LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Planning Commission this week is set to hold another discussion on possible amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance regarding commercial uses of marijuana, or cannabis.
The commission will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.
At the Wednesday meeting the commission will hold a public hearing on the possible amendments, meant to develop procedures for the allowance of commercial cannabis uses within the city.
The changes would reflect state regulations associated with the recently approved Proposition 64 that legalized the personal use of marijuana in California and other recent legislative changes concerning marijuana over the past couple of years.
At the meeting, commission discussion will include:
• Potential performance standards for commercial cannabis uses including cultivation, manufacturing, testing, retail delivery, etc.
• Possible allowance of cannabis dispensaries.
• Appropriate zoning districts for the allowance of commercial cannabis uses.
• Consideration of buffer distances for Commercial Cannabis uses (e.g., schools, parks, etc.).
• Commercial cannabis operation plan requirements and application selection criteria.
Following that meeting the city will develop a draft ordinance for the regulations of commercial cannabis to be presented to the Lakeport Planning Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 8, at 5 p.m.
If you have any questions feel free to contact the Community Development Department at 707-263-5613 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is caring for numerous cats taken in from the Sulphur fire area earlier this month.
The cats will be held for 30 days after intake to allow their owners to reclaim them before they’re made available to the general public for adoption, according to Director Bill Davidson.
Several of the cats are suffering injuries from having been burned during the fire.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
This young female domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 54a, ID No. 8772. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a brown tabby coat. She is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54a, ID No. 8772.
This male domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 54b, ID No. 8773. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.
She has green eyes and a gray and white coat. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 54b, ID No. 8773.
This adult female domestic short hair is in kennel No. 88, ID No. 8742. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic short hair
This adult female domestic short hair was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 13.
She has a brown tabby coat and gold eyes.
She is in kennel No. 88, ID No. 8742.
This male domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 94, ID No. 8728. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 94, ID No. 8728.
This young female domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 99, ID No. 8739. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 13.
She has a torbie coat and gold eyes. She has not been altered.
She’s in kennel No. 99, ID No. 8739.
This young female domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 147a, ID No. 8731. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a black coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147a, ID No. 8731.
This young female domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 147b, ID No. 8732. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female domestic short hair
This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a gray coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 147b, ID No. 8732.
This male domestic short hair is in kennel No. 153, ID No. 8727. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black coat and gold eyes.
He’s in kennel No. 153, ID No. 8727.
This male domestic short hair cat is in kennel No. 295, ID No. 8729. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male domestic short hair
This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
He has a black and white coat and gold eyes.
He’s in clinic kennel No. 295, ID No. 8729.
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.
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – In order to keep residents impacted by the Sulphur fire as fully informed as possible, a second community recovery meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 26.
The meeting will take place beginning at 5 p.m. at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services ( or CalOES), Lake County, and the city of Clearlake will be there to provide updates and answer questions regarding the recovery process.
“Lake County, CalOES and FEMA have been incredible partners in helping our city deal with the recovery process,” said Clearlake City Manager Greg Folsom. “We know from the county’s experience with the Valley fire and Clayton fire that successful recovery depends upon citizens having an understanding of the cleanup and rebuilding process and we all are committed to helping our citizens through that process.”
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Teenagers are considered at greatest risk for distracted driving, and collisions are the number one killer of teens in the United States.
To address these concerns, the California Highway Patrol and Impact Teen Drivers, or ITD, are joining forces to help eliminate these preventable collisions.
Ten percent of all drivers aged 15 to 19 involved in fatal collisions were reported as distracted at the time.
Based on miles driven, the Foundation of the American Automobile Association has found teens are involved in three times as many fatal collisions as all other drivers.
To improve these statistics, the message of the ITD program is simple: focus on the road ahead and get where you are going safely.
“Teenage drivers are some of the most inexperienced motorists on the road, and with added distractions such as cell phones, we have to work even harder to teach them to drive safely,” CHP Acting Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “Impact Teen Drivers and the CHP share the goal of raising awareness about the dangers of reckless and distracted driving.”
At schools and community events across the state, the CHP and ITD will work to change the behavior of teen drivers.
The one-year grant for the Teen Distracted Drivers Education and Enforcement campaign includes an education component as well as enforcement operations to be conducted throughout California through September 2018.
“It will take all of us – educators, law enforcement, parents, and community leaders – to change the driving culture to one that is distraction-free,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, executive director of ITD. “By combining quality education and enforcement in a multi-faceted approach, we can stop the main killer of teens in America – 100 percent preventable car crashes.”
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Two weeks after they started, fires in Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties have moved still closer to being fully extinguished.
Cal Fire said Saturday night that thousands of firefighters are continuing their efforts across the Mendocino Lake Complex, the Central LNU Complex and the Southern LNU Complex.
The fires, which began on Oct. 8 and 9, have burned more than 200,000 acres and destroyed more than 7,000 structures.
The North Coast’s fires have been among the deadliest in state history. Officials have reported 23 deaths in Sonoma County, eight in Mendocino County and seven in Napa County. No deaths were reported in Lake County.
The Sulphur fire, which burned 168 structures and 2,207 acres in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, has remained at 96-percent containment for the last few days.
That fire, along with the Redwood fire in Mendocino County, is being managed as the Mendocino Lake Complex.
The Redwood fire in Potter and Redwood valleys was up to 96 percent containment on Saturday. It has burned 36,523 acres and close to 300 structures, and claimed eight lives.
The Central LNU Complex – which consists of the Tubbs, Pocket, Sonoma Nuns and Napa Nuns fires – was at 110,366 acres and 87-percent containment, according to Cal Fire’s report.
The total structures destroyed by the complex is now at 6,492, with another 449 damaged, Cal Fire said.
The more than 3,600 firefighters working on the complex are expected to bring it to full containment on Oct. 25.
Cal Fire said the size of the Southern LNU Complex in Napa and Solano counties has remained unchanged at 51,624 acres, with containment up to 90 percent.
More than 1,200 firefighters are continuing to work on the complex. Cal Fire said they are strengthening perimeter control lines, defending structures and engaging in tactical patrol.
A date for full containment has not been given.
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.
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Habitat for Humanity Lake County held the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday for its latest project to build a new home for survivors of last year’s Clayton fire.
The home will be built for Alberto Torrez and Angelica Guerrero at their property in Lower Lake.
When the Clayton fire claimed their home in August 2016, Torrez and Guerrero turned to Habitat for Humanity to help them rebuild.
Joined by Habitat staff, the family watched as Father Bernard Bernard D'Sa of Queen of Peace Parish blessed the ground, the family and the crews who will aid in rebuilding the family’s home.
After the string of devastating fires Lake County has suffered, assistance from the community is urgently needed.
If you are interested in assisting with the build, in providing lunches for the work crews or in donating to this and other Habitat homes, please contact Habitat for Humanity at 707-994-1100.
“The Dean’s Daughter,” by George Frederick Watts. Public domain image. LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of the most famous women of the Victorian Era also was a Lake County resident for a time.
Lillie Langtry, British-born bon vivant, was born on Oct. 13, 1853, at the Old Rectory, St. Savior, on the Isle of Jersey.
Lillie's given name was Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, and her name was often spelled "Lily" in America.
Her father, William Corbet Le Breton, was dean of the Isle of Jersey and the rector of St. Savior's Church, while her mother was a popular beauty called Emilie Davis, prior to eloping with Lillie's father in 1842.
Since Lillie had six brothers, she was an unstoppable tomboy while growing up. She was known for her cliff-climbing abilities and was a strong swimmer, as well as a bareback horse rider.
Her childhood on the Isle of Jersey was chock full of fun, pranks and general tomboy antics. Her French governess felt incapable of managing her impulsive charge, hence, the task of educating Miss Lillie was given over to her brothers' tutor. Luckily for Lillie she received a better education than most young women in her day.
Lillie's fate was sealed one day when she accompanied her mother on a trip to London when she was 16 years old.
Although not poised and refined then, the sophisticated London society made a deep impression on Lillie. She was determined to lose her country ways and join the social order of London one day.
Alas, when she was 20 years old she spied a sleek, polished yacht moving smoothly along the shores of St. Helier Harbor on the Jersey coast. The yacht was piloted by none other than Edward Langtry, a widower and son of a shipping merchant.
In her autobiography entitled, "The Days I Knew," Lillie stated, "I met the owner and fell in love with the yacht."
Edward Langtry proposed to Lillie near the end of his several weeks’ stay, and they were wed in the dean's church, March 9, 1874.
They resided in a mansion in Southampton for about a year, when Lillie became ill and instructed her husband to take her to London to recuperate from a fever. He complied and sold the mansion, moving them to a small dwelling near London.
After a year of near boredom, the Langtrys’ social life picked up to Lillie's delight. By this time she was bored with Edward Langtry's drinking, too.
A fateful invitation by some acquaintances to partake of tea at their swanky estate was the beginnings of what were later to become her fame and fortune.
With the door to London society cracked open, Lillie became much admired and sought after by artists of all ilk. Drawings and paintings were procured. Poets were inspired by her beauty and created sonnets for and about her, while dress designers begged her to wear their distinctive garb.
She became one of the first "superstars" and a professional beauty. A professional beauty was usually a well-bred lady who sashayed about in gorgeous costume in the company of her following.
A piano that was in the Lillie Langtry House in Guenoc Valley, Calif., donated by Orville and Karen Magoon to the Lower Lake Schoolhouse Museum in Lower Lake, Calif. Photo by Kathleen Scavone. Like an early fashion model of today, Lillie's photographs and painting of her likeness were found all around. She sat for paintings by Frank Miles, Sir Edward Poynter and Sir John Everett Millais. The Millais portrait was shown at the Royal Academy.
She endorsed numerous products, such as beauty creams and soaps. The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward's interest was soon aroused by the Jersey Lily. ("Jersey Lily" was a nickname for Lillie after her portrait was so-named by Millais.)
Lillie and the Prince of Wales had a well-known affair until 1880, with a much longer friendship to follow.
After a time, her affair with royalty was no longer tolerated by London society, so she re-created herself into an actress, commencing with a play for charity entitled, "She Stoops to Conquer," which was performed at the Haymarket Theater when she was 28.
A New York theater owner, Henry E. Abbey, was in the audience, enjoying Lillie's successful stage performance and enticed her to come to America to tour. She created a sensation on the American soil, and it wasn't long before she ended up, in all places – the Guenoc Valley in Lake County.
It all began with her debut in New York. Oscar Wilde acted as her advance man in 1882. It was Oscar who introduced Lillie to Freddie Gebhard, the wealthy Baltimore playboy.
When Lillie's extended tour landed her in San Francisco, she was entranced by the surrounding beauty all about California. She traveled to Monterey and Yosemite with Freddie. There was a slight problem, however, and that was that she had never formally divorced Edward Langtry, since England's strict laws prohibited this action.
So, with rumors flying, she and Freddie located a lovely hideout in the Guenoc Valley, far away from her estranged husband and rumormongers. Here, Lillie could live in the beautiful house, with Freddy residing in the nearby hunting lodge.
She needed legal residence for six months, and then filed for citizenship before her divorce was granted in Lakeport.
Lillie purchased the 4,190-acre Guenoc Ranch, outside of Middletown, in 1888 and renamed it "Langtry Farms." Almost all of the land had once been a part of the original Guenoc land grant.
On her lands there were already established fruit orchards, vineyards and a winery. With her marketing abilities she was able to market her wine with hew own likeness on the label. She imported a French winemaker, Henry Duchelles, for her winery.
Her life was a mixture of the excitement of the high life, fame and fortune, but it also but contained elements of the bucolic charms of the countryside here in Lake County.
Lillie traveled the globe and died in Monaco on Feb. 12, 1929.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also formerly wrote for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.
The black and white advertisement with Lillie Langtry endorsing Pears' Soap, was copied and sent to author Kathleen Scavone by the curator of the Watts Gallery in Compton, Guildford, Surrey, England. It ran in The Strand Magazine in September 1893.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is caring for several dogs rescued from the Sulphur fire area and looking to reunite them with their families, while it continues to offer many other dogs for adoption.
The dogs taken in from the Sulphur fire are at the top of the featured listings; they will not be up for adoption to the general public until mid-November in order to give their owners the opportunity to reclaim them.
The dogs in the general shelter population available for adoption this week include mixes of American Bulldog, Belgian Malinois, cattle dog, Chihuahua and German Shepherd.
Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.
The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).
SULPHUR FIRE DOGS
This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Labrador Retriever-poodle mix
This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.
This young male German Shepherd mix is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. German Shepherd mix
This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.
He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.
He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.
This female border collie is in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Border collie mix
This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.
She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.
This female boxer mix is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female boxer mix
This female boxer mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.
She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.
She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736.
OTHER DOGS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION
This female Chihuahua is in kennel No. 7a, ID No. 8758. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female Chihuahua
This female Chihuahua has a short brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 7a, ID No. 8758.
This male Chihuahua is in kennel No. 7b, ID No. 8759. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male Chihuahua
This male Chihuahua has a short black and white coat.
He is in kennel No. 7b, ID No. 8759.
“Dave” is a Belgian Malinois in kennel No. 10, ID No. 8745. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Dave’
“Dave” is a Belgian Malinois with a long red and black coat.
He’s in kennel No. 10, ID No. 8745.
This female German Shepherd is in kennel No. 11, ID No. 8783. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female German Shepherd
This female German Shepherd has a medium-length tan coat.
She already has been spayed.
She’s in kennel No. 11, ID No. 8783.
This female cattle dog is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 8775. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Female cattle dog
This female cattle dog has a short brown coat.
She is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 8775.
This male shepherd mix is in kennel No. 15, ID No. 8721. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male shepherd mix
This male shepherd mix has a long black and white coat.
He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 8721.
This male American Bulldog is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 8762. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. Male American Bulldog
This male American Bulldog has a short black and white coat.
He’s in kennel No. 16, ID No. 8762.
“Pedro” is a male shepherd mix in kennel No. 17, ID No. 8746. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control. ‘Pedro’
“Pedro” is a male shepherd mix.
He has a short tan and white coat.
Shelter staff said he gets along with other dogs.
He’s in kennel No. 17, ID No. 8746.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Edgewater Resort has been there for Lake County fire victims each of the past three years.
Owner Ken McPherson and Edgewater are stepping up again, offering highly discounted rates for Sulphur fire survivors.
Some who lost docks may particularly appreciate that RV sites and cabins are complete with a boat slip.
Pets are also welcome and stay for free at Edgewater, up to two dogs per RV site or cabin.
“As a dog lover, I am particularly pleased that Edgewater Resort is providing safe harbor at an affordable price for all members of the family,” said Carol Huchingson, county administrative officer and disaster recovery authority. “In each of the disasters since 2015, we have seen how valuable it can be for animals and owners to have the opportunity to recover together.”
RV sites are available for the all-inclusive price of $750 per month, through April 1, 2018. These sites offer water, power (50 amp), sewer, wi-fi and high definition cable television, among many amenities.
Edgewater also has three cabins available through April 1, 2018, priced at $1,000 per month. Each has two primary rooms, one with a queen size bed, and one with two twins; maximum occupancy is four people per cabin.
Additionally, cabins have a standard bathroom and fully equipped kitchen, with everything needed to prepare and serve meals. Water, power, wi-fi and high definition cable television are included in Edgewater’s cabin rentals, as well.
“We welcome the opportunity to help Sulphur Fire Survivors get back on their feet,” shares McPherson, “Edgewater is right on Soda Bay, and offers a peaceful setting that has been restorative and healing to many travelers. We hope our resort can aid the recovery of some of those impacted by wildfire.”
Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind, according to new research using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.
NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft is in orbit around Mars gathering data on how the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere and water, transforming from a world that could have supported life billions of years ago into a cold and inhospitable place today.
The process that creates the twisted tail could also allow some of Mars’ already thin atmosphere to escape to space, according to the research team.
“We found that Mars’ magnetic tail, or magnetotail, is unique in the solar system,” said Gina DiBraccio of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s not like the magnetotail found at Venus, a planet with no magnetic field of its own, nor is it like Earth’s, which is surrounded by its own internally generated magnetic field. Instead, it is a hybrid between the two.” DiBraccio is project scientist for MAVEN and is presenting this research at a press briefing Thursday, Oct. 19 at 12:15pm MDT during the 49th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences in Provo, Utah.
The team found that a process called “magnetic reconnection” must have a big role in creating the Martian magnetotail because, if reconnection were occurring, it would put the twist in the tail.
“Our model predicted that magnetic reconnection will cause the Martian magnetotail to twist 45 degrees from what’s expected based on the direction of the magnetic field carried by the solar wind,” said DiBraccio. “When we compared those predictions to MAVEN data on the directions of the Martian and solar wind magnetic fields, they were in very good agreement.”
Mars lost its global magnetic field billions of years ago and now just has remnant “fossil” magnetic fields embedded in certain regions of its surface.
According to the new work, Mars’ magnetotail is formed when magnetic fields carried by the solar wind join with the magnetic fields embedded in the Martian surface in a process called magnetic reconnection.
The solar wind is a stream of electrically conducting gas continuously blowing from the Sun’s surface into space at about one million miles (1.6 million kilometers) per hour.
It carries magnetic fields from the Sun with it. If the solar wind field happens to be oriented in the opposite direction to a field in the Martian surface, the two fields join together in magnetic reconnection.
The magnetic reconnection process also might propel some of Mars’ atmosphere into space. Mars’ upper atmosphere has electrically charged particles (ions). Ions respond to electric and magnetic forces and flow along magnetic field lines.
Since the Martian magnetotail is formed by linking surface magnetic fields to solar wind fields, ions in the Martian upper atmosphere have a pathway to space if they flow down the magnetotail.
Like a stretched rubber band suddenly snapping to a new shape, magnetic reconnection also releases energy, which could actively propel ions in the Martian atmosphere down the magnetotail into space.
Since Mars has a patchwork of surface magnetic fields, scientists had suspected that the Martian magnetotail would be a complex hybrid between that of a planet with no magnetic field at all and that found behind a planet with a global magnetic field.
Extensive MAVEN data on the Martian magnetic field allowed the team to be the first to confirm this. MAVEN’s orbit continually changes its orientation with respect to the Sun, allowing measurements to be made covering all of the regions surrounding Mars and building up a map of the magnetotail and its interaction with the solar wind.
Magnetic fields are invisible but their direction and strength can be measured by the magnetometer instrument on MAVEN, which the team used to make the observations.
They plan to examine data from other instruments on MAVEN to see if escaping particles map to the same regions where they see reconnected magnetic fields to confirm that reconnection is contributing to Martian atmospheric loss and determine how significant it is.
They also will gather more magnetometer data over the next few years to see how the various surface magnetic fields affect the tail as Mars rotates.
This rotation, coupled with an ever-changing solar wind magnetic field, creates an extremely dynamic Martian magnetotail.
“Mars is really complicated but really interesting at the same time,” said DiBraccio.
The research was funded by the MAVEN mission. MAVEN began its primary science mission on November 2014, and is the first spacecraft dedicated to understanding Mars’ upper atmosphere.
SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Officials said Friday that several agencies are working together to soon reopen a portion of Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena near Middletown that was closed due to the region’s wildland fires.
The closure, which has variously been implemented at Western Mine Road and more recently Bradford Road, went into effect on Oct. 10 as a result of the Central LNU Complex burning in Napa and Sonoma counties, as Lake County News has reported.
Highway 29 between Middletown and Napa County is a crucial commuter route for many south Lake County residents. Due to the closure, it’s estimated that commuters now have several additional hours to travel to reach jobs in neighboring counties.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office was asked by Cal Fire to close the road, said Sgt. Steve Krul.
Krul said Friday that crews have been working to make repairs and remove debris every day on Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena, with the highway expected to reopen within the next few days.
Cal Fire officials told Lake County News that the closure was requested due to the need to mitigate a safety hazard.
In the video above, which shows a drive over Mount St. Helena coming from Napa County on Friday evening, fire and Caltrans crews could be seen working along the highway, with large amounts of prunings from trees and brush lying on the roadside.
While the closure is on the Lake County side of the highway, Phil Frisbie, spokesman for Caltrans District 1 – which covers the Lake County area – said the closure was being controlled by Caltrans District 4, which includes Napa County, and Cal Fire.
Vince Jacala, Caltrans public information officer for Napa and Solano counties, told Lake County News on Friday that Caltrans is working closely with Cal Fire on reopening the highway.
“At this point, I’m told that stretch of SR-29 could be reopened to motorists as early as Saturday, Oct. 21, or as late as Sunday, Oct. 22,” Jacala said.
In response to the fires, which Cal Fire said are nearing full containment, crews also are clearing hundreds of dead trees along Highway 128, a crucial route between Calistoga and Sonoma County, Caltrans reported.
Highway 128 has remained closed to allow that tree removal work to take place, according to Jacala, who is featured in a Caltrans video on that work on that highway that can be seen below.
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.
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