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The lights will be flashing red and all vehicles are required to stop for flashing red lights and may only proceed when it is clear.
The CHP reported that a Caltrans construction project is under way in the area.
Motorists should leave early to avoid becoming late if they plan to use this route.
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HIGH VALLEY – A small fire along High Valley Road near Clearlake Oaks has been contained.
Cal Fire reported that the quarter-acre fire began in a slash pile on US Forest Service property around 6:15 p.m.
No specific time of containment was given, but containment had been reached by the time Lake County News contacted Cal Fire just after 7:30 p.m.
The Forest Service has subsequently taken over command of the site, Cal Fire's Incident Command Center reported.
Cal Fire sent sent two engines, a dozer and a battalion chief, along with a helicopter to drop water on the fire and an air attack. The helicopter picked up water along the Lucerne shoreline.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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California Water Service Co. employees delivered notices to town residents Tuesday afternoon explaining that water quality test results have confirmed that boiling water is no longer necessary before drinking or cooking.
The boil water notice, Cal Water reported, had been necessary due to increased turbidity, which the company had attributed to recent rains.
The current water treatment plant in Lucerne couldn't adequately treat the water, according to Cal Water, which led to the water not meeting quality standards.
The company said it has plans to construct a new plant, with completion expected in 2008. “We do not expect similar issues to arise once the new treatment plant is on-line,” the Monday notice states.
Cal Water's latest notice apologizes to customers for the inconvenience associated with the boil water notice. “Customer health and safety is our highest priority and we will continue to work diligently to provide water that meets or surpasses state and federal water quality standards.”
Water users who have questions are urged to call Cal Water's Local District Manager Gay Guidotti, 274-6624, or the California Department of Public Health, 576-2145.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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KELSEYVILLE – A Lake County Parks and Recreation employee was startled Monday morning when two Mendocino County seniors emerged from a concrete and steel bathroom asking for help in finding their automobile.
County employee Jennifer Lyon explained that she was setting sprinklers near the Lakeside County Park baseball field around 7:15 a.m. Monday when two people approached her seeking assistance.
The pair, later identified as Russell and Sandra Troxler of Redwood Valley, had apparently spent the night in the ballfield bathroom, located several hundred yards from the park's boat ramp.
The two asked Lyon for a ride to town where they wanted to seek additional help in finding their missing vehicle, Lyon said.
Once downtown local California Highway Patrol and fire safety officials quickly determined that the two were confused and disorientated, said CHP Officer Craig Van Housen.
At about 10 a.m. authorities received a phone call from an individual launching a boat at the park, who saw a car antenna sticking up out of the water and an oxygen bottle floating in the area, according to the CHP Incident Logs. The car was found in what was estimated to be between 6 and 8 feet of water.
Emergency crews from Kelseyville Fire Department and divers from the North Shore Dive and Rescue Team advanced on the scene. It was quickly determined that the vehicle was a convertible with no apparent occupants.
Divers and fire and rescue personnel managed to remove the vehicle from the water by 11:15 a.m.
Upon closer inspection Van Housen speculated that the 2006 Sebring may have been running and the car appeared to have been in gear when it entered the water.
A number of the Troxler's personal belonging were found in the vehicle as well as a trunk full of fishing gear.
CHP Officer Adam Garcia said investigators believed the car went into the lake Sunday night or early Monday morning. Garcia said both of the Troxlers were very confused, and made statements about their car going into the “ocean.”
“We're still trying to figure it out,” Garcia said.
E-mail Harold LaBonte at
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As Lake County News first reported Monday, Farrington, 37, was injured in the collision in the Cow Mountain off-highway recreation area.
California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia reported Monday that the collision occurred at about 5 p.m. when Farrington, riding a 2006 Yamaha YZ450 dirt bike, collided with a four-wheel-drive Ford pickup on a blind curve. Information on the pickup's driver was not available.
Garcia explained that Farrington tried to avoid the accident but slid into the front left of the pickup.
On Monday Farrington told Lake County News that he and his uncle decided to take their dirt bikes out for a few hours Sunday.
They decided to head home, with Farrington leading the way down the hill; he estimated he was traveling between 25 and 30 miles per hour. The ground, he said, was still wet following recent rains.
As they made their way around a blind curve, Farrington said he saw the Ford F-150 pickup – going between 10 and 15 miles per hour – coming around the corner in the middle of the road.
Farrington said he hit the brakes, which locked up on the wet ground and caused the bike to accelerate into the oncoming truck.
“I hit them head on,” said Farrington.
His body hit the truck's left front fender and, along with his bike, was thrown into the dirt embankment.
The pickup driver took Farrington down the hill, which he estimated took a half hour, as his uncle followed in another vehicle. From there, Farrington – nearly in shock – was driven to Sutter Lakeside's emergency room, arriving at about 5:30 p.m.
Farrington said he spent about five hours at the hospital, undergoing x-rays and examinations. He suffered a fractured and dislocated right shoulder, and also suffered injuries to his left wrist, left hip, pelvis, right femur and right hand.
X-rays showed that his hip and pelvis aren't broken but Farrington said he can barely walk and is in a lot of pain.
Fortunately, Farrington said he was wearing full riding gear, including a full face helmet and body protection. Without the helmet, Farrington said he's sure he would have died, as there was a large chunk taken out of the back of the helmet.
“The doctor and CHP officer said I was really lucky,” he said.
Farrington added that he feels he was blessed because he was not more critically hurt in the accident, which he said was the “wrong place, wrong time for both of us.”
Still in a lot of pain and bedridden, Farrington said he isn't going to be moving around much for a little while.
“I'm obviously not going to be at the board meeting,” he added, which is scheduled for today.
Farrington said he'll be seeing an orthopedic surgeon soon to get a sense of the extent of his other injuries.
Garcia reported that the investigation is still in progress, led by CHP Officer Dallas Richey.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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Judge Arthur Mann sentenced Edward James Munoz, 27, to life without the possibility of parole on Monday afternoon, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.
On June 27 a jury convicted Munoz of the brutal murder of Leah Leister in March 2002.
Munoz also was convicted of a special gang enhancement, said Hinchcliff. As Lake County News previously reported, Munoz originally told investigators he carried out Leister's murder on the orders of Norteno gang leaders in Pelican Bay State Prison, although he later changed his story.
Because of that gang enhancement, the mandatory sentence was elevated from 25 years to life to life without the possibility of parole, Hinchcliff said.
“Special circumstances make it a capital crime, which can either be the death penalty or life without parole, and we didn't seek the death penalty,” Hinchcliff explained.
In a previous interview, Hinchcliff said that the District Attorney's Office didn't believe the case would meet the necessary statutory guidelines for a death penalty case, which usually requires multiple homicides, the murder of a peace officer or an extensive previous criminal record.
Hinchcliff said George Boisseau, the Santa Rosa attorney defending Munoz, has filed a notice that he is planning to appeal the conviction. That's typical in every homicide case, said Hinchcliff.
Munoz – who has been housed in the Lake County Jail for nearly five and a half years, a stay which Hinchcliff estimated is the longest in the jail's history – will next be transported to San Quentin State Prison. There, Hinchcliff said prison officials will evaluate Munoz and decide where in the prison system to permanently house him.
Hinchcliff, who has worked on the case since its beginnings in 2002, said he's relieved that's it's finally over.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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