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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The fire was reported just before 11:30 p.m. Monday, according to Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Charlie Diner.
He said the fire was located on the park grounds off of Lakeview Way near the white bridge.
A total of about 30 firefighters from Lake County Fire Protection and Cal Fire responded, said Diener, along with three engines and a water tender from the district and two Cal Fire engines.
The fire was located in tules, said Diener. It burned about seven acres but didn't come near any buildings.
“It was a pretty difficult fire,” said Diener. “It took us a good couple of hours.”
The reason for the difficulty was that they couldn't get engines very close, so they had to do an extensive hose lay to fight the blaze.
The engines and firefighters returned to quarters just after 3 a.m., Diener said.
Diener said an illegal camp fire is believed to be the cause.
Officials found some teenagers in the area who they spoke to about the fire, said Diener. While they don't believe those teens were responsible, they were cited by a state park ranger for another illegal campfire and littering in the park.
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NICE – A garage was destroyed and a home damaged Monday when a controlled burn that appeared to be extinguished caught the buildings on fire.
The fire was reported shortly before 1:30 p.m. at 1757 E. Highway 20, near Red Hills Lane, according to Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins.
Robbins said a woman had been doing a controlled burn of some leaves and thought it had smoldered down to nothing, so she walked out to get her mail and when she came back found her single-car garage was on fire.
The building was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived and by that point it had started to burn the nearby doublewide mobile, said Robbins.
Radio reports indicated there may have been some explosions within the garage due to gas cans.
While firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the garage fire, fighting to save the house took longer, Robbins explained.
The mobile had wood siding and a second roof. Robbins said the fire got up between the two roofs, which meant firefighters had to use chainsaws to cut holes in the outer roof.
It took 16 firefighters, three engines – one each from Northshore Fire's Lucerne, Nice and Upper Lake stations – and a water tender from Upper Lake about two hours to take care of the fires and the subsequent mop up, said Robbins. At least one Lakeport firefighter also was on scene.
An ambulance from the Lucerne station also was on hand, but Robbins said no one was hurt.
Robbins estimated the fire caused $30,000 in damage.
While the garage was a complete loss, the doublewide mobile was saved, said Robbins. “It will take some repairs.”
Harold LaBonte contributed to this report.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reported Monday that Kenneth High, 56, and Tammie High, 46, were pulled over for a traffic violation on North Highway 1 in Fort Bragg just before 10:30 p.m. Friday, April 3.
When they contacted Kenneth High, the deputies observed marijuana and a digital scale inside the vehicle and a false registration tab affixed to the rear license plate. Kenneth High subsequently was arrested for the false registration tab.
Following his arrest the deputies searched the car and found approximately 5.0 grams of methamphetamine in High's pocket, according to the Monday report.
Tammie High, who was riding as a passenger in the vehicle, also was arrested for the false registration tab and for being under the influence of a controlled substance, sheriff's officials reported.
The Highs were transported to the Mendocino County Jail where they were booked and lodged with bail set at $10,000.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
MIDDLETOWN – A local school has received state recognition for excellence in education.
For the fourth time, Middletown Middle School has been named a California Distinguished School. The annual award recognizes some of the state's most exemplary public schools.
On April 1 State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell called Middletown Middle School's principal, Daniel Morgan, to notify him of the award and to offer his congratulations.
The school, which has 270 students, previously won the award in 2001, 1994 and 1992, according to records of the award. It also has received a National Blue Ribbon nomination, according to the Middletown Unified School District Web site.
Middletown Middle School is among 261 middle and high schools named California Distinguished Schools this year, O'Connell said.
The selected middle and high schools represent about 10.9 percent of California's nearly 2,400 middle and high schools, according to O'Connell's office. Of those schools, only 341 schools met the eligibility criteria based on their student achievement and were chosen from 170 school districts in 46 counties.
An awards ceremony honoring the Distinguished Schools will be held Friday, May 29, at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.
“California Distinguished Schools must meet the challenge of providing all their students with a rigorous education and to fully prepare today's students for success in postsecondary education or the workforce,” O'Connell said in a statement. “In an increasingly competitive global economy, it is important that the academic success of all of today's students is directly linked to the effectiveness, competitiveness, and resiliency of our not-too-distant future workforce.”
O'Connell said the schools honored with the award “have shown they are able to increase the achievement of all their students and have provided evidence that they are closing the achievement gaps that, unfortunately, exist at many schools.”
He added, “The Distinguished Schools program always identified schools that are leaders in academic achievement. It now also recognizes schools that are leaders in helping all students succeed, and highlights the best practices that are effective in closing the gap.”
Other local schools that have received the honor since the awards were first given out in 1986 include Cobb Mountain Elementary (2006), Middletown High School (2003 and 1992), Riviera Elementary School (1997), Lucerne Elementary School (1997), Kelseyville High School (1996) and Gard Street Elementary School (1986).
This year, the selection process required schools to provide an in-depth description of two “signature” practices implemented at the schools that are replicable, and directly related to the success of their students, the Department of Education reported.
During an intensive site visitation by a trained team of external educators, additional evidence about the effectiveness of the signature practices was gathered and analyzed.
Information about these successful signature practices will be shared through the California Department of Education Web site, www.cde.ca.gov, and other venues including an upcoming Web tool for educators called the Brokers of Expertise to become operational later this year.
