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In recent days, smoke pouring into Lake County's air basin has led some county residents to conclude that there must be new fires nearby.
But county Deputy Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart reported that the smoke is coming from the Soda Complex on the Mendocino National Forest and the Lime Complex, with west to northeast winds bringing the smoke here.
The Soda Complex of four fires has burned nearly 8,652 acres and is 95-percent contained, according to the US Forest Service. The Lime complex, composed of 92 fires that includes those on the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness, is spread across several wilderness areas and National Forests in Northern California, with 116,488 acres burned.
Using the Federal Air Quality Index for particulate matter, Gearhart said Lake County’s air quality is expected to be in the moderate range for a 24-hour average.
Although the 24 hour average may be moderate trending to unhealthy, mid-day to early evening conditions have been in the unhealthy for sensitive groups to unhealthy range, with similar conditions expected Friday, Gearhart said.
On July 10, air quality also was in the unhealthy for sensitive groups range, according to statistics Gearhart provided.
Smoky conditions can cause issues for everyone, but can be particularly hazardous for young children, the elderly, individuals with heart conditions or chronic lung disease such as asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory conditions.
Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait advises area residents to be cautious.
“Variable weather conditions and ongoing fire activity may result in localized areas of reduced air quality, which could pose health risks to people with underlying health conditions,” she said. “Since we can’t always predict when and where ‘pockets’ of poorer air quality may occur, it is prudent to be careful until conditions stabilize.”
Individuals with asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and other lung or heart diseases should carefully adhere to their medical treatment plans and maintain at least a five-day supply of supply of prescribed medications. They should limit outdoor activity and unnecessary physical exertion. Drinking plenty of water to avoid drying of the airways is generally recommended, unless restricted for medical reasons.
Dust masks are not protective against the most harmful pollutants caused by wildfire smoke that drifts to nearby areas, health officials reported. Masks are useful in filtering out the larger particles and ash that are encountered in burn areas and should be considered when recovering property or cleaning areas that have burned.
Air purifying respirators, such as N-95 filtering face pieces, may be effective in reducing harmful particulate matter, but also increase the work of breathing, can lead to physiologic stress, and are not recommended for the general public in Lake County. Their use should be limited to individual circumstances requiring additional protection in personnel trained and familiar with the proper fitting and use of these devices.
Mechanical air filtering units with HEPA filters, can be useful, according to health officials. It is important that the size and the air flow of the unit be matched to the indoor space it is intended to treat. There are a variety of other devices marketed to purify air that should be avoided, as they might be ineffective under wildfire circumstances and some can actually worsen the air quality by producing ozone.
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LAKE COUNTY – A dog that was hit by a semi and left without vet care for two days until her seizure by an animal control officer is preparing to start rehabilitation, while another dog taken into protective custody was euthanized due to his age and condition.
Animal Care and Control Director Denise Johnson said that “Whiskey,” a 6-month-old female pit bull taken from a Lucerne home by Officer Eric Wood on June 27, is on the mend after her painful ordeal.
However, a 10-year-old German shepherd dubbed “Luke” – taken into county custody by Wood earlier this month – had to be euthanized, Johnson said.
Johnson said Whiskey is getting ready for rehabilitation. She's spent the last month in the care of Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic in Lakeport.
Whiskey had been hit by a semi truck and left to cry in pain, with no medical care, in her owners' backyard in Lucerne for two days, officials reported.
The dog's back right left has some nerve damage; although she can walk and put pressure on it, she drags the paw, so her leg is in a split to stop the paw from dragging, said Johnson.
Johnson said the next six weeks will be very important in Whiskey's recovery, and will determine if she'll regain use of the leg or if it will need to be amputated.
Johnson said Whiskey is in good spirits, and appears determined to run and jump again. But much of how she recovers will hinge on finding her the right foster home, which hasn't happened so far. The dog will require detailed care for the next eight weeks.
Whiskey's former owners – Paul Westergren, 43, and Carrie Malsack, both of Lucerne – are facing charges of animal cruelty and failure to provide veterinary care, the latter of which is a misdemeanor, said Johnson.
Johnson said Gary Bazzano of Middletown, Luke's former owner, is facing similar charges because he left the dog without vet care for two weeks. The dog had been unable to walk, and also had been found without food or water.
The older German Shepherd was euthanized at Clearlake Veterinary Clinic on July 16 after it was determined his age and weight – he was at 120 pounds – made it impossible for rehabilitation, said Johnson.
“The most humane thing to do was to put him down,” Johnson said. “It was a very emotional day at Clearlake Vet and Animal Care and Control. It really is a shame that it had to come to this.”
In recent weeks more animal cruelty cases have appeared to come to the surface, Johnson said. She said in just under two weeks, out of five animal cruelty reports, three were validated.
“The number of reports are usually three to five per week but they aren't usually valid,” she said.
Most of the time the reports come from a disgruntled individual – a neighbor or relative – or arise from issues with spouses, but usually it turns out that the animals are OK, said Johnson.
In other cases, she said the issues aren't affecting the animal's health and the owner is willing to change the situation, so Animal Care and Control works with them and checks back to make sure the changes have been made.
Lately, however, the reports are more often valid and the cases are extreme, said Johnson, so Animal Care and Control is trying to bring the problem to the attention of the public.
That's important to do, she said, because most times animal abuse leads to, or is happening hand-in-hand with, abuse of children, spouses or the elderly.
“So if people see animal abuse and report it we can step in and, if needed, we can call for outside agency assistance to handle the human issues,” she said.
To report animal abuse call Lake County Animal Care and Control, 263-0278.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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The county's preliminary June 2008 unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, up slightly from the revised May rate of 9.2 percent and 1.7 percent above the year-ago, June 2007 rate of 7.8 percent, according to Dennis Mullins of the Employment Development Department's Eureka office.
At 9.5 percent, Lake ranked 44th among the State’s 58 counties, according to Mullins, which records show put it among the county's lowest rankings over the past few years.
Some surrounding county rates included 11.1 percent for Colusa, 6.4 percent for Mendocino and 5.6 percent for Sonoma. Mullins said Marin had the lowest rate in the state at 4.6 percent and Imperial County had the highest with 22.6 percent.
The comparable California and U.S. rates were 7.0 and 5.7 percent respectively, he added.
Mullins said total industry employment increased 150 (1.0 percent) between June 2007 and June 2008 ending the year-over period with 15,660 jobs.
Year-over job growth occurred in manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; private educational and health services; other services; and government, Mullins reported.
At the same time, Mullins said year-over job losses occurred in farm; natural resources, mining and construction; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality.
Industry sectors with no change over the year included information and financial activities, Mullins said.
Government led industry gainers adding 130 jobs each over the year and private educational and health services was up 70. Mullins said manufacturing and trade, transportation, and utilities each gained 30 and other services increased 10 jobs for the period.
Professional and business services led decliners dropping 60 jobs, and the natural resources, mining and construction category was down 30, according to Mullins. Leisure and hospitality dropped 20 and farm shed 10. Seven industry sectors gained jobs or held steady over the year, and four declined.
For those filing unemployment insurance benefits, Mullins said the Employment Development Department is encouraging them to do so online at www.edd.ca.gov. On-line claim filing is the fastest, most convenient way to apply for unemployment benefits, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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The Soda Complex is located to the north and northwest of Lake Pillsbury on the Mendocino National Forest's Upper Lake Ranger District. It was sparked by a dry lightning storm June 21.
Forest Services spokesman Marc Peebles said the lifting of the evacuation order became effective as of 6 p.m. Wednesday. The order had been for seven residences located in Lake and Mendocino counties between Deadmans Flat and Sunset Gap near the fire's east flank.
Peebles said National Forest road 20N04 and areas around the immediate fire area are open to residents but remain closed to the general public due to the large amount of fire equipment traveling in and out of the area. Residents returning to the area are advised to use caution when driving.
Incident Commander Dave Fiorella of the US Forest Service's Southern California Incident Management Team No. 3 – headquartered at Upper Lake High School – thanked the residents for their patience and understanding during the evacuation period, which he called “a very stressful and inconvenient event.”
Overall the Soda Complex grew to 8,652 acres and stayed at 90-percent containment, said Peebles.
The last active fire of the complex – and its largest – is the Mill fire, which remained at 85-percent containment Wednesday but grew slightly, reaching 3,043 acres, Peebles reported. The fire had approximately 860 personnel assigned to it, down 30 from the previous day.
Firefighters continued aggressively mopping up fire areas and dealing with debris that rolled out of the fire line, Peebles reported. Crews are holding operations along steep terrain in the southeast portion of the fire.
Air patrols of the fire areas also are continuing, according to Peebles, as are water drops. A suppression rehabilitation group has been established for the complex and will begin work on the fireline.
Peebles reported the fire is expected to be contained on Saturday.
Forest Services spokesperson Phebe Brown reported that the Vinegar Fire, part of the Lime Complex, has now burned 13,111 acres on the Mendocino National Forest and is 30-percent contained.
Brown said the Vinegar Fire and the 20,894-acre Yellow Fire in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness are burning toward each other.
Smoke from area fires caused alarm for some county residents, as Lake County News reported in a midday update on Wednesday.
Cal Fire reported receiving thousands of calls from concerned Lake and Sonoma County residents, worried that a new fire might be the cause of the smoke. However, air reconnaissance found no new fires.
Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Bob Reynolds reported Wednesday that the fires on the National Forests are primarily responsible for the smoke and degraded air quality over the county.
West to northwest winds are bringing the smoke into the county's air basin, he said, where air quality conditions are expected to remain unchanged through Thursday. Even with the smoke, air quality is expected to remain in the good to moderate range.
Reynolds said he was in Mendocino County Wednesday morning, where the air was smoky around Boonville and the northern Ukiah Valley. He said areas of the northern Sacramento Valley were experiencing bad air quality as well.
For more information about the forest fires visit Forest Service Web site at www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino or www.inciweb.org. For information about other fires around the state, visit www.cdf.ca.gov.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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