NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters on Monday held the Snell fire to no new growth and raised containment enough that evacuations were lifted.

The fire, which overnight had grown by 90 acres to 2,490 acres, stayed at that size on Monday evening, with containment growing to 45 percent, according to Cal Fire.

The fire began on Saturday afternoon in Napa County, several miles southeast of Middletown.

While it threatened 180 homes in the area – including those at Berryessa Estates subdivision – Cal Fire said no structures have been damaged or destroyed.

The situation improved to the point on Monday where all evacuations and road closures were lifted. However, Cal Fire urged residents and the public to use caution as fire crews and emergency personnel are still working in the area.

A cooling trend is in the forecast, and Cal Fire said that should help fire suppression efforts.

The resources that remain assigned to the incident include 132 engines, 20 water tenders, 31 fire crews, seven helicopters, 20 bulldozers, six air tankers and 1,234 personnel, Cal Fire reported.

Cal Fire said the Snell fire’s cause 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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – This week the Board of Supervisors will honor the Utah firefighter who lost his life last month in the Mendocino Complex, consider a new planning commission appointment and discuss continuing local emergency proclamations.

The board will meet beginning at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11, 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.

At 9:45 a.m., the board will present a proclamation honoring Draper City Fire Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett for his dedication, service and ultimate sacrifice while responding to the Ranch fire on the Mendocino Complex.

Burchett, 42, died on Aug. 13 after he was hit by a falling tree, as Lake County News has reported.

Also on Tuesday, in an untimed item, the board will consider appointing Daniel Camacho as District 4 member of the Lake County Planning Commission.

In other timed items, at 10 a.m, the board will consider continuing a proclamation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer due to the Pawnee fire incident.

That will be followed at 10:01 a.m. by consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer due to the Mendocino Complex fire and a status report on the complex.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

6.1: Adopt proclamation posthumously recognizing Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett for His dedication, service, and ultimate sacrifice while responding to the Ranch fire of the Mendocino Complex.

6.2: Approve county administrative officer request for authority to contract with CPS-HR during Fiscal Year 2018-2019 for up to three executive search recruitments at a cost of $10,500 to $17,000 per recruitment plus advertising and professional fees ranging from $3,000 to $7,000.

6.3: Authorize payment of Smart Phone stipend to Nathan Spangler, River/Ranch fire recovery coordinator given the unique nature of his temporary assignment.

6.4: Approve leave of absence request for Behavioral Health Client Support Assistant Melinda Daunis from July 20, 2018, through Oct. 20, 2018, and authorize the chair to sign.

6.5: Adopt proclamation designating the month of September 2018 as Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in Lake County.

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; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Willow Glen Care Center for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2018-19 for a contract maximum of $50,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

6.7: (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; and (b) approve the agreement between the county of Lake and Konocti Senior Support Inc. for senior support counseling services for fiscal year 2018-19 for a contract maximum of $108,378 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

6.8: (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 MIS Support Services for fiscal year 2018-19 for a contract maximum amount of $63,360 and to authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

6.9: Approve long distance travel for Child Support Director Gail Woodworth and Deputy Director Tammie Widener to attend the Western Interstate Support Enforcement Council Annual Training Conference Oct. 14-18, 2018 In Omaha, Neb.

6.10: (a) Approve agreement between the county of Lake and Coleman Environmental Engineering Inc., for an amount not to exceed $17,193.00, for asbestos removal and demolition of sub-standard structure located at 145 Hamilton Lane, Lakeport (APN 028-321-10 - Ashley Potter); and (b) approve agreement between the county of Lake and Coleman Environmental Engineering Inc., for an amount not to exceed $21,443.00, for asbestos removal and demolition of sub-standard structure located at 6948 Junipero Ave., Kelseyville (APN 044-372-08 - Benjamin Espinoza III); and authorize the Community Development director to sign both agreements.

6.11: Approve the school and special districts resolutions requesting the consolidation of each districts’ election with the Nov. 6, 2018, Statewide General Election.

6.12: Adopt a resolution amending Resolution No. 2018-73 establishing position allocations for Fiscal Year 2018-19, Budget Unit No. 1341, Human Resources retroactive to Aug. 30, 2018.

6.13: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District, Board of Directors, approve purchase of budgeted Vac-Con Model V311E/1300 Hydro excavating/mainline cleaning vacuum truck for LACOSAN Southeast and authorize Special Districts Administrator acting as the assistant purchasing agent to issue and sign purchase order not to exceed $476,332.

6.14: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, approve purchase of budgeted Flygt lift station pumps for LACOSAN Southeast and authorize Special Districts administrator acting as the assistant purchasing agent to issue and sign purchase order not to exceed $93,000.

6.15: Sitting as the Lake County Sanitation District Board of Directors, approve purchase of budgeted 317hp 460V 3 phase lift station pump for LACOSAN Southeast and authorize Special Districts administrator acting as the assistant purchasing agent to issue and sign purchase order not to exceed $100,416.

6.16: Adopt resolution temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs in Kelseyville for the Kelseyville Pear Festival (Sept. 28 to 29, 2018).

6.17: Adopt resolution temporarily authorizing a road closure, prohibiting parking and authorizing removal of vehicles and ordering the Department of Public Works to post signs on Main Street in Kelseyville for the Kelseyville Pear Festival Farm to Fork Dinner and Street Dance (Sept. 28, 2018).

6.18: (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 the goods and (b) approve purchase of budgeted SCADA system for CSA-13 Kono Tayee authorizing the Special Districts administrator acting as the assistant purchasing agent to issue and sign purchase order not to exceed $41,000.

6.19: Approve long distance travel for Invasive Species Coordinator Angela De Palma-Dow to attend the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species in Tacoma, Washington on Oct. 24 and 25.

TIMED ITEMS

7.2, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of September 2018 as Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in Lake County.

7.3, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing: Consideration of a resolution to commit program income in Community Development Block Grant Agreement No. 12-CDBG-8395.

7.4, 9:45 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation posthumously recognizing Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett for his dedication, service, and ultimate sacrifice while responding to the Ranch Fire of the Mendocino Complex.

7.5, 10 a.m.: Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer due to the Pawnee fire incident.

7.6, 10:01 a.m.: (a) Consideration of continuing a proclamation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer due to the Mendocino Complex fire; and (b) status report on Mendocino Complex fire also known as the River and Ranch fires.

UNTIMED ITEMS

8.2: Consideration of Appointment of District 4 planning commissioner.

CLOSED SESSION

9.1:Conference with labor negotiator: (a) Chief negotiator: M. Long; County Negotiators: C. Huchingson, P. Nichols and J. Puett; and (b) employee organizations: DDAA, DSA, LCCOA, LCEA, LCSEA and LCSMA.

9.2: Public employee evaluations title: Air Pollution Control officer.

9.3: Public employee appointment Pursuant to Gov. Code Section 54957(b)(1): Appointment of interim Public Health officer.

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.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A fire burning in Napa County grew by several hundred more acres on Sunday, with firefighters raising containment.

Cal Fire said Sunday evening that the Snell fire had reached 2,400 acres and was 20-percent contained. No structures have been damaged or destroyed.

The fire began Saturday afternoon near the Berryessa Estates subdivision southeast of Middletown.

Cal Fire said the blaze continues to threaten 180 structures. As such, evacuations remain in effect on the west side of Berryessa Knoxville Road from Pope Creek Bridge to Lake-Napa County line, Snell Valley Road and all roads to Snell Valley, and Berryessa Estates.

An evacuation center is located at Pope Valley Farm Center, 5800 Pope Valley Road.

Berryessa Knoxville Road from Putah Creek Bridge north to the county line and Snell Valley Road at the intersection of Butts Canyon Road remain closed, Cal Fire reported.

Resources assigned include 132 engines, 20 water tenders, 31 fire crews, seven helicopters, 24 bulldozers, six air tankers and 1,241 personnel, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire said the Snell fire’s cause 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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Economic Development Advisory Committee will hold its next meeting this week.

The committee, or LEDAC, will meet from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12, at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The meeting is open to the public.

Lakeport Community Development Director Kevin Ingram will lead the group in the continued review of the city’s economic development element.

LEDAC members also will discuss implementation of the Lakeport Economic Development Strategic Plan 2017-2022, the business walk and survey, the guide to doing business in Lakeport and economic development pages online.

There also will be an update on city projects and citizen’s input.

Following the Wednesday meeting, the next LEDAC meeting will take place on Nov. 14.

LEDAC advocates for a strong and positive Lakeport business community and acts as a conduit between the city and the community for communicating the goals, activities and progress of Lakeport’s economic and business programs.

Members are Chair Wilda Shock and Vice Chair Denise Combs, Candy De Los Santos, Bill Eaton, Melissa Fulton, Pam Harpster, Judith Kanavle, Andy Lucas, Dan Peterson and Panette Talia. City staff who are members include City Manager Margaret Silveira and Community Development Director Kevin Ingram.

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.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The Bureau of Land Management Ukiah Field Office is temporarily closing the Knoxville Management Area, within the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument, due to the proximity of the Snell fire burning southeast of Middletown in Napa County.

This temporary closure includes the Knoxville Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area, Northside Staging Area, Hunting Creek Campground and the Knoxville Area of Critical Environmental Concern.

The closure is necessary to protect public land users from active wildfire, to safeguard wildland fire fighters from recreational activities and to shield natural resources that may require rehabilitation after fire suppression. These areas will remain closed to public access until further notice.

The Snell fire started on Saturday afternoon along Butts Canyon and Snell Valley roads. As of Sunday night, the fire was 2,400 acres and 20-percent contained, burning primarily in grassy oak woodlands in difficult terrain, according to Cal Fire.

Evacuations are in place and portions of Berryessa Knoxville Road and Snell Valley Road are closed. The most current information is available at http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2244.

The Cow Mountain Recreation Area sustained heavy damage during the Mendocino Complex fire and remains closed to all access.

All public lands managed by the Ukiah Field Office are under fire restrictions, which prohibit recreational target shooting and ban all campfires and open flame. Read more at https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-ukiah-increases-fire-restrictions-limits-shooting-Aug2018.

A complete listing off all fire restrictions on BLM-managed public lands in California is available at https://www.blm.gov/programs/public-safety-and-fire/fire-and-aviation/regional-info/california/fire-restrictions.

For specific questions, please contact the Ukiah Field Office, Monday through Friday, at 707-468-4000.

Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. has signed an executive order to safeguard California’s unique plants, animals and ecosystems which are threatened by climate change.

“The new reality of climate change requires a more thoughtful and systemic approach that considers the connections and the vast web of relationships that tie together the myriad elements of California’s ecosystems,” Gov. Brown wrote in the order.

California is home to more species of plants and animals than any other state in the country.

The deserts, forests, mountain ranges, valleys, wetlands, woodlands, rivers, estuaries, marine environments, rangelands and agricultural fields of California provide refuge for a vast array of species including approximately 650 species of birds, 220 mammals, 75 amphibians, 70 freshwater fish, over 100 marine fish and mammals and approximately 6,500 native plants – of which 2,000 or more are rare.

Together, the state’s plants and animals co-exist to create the complex ecosystems upon which so much of California’s people and economy depend.

This executive order directs the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Fish and Wildlife to work together to safeguard existing plants and animals while restoring and protecting habitat across both working and wild places.

The order also establishes Sept. 7 as California Biodiversity Day each year.

The action follows steps taken earlier this year to protect the state’s biological heritage. The enacted 2018-19 state budget allocated $2.5 million to launch the California Biodiversity Initiative in partnership with tribal groups, educators and researchers, the private sector, philanthropic groups and landowners. In May, Governor Brown also recognized International Day for Biological Diversity.

The steps outlined in the executive order and complimentary California Biodiversity Initiative will improve understanding of the state’s biological richness and identify actions to preserve, manage and restore ecosystems to protect the state’s biodiversity from climate change.

The text of the executive order can be found here.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Congressman Mike Thompson joined Kelseyville Unified Superintendent Dave McQueen in honoring retiring high school Principal Matt Cockerton at the recent annual back-to-school staff breakfast.

Thompson presented Cockerton with a Congressional Record thanking Cockerton for his service as an educator and a community member.

The congressional recognition reads as follows:

“Mr. Cockerton began his career in education as a Physical Education teacher, Athletic Director and Coach in 1985. In 1991, he became the Vice Principal and Athletic Director of Kelseyville High School. Mr. Cockerton was the Principal of Mountain Vista Middle School from 1996 to 1997. He has been Principal of Kelseyville High School since 1997…

“Mr. Cockerton has been active in our community. He is a long-time coach for Westshore Little League Baseball and has served on their board. He is also a coach for Westshore Youth Football where he has been the President of the organization…

“George Matthew Cockerton has served his community honorably as a school administrator and coach. It is therefore fitting and proper that we honor him here today.”

Cockerton was one of seven retiring staff members recognized by the district, but he was the only one who grabbed the microphone and began sharing funny comments that had Superintendent McQueen shaking his head in mock disbelief and the whole room of Kelseyville Unified employees laughing.

In addition to bidding a fond farewell to outgoing teachers, McQueen announced the dedication of the Kelseyville Unified Board Room in honor of recently deceased board member Dr. Peter J. Quartarolo, who served as a district trustee for 26 years.

Quartarolo was the longest serving board member of any school district board of trustee in Lake County at the time of his death and all of his children attended the Kelseyville Unified School District.

His wife, Cherie, was present at the back-to-school breakfast and she spoke eloquently about how much her husband’s work on the school board meant to him.

She accepted a plaque commemorating the Kelseyville Unified Board of Trustees’ renaming of the board room to the Dr. Peter J. Quartarolo Board Room.

McQueen also welcomed new staff members, reinforced the district’s values and priorities, outlined the professional development planned for the week, and took care of housekeeping issues like parking permits and communication protocols.

Finally, McQueen thanked Kelseyville Unified bus drivers who assisted during the recent fires, and he closed by thanking everyone present and letting them know how excited he is about this upcoming school year.

A lone man stalked the elegant cafes along the Avenue de l’Opera in Paris, France. He was ordinary, just one among many out for a stroll along the popular street of cafes. The only thing odd about him, if anyone even took the time to look closely, was that this ordinary man carried a metal lunchbox—like the type used by factory workers.

But like I said, such a detail would only have briefly registered with the occasional passerby.

This lone, completely ordinary man of middle age, carrying a metal lunchbox, turned into the Cafe Terminus and sat at a table.

The waiter arrived and took the man’s order: a beer and a cigar, please. His cigar arrived first, along with a box of matches and an ashtray. Picking one match out of the box, this ordinary man named Emile Henry struck one end of the match.

Cupping his other hand in front of the one with the match, Henry shielded the small flame and lit his cigar. Then he discreetly bent down and, with his newly-lit cigar, lit his lunchbox – or rather the bomb inside the lunchbox. Sitting up straight, Henry gathered his hat and ran out of the café just as the windows burst in a spray of glass, wood and shrapnel from his bomb. The ensuing carnage killed one and injured 20. Henry was wrestled to the ground as he tried to escape.

Emile Henry had arguably conducted the first act of modern terrorism.

* * *

Our idea of terrorism crumbled to pieces along with the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001.

Whatever we once associated with acts of terrorism, from then on we would picture only radical religionists.

But I think we are currently witnessing firsthand in our own country that politics and the furor of partisan ideology are potent enough on their own to poison one’s mind and – in extreme cases – bend one’s hand towards terror.

If we were to cast our minds back to Sept. 10, 2001, we might remember that the cry of the terrorist has not always been one of religious fervor, and that those selfsame maniacs have not always come from the Middle East. In fact, we might recall that Western Europe itself has bred its fair share of terrorist movements.

Before radical Islam, for instance, there was the radical ideology of the anarchists.

* * *

Emile Henry was just one of thousands of men and women who proscribed to the beliefs of anarchism.

Developed around the same time as communism, anarchy as a political ideology was really a cluster of many schools of thought, but all of them shared an embittered hatred of government and/or authority of any institutionalized sort.

Anarchists were, you could say, extreme individualists that held the rights of the individual at the same level others held God.

In the earliest manifestations of anarchism, the notion of nonviolence was esteemed just as highly as the divine right of the individual.

But, just as Christianity, which is based on the tenets of love and compassion, became the excuse for such atrocities as the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition, so too did anarchism over time lose its more pacifist tendencies. If anarchists were going to get rid of every sovereign, they began to think, they would have to do it forcibly.

Within a few decades, anarchists had developed the notion of “Propaganda of the Deed,” which was specific political action meant to inspire revolution and further acts of anarchy.

In the early years, these deeds were acts of terrorism that solely targeted policemen and politicians. Things started to change in the 1890s, however, when anarchists began to spread their propaganda through deeds of indiscriminate murder.

One of the first to do that was Emile Henry and his lunchbox bomb. According to Henry, in setting off the bomb in a busy café, he had acted on his belief that “there are no innocent bourgeois.” Here was a man who targeted not a specific person or member of law enforcement, but anyone who happened to be in the café that day.

Anarchists seemed to have been inspired by this and other bloody acts of terrorism. Later that same year as Henry’s café bombing, another anarchist assassinated the president of France. Several years later, the king of Italy was killed.

In North America, politicians looked askance at all the turmoil caused by European anarchists and worried. Oh sure, America had already by then experienced anarchist violence – with the famous Haymarket Riots of 1886 in Chicago being a perfect example – but no high profile targets had yet to be successfully killed.

That all changed on Sept. 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York when United States President McKinley was shot twice in the stomach by a 28-year old anarchist.

After he was rushed to the nearest doctor – a gynecologist was all they had on hand – McKinley began to recover reasonably well, so well that his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, set out on a camping trip a few days later.

However, once his wound turned gangrenous, the president quickly faded and in the early hours of Sept. 14, 1901, America’s 25th president – and anarchism’s latest victim – lay cold.

Terrorism is not unique to any one religion, culture or political ideology. It is the manifestation of the basest of human emotions. For decades, the face of terrorism was the faceless European anarchist.

Today, it’s religious radicals. Tomorrow? Who knows?

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.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Members of the Symphony Wine Club are attempting to locate the owners of a friendly cat who they found following the Mendocino Complex evacuation.

When Bill and Melanie Fine returned to their home near Highland Springs Road and Bell Hill Road after the evacuation order was lifted, they were welcomed by a starving young cat, on the roof of their barn, which is usually only visited by fellow members of the Symphony Wine Club.

“This is where we get together to process grapes and make wine for our yearly WInefest that supports the Lake County Symphony,” said Bill Fine.

No club members had visited the barn for a while and it was obvious the cat was yowling with hunger and asking for help, Fine said.

“He was maybe 4 months old and very weak and skinny. We are not sure how long he had been near our place, because we were out of the country when the fires were going on,” Fine explained.

After a good meal, and some ear rubs, it was apparent that this was no feral cat. “He was very friendly and really wanted to be in the house,” said Fine.

They gave him the name “Stripy,“ and waited for someone to come looking for him.

“He is really sweet and someone must be missing him,” said Melanie Fine. “Unfortunately, we cannot keep him. We already have a cat and they do not get along.”

In the meantime, they are feeding Stripy and he has access to the barn for a safe place to sleep.

Stripy’s photograph is posted on the Lakeport Animal Control website with a ”found” date of Aug. 5.

Bill Fine can be reached at 510-375-6171.

On Saturday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation – SB 834 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) and AB 1775 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) – to block new federal offshore oil drilling along California’s coast, and announced the state’s opposition to the federal government’s plan to expand oil drilling on public lands in California.

“Today, California’s message to the Trump administration is simple: Not here, not now,” said Gov. Brown. “We will not let the federal government pillage public lands and destroy our treasured coast.”

This action comes days before grassroots activists, mayors, governors, heads of industry and international leaders convene in San Francisco for the express purpose of mobilizing climate action at the Global Climate Action Summit.

SB 834 and AB 1775 block the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore oil drilling by prohibiting new leases for new construction of oil and gas-related infrastructure, such as pipelines, within state waters if the federal government authorizes any new offshore oil leases.

“From the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill to the 2015 Refugio spill, I represent a community that knows all too well the devastation oil spills can bring to our economy and environment. I’m very pleased to see this legislation signed into law, because we’ve always known, that if we don’t drill, it can’t spill,” said Senator Jackson.

The bills also require new public notices and processes for lease renewals, extension amendments or modifications to authorize new construction of oil and gas-related infrastructure associated with new federal leases. There has been no federal expansion of oil and gas drilling along California’s coastline for more than 30 years.

“With the signing of AB 1775 and SB 834, California is fighting back against the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore oil drilling off California’s coast. We are standing up to protect the South Bay in my district and our state’s entire coast from the threat of more offshore oil drilling and ugly oil rigs. I thank Governor Brown for leading the resistance and Senator Jackson for working with me to protect our state’s multibillion dollar coastal economy and beautiful beaches and coastline,” said Assemblymember Muratsuchi.

Separately, late Friday the governor submitted the state’s formal opposition to the Bureau of Land Management’s proposal to open new public land and mineral estates for oil and gas lease sales.

“It has been more than twenty years since the Bureau of Land Management last expanded the availability of federal public lands and mineral estates for oil and gas leases in the Central Valley and Central Coast of California. Since then, the world’s understanding of the threats of climate change has greatly advanced and, in many cases, these threats have become reality,” said Gov. Brown in his letter to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. “The Bureau’s proposal to open up new areas of the state to oil and gas production demonstrates an ignorance of these critical developments, and is contrary to the course California has set to combat climate change and to meet its share of the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. The Bureau should abandon this effort and not pursue opening any new areas for oil and gas leases in this state.”

In addition to the governor’s letter, the state also included comments on the proposal from the California Department of Conservation, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Department of Water Resources, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, the California Air Resources Board and the State Water Resources Control Board.

Earlier this year, Gov. Brown joined Oregon Governor Kate Brown and Washington Governor Jay Inslee to condemn the Trump administration’s proposal to expand oil and gas offshore drilling.

The governor has also voiced California’s opposition to this proposal in discussions with the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in January and February.

In late 2016, Gov. Brown called on the federal government to use its authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw federal waters off the coast of California from new offshore oil and gas leasing and guarantee the prohibition of future oil and gas drilling in these waters.

On Saturday, the governor also signed AB 2864 by Assemblymember Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara) which will improve the assessment of damage and restoration and mitigation measures after an oil spill affecting coastal resources.

For full text of the bills signed today, visit http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. The full text of the Governor’s letter, with the state’s comments on the proposal submitted yesterday, can be found here.

One of the key elements of Earth’s climate system is the cryosphere – the many forms of ice found on Earth.

Two new NASA missions use different technologies to help scientists better understand how frozen water is affecting our planet.

Both will continue satellite data records that have greatly improved our understanding of Earth’s frozen regions.

Meet GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), and ICESat-2.

The GRACE-FO mission, which launched on May 22, 2018 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is a partnership with the German Research Centre for Geosciences.

Like the preceding GRACE mission, which operated from 2002-2017, the pair of GRACE-FO satellites measure minute variations in Earth’s gravitational field to determine how mass is moving around our planet over time.

Dr. Frank Webb, GRACE-FO project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) explains, “GRACE-FO’s measurements show the migration of mass from one place on Earth to another - which regions of Earth are gaining mass and which are losing. It is sensitive enough to see small changes in the distribution of ice and water, which allows us to understand the trends and drivers of the water cycle, including the contributions of the ice sheets to sea level rise.”

As ice sheets melt, they lose mass, which slightly alters Earth’s gravity, changing the forces controlling the orbits of the satellites.

The two GRACE-FO satellites orbit ~135 miles (220 km) from one another, with one satellite leading the other. If the lead satellite encounters a change in gravity, its speed changes as does its relative distance to the trailing satellite.

Microwaves and lasers are used to measure the tiny changes in distance between the two satellites in a constant game of cat and mouse.

By taking measurements of multiple passes over the same location, scientists can create maps of that location’s gravitational field.

Over Earth’s frozen regions, this information shows where ice sheets and glaciers are gaining or losing mass.

While GRACE-FO gives a global view of changes in the distribution of mass on Earth, ICESat-2 will provide complementary measurements of ice sheet height.

ICESat-2, which is scheduled to launch in the fall of 2018, is a single satellite operated out of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that uses its laser to shoot beams of light to Earth. Scientists can determine a location’s elevation by measuring the travel time of these laser pulses.

The original ICESat mission, which operated from 2003-2010, used a single laser beam. ICESat-2 uses 6 beams to improve accuracy and resolution.

Using 6 beams gives scientists multiple points of data within the laser’s footprint, allowing them to measure the slope of an area and then separate static slope data from the area’s changes in elevation over time.

Why is this elevation information important? Dr. Thorsten Markus, chief of the Cryospheric Sciences Lab at Goddard explains, “ICESat-2’s orbit repeats measurements every 90 days, which allows us to see change while also helping to determine the drivers of that change. For example, is melting in one region balanced by snowfall in another?”

Grace-FO and ICESat-2 will be the newest NASA missions being used to study the cryosphere and its role in the Earth system. In addition to their cryospheric objectives, these satellites provide important insight into the behavior of other Earth system components, like changes in underground stored water for GRACE-FO and ecosystem structure for ICESat-2.

The ability of these sensors to address multiple Earth system components is a good example of how NASA treats the Earth as a complex, interacting system.

To learn more about the cryosphere and other cool science topics, visit http://science.nasa.gov.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A fire that began Saturday afternoon and threatened homes in Napa County has continued to grow, with mandatory evacuations remaining in place.

The Snell fire was up to 1,700 acres and 10-percent contained on Saturday night, according to Cal Fire.

The fire is burning near the Berryessa Estate subdivision, located on Putah Creek north of Lake Berryessa in Napa County.

It was first reported at 2:29 p.m. and was accessed in the area of Butts Valley and Snell Valley Roads, according to radio and Cal Fire reports.

The fire is burning in grassy oak woodlands with a moderate rate of spread and spotting observed. Cal Fire said conditions are hot and dry, and the fire is in a remote location with difficult access.

There are 180 structures threatened but so far none damaged or destroyed, Cal Fire said.

Authorities called for mandatory evacuations on the west side of Berryessa Knoxville Road from Pope Creek Bridge to the Lake-Napa County line, Snell Valley Road and all roads to Snell Valley and Berryessa Estates.

Berryessa Knoxville Road from Putah Creek Bridge north to the County line and Snell Valley Road at the intersection of Butts Canyon Road are closed, Cal Fire said.

An evacuation center has been set up at Pope Valley Farm Center, 5800 Pope Valley Road.

Cal Fire said 60 engines, six water tenders, six fire crews, four helicopters, nine bulldozers, 10 air tankers and 382 personnel are assigned to the incident.

The cause remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.

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