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The Soda Complex, which has two active fires remaining out of its original four, was at 74-percent containment, growing to about 300 acres to reach a total of 6,070 acres burned, according to forest officials. Containment is estimated to occur on July 15. The fires are located to the north and northwest of Lake Pillsbury.
Fire activity had increased Sunday, and is expect to remain elevated due to high temperatures, Forest Service spokesperson Phebe Brown reported.
The Yolla Bolly Complex, with 22 active fires – 15 of which are contained – has burned 7,484 acres and is 50-percent contained, according to the US Forest Service's Incident Information System. All of the fires are located in remote, steep terrain in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, and are centered about 20 miles west of Paskenta.
Crews were continuing burnouts on the fires Monday, as well as continuing to build lines around the fires within the complex.
Rick Harvey’s Great Basin Interagency Incident Management Team, is managing this complex. They will turn management of the fires to Wilcock’s Alaska team on Tuesday.
Brown reported that, to date, fire suppression efforts have cost $5.3 million on the Soda Complex and $1.2 million on the Yolla Bolly Complex.
On the Mendocino Lightning Complex in Mendocino County, total containment reached 60 percent on Monday, with the number of active fires down to 39. A total of 46,880 acres have burned, with 1,686 fire personnel assigned to the fires.
The fires in the forest and in neighboring Mendocino County also sent some more smoke into Lake County's air basin on Monday.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Bob Reynolds said the county's air still remains in the “good” to “moderate” classifications based on Federal Air Quality Index measures. However, Reynolds said many people would agree the air isn't that good because of the smoke.
Cal Fire reported Monday that since June 20 there have been 1,781 fires in California, with 330 still active around the state. The fires have burned a total of 614,808 acres.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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THE LOCATION OF THE THERMOMETER HAS BEEN CORRECTED.
LAKE COUNTY – The National Weather Service in Sacramento issued a Special Weather Statement for Lake County and areas of Northern California that went into effect Monday, forecasting high temperatures in the upper 90s in Lake County.
However, they were wrong.
The high in Lakeport on Monday was 103, according to the thermometer at Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary on High Street. This writer's Subaru thermometer recorded a high of 106 degrees as she attempted not to melt upon entering her car after work.
The National Weather Service states that it could reach a high of 110 by Thursday – so now might be a good time to stock up on some ice and go swimming.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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The blazes are among more than 1,700 lightning-caused fires that began more than two weeks ago when a reported 8,000 lightning strikes hit the state.
The Soda Complex, located on the Mendocino National Forest's Upper Lake Ranger District in remote areas to the north and northwest of Lake Pillsbury, was 76-percent contained on Sunday, with 5,740 acres burned, officials reported.
Fighting the fire has cost an estimated $4.9 million to date, according to Forest Service spokesman Brian LaMoure.
Growth potential on the fire remains high but only two fires – the Mill, 890 acres and 45-percent contained, and the Monkey Rock, 1,060 acres at 15-percent containment – are still burning. Fire officials estimate the Mill will be contained on July 10, and the Monkey Rock on July 15.
The 7,484-acre Yolla Bolly Complex of fires – located 20 miles west of Paskenta in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness – reached 50-percent containment on Sunday, with burnout operations continuing, according to Forest Service spokesperson Mary Christensen.
Estimated containment on the fires has been moved up to July 30. Fire suppression costs are estimated at more than $1.2 million, Christensen reported.
In neighboring Mendocino County, a complex of lightning fires reached 45-percent containment on Sunday, having burned 46,800 acres. Forty-three of 127 original fires remain active, with more than 1,700 firefighters assigned to the complex.
Officials reported that numerous evacuation warnings remain in place around the county, including for the Rockport, Cummings and Leggett communities.
Fire suppression costs to date total $21.2 million for the Mendocino Lightning Complex, Cal Fire reported.
There has been one fatality, 27 injuries and two residences destroyed in Mendocino County, according to Cal Fire. A total of 335 residences remain threatened.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The event will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday, July 9. The courthouse is located at 255 N. Forbes St.
The following 18 individuals have been chosen to serve during the upcoming year.
Supervisorial District 1
Terry Bissonnette, Hidden Valley
Charles O’Neill-Jones, Lower Lake
Supervisorial District 2
Jesse O. Firestone Sr., Clearlake
Dave R. Johnson, Clearlake
Supervisorial District 3
Linda M. Alexander, Witter Springs (holdover from 2007-08 jury)
Joy K. Allred, Upper Lake
Richard P. Everts, Upper Lake (holdover from 2007-08 jury)
Loretta A. Krentz, Lucerne
Carolynn Manley, Lucerne
Supervisorial District 4
Virginia L. Cline, Lakeport (holdover from 2007-08 jury)
John G. Daniels, Lakeport
Kathleen H. Harrell, Lakeport (holdover from 2007-08 jury)
Phillip E. Myers, Lakeport
Lawrence Platz, Lakeport
Carol M. Vedder, Lakeport
Supervisorial District 5
Melissa Bentley, Cobb
Harold W. Dietrich, Loch Lomond
Steven Tellardin, Kelseyville
The 2007-08 Grand Jury's report is expected to be released later this month.
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City Engineer Scott Harter reports that the project limits will be on Third Street, directly east of Main Street to the east side of Park Street, and the parking lot adjacent to City Hall.
FEDCO Construction began mobilizing and performing preparatory work last week, according to Harter.
Construction is expected to last 11 weeks, during which Third Street will remain open with the exception of 12 days for removal and repaving operations.
Harter said all affected businesses – The Ink Spot, On the Waterfront and Park Place restaurant – will remain open during construction. Alternative vehicle access for businesses on the north side of Third Street and the Third Street boat ramp is via Fourth Street and the waterfront parking lot.
Alternate vehicle access to The Ink Spot is via Second Street along the alleyway between Main and Park Streets, according to Harter.
Questions may be directed to Harter at 263-5614, extension 11.
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LAKE COUNTY – July’s heat brings out some nasty critters in the night sky – specifically, a dragon and a scorpion.
Let’s start with the dragon, who is named Draco. Our star chart shows Draco to be a faint constellation that wraps itself around the little dipper (Ursa Minor).
In Greek mythology, Draco was a hundred-headed beast who was charged with guarding some golden apples. The superhero Hercules came along, put Draco to sleep with music, and stole the apples. Perhaps that is the origin of the saying “music soothes the savage beast.”
The brightest star in Draco is named Thuban. In 2500 BC, Thuban, not Polaris, was our north star. Why? Because the earth slowly wobbles as it turns – this wobble is called precession. Over time, this causes the position of celestial north to change. A diagram of how precession works is shown below.
From Draco in the north, we now turn to the south to view the glorious constellation, Scorpius the Scorpion.
You can barely see Scorpius on our star chart, but under Lake County skies, this constellation shines brilliantly in the south.
If you own a small telescope, there is a wealth of objects to be viewed in this constellation.
In Greek mythology, Scorpius was the creature that killed Orion, the mighty hunter. Orion rules the winter skies, while Scorpius lives in the summer skies so that the two are never together and so cannot fight one another.
The brightest star in Scorpius is Antares, a huge red supergiant. In last month’s column we showed how small our Sun is compared to the star Arcturus. The following diagram shows how much larger Antares is than Arcturus.
Aside from the dragon and the scorpion, our star chart shows a number of planets inhabit July night skies. Setting in the west are Saturn and Mars. Rising in the east is the solar system’s biggest planet, Jupiter. Pluto is also in the night sky, but you need a very large telescope to see it.
For more information about astronomy and local astronomy-related events, visit the Taylor Observatory website at www.taylorobservatory.org.
On July 26, starting at 8 p.m., the observatory will be open to the public. The topic for the evening is “Gems of the Night,” a presentation about the beautiful objects visible only through a telescope. There will also be a planetarium show and telescope viewing.
John Zimmerman has been an amateur astronomer for 50 years. He is a member of the Taylor Observatory staff, where, among his many duties, he helps create planetarium shows.
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