated areas, allowing residents to make 15-minute trips into their properties to feed pets and livestock.
While well-intentioned, Martin said the escorted trips seriously drained his agency's resources and took away from patrolling to prevent looting.
At one point during the special Friday meeting, Martin said, “It's been like herding cats, trying to catch these looters.”
Despite the sheriff's office's efforts over a two-day period, it wasn't able to help hundreds of people who wanted the escorted trips, according to Martin.
Martin said 50 National Guard military police teams are set to arrive Friday night from Pittsburg in Contra Costa County, and they will be on duty starting at 8 a.m. Saturday.
In a followup interview with Lake County News, Martin said his agency was working on a deployment plan for the military police on Friday evening, and was lining up vehicles for the teams.
“It's huge,” he said of the National Guard's willingness to come and assist the community.
They will assist with community patrol and enforcement of roadblocks, he said.
On Saturday, the military police also will assist with the effort to continue the escorted visits for evacuees to their properties, he said.
The sheriff's office said the escorted visits will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. More details are available here: www.bit.ly/1JfZoJt .
Martin said he expects the National Guard will be on the ground in Lake County for at least a week.
“They say they’re committed as long as we need them,” Martin said.
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Weather helps firefighters curb Valley fire’s growth
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters and weather conditions combined to gain a significant edge on the Valley fire by day's end Tuesday, holding the fire to only a few hundred acres in growth during the day and doubling containment.
The Valley fire had grown to approximately 67,200 acres by Tuesday night, with 30-percent containment, Cal Fire said.
California Office of Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci said that of the 12 major wildland fires now burning around California, the Valley fire remains the most significant and highest priority incident, with officials focusing on the needs of the fire’s victims.
“I would say that the Valley fire in Lake County will be one of the top 20 most devastating fires we’ve seen in California,” he said.
He said this fire season has been the most extreme he’s seen in 30 years.
The fire began on Saturday afternoon on High Valley Road in Cobb. Since then, it has swept across southern Lake County, and crossed into Napa and Sonoma counties.
During its first few days, the fire scorched tens of thousands of acres and destroyed hundreds of homes.
On Tuesday, however, its advance slowed considerably.
One of the key factors helping with the firefight on Tuesday was a factor that often creates greater danger – wind.
Due to a low pressure system moving across the county that is expected to bring a small amount of rain on Wednesday, “We knew there was going to be a shift in winds,” said Cal Fire Assistant Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal.
Originally, the winds were expected to hit Tuesday evening, but Lowenthal said the wind arrived early.
Lowenthal said Cal Fire used the direction the wind was pushing the fire – along with its aircraft – to direct the fire into the burn scar of the Butts fire, which burned 4,300 acres in Lake and Napa counties in July 2014.
The main fire activity on Tuesday was in the southeast portion of the fire that had crossed into Napa County, well above Aetna Springs, Lowenthal said.
“It's putting up a lot of smoke,” he said.
It was in that area that the fire had most of its 200 acres of growth during the day, said Lowenthal.
He said a small amount of growth in the fire’s Sonoma County portion was due to firing operations in The Geysers. That operation sent up some smoke that could be seen from Lakeport.
Radio traffic on Tuesday night indicated the fire was calming down, and that fire growth was continuing to slow.
The National Weather Service is forecasting rain on Wednesday, with rainfall amounts expected to be between one-tenth of an inch and a quarter-inch over the fire area.
Lowenthal said Cal Fire continues to receive a lot of questions from the public.
He said Cal Fire is encouraging citizens to go to evacuation shelters to see maps and speak to public information officers.
Damage assessments continued on Tuesday, although Lowenthal could not say specifically where they were taking place.
The tally of destroyed homes remained at 585 by day's end, according to Cal Fire, with 7,650 structures still under threat. That was down from a high of 9,000 threatened homes.
When the day started, a total of 19,000 people remained evacuated. But that number dropped after thousands of residents of the Rivieras communities were allowed to return to their homes.
Mandatory evacuations remaining in place by day's end included Butts Canyon Road to the Napa County line, including Berryessa Estates; Cobb; Seigler Canyon; Loch Lomond; Middletown; Point Lakeview to Soda Bay Road; Hidden Valley Lake; all residences on Bottle Rock Road from Harrington Flat Road; all residences on Highway 175/Cobb; and all residences on Highway 29 at Highway 29 south on Highway 29 to Tubbs Lane in Napa County.
In Napa County Berryessa Estates and Aetna Springs Road west of Butts Canyon Road are under mandatory evacuation orders.
By Tuesday night, officials reopened Highway 29 to all traffic between Kelseyville and the intersection of Highway 53 in Lower Lake, with feeder roads on the south side of the highway remaining closed to residents due to fire activity.
Highway 29 south of Highway 53 remains closed to all non-emergency traffic, as do several other roadways in Lake County, including Bottle Rock south of Highway 29, Highway 175 south of Highway 29, Red Hills Road, Diener Drive, Seigler Canyon and Highway 175 at the Dry Creek Cutoff.
In Napa County, Butts Canyon at Aetna Springs Road and Highway 29 at Tubbs Lane are closed, and in Sonoma County, roads that are closed to all but emergency traffic and residents are Ida Clayton Road at Highway 128, Geysers Road at Red Winery, Pine Flat Road at Red Winery and Geysers Road at River Road.
Resources assigned to the fire have continued to grow, with 2,639 personnel assigned by Tuesday night, as well as 289 engines, 67 water tenders, 54 hand crews, 46 dozers, 16 helicopters and eight air tankers, Cal Fire said.
Cal Fire has once again located its incident command post at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Lakeport.
It's been less than a month since Cal Fire last left the facility after wrapping up operations on the Rocky and Jerusalem fires.
At the Lakeport City Council meeting on Tuesday evening, staff reported that the city was offering Cal Fire the use of Westside Community Park as a place to locate resources, because Cal Fire is “busting at the seams” at the fairgrounds.
City Manager Margaret Silveira told the council that she was informed by Cal Fire that more firefighters are expected to be assigned to the Valley Fire than worked the Rocky fire. At its height, the Rocky fire had more than 3,600 personnel assigned.
In other news, schools in the Lakeport Unified, Upper Lake Union High, Upper Lake Union Elementary and Lucerne Elementary School districts are set to be back in session on Wednesday after all county school districts were closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Officials said Kelseyville Unified and Konocti Unified School District will be returning to school on Monday, with every effort being made to open Middletown schools that day as well.
On the air quality front, conditions on Tuesday improved, with the Lake County Air Quality Management District reporting that air monitors in Lakeport and Clearlake indicated the air quality in the northern portion of Lake County was in the “good” range, with those conditions expected to continue.
Isolated areas and areas in close proximity to the fire may experience unhealthy air quality when smoke is present due to high levels of fine particulates, the district said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Supervisors to host correctional officer swearing-in ceremony, present proclamations
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will host the ceremony for a new correctional officer and present proclamations for the month of September.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15, 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 9:06 a.m., Sheriff Brian Martin will administer the oath to Mikala Knoll, who was promoted from correctional aide to correctional officer I.
At 9:10 a.m., the board will present proclamations designating the month of September 2015 as School Attendance Awareness Month in Lake County, and designating Sept. 22 as National Voter Registration Day in Lake County.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Authorize county administrative officer to appoint Jeff Rein interim chief deputy county administrative officer at Step 7 due to extraordinary qualifications.
7.2: Approve out-of-state travel to Tucson, Arizona for Jill Ruzicka, Senior Administrative Analyst to attend the 2015 CTA Accredited Provided Summit to be held Nov. 15 to 17.
7.3: Adopt proclamation designating Sept. 22 as National Voter Registration Day in Lake County.
7.4: Adopt proclamation designating the month of September 2015, as School Attendance Awareness Month in Lake County.
7.5: Approve amendment No. 2 to the memorandum of understanding by and between the county of Lake and the Lake County Deputy District Attorney’s Association, Unit 8 for Fiscal Years 2013-2014 AND 2014-15.
7.6: Approve agreement between the county of Lake, Probation Department and Hilltop Recovery Services for FY 15-16, amount not to exceed $50,000 annually; and authorize the chair to sign.
7.7: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Crisis Support Services of Alameda County for FY 15-16 Crisis Support Services, contract maximum of $14,310, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.8: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and San Sousee for FY 15-16 Adult Residential Support Services and Specialty Mental Health Services, contract maximum of $186,150, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.9: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Modesto Residential Living Center LLC., for FY 15-16 Adult Residential Care Services and Specialty Mental Health Services, contract maximum of $91,250, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.10: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Konocti Senior Support Inc., for FY 15-16 Senior Support Counseling Services, in the amount of $108,378, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.11: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Community Care HIV/AIDS Program for FY 15-16 Provision of HIV/AIDS Counseling and Case Management Services for Lake County Residents, in the amount of $14,991, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.12: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Crestwood Behavioral Health for FY 15-16 Adult Residential Support and Specialty Mental Health Services, contract maximum of $425,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.13: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Manzanita House for FY 15-16 Adult Residential Support Services and Specialty Mental Health Services, contract maximum of $120,450 and authorize the chair to sign.
7.14: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Remi Vista, Inc. for FY 15-16 Specialty Mental Health Services, contract maximum of $50,000 and authorize the chair to sign.
7.15: Approve sixth amendment to agreement between the county of Lake and Cerner Corp. for FY 15-16 Anasazi Software and Support Services, in the amount of $60,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.16: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Gary Ernst for FY 15-16 fiscal consulting services, contract maximum of $10,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.17: Adopt resolution temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs (Main Street in Kelseyville and associated side streets on Sept. 26 for the Kelseyville Pear Festival).
7.18: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and All Weather Inc., for maintenance and repair of AWOS III System at Lampson Airport, total cost of $25,500 for a five year period, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.19: Adopt resolution approving final parcel map and the signing of the final parcel map – Ahlstrom PM 15-01.
7.20: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and MGI-Madeira Group for FY 15-16 law enforcement preemployment background investigations, contract maximum of $30,000, and authorize the chair to sign.
7.21: Approve advanced step hire for extra help secretary III Cheri Jones at step 5.
7.22: Adopt resolution declaring intent to sell surplus real property owned by the county of Lake (6322 7th Ave., Lucerne).
7.23: Adopt resolution declaring intent to sell surplus real property owned by the county of Lake (6825 Floyd Way, Nice).
7.24: Adopt resolution declaring intent to sell surplus real property owned by the county of Lake (5795 Grove St., Lucerne).
7.25: Adopt proclamation designating September 2015 as National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:06 a.m.: Acknowledging promotion of Mikala Knoll from correctional aide to correctional officer I.
8.3, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of (a) proclamation designating the month of September 2015 as School Attendance Awareness Month in Lake County; (b) proclamation designating Sept. 22 as National Voter Registration Day in Lake County.
8.4, 9:11 a.m.: Consideration of proclamation in support of LakeCountyFilm.com.
8.5, 9:30 a.m.: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, consideration of agreement between LACOSAN and Absolute Aeration, LLC in the amount of $450,000 for biosolids management at the Northwest Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant and authorize the chair to sign.
8.6, 9:40 a.m.: Consideration of agreement with Absolute Aeration in the amount of $174,996 for biosolids management at the Kelseyville Wastewater Treatment Plant and authorize the chair to sign.
8.7, 10 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of proposed resolution vacating portions of a public roadway known as Lakeshore Boulevard (also known as Inner Harbor Circle, at Holiday Harbor) in Nice.
UNTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of resolution approving submission of application for Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) for fiscal year 2015/16.
9.3: Consideration of resolution approving submission of application for Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG) for fiscal year 2015-16.
9.4: Consideration of (a) request for approval of an administrative encroachment permit for the Splash-In seaplane event, Sept. 24 to 27; and (b) request for a waiver of the permit fee ($665).
9.5: Consideration of request to purchase six sedans and authorize Social Services director to sign purchase order and related documents.
9.6: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process due to use of sole source vendor; and (b) approval to purchase 25 M7 In Vehicle Computer system from Data911, using funding from Rural Sheriff's fund, BU 2206.
CLOSED SESSION
10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Decision whether to initiate litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54956.9(d)(4): One potential case.
10.3: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54956.9(d)(2), (e) (3): Claim of Gilmore.
10.4: Public employee evaluations title: Special Districts administrator, Air Quality director.
Email Elizabeth Larson at