NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Lake County man was arrested for a violent assault at the Graton Resort and Casino Saturday night.

Morgan Lewis Jr., 44, was taken into custody in connection to the incident, according to Sgt. Brandon Cutting of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Cutting said that at 11:30 p.m. Saturday deputies responded to the casino for a fight. When deputies arrived the fight had concluded but during the course of the investigation the deputies determined Lewis had been in an argument with several men when their SUV’s door struck his truck.

During that argument, Lewis’ girlfriend was pushed to the ground and Lewis was punched in the face by the men from the SUV, Cutting said. Neither Lewis nor his girlfriend requested prosecution for the assault as they were not sure exactly which person had assaulted them.

At the end of the investigation, nobody was arrested and the deputies left the casino parking lot, Cutting said.

Within 10 minutes deputies were called back to the casino regarding another altercation, according to Cutting.

When the deputies arrived they learned that Lewis saw one of the subjects he believed to have been involved in some portion of the earlier fight Cutting said.

Cutting said Lewis approached the man and shoved him backwards, causing the man to fall, hitting his head on the concrete sidewalk. The fall left the man unresponsive and unconscious.

An ambulance crew responded and transported the victim to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The victim, a 57-year-old Santa Rosa man, remained in the intensive care unit in critical condition on Monday, Cutting said.

Based on the felony assault with life-threatening injuries, sheriff’s detectives from the Violent Crimes Unit responded and ultimately arrested and booked Lewis into the Sonoma County Jail for felony assault causing great bodily injury, Cutting said.

Cutting said Lewis has since been released after posting a $35,000 bail bond.

If anyone witnessed one of these incidents at the Graton Casino Saturday night, they are encouraged to contact Det. Diehm at 707-565-2185.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In response to financial concerns, the Board of Supervisors will consider the possibility of consolidating two county financial offices and also will discuss continuing ongoing emergency proclamations for fires and the atmospheric river storm of 2017.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The meeting can be watched live on Channel 8 and online at https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx . Accompanying board documents, the agenda and archived board meeting videos also are available at that link.

In an untimed item, the board will discuss a proposal from Board Chair Jim Steele regarding the consolidation of the auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector’s offices.

Noting that the Boards of Supervisors of several counties currently are allowed under California Government Code to consolidate their auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector’s offices, Steele’s written report to the board explains that he wants to discuss with the board the possibility of requesting state legislators take the necessary steps to add Lake County to the group of counties having the option for consolidating those financial offices.

At 10 a.m., the board will discuss a request from Lake Transit Authority regarding an update on the location plan study for a proposed new Lake Transit Hub on county-owned property in Clearlake.

In other business, in items timed for 9:10 a.m. to 9:14 a.m., the board will consider continuing proclamations of local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex Pawnee, Sulphur and Clayton fires, and the atmospheric river storm.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

6.1: Adopt proclamation declaring Sept. 28 as Native American Day in Lake County.

6.2: Approve Minutes of the Board of Supervisors meetings held Aug. 21 and Aug. 28.

6.3: Adopt resolution fixing tax rates for local agencies, general obligation bonds and other voter approved indebtedness for Fiscal Year 2018-1.

6.4: Adopt resolution authorizing the county to participate in the one-time homeless mentally ill outreach and treatment funding opportunity available as a result of SB840 (Chapter 29, Statutes of 2018).

6.5: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Frank SmithWaters for patient rights advocacy for FY 2018-19 for a contract maximum of $45,000, and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

6.6: (a) Waive the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; (b) approve the agreement between county of Lake and Kings View Corp. for professional consulting services for Fiscal Year 2018-19 for a contract maximum amount of $76,740 and to authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

6.7: Approve plans and specifications for the Lower Lake Maintenance Facility Project, Bid No. 18-10; and authorize the Public Services director/assistant purchasing agent to advertise for bids.

6.8: Approve amendment one to the agreement for engineering services for replacement of Clover Creek Bridge at First Street (14C-0015) in Lake County with Quincy Engineering Inc., in the amount not to exceed $420,907.51 (an increase of $58,978.41) and authorize the Chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

7.1, 9 a.m.: THERE WILL BE A REQUEST TO CONTINUE THIS ITEM TO SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 at 10:15 A.M. - PUBLIC HEARING - Consideration of the final recommended budget for fiscal year 2018/2019 for the county of Lake and Special Districts Governed by the Board of Supervisors.

7.3, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation declaring September 28, 2018, as Native American Day in Lake County.

7.4, 9:08 a.m.: Swearing-in of newly appointed Correctional Officer Amanda Moore.

7.5 9:10 A.M. - (a) Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire incident (River and Ranch fires); and (b) update and discussion on the Mendocino Complex - River and Ranch fires response and recovery.

7.6, 9:11 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee fire incident.

7.7, 9:12 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the Sulphur fire incident.

7.8, 9:13 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to Clayton fire.

7.9, 9:14 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local emergency due to the atmospheric river storm.

7.10, 9:30 a.m.: THERE WILL BE A REQUEST TO CONTINUE THIS ITEM TO OCTOBER 23, 2018 at 10 A.M. (Continued from Aug. 21 and Aug. 7). Public hearing - consideration of resolution declaring the results of the majority protest proceedings and establishing the Lake County Tourism Improvement District “resolution of formation.”

7.11, 9:45 a.m.: Continued from Aug. 21, discussion and consideration of draft for right to geothermal exploration and development ordinance.

7.12, 10 a.m.: Discussion and consideration of Lake Transit Hub location plan study update.

UNTIMED ITEMS

8.2:: (a) Discussion of California Government Code Section 24304.2 enabling selected counties to consolidate, by ordinance, the two elected offices of Auditor-Controller (A-C) and T-TC into one elected office, Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector (A-C-T-TC), and possible request that legislation be drafted allowing Lake County said option; and (b) discussion of possible amendment to Treasurer-Tax Collector (T-TC) minimum education requirements by ordinance.

8.3: Consideration of permanent overnight vehicle use for District Attorney’s Office investigators.

CLOSED SESSION

9.1: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code Sec. 54956.9(d)(2)(e)(3): California River Watch.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council is set to get an update from Sutter Lakeside Hospital and consider awarding a construction project.

The council will meet for a closed session at 5:15 p.m. regarding negotiations for property located at 910 Bevins St. and 902 Bevins Court before the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

Among the items on the agenda is a presentation by Sutter Lakeside Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Dan Peterson, who will offer an update on the hospital and its response to the wildfires.

Under council business, Police Chief Brad Rasmussen will present the 2018 police after action report on the Independence Day fireworks operations.

Public Works Director Doug Grider will take to the council a construction contract with Granite Construction Co. for the Lakeshore Blvd Roadway Repair Project.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – are ordinances; minutes of the council’s special meeting of Aug. 29 and regular meeting on Sept. 4; confirmation of the continuing existence of a local emergency in the city of Lakeport; approval of the first reading of the proposed Ordinance amending Sections 3.05.011 and 3.05.013 of Chapter 3.05 to the Lakeport Municipal Code to comply with the Uniform Public Construction Cost Accounting Act; and adoption of a resolution approving the addendum to the Compensation and Benefits Program for the city of Lakeport Unrepresented Employees and providing these terms to the city manager.

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.

091818 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.

These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.

The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.

Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.

The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.

Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Efrain Cortez at the CHP office, 707-279-0103, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – To help reduce collisions, Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife remind motorists to be on the lookout during Watch Out for Wildlife Week, which runs Sept. 16 to 22.

“With every project we build, we look for innovative ways to protect drivers and wildlife,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “That can be as simple as installing flashing warning signs or putting in specialized fencing and crossings to provide wildlife with safe passages. Drivers can make a difference too, just by staying alert.”

Watch Out for Wildlife Week coincides with the season when California’s deer and elk migrate and look for mates, and California’s roadways often cut through these animals’ migration routes.

It’s vital that drivers be especially alert now through December to avoid collisions with wildlife. These crashes not only harm wildlife, but collisions with large animals can damage vehicles and cause injury and death to drivers and passengers.

“In the fall, wildlife exhibit natural behaviors that can lead them to more unpredictable movements, and nearer to humans and roadways,” said Vicky Monroe, CDFW Statewide Conflict Programs coordinator. “Deer, bears and other wildlife are most likely to be killed or injured by vehicle collisions between September and December. Bucks fight for mates during breeding season, does travel more with their fawns, and many deer herds migrate to their winter ranges. Black bears travel farther for food as they enter a period of excessive eating and drinking to fatten up for hibernation.”

According to the California Highway Patrol, 12 people died and 383 people were injured in 2,134 collisions with wildlife on state, county and local roadways throughout California in 2017.

Wildlife experts offer the following tips for motorists:

· Be extra alert when driving near areas wildlife frequent, such as streams and rivers, and reduce your speed so you can react safely.

· Pay extra attention driving during the morning and evening when wildlife are often most active.

· If you see an animal on or near the road, know that another may be following.

· Don’t litter. Trash odors can attract animals to roadways.

· Pay attention to road shoulders. Look for movement or reflecting eyes. Slow down and honk your horn if you see an animal on or near the road.

The Watch Out for Wildlife campaign is supported by Caltrans, CDFW, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Road Ecology Center at the University of California, Davis.

Here are a few examples of what Caltrans, CDFW, and their partners are doing to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions, improve awareness of key issues, and improve ecological sustainability:

Highway 395, Improving Wildlife Connectivity in Lassen County
Caltrans is modifying existing undercrossings that were installed on U.S. Highway 395 in Lassen County near the California-Nevada border more than 25 years ago. To improve the area for wildlife, Caltrans will remove deer gates, install escape ramps for mule deer, and extend fencing to guide animals to existing undercrossings. The project area will be monitored with wildlife cameras.

Highway 101, Liberty Canyon Undercrossing in Los Angeles County
The completed environmental document for the famous U.S. Highway 101 Liberty Canyon Project was signed in September 2017. Until a large overpass can be constructed, Caltrans has managed several short-term improvements in the Liberty Canyon area to entice mountain lions to cross safely underneath US-101. New fencing is designed to prevent animals from trying to cross the highway, and a former streambed south of Agoura Road has new vegetation to guide animals safely under the highway.

Highway 101, Wildlife Monitoring Cameras in Sonoma County
Caltrans is monitoring wildlife movement on U.S. Highway 101 north of Santa Rosa. Cameras have been installed on culverts that cross under the highway, and Caltrans regularly downloads images from the cameras to understand more about wildlife in the project area. Mountain lions are just one species that have been observed checking out the culverts along US-101. Camera data will be used to determine potential future improvements that will allow animals to safely cross US-101.

Highway 74, Bighorn Sheep Warning Signs in Riverside County
Efforts are underway to decrease vehicle collisions with Peninsular bighorn sheep, a federally endangered species, on a windy portion of State Route 74 above Palm Desert. In June 2018, Caltrans installed four bighorn sheep warning signs with two flashing beacons to alert drivers that sheep may be in the area. This was a coordinated effort with the Bighorn Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and CDFW.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Harbin Hot Springs this week is planning an evaluation of the effectiveness of an emergency siren notification system.

The testing will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19.

A sound truck will be driven to various locations at 18424 Harbin Springs Road, Middletown.

Middletown residents in the vicinity of Harbin may hear intermittent sounds during the four-hour testing period.

Please call 707-987-2477 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions or concerns.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – There have been a few mountain lion sightings in our region over the past several months.

Some have speculated that the wildfires force them down into rural and suburban areas, but there has been no proven correlation between the recent sightings and the wildfires.

What’s more likely is that the big cats are simply walking through their territories – which can be over 100 miles wide – looking for food and won’t linger for very long.

You might remember, too, the story that hit the news in August of 2017 about two hikers who encountered a mountain lion along the trails at Sequoia National Park.

Watching the video the men made of their encounter, it was obvious that their lack of knowledge about the big cats and what to do when crossing paths with one was staggering.

You hear them asking each other what to do, if they should run away ... These are the kinds of questions you need answers to BEFORE you hike out into mountain lion country.

Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are indigenous to our region and encounters, although few and far between, can happen. Knowing a few facts about the cats can help you understand their behaviors and be more prepared if you encounter one.

Mountain lions hunt between the hours of dusk and dawn and are solitary animals; they don’t hunt in prides like African lions. If you see several together in one place, it’s usually a mother and her cubs (who stay with mom until they’re about 2 years old).

A good rule of thumb is to not walk or hike alone in mountain lion territory, especially at night. Also, pay attention to news reports about where the cats have been spotted and be smart: avoid those areas.

Some reports of “mountain lions” to Animal Control offices have actually turned out to be reports of unusually large domesticated cats. The mistake is made because many folks simply don’t fully grasp the size of a real mountain lion.

These cats are BIG – and fast. A full-grown mountain lion is about seven to eight feet long, weighs upwards of sixty pounds (the males can get up to 150 pounds) and can achieve running speeds up to 50 miles per hour in a sprint.

So remember, if you come across a mountain lion, DON’T RUN. If its instinct to chase kicks in, it can run you down within seconds; and the impact of its body hitting yours at full speed can knock the wind out of you and break bones.

The Mountain Lion Foundation and other experts provide excellent tips on what to do if you come face-to-face with a mountain lion.

· Assess the situation as quickly as you can. Are you between the lion and its cubs? Are you near the lion’s den, its cache of food or its newly-downed prey?

· Don’t corner the mountain lion. Make sure it always has an easy route of escape. If it feels trapped, it will defend itself.

· Don’t act or sound like prey. Don’t run, don’t crouch down, don’t play dead. And DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK on a mountain lion. Their most common kill-technique is to bite at the back of the neck in order to crush and sever the spinal cord.

· Mountain lions are excellent swimmers and climbers. Remember the story from 2016 of two mountain lions swimming across Shasta Lake? Domestic cats may not like water, but mountain lions do; so, jumping into a stream or lake isn’t going to protect you. Climbing a tree won’t help you either. Tree-climbing is something mountain lions themselves do to catch their breath if they’re winded from a chase or want to bask in the sun.

· Make yourself look as intimidating as possible. Look the mountain lion in the eyes. Appear defiant. Open your jacket and wave your arms. Pick up your pets and your children if they’re with you and stand close to others in your group. All of these will make you appear larger to the cat. Make a lot of noise, using a loud and confident voice.

· Slowly create distance by BACKING AWAY while you maintain eye contact and continue to “look big”. Again, do not run or turn your back on the animal.

· If you are attacked, fight back with everything you have while protecting your neck and throat.

There was some speculation that the hikers in the Sequoia National Park in 2017 had actually seen the cat first at a distance and then followed after it to try to get video footage of it. That kind of behavior not only puts you in danger, it also puts the mountain lion in danger. Use common sense. If you see or hear a mountain lion, vacate the area as quickly and as safely as you can.

For all their strength and agility, mountain lions are generally elusive, self-composed and silent animals.

If you leave them alone and stay out of their ranges, they’ll leave you alone.

Mary K. Hanson is a Certified California Naturalist, author, nature photographer and blogger at https://chubbywomanwalkabout.com/. She also teaches naturalist classes through Tuleyome, a501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation organization based in Woodland, Calif. For more information, visit www.tuleyome.org.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The city of Lakeport’s National Night Out Against Crime will be held on Monday, Sept. 17, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Library Park.

Park Street between Second and Third Streets will be closed during the event.

This event is coordinated by us to increase and improve police, city and other government community partnerships in the city.

City of Lakeport management and staff, Lakeport City Council members, Lakeport Police officers and staff, Lakeport Fire Protection District, and other local officials will be on site to meet and greet local residents.

The event will feature free hot dogs, popcorn and sno-cones.

There also will be a youth game area and bicycle decorating contest and parade, sponsored by the Lakeport Main Street Association, so children are asked to bring their bicycles and helmets to participate.

In addition, there will be raffle prizes for children and adults.

There is no cost to community members to attend. The event is being sponsored by donations of services, supplies, raffle prizes and other resources by numerous local businesses and organizations.

See the Facebook event page for a list of all activities and donating businesses.

By all accounts, it was a moving speech.

Frederick MacKensie, a British officer who witnessed it, wrote in his diary, "he behaved with great composure and resolution, saying he thought it the duty of every good Officer, to obey any orders given him by his Commander-in-Chief; and desired the Spectators to be at all times prepared to meet death in whatever shape it might appear.”

The “Essex Journal” reported, "he made a sensible and spirited speech." No one has been able to flesh out the complete contents of Nathan Hale’s final speech before being hanged a spy, but several bits were recorded and have since been etched into our national consciousness.

The “Essex Journal” reported Hale as saying, "if I had ten thousand lives, I would lay them all down in defense of this injured, bleeding country." But by far the most oft-quoted line Hale spoke that day at the gallows was reported by “The Independent Chronicle and the Universal Advertiser.”

According to this newspaper, Hale remarked, "I am so satisfied with the cause in which I have engaged, that my only regret is that I have not more lives than one to offer in its service."

* * *

He is remembered more as a martyr than a spy. In fact, his espionage career lasted only a few weeks, but when Nathan Hale was hanged on Sept. 22, 1776, it sent shockwaves through the embattled colonies, affecting the hearts and minds of Americans far more than any act of espionage could.

The war, such as it was, had only just commenced and the execution of an unarmed combatant robbed the patriots of any remaining illusions that what was about to follow would be anything but brutal. War is hell, and in hell anything goes – the execution of a spy was a matter of course.

Nathan Hale came from a generally-well-to-do family in Connecticut. At 18 years old, he graduated from Yale University and began teaching school upon graduation.

When the first shots of the Revolutionary War rang out in the Connecticut countryside, Hale’s five brothers were in the thick of it, fighting the British at Lexington and Concord.

Eager to make his mark in the nascent revolution, Nathan Hale joined the Continental Army as a first lieutenant. In a matter of months, he was promoted to captain.

The early years of the revolution went poorly for the Americans, with the British evacuating Boston only to show up and invade New York City.

Washington’s humiliating retreat from the city cast a pallor over the country and seemingly confirmed the British belief that the rebellion would soon be over.

It was during these dark times that Capt. Nathan Hale volunteered to cross behind enemy lines and serve his country in what at the time was considered a somewhat dishonorable position: he would be a spy.

As any spook worth his salt will tell you, all good lies contain an element of truth. For Capt. Hale, this meant posing as a Dutch schoolteacher. For a while, his ruse worked, and the captain gathered information on enemy troop numbers and movement.

However, Hale was not trained for spying and he appears to have made some mistakes. Here the story of Nathan Hale slips in and out of legend.

One account says that a cousin of his, who was a loyalist, recognized him and turned him into the British authorities.

Another version paints Hale in a slightly more naïve light. In this version, British Major Robert Rogers encountered the disguised Hale and smelled something fishy. Getting Hale to trust him by saying he himself was a spy for the Americans, Rogers appears to have tricked Capt. Hale into letting on about his mission.

Regardless of the cause, we know that Capt. Hale was captured and interrogated sometime around Sept. 20 or 21 – the very day or shortly after a large portion of New York City was set alight by suspected American spies.

The burning of their winter quarters set the British on edge and orders were soon issued for the execution of the only spy they had in custody: Nathan Hale.

It is fair to say that Nathan Hale was not a very good spy. It is also fair to say that by all accounts, this 21 year old was a brave and patriotic young man who faced death with the type of stoic composure reserved for legends.

It is this quality, and the fact that he was the first American spy to die in service to his country, that a statue of Nathan Hale stands outside the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency in McLean, Virginia.

Antone Pierucci is curator of history at the Riverside County Park and Open Space District and a freelance writer whose work has been featured in such magazines as Archaeology and Wild West as well as regional California newspapers.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A fire that began last weekend in Napa County has been fully contained.

Cal Fire said the Snell fire was 100-percent contained at 2,490 acres as of Saturday evening.

The fire began Sept. 8 southeast of Middletown near the Berryessa Estates subdivision, triggering mandatory evacuations and road closures in the area.

Ultimately, no structures were damaged or destroyed, Cal Fire said.

Officials said five engines and 27 personnel remain assigned to the incident, and were set to continue patrolling overnight to look for any remaining hot spots.

Cal Fire said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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.

When an El Niño or its opposite, La Niña, forms in the future, it's likely to cause more intense impacts over many land regions – amplifying changes to temperature, precipitation, and wildfire risk – due to the warming climate.

These are the findings of a new study led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research, or NCAR, and published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union.

The researchers found, for example, that the increased wildfire danger in the southwestern United States associated with La Niña events would become more acute.

Conversely, the cooler and wetter weather in the same region associated with El Niño events would likely become even cooler and even wetter in the future, enhancing associated flood risks.

"The cycling between El Niño and La Niña is responsible for some of the weather whiplash we get from year to year, particularly in the western U.S.," said NCAR scientist John Fasullo, who led the study. "What we find when we look at model simulations of the future is that the whiplash is likely to get more severe."

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation, which is NCAR's sponsor, and by the U.S. Department of Energy. Study coauthors are Bette Otto-Bliesner, also of NCAR, and Samantha Stevenson, of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Far-reaching consequences

El Niño events are characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

La Niña's, on the other hand, are defined by cooler-than-average waters in the same region.

These phenomena can influence weather patterns globally, with far-reaching consequences, including changes to crop yields, fire risk, and the heating and cooling demands of homes, workplaces, and other buildings.

The impacts of El Niño and La Niña are particularly pronounced over North America's southern tier, South America, and Australia.

For example, El Niño events tend to cause cooler, wetter weather over the southern U.S. but hotter, drier weather across most of Australia and South America.

Climate model simulations have been divided in their portrayal of how climate change will influence the sea surface temperature changes associated with El Niño and La Niña events.

For this study, the scientists were able to remove this effect and look at what the impact of individual events of a given magnitude would be.

The research team relied on two extensive sets of simulations, one created using the NCAR-based Community Earth System Model, or CESM, and one created using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Earth System Model. Each model was run dozens of times with slightly different starting conditions.

Taken together, the large number of model simulations allowed the scientists to distinguish impacts linked to El Niño and La Niña from those caused by the natural chaos in the climate system.

The scientists looked at how the impacts in the present climate that are tied to a given unit of variability, for example, one degree Celsius of sea surface temperature increase during El Niño or decrease during La Niña, compared to the impacts of that same variation at the end of this century.

In addition to temperature and precipitation, the scientists were able to look at changes to wildfire danger, because CESM includes a wildfire model. This component takes into account the biomass available for burning, along with the influences of temperature and moisture.

The result was that these impacts became more severe in key land regions.

"These simulations show that the continuous rising of global mean temperature will leave regions of the U.S., including California, more vulnerable to severe droughts and widespread wildfires in the future, especially during La Nina years," said Ming Cai, a program officer in the National Science Foundation’s Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.

For example, seasonal heat extremes in the southern half of the U.S. during a La Niña like the one that occurred in 2011 would be about 30 percent greater if the La Niña occurred at the end of the century. That warming would be in addition to the expected background warming of the climate system.

"We can't say from this study whether more or fewer El Niños will form in the future – or whether the El Niños that do form will be stronger or weaker," Fasullo said. "But we can say that an El Niño that forms in the future is likely to have more influence over our weather than if the same El Niño formed today."

The universe is a big place. The Hubble Space Telescope's views burrow deep into space and time, but cover an area a fraction the angular size of the full Moon.

The challenge is that these "core samples" of the sky may not fully represent the universe at large.

This dilemma for cosmologists is called cosmic variance. By expanding the survey area, such uncertainties in the structure of the universe can be reduced.

A new Hubble observing campaign, called Beyond Ultra-deep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations, or BUFFALO, will boldly expand the space telescope's view into regions that are adjacent to huge galaxy clusters previously photographed by NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes under a program called Frontier Fields.

The six massive clusters were used as "natural telescopes," to look for amplified images of galaxies and supernovas that are so distant and faint that they could not be photographed by Hubble without the boost of light caused by a phenomenon called gravitational lensing.

The clusters' large masses, mainly composed of dark matter, magnify and distort the light coming from distant background galaxies that otherwise could not be detected.

The BUFFALO program is designed to identify galaxies in their earliest stages of formation, less than 800 million years after the big bang.

In the Frontier Fields program, Spitzer imaged a much larger area of the sky than Hubble but could not measure the distances to the galaxies it observed in those regions.

With BUFFALO, Hubble is now coming back to the full area of sky covered by Spitzer, to measure the distances to thousands of galaxies.

This is important because the six fields observed by Hubble are relatively small and might not fully represent the number of early galaxies in the wider universe. Abell 370 is the first cluster to be observed.

An important motive for the BUFFALO program is the possibility that there may be significantly fewer than predicted extremely distant galaxies found in the Frontier Fields survey. This led astronomers to propose expanding the search area around each Frontier Fields cluster to seek out more distant galaxies, and therefore more accurately determine the numbers of such galaxies.

This means conducting a concise census of the first galaxies in as wide of an area as feasible. The goal is to improve the probability of identifying some of the rare regions of space with a concentration of early galaxies and the far more common regions that had not yet been able to form galaxies so quickly.

Because Frontier Fields observations have already established what the first galaxies look like, the wider area of BUFFALO will enable searches for these galaxies several times more efficiently than the original Frontier Fields. It will also take advantage of observations from other space telescopes, including ultra-deep Spitzer Space Telescope observations that already exist around these clusters.

The BUFFALO program is designed to identify galaxies in their earliest stages of formation, less than 800 million years after the big bang. These galaxies should help shed light on the processes by which galaxies first assembled.

One of BUFFALO’s key goals is to determine how rapidly galaxies formed in this early epoch. This will help astronomers design strategies for using NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to probe the distant universe with its infrared vision.

Astronomers anticipate that the survey will yield new insights into when the most massive and luminous galaxies formed and how they are linked to dark matter, and how the dynamics of the clusters influence the galaxies in and around them. The survey also will provide a chance to pinpoint images of distant galaxies and supernovas.

The BUFFALO program is jointly led by Charles Steinhardt (Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen) and Mathilde Jauzac (Durham University, UK), and involves an international team of nearly 100 astronomers from 13 countries, including experts in theory, in computer simulations, and in observations of early galactic evolution, gravitational lensing, and supernovas. Approximately 160 hours of Hubble observing time is scheduled for the BUFFALO project.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, Maryland, conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, in Washington, D.C.