LAKEPORT, Calif. – Five and a half months after the Sulphur fire broke out, the Board of Supervisors has terminated the ongoing local emergency for the incident.

The Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 8 near Clearlake Oaks, quickly spread to Clearlake, where it did most of its damage. It burned approximately 2,207 acres and more than 160 structures.

Then-Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait issued a proclamation of a local health emergency, which was ratified by the Board of Supervisors and regularly updated until it was finally terminated unanimously last Tuesday by the board, at the request of county Health Services staff.

Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy told the board that the cleanup has been completed and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the agency overseeing Lake County’s cleanup, has been gone for several weeks.

Lake County Environmental Health Director Jesse Kang told the board that all the properties that signed up for debris removal with the Army Corps have been completed, and the Army Corps has given the county a letter saying its work is completed, debris is removed and soil testing is done.

Kang said the owners of 14 properties opted to do private cleanup. Of those, he said all have been cleaned, but at the time of the board meeting eight were pending soil testing results.

Now that the Lake County Environmental Health Division and Army Corps of Engineers have confirmed that the cleanup steps listed on the signs have been completed, and with the board terminating the proclamation of a local health emergency, the county reported that property owners may choose to remove the checklist signs originally posted by the Army Corps of Engineers.

For more information regarding the checklist signs please call Lake County Health Services, Environmental Health Division at 707-263-1164.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.