LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters are working to contain a wildland fire in a remote area northeast of Clearlake Oaks.

The Ridge fire is located in the 18000 block of Bartlett Springs Road, just west of Indian Valley Reservoir, according to Cal Fire.

The fire, first reported just before 2 p.m. Friday, was reported to be 85 acres with zero containment shortly before 5:30 p.m., Cal Fire said.

No structures have been damaged or destroyed, and no evacuations or road closures are in effect, Cal Fire said.

Cal Fire said the fire is burning at a moderate rate of spread in grassy oak woodland and steep terrain with difficult access.

Resources assigned to the incident early Friday evening included 155 personnel, 15 engines, five air tankers, five fire crews, four bulldozers, four helicopters, three water tenders and three overhead personnel, Cal Fire reported.

Cooperating agencies include the Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Indian Valley Fire Department, Northshore Fire, South Lake County Fire, Williams Fire and the US Forest Service, according to Cal Fire’s report.

Cal Fire said the fire’s cause is 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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council received an update on work being done with proceeds from the city’s Measure V sales tax at its meeting last Thursday, and the news was good – from more projects on the horizon to higher-than-anticipated revenues.

Voters passed Measure V, a dedicated one-cent sales tax to generate revenue for road repairs and improvement, by a supermajority vote of 68.8 percent in November, as Lake County News has reported.

On Thursday, city Finance Director Chris Becnel and Public Works Director Doug Herren updated the council on the work that’s under way or already has been completed.

The discussion starts at the 4:09:51 mark in the video above.

Becnel said that, so far, 3.2 miles of dirt streets have been graded with 1,200 yards of grinding material used.

He presented the grading logs so far, which showed grading has taken place on 28th Avenue, Highlands Avenue, Victor Street, Marin Street, Oakland Avenue, Alvita Avenue, Utah Street, Hale Avenue, Spruce Avenue, Victor Avenue, Highlands Avenue, Manzanita Avenue, HIll Road and Vallejo Street.

There also has been tree trimming on Lakeshore Drive, Meadowbrook, College Avenue and at Pomo Elementary, pothole patching on San Joaquin, Lakeshore Drive and Golf Avenue, and some sign and street maintenance on College Avenue and at Pomo Elementary School, Becnel said.

He said the work is next set to start in the Avenues, and that work will continue while the weather remains good.

On the financial side, Becnel said the city started collecting the revenue from Measure V on April 1.

After paying some expenses out of that, they had about $320,000 left in fund balance that has not been spent yet. They have some plans to use that for equipment.

He also has next quarter’s estimate for revenues, which he’s projected out for the current fiscal year.

During the campaign for Measure V, the estimate of annual revenue from the tax had been $1.6 million. Becnel later raised that to $1.7 million.

However, at the Sept. 28 meeting Becnel said he needed to revise that number still again, thanks to sales tax revenues being a little better at the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year than originally anticipated.

Now, Becnel said he expects the city’s Measure V sales tax revenues for the coming fiscal year to be just under $2 million. “Which is really good.”

Herren told the council that the city has a pavement management plan developed through the Lake County/City Area Planning Council. Every other year a company comes in and assesses the city’s roads and creates a pavement condition index.

If the city follows that program, in about 10 years it will be in a good spot and they can then start looking at forming assessment districts to pave dirt roads, he said. Measure V sunsets in 20 years.

In this first year’s phase, Herren said they were working on streets including Highlands Harbor, Lakeshore Village, Harbor Village, Pine Street and Country Club.

He said the response from the community has been positive. “We’re getting good reviews,” he said, noting that Curt Giambruno, a former councilman who now heads up Measure V’s citizens' oversight committee, also is getting good feedback.

Herren credited his Public Works superintendent, Mike Baker, with doing a phenomenal job on the road projects.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said that she felt other roads in areas like Clearlake Park should have been done first because of their very poor conditions. She recalled trying to deliver a meal to a senior’s home and finding a road impassable.

Herren said they are working on a lot of roads, and have met challenges in getting the work done, partly due to economic factors well out of his and the city’s control.

He said with all the money and road construction projects going on all over the state, he’s struggled to get equipment, and had to fight to get the two pieces of equipment he managed to acquire. “Everything is gone.”

As a result, Herren has started looking to purchase out of state, finding that such equipment doesn’t meet California’s emission standards.

It also has been a challenge to find staff, he said. During the discussion with council, it was noted that he had five staff positions and still had one vacancy.

Then there is the demand for concrete. With major repairs under way to the Oroville Dam, which required about one million yards of concrete, Herren said he can’t compete with the big companies that are purchasing large amounts of concrete for jobs.

As a result, he said the cost of concrete has nearly tripled statewide.

He said he was going to hold back some projects for bid but has been told by people in the industry up and down the state that he needs to put them out as soon as possible because prices are going to continue to go up.

Councilman Phil Harris said he’s taken a ride with Herren and noted the great road improvements taking place around the city. He said people are taking notice of the work.

He said the city is showing that it’s sticking to its word and plans to do what it said it would with the roads. It also constitutes “a huge change in direction.”

Herren said Measure V has been a game changer. For so long all his staff heard from him was “no” when asked to pursue projects. Now, because the city has the funding, he says his response is, “Absolutely.”

Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier said he was concerned that, by that point, the city had only graded 3.2 miles of the 49 miles of dirt roads.

Herren said his staff was getting up to speed on grading. He had not been able to find a contractor who would do the work for $500,000 – he said it was estimated to be up to three times that amount – so his staff is doing it.

They have about $1.5 million in materials at the corporation yard to use for the projects. Processing the materials has taken them time, so they are now hiring a company to process their materials at a cost of $60,000. That will save his staff large amounts of time, as he’s had to dedicate a staffer and a backhoe to going out and breaking up the materials, Herren said.

He said they are still learning and will have a much better push in the next year.

Herren also reported that, at that point, they had likely graded more like 10 to 12 miles of dirt roads, and that some of what they had done wasn’t recorded in the report.

City Manager Greg Folsom said he also had asked Baker if they would be able to grade all 50 miles of dirt roads next summer, and Baker had told him that as long as they had equipment he believed they could.

Sabatier questioned the amount staff had set aside for equipment, totaling about $150,000.

Herren said he and Becnel had met the previous week and that they had about $300,000 set aside, and would have more when Measure V funds along with gas tax funds for that purpose.

He said he’s chosen to buy equipment rather than rent it, and also has borrowed equipment from the city and county of Lakeport when possible, but added those jurisdictions also are busy with projects.

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 Board of Supervisors heard this week from a representative of Hoberg’s Resort about the continuing cleanup at the resort, which was destroyed in the September 2015 Valley fire.

Scott Schellinger, on behalf of Hoberg’s Historical Association – the resort’s owner – went before the board on Tuesday morning, along with Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski.

Schellinger said that they were finishing up the toxic materials cleanup, with 10 cubic yards of lead-contaminated ash and soil set to come off the property by the middle of next week.

He said they were waiting for the state to issue a permit so the toxic materials could be transported to a special facility in Southern California.

Once that is done, and Ruminski signs off, the toxic part of the cleanup will be completed, said Schellinger.

Another aspect of the cleanup relates to wood – including thousands of trees removed after being damaged in the Valley fire – that has been stored and processed at the property.

Schellinger said that wood cleanup is 90-percent complete and continuing.

There also is additional construction debris being processed. Schellinger said they are tearing out concrete and other masonry that they hope to repurpose for road base and other recycled uses in the future.

“So completion is right around the corner?” asked Supervisor Rob Brown.

“Imminent,” said Schellinger.

Brown asked how much more material the resort planned to send to the local landfill. Schellinger said he hoped not a lot.

Brown also asked him about checks that had been returned or were waiting to be cleared that had been paid to the county for the landfill. Schellinger said he thought those checks had been addressed. Brown said one check was covered, one wasn’t and one was waiting to clear.

Schellinger said there is an erosion control plan being developed. They’re still moving concrete debris as much as they can before putting the erosion control measures in place for the winter.

He said they are aware of the erosion issues, especially those caused by water coming onto and crossing the resort property.

In March 2016 stormwater runoff surcharged the resort's septic system, sending runoff into a nearby drainage and then into Big Canyon Creek, which empties into Putah Creek, as Lake County News has reported. That led to an abatement that was finished by a county-hired contractor.

Supervisor Moke Simon asked about an Oct. 15 deadline to have the cleanup completed. Schellinger said they were keeping to that plan.

Simon emphasized that the community wants to see the property cleanup completed, a process that has been continually drawn out.

Schellinger said the speed of the cleanup was a function of staffing and financial availability.

He said he didn’t want to give the board the impression that they could just write a check and make it happen.

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. – The Lake County Literacy Coalition’s major fundraiser, the Vineyard Run for Literacy, is right around the corner, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14.

For the past 28 years, the coalition, with the help of the literacy volunteers, has conducted the annual fundraising event.

The walk and runs begin at 9 a.m., with on-site registration from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at Steele Wines, 4350 Thomas Drive in Kelseyville.

This event attracts participants from all over the state as well as visitors from other areas.

Many local businesses donate prizes and participants in all age ranges are recognized.

Coalition Board Member Deb Ehrhardt, urges everyone to “support the run on Saturday, October 14, at Steele Wines by participating, donating to Lake County Literacy Coalition or purchasing one of the newly designed T-shirts.”

Register online at Run Sign Up or contact the literacy office for a form.

Since 1986, the coalition has raised money to support the Adult Literacy programs run by the Lake County Library.

The program recruits and trains volunteers from the community to work one-on-one with individuals who need help to improve basic reading, writing and comprehension skills.

“Over the years, the Literacy program has trained well over 1200 tutors who in turn helped more than 2100 learners,” literacy coordinator Ginny DeVries said.

This tutoring is free to all Lake County residents, age 18 and older.

Many college students take advantage of this free tutoring service, especially first-year students.

They learn how to succeed in taking tests and improve note-taking ability.

One client willing to share his story was Jason Martinez. He passionately wanted to be a chef, but his reading and writing skills had been a problem when it came to passing the exams at the Culinary Arts class at Yuba College in Clearlake, now part of the Woodland College system.

He and his tutor met regularly for 17 weeks, and with that help, Martinez received an “A” in his Culinary Arts class and soon became a full-time cook at Running Creek Casino.

Tutors are available to assist learners on an individual basis at the county library branches and other locations.

In addition, if an adult learner has young children, the whole family is eligible for services under the Families for Literacy Program.

Family storytimes are offered at the library branches and children’s educational materials are provided (at no cost to the families) to encourage a love of reading and to break the cycle of illiteracy.

Funds raised by the Literacy Coalition are used for books, training materials and tutor support.

For more information about the literacy program and services, call the library literacy office at 707-263-7633.

Pedestrian and bicyclist safety, a priority for the California Highway Patrol, will be enhanced by a federal grant in the coming year.

“Far too many Californians are being killed or injured while walking or bicycling on our roadways,” said CHP Acting Commissioner Warren Stanley. “The grant will promote awareness and respect between all road users; specifically, to impart the importance of safely interacting with each other while sharing the road.”

Bicycle and pedestrian fatalities account for 29 percent of roadway fatalities in the CHP’s jurisdiction in California. Data from the CHP Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System in 2015 showed there were at least 310 bicyclists and pedestrians killed and more than 3,100 injured on California roadways.

The California Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Enforcement and Education Project grant will help CHP officers use pedestrian and bicyclist collision information to conduct enhanced enforcement activities and public education campaigns.

Officials said the funds will be shared amongst various CHP offices throughout the state.

Although grant activities will focus on collision factors associated with the highest number of fatalities and injuries, the enforcement component will include all laws that affect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

This includes motorists who fail to yield for pedestrians, motorists who illegally pass school buses, and bicyclists who do not stop at stop signs or lights.

Traffic safety rodeos and educational presentations emphasizing children and the elderly will help the CHP promote safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist behavior to protect those who choose to walk or bike.

The grant helps the CHP apply additional resources to bicycle and pedestrian safety and accomplish its mission of saving lives.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Escorted by parents, teachers, police officers and the Clear Lake High School marching band, hundreds of Lakeport students on Wednesday participated in the “International Walk to School Day.”

The Lakeport Police Department, Lakeport Public Works Department and Lakeport Unified School District partnered to hold the event.

The students made their way to school in groups from a staging area at High Street Village shopping center to the school sites at the nearby Lakeport Unified campus on Lange Street.

In the video above by Lake County News videographer John Jensen, city and school officials and students share their thoughts about the day.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A Hidden Valley Lake man was flown out of county on Wednesday afternoon after he was involved in a motorcycle wreck near Upper Lake.

Randall P. Listman, 64, sustained major injuries in the crash, which occurred just before 1:15 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 29 south of the Highway 20 and 29 intersection, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said Listman was riding his 2013 Honda motorcycle north on Highway 29, south of Tule Lake Road, at an unknown speed when, for reasons not yet determined, he drove off of the east side of the roadway and hit an embankment.

A REACH air ambulance flew Listman to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries, according to the CHP.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are considered factors in the collision at this time, the CHP said.

The CHP said Listman was wearing his helmet.

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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has identified the Upper Lake man killed in a motorcycle crash on Highway 20 last week.

Jeffery Allen Smith, 41, was the victim in the crash, according to Capt. Greg Van Patten.

The crash that took Smith’s life occurred just before 10:40 p.m. Friday on Highway 20 west of Old Lake County Road near mile marker 41.43, as Lake County News has reported.

The Ukiah Area office of the California Highway Patrol said Smith was traveling eastbound on Highway 20 at a high rate – believed to be in excess of 100 miles per hour – when he and the motorcycle went off the road and hit a reflector post.

The motorcycle overturned multiple times before the bike and Smith hit a rock pile south of the roadway, according to the CHP report.

The Ukiah Area CHP told Lake County News on Wednesday that the crash remains under investigation, and that there was no new information about what had led to the wreck.

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. – Clearlake Animal Control has eights dogs waiting for new homes this week.

This week’s available dogs include mixes of Great Dane, Labrador Retriever, pit bull, shepherd and terrier.

To meet the animals, call Clearlake Animal Control at 707-994-8201 and speak to Marcia at Extension 103 or call Extension 118, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or leave a message at any other time.

Below are this week's available pets.

‘Bruno’

“Bruno” is a young male Labrador Retriever.

He has a short black coat.

‘Champ’

“Champ” is a young male Labrador Retriever.

He has a short black coat with white markings.

‘Hank’

“Hank” is a young male Labrador Retriever and Great Dane mix.

He has a short black coat with white markings.

Shelter staff said he is a big baby that will make a good family dog.

‘Marma Duke’

“Marma Duke” is an adult male pit bull terrier mix.

Shelter staff said he is a beautiful brindle boy who is now ready to be adopted into a loving family. He would be a great jogging buddy.

‘Oscar’

“Oscar” is a 6-month-old male terrier mix with a short tricolor coat.

Shelter staff said Oscar is adorable and a staff favorite. He’s ready for his new home.

‘Sarah’

“Sarah” is a young female pit bull terrier mix with a short black coat.

Shelter staff said she needs a family to love.

‘Sheldon’

“Sheldon” is an adult male shepherd and Great Dane mix with a short black coat and white markings.

Shelter staff said he is a big sweetheart looking for his forever family.

‘Tippy’

“Tippy” is a young female pit bull terrier mix with a short gray coat.

Shelter staff said she is a love bug just waiting for her new home.

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. – The 27th running of the Konocti Challenge cycling event is set to occur this Saturday, Oct. 7, and there is still time for interested cyclists to sign up and take part.

This event, produced by the Rotary Club of Lakeport, brings in hundreds of cyclists and their guests to participate in this very unique and fun event.

The ride is staged from the Skylark Shores Resort in Lakeport with the festivities beginning on Friday afternoon with a wine tasting and rider packet pickup from 4 to 7 p.m.

The ride takes off from the Skylark on Saturday at 7 a.m. Cyclists will travel around the lake with four different routes to choose from.

The 20-mile and 40-mile routes travel through Scotts Valley and to Kelseyville.

The 65- and 100-mile routes circle Clear Lake with the 100-mile route traveling to Middletown an up and over Cobb Mountain.

The ride route maps can be found at www.konoctichallenge.com.

The ride brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Lake County community with hotels filled, restaurants filled and the shops and wineries seeing many visitors.

“This is an amazing event for our community and we are excited to bring all of these folks to our beautiful area,” said Konocti Challenge Ride Director and Lakeport Rotarian Jennifer Strong. “This is a great opportunity for us to show off the incredible assets we have and to encourage these cyclists to come back other times during the year.”

The ride is highly regarded as one of the best in the state as was apparent with their recent Cycle CA! Magazine Awards for the Best Metric Century of 2014 and the 2015 Excellence in Service Award.

If you would like to register for the event, please do so online at www.konoctichallenge.com or you can register at the event on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning.

There also are still volunteer opportunities available; contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are interested in helping and please share the road.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night presented a proclamation in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, met the city’s newest police officer and approved a project list for SB 1 funds.

Mayor Stacey Mattina presented the proclamation designating October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month to Lake Family Resource Center Executive Director Jennifer Dodd and center staffer Kimberly Layton.

The proclamation stated that in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, Lake County law enforcement responded to more than 371 incidents of domestic violence involving men, women and children.

In the past year, the District Attorney’s Office’s Victim Witness Division has served 224 victims of domestic violence, and the District Attorney’s Office has prosecuted 118 felonies and 106 misdemeanor acts of domestic violence, according to the document.

“Lake Family Resource Center responded to 372 crisis line calls, served victims, and additionally sheltered 166 domestic violence victims and their children for a total of 5,335 bed nights,” the proclamation said.

“That’s a lot of numbers, and the numbers are actually worse,” said Dodd.

Before the meeting she had handed out small pink cards with the toll-free number for the community crisis line, 888-485-7733.

That number is a resource for domestic violence victims, it reaches the Rape Crisis Center and also is a suicide prevention resource, she said.

“I guarantee you, someone you know needs it,” she said of the number.

She said everyone in the room was connected to someone who has had physical, emotional, financial or spiritual violence, and is stuck in a cycle of power and control.

People in Lake County have died due to domestic violence, she said. “Please don’t be silent.”

Dodd said that it generally takes a victim seven times before they actually leave, and that’s when they’re at the most dangerous point.

Also on Tuesday, Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen presented his agency’s newest officer, Casey Debolt, who was sworn in on Monday.

Debolt was born and raised in Lake County. He served six years in the United States Army and had two deployments overseas, in Iraq and Egypt, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said Debolt attended Santa Rosa Junior College and ended up being a top candidate in the city’s recent recruitment.

After his official welcome by the council – and a round of applause from the audience – Debolt left to get back to work, accompanied by Sgt. Mike Sobieraj.

In other business during the council’s 15-minute meeting, Public Works Director Doug Grider sought and received the council’s approval of a resolution approving the city’s SB 1 project list for fiscal year 2017-18.

SB 1 is the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Grider’s report said the bill increases gasoline and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees to address basic road maintenance and rehabilitation needs on both state highways and local streets and roads.

A portion of the funding is distributed to cities like Lakeport based on a formula. “This is a requirement to be eligible for these funds,” Grider said.

As part of that brief discussion, the council amended the budget to account for anticipated Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account funds in the amount of $26,923.

Grider said the document needed to be submitted to the California Transportation Commission by Oct. 16.

Staff proposed that the funds be used for the Third Street Thin Lift Overlay Project, which Grider’s report explained includes the mill and fill of failed areas along Third Street between Main and Forbes streets with a thin lift overlay.

The council approved the proposal unanimously.

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.

100317 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting this week to discuss a response to the grand jury and a number of abatements.

The council will meet beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, in closed session to discuss a lawsuit before meeting in open session at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

On the agenda is the council's receipt and response to the 2016-17 Lake County Grand Jury Report.

City Manager Greg Folsom’s report explained that the grand jury document included several issues related to the city of Clearlake or mentioning Clearlake – road conditions, tax lien sales and animal control.

“A response is only required regarding the road conditions since the other two items only mentioned the City of Clearlake and were primarily about the County,” he wrote.

He said staff supports the report’s recommendations, including prioritizing the roadway rehabilitation in terms of existing problems and coordinating with the county of Lake to participate in a tax lien property tax sale.

In other business, the council will consider approving a resolution for criminal history checks of commercial marijuana dispensaries and discuss awarding a contract for professional engineering design services relating to the Country Club Drive Pavement Rehabilitation Preliminary Study Report.

Also on the agenda, the council will consider abatement orders for 11 properties: 4116 Sunset Ave., 3900 Vista Robles Way, 15595 31st Ave., 3843 Emile Ave., 15961 21st Ave., 4075 Eureka Ave., 4055 Eureka Ave., 3051 Sixth St., 3071 Sixth St., 3347 Seventh St. and 3355 Seventh St.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted as a slate on one vote – is a resolution correcting the deed and re-transfer of the Clearlake City Hall property to the city of Clearlake from the successor agency for the former redevelopment agency.

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.