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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....
Rocky fire: Firefighters gear up for possible Tuesday wind shift
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters are bracing for a forecasted weather change that could bring a shift in winds on the front lines of the Rocky fire on Tuesday.
Cal Fire said Tuesday morning that the fire has consumed 65,000 acres and is 12-percent contained.
The agency said no new size estimates on the incident are expected until Tuesday evening.
Highway 20 remains closed from Highway 53 to Interstate 5 in Williams because of the fire, with 6,959 structures remaining threatened. Mandatory evacuations and advisory evacuations remain in place.
Firefighters continued to work steadily through the night, building fire lines and protecting communities in the fire's path.
Overnight there were no additional structures burned, according to Cal Fire spokesman Steve Swindle.
The count of destroyed structures remains at 50, a tally which includes 24 residences and 26 outbuildings, Cal Fire said.
A change in the weather is bringing cooler temperatures and some favorable conditions, but there also are concerns that the lower pressure system moving into the area could create an unstable atmosphere, said Swindle.
The National Weather Service is predicting some light rain over Lake County throughout Tuesday afternoon.
Swindle said the weather change comes with a prediction of winds possibly shifting and coming from the east, which would blow the fire toward the west, which is where the city of Clearlake is located in relation to the fire.
On Tuesday morning, the Board of Supervisors unanimously ratified an emergency declaration issued on Thursday by County Administrative Officer Matt Perry.
Cal Fire Division Chief Scott Lindgren, the Rocky fire incident commander, updated the board on Tuesday morning on the fire situation.
Lindgren said the main concern for the day is the west side of the fire, which he called the No. 1 priority.
He said incident command has shifted forces to the fire's west side to keep it out of Clearlake and Lower Lake, with firefighters concentrating on keeping those communities near the fire safe.
The fire jumped Highway 20 on Monday afternoon, with spot fires crossing between the Spring Valley and Double Eagle Ranch subdivisions, Swindle said.
The spot fires caused the Lake County Sheriff's Office to issue a second mandatory evacuation for Spring Valley and Double Eagle, as Lake County News has reported.
Lindgren told the board that by Tuesday morning the fire had burned 3,000 acres on the north side of Highway 20 by that point.
“We're going to do our best to put this fire out just as quick as we can,” said Lindgren.
Sheriff Brian Martin reported to the board that sheriffs in neighboring counties have been sending over personnel and search and rescue resources to assist with the process of going door-to-door to notify people of mandatory evacuations and evacuation advisories.
Martin said local agencies are ready to move people out of Clearlake if the fire moves that direction.
He asked community members to take notifications seriously – whether to evacuate immediately or to be prepared in the case it's necessary.
That's important because of the fire's unpredictable nature, Martin said. “It's doing what it wants to do.”
Resources dedicated to the fire on Tuesday morning include approximately 3,205 personnel, 301 fire engines, 80 fire crews, 57 dozers, 40 water tenders, 19 helicopters and four air tankers.
The Lake County Air Quality Management District said air quality conditions in the county are anticipated to improve through Tuesday due to the weather forecast.
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Officials describe Rocky fire's development, effort to contain it, safety issues
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Local, state and federal officials took part in a community meeting in Lower Lake on Sunday that sought to bring residents up to date on the effort to bring the Rocky fire under control.
Several hundred community members were on hand for the meeting, which included officials from Cal Fire, Lake County Fire, the Board of Supervisors, Lake County Sheriff's Office, Clearlake Police Department, Lake County Air Quality Management District and the Lake County Office of Emergency Services.
Congressman Mike Thompson and State Sen. Mike McGuire also were on hand to offer their support as well as assurances that the community will be receiving assistance to get it through the fire and the recovery period.
Across agencies and levels of experience, the message to the community was the same – that the Rocky fire was displaying unusual activity that even longtime fire service veterans hadn't encountered before, making it both dangerous and difficult to fight.
Fire officials said a critical element driving the fire's rapid growth and unpredictable behavior is the area's incredibly dry conditions, a result of four years of drought.
Just how quickly the fire grew initially was explained by Cal Fire Assistant Chief Linda Green, who went over the play-by-play of the fire's initial dispatch.
Firefighters were first dispatched to a possible structure fire at the end of Rocky Creek Road east of Lower Lake just before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, she said.
The first aircraft to arrive found the fire between 25 and 30 acres. By the time the first Cal Fire battalion chief got there minutes later, the fire was between 50 and 100 acres, and spotting, Green said.
When Copter 104 arrived from Boggs Mountain shortly afterward, it spotted a second fire on Morgan Valley Road about four miles away from where the first fire was reported, she said.
Those two fires eventually would combine, she said.
Then, a third fire was reported on Highway 20 at New Long Valley Road east of Clearlake, Green said. “We were a little stretched.”
She said the initial attack plan was to go aggressive on the second fire, a goal helped by additional resources coming into the county – specifically, a group of engines that was passing through the area of the third fire on Highway 20 and quickly controlled it to an acre.
Back in the Lower Lake area, within an hour, the Rocky fire had reached 150 acres. By 5 p.m. evacuations on Morgan Valley Road began, with the fire hitting 600 acres an hour later, she said.
By midnight, the size estimate was between 7,000 and 8,000 acres, according to Green.
Butte County-based Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Shorrock explained the movement of the fire after its initial push on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the fire made a rapid push to the west and down into Morgan Valley that night and then started heading toward Jerusalem Valley. He said firefighters managed to keep it north of Jerusalem Valley that night.
On Friday, there was a wind shift from about 9 a.m. to mid-afternoon, which covered the city of Clearlake with ash. Shorrock said air and ground resources were able to keep the fire east of the Cache Creek Dam on Friday.
On Saturday, aircraft flying overhead saw the most intense fire activity that had been seen up to that point on the incident. “We knew we were in for a long Saturday,” he said.
At noon, the fire broke across Cache Creek to the north and headed into the wilderness area, Shorrock said.
“We had planned on it getting to Highway 20,” Shorrock said. “We didn’t plan on it getting there so rapidly.”
Beginning at about 3 p.m. Saturday, the fire shifted under a very strong south-southwest wind and began a major run, Shorrock said.
Over the next five hours, the fire burned 22,000 acres.
“That’s a significant movement,” he said.
On Saturday night, firefighters held the fire at Highway 16 up to Highway 20 and over toward Walker Ridge Road, and were trying to stay ahead of the fire, he said. On Sunday, the fire activity was heating up in the wilderness area south of Highway 20.
Shorrock said the incident is presenting the kind of fire danger that he in his 40 years in the fire service hasn't seen before.
“Some of the rules are thrown out just due to the intensity and the spread,” he said, adding that they're lucky to not have had many injuries to firefighters or civilians. Cal Fire previously reported two firefighters suffered minor injuries.
More resources on the way
Sheriff Brian Martin thanked the sheriffs in neighboring counties, Cal Fire, the Board of Supervisors, McGuire and Thompson, noting how all of the agencies are working together.
“This is unprecedented fire activity and it's more dangerous than normal,” Martin said.
Putting the fire's 22,000-acre spread on Saturday into perspective, he said that the city of Clearlake covers 6,400 acres.
Regarding evacuations, Martin said officials have had a lot of cooperation from communities. He said authorities know it's very inconvenient for people to have to leave their homes.
“We will do everything that we can to get you back as soon as we can,” he said, adding, they also want to make sure people are safe. “We will not lift these evacuations until we are certain that it is safe to do so.”
There are many considerations that go into deciding to allow people to return to their homes, which Martin said include having Pacific Gas and Electric look at power lines and local officials assess roads, as well as allowing for firefighters to finish mop up efforts. Going back too soon could hamper those efforts and result in harm, he said.
The Lake County Office of Emergency Services, Lake County Sheriff's Office and Cal Fire are the agencies with the authority to tell residents they can return to their homes after an evacuation, said Martin, urging people to wait for that confirmation rather than relying on statements circulated on the Internet.
He also encouraged people to show their appreciation for firefighters with signs or a friendly wave, and said donations may best be made to the Red Cross.
McGuire said the state's job is to make sure that Lake County has the resources it needs to be able to get through a disaster like the Rocky fire and thrive in the recovery.
He also pointed to the drought and its impact on the incident, with its unprecedented fire activity.
“It’s erratic, it’s massive, it’s burning hot and because of the wind we see this fire burning in all directions,” he said.
McGuire said firefighters from around the Western United States are coming to California to assist not just with the Rocky fire but with other major wildland fire incidents.
He said 400 hand crews have been activated from out of state, as have 14 California National Guard aircraft, eight of which – including a Chinook helicopter – are working the Rocky.
Two Nevada National Guard copters have been requested to help California, and two massive C130 tankers have been brought up from the Channel Islands in Southern California, with additional C130s heading into California, one from Colorado and one from Wyoming, McGuire said.
McGuire thanked Thompson for his efforts to secure a Fire Management Assistance Grant from President Barack Obama's Fire Relief Fund, which will cover up to 75 percent of the costs associated with the fire incurred by local, state and tribal governments.
He said the California Office of Emergency Services also has a team of specialists on the ground in Lake County to help assess damages, which has been a difficult task because of the fire's rapid rate of spread. “It's going to be a longterm project.”
McGuire added, “I will make you this promise right now, the California Office of Emergency Services is here for the long haul,” and is ready to assist residents and businesses with their damage claims.
He will host a town hall from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Clear Lake High School MAC building, 350 Lange St. in Lakeport, where he said representatives of local and state agencies will be on hand to give updates on the fire.
Thompson told the community members at the gathering, “I've never seen fire this bad before,” but he credited the state and local officials working the incident for their skills and professionalism. “They are absolutely top notch.
Thompson also pledged to do everything he can to marshal all of the needed resources.
Cal Fire Division Chief Scott Lindgren said Cal Fire appreciated the thanks for the community, but he wanted to turn the attention back to the local agencies. “They're the ones that protect you day in and day out,” he said, asking for a round of applause for them.
Lindgren went on to caution residents that a lot of work is ahead. “We’re not out of the woods on this fire yet,” he said, also acknowledging the Rocky's “unprecedented fire behavior” which he said could result in more evacuations, a prediction that proved true in the time since the meeting.
“We have a long road to go once we get this fire out to get through the rest of this fire season because of the drought,” Lindgren said.
During a question and answer period, Martin encouraged community members to take evacuation notifications seriously, and to follow any mandatory evacuation orders that are issued.
Lindgren said evacuation advisories are issued when officials think there the potential for a fire to reach an area. He said such advisories aren't issued unless it's believed that there is a legitimate threat to a location. Mandatory evacuations are for immediate danger, he added.
As for those community members wondering if schools in the Konocti Unified School District will start on Aug. 12 as scheduled, Superintendent Donna Becnel said that day was still the target for opening.
She said parents and students will be notified if there are any changes.
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Supervisors to ratify Rocky fire emergency declaration
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors is expected to ratify a local emergency declaration issued in response to the Rocky fire when it meets this week.
The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, 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.
In an item timed for 9:06 a.m., the board will take up the ratification of the director of the Lake County Office of Emergency Services' declaration of a local emergency due to the Rocky fire.
The fire, which as of Sunday night had burned 54,000 acres in four days and was 5-percent contained, is one of the largest wildland fires in the county's recorded history, according to a review of pasts incidents.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe prepared and County Administrative Officer Matt Perry signed the proclamation by the director of Emergency Services declaring a local emergency on Thursday evening, as Lake County News has reported.
The resolution states that the fire has caused “conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property” within the county since it began burning shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday east of Lower Lake. It has since moved toward Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks.
County officials said the proclamation may make additional resources available and provide certain powers to emergency management officials.
The board at that time also will get an update on activity, progress and concerns surrounding the incident from Cal Fire, the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Lake County Office of Emergency Services.
Also on Tuesday, the board will hold three public hearings on proposed urgency ordinances for the water systems in the County Service Areas of Bonanza Springs, Mt. Hannah and Starview. The hearings are timed for 10:10 a.m., 10:20 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., respectively.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
7.1: Approve minutes of the Board of Supervisors meeting held July 21, 2015.
7.2: Adopt proclamation designating the month of August 2015 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month.
7.3: Approve agreement between the Board of Supervisors on behalf of CSA #21 – North Lakeport Water and PACE Engineering for engineering services for improvements to the North Lakeport Water Treatment Plant and Distribution System for a period of 540 days in an amount not to exceed $260,588; and authorize the chair to sign.
7.4: Approve amendment one to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for construction management services for the Soda Bay Road at Cole Creek Bridge Replacement Project near Kelseyville, to 1) substitute key survey personnel, and 2) change the method of payment from actual rates of compensation to actual cost plus fixed fee and authorize the chair to sign.
7.5: Approve amendment one to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for construction management services for Ackley Road at Manning Creek and Highland Springs Road at Highland Creek Bridge Replacement Project near Lakeport, CA to 1) substitute key survey personnel, and 2) change the method of payment from actual rates of compensation to actual cost plus fixed fee and authorize the chair to sign.
7.6: Approve amendment one to agreement between the county of Lake and Quincy Engineering Inc. for engineering services for replacement of St. Helena Creek Bridge at Wardlaw Street (14C-0035) and rehabilitation of Cooper Creek Bridge at Witter Springs Road (14C-0102) in Lake County, CA to 1) substitute key survey personnel, and 2) change the method of payment from actual rates of compensation to actual cost plus fixed fee and authorize the chair to sign.
7.7: (a) Waive the normal sealed bid process under Ordinance #2406, section 38.2; (b) award the bid to Kathy Fowler Chrysler Jeep Dodge in the amount of $39,664.40, (c) authorize the sheriff/coroner or his designee to issue a purchase order; and (d) approve budget transfer in the amount of $8,165 from Budget Unit 2217 acct. 62.72 to Budget Unit 2201 acct. 62.72 and authorize the chair to sign.
7.8: Approve amendment to letter of agreement with the Drug Enforcement Administration for an increase in funds in the amount of $15,000 for marijuana eradication and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
8.2, 9:06 a.m.: Addendum, (a) ratification of director of Emergency Services' declaration of a local emergency due to the Rocky fire incident in Lake County; and (b) update on activity, progress and concerns surrounding the Rocky Fire incident from Cal Fire, sheriff and Office of Emergency Services.
8.3, 9:10 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of August 2015 as Breastfeeding Awareness Month.
8.4, 9:15 a.m.: Consideration of: (a) contract between the county of Lake and Lakeport Senior Activity Center, for FY 2015-16 Health-Related Senior Support Services, in the amount of $10,618 and authorize the chair to sign; (b) contract between the county of Lake and Live Oak Senior Center, for FY 2015-16 Health-Related Senior Support Services, in the amount of $11,758 and authorize the chair to sign; (c) contract between the county of Lake and Highlands Senior Service Center, for FY 2015-16 Health-Related Senior Support Services in the amount of $18,849 and authorize the chair to sign; (d) contract between the county of Lake and Middletown Senior Citizens, for FY 2015-16 health-related senior support services in the amount of $$8,148 and authorize the chair to sign; (e) contract between the county of Lake and Lucerne Alpine Seniors Inc., for FY 2015-16 Health-Related Senior Support Services in the amount of $10,182 and authorize the chair to sign; (f) contract between the county of Lake and Kelseyville Seniors Inc., for FY 2015-16 services to senior citizens in the amount of $2,000.
8.5, 9:30 a.m.: Cyanotoxin monitoring presentation by Sarah Ryan and Karola Kennedy.
8.6, 10:10 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of proposed urgency ordinance for County Service Area #7, Bonanza Springs
8.7, 10:20 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of urgency ordinance for County Service Area #22, Mt. Hannah Water System.
8.8, 10:30 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of urgency ordinance for County Service Area #18, Starview Water System.
UNTIMED ITEMS
9.2: Consideration of the following appointments: Emergency Medical Care Committee (EMCC) Glenbrook Cemetery District Library Advisory Board Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board Mental Health Board.
9.3: Approve county employee health plans - EIA Health, Dental, Vision and Life Renewal for 2016 Plan Year.
9.4: Consideration of equitable sharing agreement and certification for the period ending June 30, 2015, and authorize the sheriff to electronically submit the form.
9.5: Consideration of master services two-year contract agreement with Paymentus Corp. for electronic payment implementation and authorization for Special Districts Administrator sign.
9.6: Second reading, consideration of proposed ordinance amending Chapter 21 of the Ordinance Code of the county of Lake pertaining to age limits for installation of used manufactured homes on private property.
CLOSED SESSION
10.2: Conference with legal counsel: Existing litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(1): Bond v. Martin, et al.
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City of Lakeport postpones 'National Night Out' event because of Rocky fire
LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport has temporarily postponed its plans for its popular National Night Out event due to the Rocky fire, according to the city's police chief.
The Lakeport Police Department planned to host the third annual block party at its new headquarters at 2025 Main St. on Tuesday.
The Lakeport City Council also had adjourned its meeting so council members could take part.
However, on Saturday Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the Rocky fire – which by that time had scorched 27,000 acres and displaced more than 12,000 area residents, primarily in the Lower Lake and Clearlake Oaks areas – was causing them to postpone the event.
Rasmussen said that on Monday city staff will discuss a possible date for rescheduling the event.
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