How to resolve AdBlock issue? USDA Forest Service and Cal Fire renew statewide wildfire response agreement
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Pacific Southwest Region and Cal Fire have renewed the California Fire Master Agreement — extending a long-standing framework for mutual wildfire response and cooperative risk-reduction work across California for the next five years.
The agreement was signed Dec. 12 by Pacific Southwest interim Regional Forester Jacque Buchanan and Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler.
It continues a multi-agency approach that allows firefighters to respond across jurisdictional boundaries and share personnel, equipment and resources during wildfire emergencies.
“This complex operating environment within California and the challenges we face year-round require this collaborative approach, and we’re committed to partnering and working together both to prepare for and respond to wildfires,” said Jaime Gamboa, fire director for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region.
Under the agreement, Forest Service and Cal Fire firefighters operate side by side on wildfires and work together on hazardous fuels reduction projects designed to lower future wildfire risk.
The agreement also streamlines training, dispatching and the sharing of firefighting staff, facilities and equipment, including aerial resources such as air tankers and helicopters.
The agreement prioritizes sending the closest available firefighting resources to a wildfire — regardless of jurisdiction — to better protect lives, property and natural resources.
While focused on wildland fire response, the agreement can also be used during declared disasters to support broader emergency operations.
Forest Service firefighters responded to more than 8,000 wildfires in the Pacific Southwest Region this year, with more than 96% of fires contained during the first operational period.
Officials credit the mutual aid system established through agreements like this one as a key factor in rapid initial attack and successful suppression.
The Forest Service manages 18 national forests in the Pacific Southwest Region, encompassing over 20 million acres across California, and assists landowners in California, Hawaii and U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands. National forests supply 60% of the water in California and form the watershed of most major aqueducts and more than 2,400 reservoirs throughout the state.
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County set to explore new energy options, forms ad hoc committee
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — At its first meeting of the new year, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday resumed energy talks left over from last year’s stalled attempt to explore alternative power options.
The board discussed plans to explore alternative energy solutions for Lake County and voted to form an ad hoc committee focused on energy policy development.
While the discussion did not outline concrete paths, it marked the start of a new round of exploration following the county’s unsuccessful negotiations for more than six months last year with Sonoma Clean Power, a service provider of the community-based electricity procurement program called Community Choice Aggregation, or CCA.
Sonoma Clean Power, or SCP, was the only option local jurisdictions seriously considered in 2025. The proposal became mired in uncertainty and controversy leading up to October, when the county and cities ultimately declined to sign the agreement.
In the meantime, the board directed staff to explore other options and providers.
In late October, Supervisor Bruno Sabatier reflected on the lack of an earlier search for additional options. “I should have asked for that to happen when we agreed to reach out to Sonoma Clean Power,” he said in a phone call with Lake County News.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Deputy County Administrative Officer Benjamin Rickelman told the board that staff have “some engagement with other CCAs.”
Rickelman reported that staff have scheduled meetings with Marin Clean Energy, which operates in several counties including Napa; Valley Clean Energy, which operates in Yolo County; and that they are awaiting a response from Pioneer Energy, which Glenn County plans to join in 2027.
Sabatier said Supervisor Helen Owen and he also have met multiple times with some developers and interested parties.
“I think this is a beginning — phase one — because yes, we need to get our feet on the ground and we need to get some guidance created. ” Sabatier said. “But in the long run, we have to involve the tribes and the cities. We are not going to win the energy game or market here in Lake County if we think just the county should do it for everyone else.”
The lack of tribal engagement was also a major point of controversy over the SCP proposal last year. The three local governments — the Board of Supervisors, along with the Lakeport and Clearlake City Councils — also only jointly met for the first time at the end of September, just two days before the Clearlake City Council voted on the matter, which ended in a 3-2 vote against joining SCP.
Sabatier suggested that joint discussions should happen earlier.
“We need to do that way ahead of time with the cities and the tribes for whatever we're moving towards,” he said. “I really believe we need to start internally and grow from there, but not move into a project and share that project at the last moment like I feel like we were doing with the choice aggregate that was provided earlier or later last year.”
Rickelman said staff are also “looking through questions from the community regarding geothermal and just broader energy policy with the county.”
“There's a lot of technical questions, but there's also a difficult developmental pathway for energy projects with California's rather — I would say — opaque but demanding entitlement process,” he said.
One of the major controversies surrounding the SCP proposal involved Lake County’s mandatory participation in the company’s geothermal zone efforts, which seek to develop geothermal projects in the future.
Critics raised concerns over the company’s support for Assembly Bill 531, which would allow the state to bypass local authority in geothermal development.
The energy development landscape extends beyond geothermal. Rickelman said the geological hydrogen company Koloma will begin reaching out to landowners in Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma counties on Wednesday regarding “subsurface imaging,” a process that maps deep underground structures to identify potential hydrogen reservoirs.
All supervisors agreed on forming an ad hoc committee to lead energy policy development for the county. Supervisors Jessica Pyska, Owen and Sabatier expressed interest in serving on it.
The Brown Act does not explicitly limit the participation to only two supervisors. But for the committee to remain “ad hoc” and not be subject to public meeting requirements, it must include less than a quorum — meaning no more than two supervisors may serve on it.
Sabatier, while agreeing to withdraw, raised a concern regarding the collaboration that had already taken place.
"I'm okay with backing down, but I just think that there's been some collaboration already between myself and Supervisor Owen with some of the things that were discussed here already,” he said. “Again, willing to jump off. But there are some conversations that have gone pretty deep."
His remarks appeared to caution that swapping members may trigger a “serial meeting” violation by effectively involving three supervisors in the process.
“I think there's ways to remedy that, so we don't have Brown Act violations going forward,” Pyska said.
Supervisor Brad Rasmussen agreed. There was no further discussion on this matter. With Sabatier withdrawing, Pyska and Owen were voted to participate in the committee.
“It’s bigger than geothermal, although I do have a new plant coming back online in my district,” said District 5 Supervisor Pyska, referencing Mayacama Geothermal LLC’s project to bring the former Bottle Rock geothermal plant on High Valley Road back into operation. “This includes biomass, this includes microgriding, this includes hydrogen. This includes, you know, all of our energy policy.”
“We have resources, and I wanted our community, our people here in Lake County, to be able to benefit from those resources,” said Owen.
Editor’s note: Clarifications have been made in this article regarding the number of supervisors on the ad hoc committee and Brown Act requirements.
Email staff reporter Lingzi Chen at
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Kelseyville Middle School hosts 36th annual John Berry’s Road to Crescent City Basketball Tournament
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. — Kelseyville is proud to welcome teams, families and fans for the 36th Annual John Berry’s Road to Crescent City Junior High Basketball Tournament taking place Friday, Jan. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 10.
This cherished tradition brings together eighth grade boys A team basketball programs from across Northern California for a weekend filled with competition, sportsmanship and community pride.
More than just a tournament, the John Berry Road to Crescent City event has become a hallmark of the Kelseyville basketball program and a meaningful gathering for the community.
Each year it brings visitors to the area while helping raise vital funds that support the entire local basketball program.
The tournament also serves as a qualifying event for the Crescent City Jaycees Basketball Tournament, with the Kelseyville champion earning an automatic berth into the March 6 to 7 championship.
Members of the Crescent City Jaycees Selection Committee are expected to attend and last year, seven of the eight participating teams advanced to the Jaycees tournament.
Games will tip off Friday evening at the Kelseyville Elementary MUR Building and continue Saturday at Kelseyville High School.
Awards will be presented immediately following the seventh-place consolation third place and championship games, celebrating the hard work, dedication, and teamwork of student athletes.
One of the most anticipated moments of the tournament, the Hoop Shoot Contest, will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at Kelseyville High School, showcasing one selected player from each team.
Fans can enjoy the full tournament experience with Pogo’s Pizza and a fully stocked snack shack available throughout the weekend.
Community members, families and basketball supporters are encouraged to come out, cheer loudly, and help make this year’s tournament another memorable chapter in Kelseyville’s proud basketball tradition.
Organizers said the 36th annual John Berry’s Road to Crescent City Tournament promises great basketball, great food and an even greater sense of community.
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Sonoma County earthquake felt in Lake County
NORTH COAST, Calif. — A midnight earthquake in northern Sonoma County was felt by residents in several areas of Lake County early Thursday.
The United States Geological Survey said the 4.2-magnitude quake occurred just after midnight Thursday morning.
Its epicenter was located 7 miles east northeast of Cloverdale at a depth of just under a mile and a half, the US Geological Survey reported.
On his Facebook page, State Sen. Mike McGuire called it a “pretty good shaker” felt in northern Sonoma County as well as western Lake County.
“No early reports of damage or injuries,” McGuire said.
As of 1 a.m. Thursday, 172 shake reports had been submitted to the US Geological Survey from 33 zip codes.
In Lake County, reports came from Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Lakeport, Middletown and Nice.
That 4.2-magnitude quake was followed by less than a minute by a 2.7-magnitude just to the north, US Geological Survey records showed.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
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West Coast Health Alliance recommends American Academy of Pediatrics Vaccine schedule
The West Coast Health Alliance continues to recommend vaccination in alignment with the American Academy of Pediatrics Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.
On Jan. 5, 2026, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed a decision memorandum to revise the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule and significantly reduce the number of vaccinations routinely recommended for all U.S. children.
This decision did not follow established procedure for vaccine policy recommendations and threatens an increase in vaccine-preventable diseases in children nationwide.
Children getting sick from the diseases prevented by recommended immunizations leads to missed school for children, missed work for parents, and even hospitalization and death in some children.
The current American Academy of Pediatrics Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule is based on established vaccine safety and effectiveness evidence.
AAP recommendations consider:
• When children are most vulnerable to diseases;
• When vaccines work best with children’s immune systems;
• The safety of vaccinations being recommended;
• The risk of diseases in the United States;
• Our current access to health care and immunizations; and
• Cost effectiveness of implementing national recommendations for a particular vaccination.
While the first three concerns are similar across countries, the last three concerns may differ considerably between countries.
The AAP recommended immunization schedule serves as a starting point for discussions between families and their providers, as it always has.
Officials said parents should continue to make informed decisions about the vaccines that their children receive based on discussions with their child’s health care provider.
Prior to 2025, AAP had endorsed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations, based on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which followed a rigorous review of data on risk of disease and safety of vaccination in the United States.
Changes in the newly released recommended immunization schedule are not based on changes in vaccine safety and effectiveness data, officials said.
The changes were based on a comparison of the number of routine vaccinations recommended in the United States versus select other countries. It did not consider the different conditions in each country. These changes were also not vetted by experts from medical and public health organizations, health care providers, or the public before they were published.
“We do not expect these changes to affect insurance coverage for vaccines for this plan year,” the alliance reported. “All child and adolescent immunizations recommended as of December 31, 2025 will remain available and covered by public and private insurers; however the changes create confusion and will put more children at risk of preventable diseases.
The West Coast Health Alliance said it will continue to review available vaccine science and ensure continued access to recommended vaccines.
Each state is examining the impact of these federal changes on vaccine access in their respective states.
The West Coast Health Alliance and American Academy of Pediatrics continue to support these longstanding recommendations including informed parental decisions for the best protection of their children.
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