LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Students, firefighters and educators gathered on Tuesday to celebrate a significant donation to the Lower Lake High School Fire Science Program – its own fire truck.

Parked in front of the high school, students in firefighter turnouts were on hand with administrators and local fire officials to dedicate the truck.

Northshore Fire Protection District donated the 1988 FMC fire engine to the school, said Jay Beristianos, chief of Northshore Fire.

Beristianos said the truck has a 1,500-gallon-per-minute pump and a 500-gallon tank, with fire science lead instructor Chris Vallerga adding that it has 500 feet of 5-inch hose.

Students expressed their excitement and gratitude for the truck, and their eagerness to be able to use it as they prepare for careers in the fire service.

Jim Burton, the retired chief of the Clearlake Oaks Fire District – which has since been consolidated into Northshore Fire – was on hand for the dedication, along with wife, Sue, a member of the Konocti Unified School District Board.

He recalled helping design the fire truck in 1988, estimating it cost between $150,000 to $200,000 when it was brand new. Fire trucks have since more than doubled in price.

The engine will stay in the county and be used on incidents in addition to the program, Vallerga said.

The fire science program has received other important support, including help with other expensive equipment – such as uniforms and helmets – from the Lake County Fire Protection District, Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Donna Becnel.

Vallerga said the Redbud Health Care District also has donated $26,000 for turnouts, the equipment firefighters wear during incidents.

Now in its third yard, with three class levels, Lower Lake High’s fire science program is getting high marks from Becnel.

“It’s very successful, and it’s continuing to grow each year that it’s in existence,” Becnel said.

Becnel said the program began in the 2014-15 school year, with a joint discussion that the fire district started with the school regarding how they could promote science to get more young people into firefighting.

The first year, the program started with just one class, introduction to fire science, expanding to a second class section in the second year, Vallerga said.

Lake County Fire was trying to do the class instruction for the first year, with the instructors teaching on their days off. Vallerga said Lake County Fire Chief Willie Sapeta, who also was on hand for the event, approached him about taking over the instruction, which he did beginning in the program's second year.

The fire science program's classes are held at Lake County Fire's Lower Lake Station 65, said Vallerga, a retired Cal Fire fire captain specialist who lives in Lower Lake.

In addition to Vallerga, the program has a number of highly experienced and qualified substitute instructors, including Sapeta; Kris Breiner, a captain at Calistoga Fire; and Mike Ciancio, deputy chief of Northshore Fire.

With 38 years of experience in firefighting, most of it spent in Lake County, Vallerga introduces students to the real world of firefighting and teamwork.

In addition to his firefighting experience, Vallerga taught at Napa High School in 2010 and 2011, as well as at Yuba College and the Cal Fire Academy.

This year, Vallerga said, Lower Lake High's fire science program has expanded further, to a total of three class sections: first year, introduction to fire science; second year, advanced fire science; and third year, work experience, in which the students will staff the engine and, in emergency situations, be able to respond and support local fire district personnel.

The students and their equipment also will be available to help the local fire districts with different functions. He said currently they are working on GPS mapping of the hydrant grid for Lower Lake.

Vallerga said the students learn many things, from tying knots and hitches, to the basics of putting out a fire.

The students also have had the chance to learn basic equipment operation, including ladders and chainsaws. Vallerga brought in his longtime colleague Mike Walton, a veteran Cal Fire bulldozer operator, to show them dozer work.

He also introduces them to the law enforcement side of firefighting. The second year's advanced fire class devotes 20 hours to arson investigations and general law enforcement, which includes understanding Miranda rights.

Vallerga brings considerable experience in fire investigations to his teaching, as he still is a member of the Lake County Arson Task Force.

Then, they take turns fixing lunch for the other students, as sometimes happens at firehouses. “It’s the real world,” Vallerga said.

One of the things Vallerga hopes his students learn is teamwork, explaining, “There is no individuality in the fire services.”

He also emphasized that the fire service is a lifestyle, not a job.

Many people who go into the fire service are from families in which there are several generations who have been in the profession, said Vallerga.

One of Vallerga's goals is to produce students who want to move into the fire service and provide the next generation of local fire professionals.

He said he's already seen a few of his students from Napa High move into the profession, and one of this year's Lower Lake High class members is now a volunteer with Lake County Fire.

Vallerga said the program will be successful if it can recruit two students a year, and so far it's surpassed that. The program now has 24 students, including several girls.

“It’s slowly but surely grown,” he said.

Even after one year, with just one section offered, the fire science program had done so well that it inspired the creation of a law enforcement class that began in the 2015-16 school year, and now has three sections, two for first-year and one for second-year students, Becnel said.

She said the school also has a police explorer program in which students work with the Clearlake Police Department.

“Our emergency response pathway is really taking hold and growing,” she said.

In fact, she said interest is expanding, and it’s starting to get attention from other school districts. Konocti Unified also has linked its fire science program with Woodland Community College, which has added an emergency medical technician class, which is a component of the overall fire science coursework.

Becnel said the fire science program will definitely continue as long as there is interest and funding.

The program would be helped if the Lower Lake fire station could be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Becnel said, because it would give access to the students and further build the fire science program.

Full staffing of Lower Lake’s Station 65 is one of the goals of Measure D, which goes before voters in the Lake County Fire Protection District – which encompasses Clearlake and Lower Lake – in a special March 7 election.

Sapeta added that, without Measure D's passage, he doubts his agency will have the staffing needed to continue to support the high school fire science program.

There are many people who want to make sure that the program sticks around.

That includes Jim and Sue Burton, whose grandson, now an eighth grader, is hoping to participate in the program when he gets to high school next year.

Fire science classes usually start at the community college level. Vallerga said there aren't many fire science programs in high school, estimating there are about six statewide.

Many have been blended into “public safety” pathways rather than just fire science, as happened at Napa High School, Vallerga said.

Becnel added that few K-12 school districts have even one class in firefighting, and “nothing close to what we have.”

She added, “I don’t think there’s any other district that owns a fire engine.”

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. – Beautiful Upper Lake, California is situated eight miles north of Lakeport and stands at an elevation of 1,345 feet.

Upper Lake is also known as “The Gateway to the Mendocino National Forest.”

This quiet town was established in 1854. By around 1881 there were 150 people in the township of Upper Lake.

If you view photographs from the 1800s on the Lake County Historical Society's Web site, you will see the fine shops that once made up the town, including pharmacies, grocery, dry goods, saloons, hardware shops and more.

Upper Lake's Tallman Hotel is a stately Upper Lake landmark. It was constructed in about 1874, but sadly burned down in 1895.

It wasn't long before it was rebuilt, as there was an imminent need for lodging, since Upper Lake was a popular stage stop.

Rufus Tallman, the hotel's proprietor, hailed from New York. Rufus first entered California to mine gold, arriving via the difficult Panama Route.

In 1861 he found his bride-to-be, Mary Ellen, living in Scotts Valley. They ended up with a large family of 13 children. Rufus Tallman passed away in 1904, then, his wife followed him in death in 1912.

Next, the hotel became known as Riffe's Hotel. Riffe's Hotel was still in the Tallman family, however, since Rufus Tallman's daughter, Winnie inherited the hotel, and married Hank Riffe, hence the hotel's moniker of that time.

The Blue Wing Saloon, next door to the Tallman Hotel, began serving customers in the 1880s when it  satisfied many a traveler's thirst, until Prohibition struck.

Another old time Upper Lake landmark building is the Harriet Lee Hammond Library, which turned 100 years old in October 2016.

According to Lake County librarian, Jan Cook, and an earlier Lake County News article by Editor Elizabeth Larson, the Hammond Library was constructed in the craftsman style, and was named for Harriet Lee Hammond, who originally hailed from an East Coast family.

Harriet's older sister, Alice Hathaway Lee, became Theodore Roosevelt's first wife. Unfortunately, Alice passed away in 1884 soon after their only child, also named Alice, was born.

Harriet Lee Hammond came west in the 1880s with her husband to “pursue agriculture” on their 600-acre Upper Lake farm. Her husband's name was Charles Mifflin Hammond, and he was a Harvard graduate.

Many of the early Upper Lake residents resided in the outskirts of town, since the three nearby creeks were prone to winter flooding.

Northeast of Upper Lake is Snow Mountain, which was given its name by the Pomo Indians. Aptly named, Snow Mountain holds onto its snowy cloak longer than most local peaks, as it is 7,056 feet in elevation.

The Pomo Indians enjoyed the riches of the mountain and its valleys through hunting deer, elk and small game. When the season was right they harvested grains and acorns. Their summer camps were located in the mountain's regions. 

According to the informational sign at the entrance to Upper Lake, this busy little burg was part of Salvador Vallejo's land grant. Actually, it included what is now the town of Upper Lake, and the valleys of Bachelor, Big and Scotts Valleys.

Upper Lake has an all-encompassing history since, in 1822, Mexico gained its independence from Spain and the chain of 21 missions were secularized. The secularization process brought about land grants in what is now California.

Then, Salvador Vallejo, who was the brother of the military governor of Northern California, Mariano Vallejo, was the recipient of one these land grants.

At this time in California's famous history, Anglos began heading West and became tired of Mexican rule, which led to the infamous Bear Flag revolt in the town of Sonoma in the year of 1846.

Upper Lake boasts two of those “Bear Flaggers,” as they were known – Benjamin Dewell and William Elliot.

Elliot and Dewell, turned out to be some of the first European-American pioneers in Upper Lake. They dwelled near what is now the United States Forest Service ranger station on Elk Mountain Road. 

Today Upper Lake retains its old-timey flavor with the interesting shops in the Old Town section, wine tasting, antique shops, the historic Upper Lake Library and the Blue Wing Saloon.

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 writes 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.

Eruptions on the Sun's surface send clouds of electrically charged particles towards Earth, producing solar storms that – among other things – can trigger the beautiful Northern Lights over the Arctic regions.

But the storms may also have a strong impact on the efficiency of communication and navigation systems at high latitudes. It is therefore important to study the phenomena.

New research from DTU Space and University of New Brunswick (Prof. Richard Langley), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Dr. Attila Komjathy) and University of Illinois (Dr. Mark D. Butala) shows that, apparently, there is a surprising and unknown mechanism in play during solar storms.

During solar storms, large bursts of electrons are usually sent into the part of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere, which starts about 80 kilometers above the Earth.

This phenomenon occurs especially at high latitudes. It happens because the magnetic field created by the eruption on the Sun interferes with the Earth's magnetic field. It opens, so to speak, up to allow particles and electrons – that would otherwise be reflected – to penetrate the ionosphere.

It is a known phenomenon. But it turns out that electrons at the same time disappear from large areas, which has not been demonstrated earlier.

"We made extensive measurements in connection with a specific solar storm over the Arctic in 2014, and here we found that electrons in large quantities are virtually vacuum-cleaned from areas extending over 500 to 1,000 kilometers. It takes place just south of an area with heavy increases in electron density, known as patches," said Professor Per Høeg from DTU Space.

The results of the research were recently published on the front page of the renowned scientific journal Radio Science. The discovery is an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle of understanding solar storms and their impact on the Earth's ionosphere.

It's a surprising discovery that we hadn't anticipated. We can see that it happens, but we don't know why. However, other data sets from Canada indirectly support our new observations," says Per Høeg.

Dramatic changes in magnetic field

The explanation of the phenomenon should probably be found in the geomagnetic processes in the Earth's magnetic field in a direction away from the Sun.

The composition of the magnetic field undergoes dramatic changes in the area between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field, triggering powerful burst of energy.

"The forerunner to the phenomenon is a violent eruption on the Sun's surface--also known as coronal mass ejections or CME, where bubbles of hot plasma and gas in the form of particles, electrons, and a magnetic field are hurled in the direction of the Earth," said Høeg.

As the geomagnetic solar storm took place in the ionosphere over the Arctic in February 2014, it was measured via satellites and land-based measuring stations.

Among other things, via the GPS network GNET in Greenland – which DTU helps run – via DTU's geomagnetic measuring stations, the global navigation system GPS, and various American and Canadian satellites. Thus, large data volumes from the solar storm were recorded.

The research extends far beyond the discovery that electrons are pulled out during solar storms.

"There are two aspects of this research. It can both be used for a number of practical purposes, and then there is a theoretical part which is about achieving a better basic understanding of these phenomena,” said Tibor Durgonics, PhD student at DTU Space and main author of the new article in Radio Science.

"Our work can contribute to making navigation more reliable during ionospheric storms in the Arctic region,” said Durgonics. “Our new research has enabled us to identify a number of critical factors that affect the quality of satellite-based navigation, and to assess the probability of when these factors may occur. At a more theoretical level, we have found out that during solar storms, electrons are removed in the ionosphere, which is the opposite of what you intuitively would expect."

When the magnetic field from solar eruptions hits the Earth's magnetic field in the ionosphere, their force fields are mixed.

Consequently, unstable areas – so-called patches – are created in the Earth's ionosphere, extending over large areas near the North Pole.

The area of patches at the polar cap may extend over 500 to 1,000 kilometers with electron speeds exceeding 1,000 meters per second. This gives rise to surging powerful Northern Lights and creates turbulent conditions.

Interferes with navigation and communication systems

Knowledge about solar storms are important, as communication with airborne signals via satellites and radio play an increasingly important in society. Solar storms may interfere with GPS satellites and their signals, make radio communication fail, and cause extensive power failures.

The risk of disruptions in the ionosphere is one of the reasons why no routine flights are made over the Arctic, although this would shorten air travel between Europe and America.

The high-frequency signals used by commercial flights over Greenland will be subject to interference during solar storms. The ability to predict and take into account these kinds of conditions is therefore important for future commercial air traffic in the region. The same applies to marine traffic in the Arctic.

Professor Høeg hopes that the work conducted at DTU Space – in addition to ensuring more knowledge about the phenomenon – will contribute to the development of communication and navigation systems that can take into account conditions during solar storms to ensure safe flights and sailing in the polar cap areas.

DTU Space is currently participating in several research projects under ESA and the EU's Horizon 2020 program which develop systems that can handle the conditions during space weather and solar storm conditions for aviation and marine traffic, among other things.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has another broad selection of dogs this week, from big to little dogs, puppies to seniors.

The dogs available this week include mixes of border collie, boxer, cattle dog, Chihuahua, dachshund, German Shepherd, husky, Labrador Retriever, pit bull and wirehaired terrier mix.

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”).

Chihuahua-dachshund puppy

This female Chihuahua-dachshund puppy has a short tricolor coat.

She’s in kennel No. 2c, ID No. 6993.

'Miles'

“Miles” is a young male pit bull terrier mix with a short brindle coat and gold eyes.

Shelter staff said he is great with other dogs and a little shy of people, but show him some kindness and he will learn to trust you. He would do great in a home with children ages 10 years old and up. They also believe he would be OK with cats. He’s looking for a calm, quiet home.

She's in kennel No. 6, ID No. 6875.

Pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier mix has a short white coat with black markings, and one blue and one brown eye.

She’s in kennel No. 11a, ID No. 7016.

Pit bull terrier

This female pit bull terrier mix has a short white coat and blue eyes.

She’s in kennel No. 11a, ID no. 7017.

‘Ralph’

“Ralph” is a Labrador Retriever-wirehaired terrier mix with a medium-length brown coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 14, ID No. 6787.

Female German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a short black and tan coat.

She is calm, and appears to have recently had puppies.

Shelter staff said she is good with other dogs.

She’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 6995.

German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a long back and tan coat.

She’s in kennel No. 17, ID No. 6987.

‘Trixie’

“Trixie” is a female boxer-Labrador Retriever mix.

She has a short tan coat with white markings, and has already been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 23, ID No. 7036.

‘Kane’

“Kane” is a male shepherd mix with a medium-length tan and black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 26, ID No. 7027.

Male husky

This male husky has a fluffy black and white coat.

He already has been neutered.

He’s in kennel No. 27, ID No. 7034.

Male pit bull terrier

This male pit bull terrier mix has a short cream-colored coat.

He’s in kennel No. 28, ID No. 7032.

Cattle dog

This senior male cattle dog has a short brown coat.

Shelter staff said he’s good with other dogs, and has a low energy level. They said he is a “very sweet boy” who needs a family to just love him for however many years he has left. Low energy level.

He’s in kennel No. 31, ID No. 7000.

‘Theo’

“Theo” is a male border collie mix.

He has a long blue merle coat and gold eyes.

He’s in kennel No. 33, ID No. 7040.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

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.

Save

This week in history features an unfortunate event blown out of proportions.

March 5, 1770

It would have been more appropriate to call it a “Protest Gone Awry” or maybe an instance of “British Troops Heavy-Handed.” Certainly, it wasn’t a “Massacre.” But then again, no one said the media had to be fair or balanced, least of all those in colonial America (actually, the media hadn’t changed all that much a century later).

A name, introduced in a newspaper headline, popularized by political rhetoric of the day and canonized by two centuries of student textbooks – that is the “Bloody [later Boston] Massacre.

But what’s in a name? Well, as with all things relating to such an important historical event, quite a bit. Very few things in the world of history are ever easily explained (I consider that job security for us historians).

The origins of colonial-English tension can arguably be traced back decades before the first shots of the American Revolution echoed over Massachusetts fields.

In the thriving port city of Boston, anger over British overreaching ramped up following the passage of a series of laws collectively known as the Townsend Acts in June of 1767. The acts consisted of increased taxes on goods like glass, paints, and tea. A year later, British troops were sent to Boston to enforce the new laws.

After two years of enduring occupation by an invading army – as the colonists saw the British garrison – frustrated Bostonians began chaffing at the indignity.

This frustration frequently manifested in hurled taunts and insults as well as the occasional mud pie or clod of horse manure.

On the cold night of March 5, 1770, icicles and rocks were included in the barrage as a group of angry colonists harassed a detachment of British regulars sent to guard the Customs House. This would prove to be no ordinary protest.

Captain Preston, the commanding officer of the Customs House, ordered his troops to fix bayonets, hoping to frighten the Bostonian rioters into backing away.

Unfortunately, this act of aggression only heightened the tension in the street and more projectiles were hurled at the quaking line of regulars.

One stone hit Private Hugh Montgomery in the head, causing the frightened young man to discharge his weapon into the crowd. Perhaps thinking that an order to fire had been given, the rest of the British soldiers let loose a volley.

When the smoke cleared, five colonists were dead or dying and three more injured. The names of the fallen, later to be eulogized as the first victims of the Revolution, are as follows: Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick and James Caldwell.

Popular belief has it that Attucks, an African American, was the first casualty. As poignant as this version of events is, there is no firm evidence to support this claim.

Regardless of who was the first to fall, the killing of supposedly unarmed civilians set the city of Boston afire.

The British soldiers were saved from a lynching by an unlikely source: future President John Adams, then an attorney in Boston.

Despite public sentiment firmly against his clients, Adams led a fiery defense in court. No matter how well-spoken his arguments, though, Adams was fighting an uphill battle and two of the soldiers were found guilty of manslaughter. Their thumbs were branded with an “M” as punishment.

It didn’t take long for the unfortunate event to be taken up as a banner by both parties: the British and the American Patriots.

On their part, the British found the blood-thirsty response to be further proof of the colonists’ colonial (uncivilized) manners.

For a group of patriots called the Sons of Liberty, the massacre was a wanton act of aggression by the imperial powers and a PR opportunity ripe for the picking.

Paul Revere, a member of the Sons of Liberty, immortalized the bloody night when he made an engraving of the event.

Featured in local newspapers, Revere’s version of the massacre appears under the title “The bloody massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regt.”

Words certainly have power to stir the imagination and change the minds of readers. However, as squiggles and lines intelligible only to the literate, words had their limits in colonial America.

Literacy in New England at the time is difficult to gauge, but probably sat somewhere around 85 percent for men and half that for women, according to a report from the Colonial Williamsburg Association.

Images, on the other hand, were universal. Everyone in 1770 Boston recognized the image of an anvil as representing a blacksmith shop and every sailor on shore leave knew by heart the images used on the sign of his favorite inn.

When he chose to present to Boston and the colonies at large the horrific events of March 5, Revere crafted his image carefully.

Images, like words, can be read. Let’s read Paul Revere’s engraving.

In Revere’s image, the troop of British regulars appear in a neat row of red that slashes diagonally through the composition.

Rather than harassed and pressed against the Customs House as they actually were, Revere’s British appear to have ample room to move away from the terrified group of Bostonians. In fact, it is the colonists who appear to be pinned in by the out-thrust muskets of the soldiers.

With no room for escape, the men and women in the engraving die in droves as the regular troops heed the order of their captain, who is pictured with sword upraised slightly towards the colonists.

There is quite a bit in a name, but there is even more in an image. Revere’s version of the event is indeed a massacre; one whose blame lies firmly at the feet of the British troops.

The events that followed the massacre only served to further cement the narrative put forward by Revere and the Sons of Liberty.

The Boston Massacre was a massacre because we needed it to be one. “Protest Gone Awry” or “British Troops Heavy-Handed” aren’t the sort of titles that presage a wondrous revolution. They certainly don’t justify armed rebellion. Perhaps some things are just best left unquestioned.

Antone Pierucci is the former curator of the Lake County Museums in Lake County, Calif.