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Fire officials estimated the total damages to be about $1.5 million at PSI World, the retreat center which makes its home at High Valley Ranch.
Destroyed were two bunkhouses and a laundry building, said Northshore Fire Battalion Chief Pat Brown.
Brown said firefighters were dispatched just after 3 a.m. Friday to a possible structure fire west of High Valley Road.
The first unit on scene reported three to four structures were fully involved and others were threatened, he said.
Brown added that alert tones were activated to warn firefighters of downed power lines and to request mutual aid.
Fire personnel were able to stop the fire halfway into the ranch house, where they prevented it from entering the second floor, Brown said. Also saved was a mobile home in front of the ranch house.
Heavy water use from multiple engines overwhelmed the hydrant system of High Valley Ranch and a water tender shuttle was set up to pull water from Brassfield Estate Winery, he said.
A total of 22 firefighters responded to the scene, Brown said.
Northshore Fire sent three engines from its Clearlake Oaks, Nice and Lucerne stations, along with two water tenders from Clearlake Oaks and Upper Lake, and a medic ambulance and two battalion chiefs, he said. Lake County Fire Protection sent one engine and one water tender.
No injuries to fire personnel were reported.
Brown said Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and the Lake County Sheriff's Office are continuing the investigation into the fire's cause.
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The Santa Rosa CHP office said that toxicology testing found that 19-year-old Steven Culbertson of Lakeport had no alcohol or drugs in his system when he hit two other vehicles during a four-car collision at the intersection of Lakeville Road and Highway 27 on the night of Nov. 28.
Culbertson, who allegedly was traveling at a high speed in his Mini Cooper, reportedly failed to stop for a red light at the intersection, based on witness reports and physical evidence. He clipped one car before broadsiding a Nissan Quest carrying the Maloney family of Sonoma, the CHP said.
The entire family – parents John and Susan Maloney, and their young children, Aiden and Grace – died at the scene, as Lake County News has reported. Culbertson was taken off life support and died the following morning.
Within days of the crash, Petaluma resident Michael Loffredo told the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the CHP that he allegedly saw Culbertson sitting at the bar at Traxx, a Petaluma bar and restaurant, shortly before the fatal collision.
Because Traxx is licensed as a bar and restaurant, Culbertson would legally have been allowed inside the bar, officials reported.
Even so, CHP Officer Jon Sloat told Lake County News on Friday that investigators with the CHP and Alcoholic Beverage Control followed up on Loffredo's claim and weren't able to substantiate his account.
Sloat said investigators have warrants in for Culberton's cell phone texts and credit cards.
However, based on other witnesses and cell phone records that they've received so far, it's the CHP's conclusion at this point that Culbertson wasn't at Traxx that night and that his Mini Cooper wasn't in the parking lot of the establishment.
Sloat wasn't aware if investigators had tried to corroborate Loffredo's story with his own family members, who he also said were there, or if they checked to see if Loffredo had been at the restaurant as he said he was.
They're also investigating whether Loffredo may have made a false report to the authorities, Sloat said.
Meanwhile, Sloat said they've only been able to put together “a little bit” of what Culbertson was doing in the hours before the crash.
“It's still in pieces,” said Sloat.
The CHP's Major Accident Investigation Team is still working on an estimate of how fast Culbertson was going, Sloat said.
He said an investigation into an incident like this usually takes a month.
“We want to take our time and cover all our bases,” Sloat said.
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Honorio Pantaleon, 32, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Patricia Barrales. But on Friday, a Sonoma County jury returned the verdict regarding Pantaleon's sanity, according to Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua.
Last week, the jury convicted Pantaleon of first degree murder for killing Patricia Barrales in May 2008. They also found him guilty of the special circumstance of torture and the attempted murder of his mother-in-law, which occurred in Mendocino County two days after Barrales was murdered.
The same jury that decided his guilt began to receive evidence on Monday regarding Pantaleon's mental status.
Passalacqua said the verdict case exemplified the horrific tragedy of this crime.
“The victim and her family received justice in a Sonoma County courtroom today,” he said Friday. “This was a heinous attack that underscores the tragic consequences of domestic violence. This man planned a purposeful attack to kill and torture his partner. He will never again be free to harm any other innocent people.”
On May 10, 2008, Barrales returned to the Santa Rosa apartment she shared with Pantaleon and their children after celebrating Mother’s Day with her family in Ukiah, Passalacqua's office reported.
A short time after returning home Barrales was murdered. Both of the minor children were present during and witnessed the crime.
The oldest child, who was 4 years old at the time, provided officers with information which led to the location of the victim’s remains.
Barrales had 68 stab and incised wounds on her body, including her head, neck, chest, back and abdomen.
Pantaleon had used at least two knives during the commission of the crime before he placed Barrales' body in a toy box, moved the toy box into the children’s closet, covered up a bloody carpet and left with his two children and family dog.
He drove to his parent’s house in Kelseyville where he began planning to murder the victim’s mother, officials reported. He and a friend then reportedly drove to a sporting goods store to purchase ammunition.
On May 12, Pantaleon entered his mother-in-law’s home, pointed a rifle at her chest and pulled the trigger. The gun did not discharge and Pantaleon hit her on the head with the rifle and fled the location. He was arrested in Ukiah later that day.
The now 5-year-old son of the victim testified via closed circuit television to avoid the trauma of being in the courtroom with his father, Passalacqua's office reported.
The witness who purchased the ammunition with Pantaleon refused to testify, was found in contempt and placed into custody. He will remain in custody pending completion of the sanity phase or until he agrees to testify.
Deputy District Attorney Tashawn Sanders was the lead prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney Tania Partida was the second chair assigned to the case, Passalacqua's office reported. Sergeant Alissa Johnson with the Santa Rosa Police Department was the lead investigator.
Pantaleon's sentencing is pending.
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The Mendocino County Sheriff's Coroner's Division positively identified the structure fire victim as Ariel Robin Hembel, 31, according to a Friday report from Capt. Kurt Smallcomb.
Hembel's body was found by firefighters on Wednesday at her residence at 32280 Ellison Way, as Lake County News has reported. Fire destroyed the building.
Smallcomb reported that Fire Investigator Larry Graft has determined the cause of the fire to be accidental.
He said the fire started in the area of the roof where the wood burning stove chimney runs through the roof.
Hembel's cause of death appears to be from inhalation of smoke but is pending toxicology results, Smallcomb said.
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The 30-3 vote took place Thursday afternoon.
That followed a 69-0 vote by the Assembly last week, as Lake County News has reported.
Late Thursday, Sherry Treppa, Habematolel's tribal chair, said it was unprecedented for both houses of the Legislature to approve a compact while they were in recess.
That clears the way for the tribe to start building its new $25 million, 34,000-square-foot facility, which will include 349 slot machines, six game tables, retail shops and restaurants on an 11.24-acre parcel on Highway 20 outside of Upper Lake.
The project is estimated to create about 140 new jobs for the county, tribal officials reported.
As part of the state compact, the tribe will pay the state 15 percent of its revenues.
On a local level, the tribe has entered into agreements with the county for payment in lieu of property tax; has paid more than $378,000 for upgrades to the sewer system and will pay another $112,000 to hook up to the system; has pledged to help mitigate off-reservation impacts; and will support fire and law enforcement – including $80,000 annually to Northshore Fire Protection District.
The tribe has overcome huge obstacles to keep the project on track, Treppa said.
The compact, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in September, needed to be ratified by the Legislature before the plan could move forward.
That didn't happen before the end of the legislative session in September, as the compact was signed three days before the session ended. However, Assembly members Wes Chesbro and Noreen Evans worked to get the necessary legislation before lawmakers during its recess.
Treppa said the 205-member tribe was worried that the compact might not get through the Legislature this year. If it hadn't, they would have had to wait until next August for their next chance.
Because the project's funding is tied to strict deadlines, “That would have been the end of us,” Treppa said.
Chesbro spokesman Andrew Bird said Chesbro did a “gut and amend” on SB 89, originally a budget bill presented last year. After inserting the Habematolel compact into the bill, it was presented on the Assembly floor Dec. 10, where it was approved.
Bird said Chesbro worked the floor and made a speech to get support for the amended bill.
Chesbro called the compact “a unique developer agreement,” and said the approval was urgent because Lake County is suffering from one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and the jobs are badly needed. Lake County's unemployment rate for October was 16.2 percent.
Evans told Lake County News that she helped get the Assembly speaker's agreement to take the bill up on the floor in the hopes of getting the new jobs for the county secured before Christmas. Like Chesbro, she also helped convince Assembly colleagues to give it their support.
She said it was important to point out how the tribe has worked with local agencies. “They're really ready to go forward and break ground,” she said.
Evans called it “pretty extraordinary” to get the measure through, especially with the Legislature's focus on other issues like the “Race to the Top” legislation and water bonds.
It's also unusual to take up an issue like this that would solely affect a small county like Lake, Evans said.
She said she shared with Assembly members the need for jobs in Lake County. “That really got their interest and got their vote, and that was really heartwarming to see,” she said.
The Senate Governmental Organization Committee held an information session Wednesday on Habematolel's compact, as well as that of Pinoleville in Mendocino County.
Kirstin Kolpitcke, deputy director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, told the committee that Habematolel's compact allows for a class three gaming facility with up to 750 slot machines; for every slot machine from 350 and above, the tribe would pay the state $900. Kolpitcke said the tribe also has agreed to pay into the state's revenue sharing fund.
“The administration believes this compact is good for the state and good for the tribe,” Kolpitcke said.
Lake County Deputy Administrative Officer Debra Sommerfield, accompanied by county Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger, also spoke to the committee Wednesday in support of the tribe.
Sommerfield read a letter from District 1 Supervisor Denise Rushing and County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox, who praised Habematolel's efforts to work with local government and be a good neighbor.
The letter stated that the county and tribe have established “an exemplary government to government relationship.”
If the Senate didn't ratify the compact, county officials worried that the project would be lost and “the community will suffer the consequences.”
The compact didn't face opposition from Stand Up California, a group that closely monitors gaming issues in the state.
“I did not find a problem with the Upper Lake situation,” said the group's director, Cheryl Schmit.
Schmit, who interacted with county government in looking at the tribe's plans, said it was important that the tribe worked out local agreements with the county.
Treppa said there are still hurdles that remain for the tribe, and that's the reason for the urgency.
The legislation must be signed by the governor and the secretary of state, and then must go to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington, DC, for approval.
The BIA typically doesn't sign California compacts because they feel the state is taxing the tribes, Treppa explained.
However, “They won't disapprove them because they know it's critical to the tribe,” she said, and if the BIA takes no action in 45 days, the compact is deemed approved.
Ratification is critical because it will open up funding from the tribe's lender, Michigan-based Luna Gaming, she said.
Treppa said the tribe wants to get the facility's doors open before Memorial Day weekend or by the first of June in order to hit the peak season, which runs from the end of April to the start of October.
Once the tribe's final environmental impact report is published Dec. 21, they should be able to break ground on the casino within a few days, and would likely have full funding for the project by Jan. 15.
She credited local support, particularly that of county officials, for being instrumental in getting the needed approvals.
“We are blessed to be able to work with a county as forward thinking and willing to work with a tribe as Lake County,” Treppa said. “If we didn't have county support, we wouldn't have been able to get this done out of session.”
Individuals who want to find out more about job opportunities at the new facility are encouraged to call the Habematolel tribal offices in Upper Lake, 707-275-0737. Treppa said resumes can be faxed to 707-275-0757.
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Douglas Whipple, 23, was arrested for concealing and child and a parole violation Monday afternoon, according to Capt. Kurt Smallcomb of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office.
At about 1 p.m. Monday sheriff's deputies were summoned to a location off of Tabor Lane in Covelo regarding a parental abduction of a child, Smallcomb said.
Upon arrival deputies spoke with the mother of a 1-month-old infant and learned that Whipple, the child's father, allegedly had come to the home and wanted to take the child, according to the report.
After a brief altercation, Whipple allegedly kicked opened the door to the residence and took the infant, Smallcomb said.
Deputies learned the infant was dressed only in a blanket and was currently breast feeding. Smallcomb said the father had taken no other implements to care for the infant upon fleeing the location.
Following a search of the area, deputies located Whipple, who led them on a foot chase. Smallcomb said Whipple was seen running into a residence where deputies found and arrested him.
Deputies learned the child had been taken back to the mother's residence and were able to conduct a welfare check of the infant, Smallcomb said.
Whipple was booked into the Mendocino County Jail on charges of parole violations and child secreting, and is being held without bail, Smallcomb reported.
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