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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Cal Fire said the Indian Fire, first reported Tuesday afternoon at the north end of the reservoir, had reached 363 acres on Wednesday, less acreage than the agency had indicated previously.
The fire was 80-percent contained shortly after 2:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire spokesperson Suzie Blankenship. The last update of the day on the fire, made at 7 p.m., had the fire still at that containment level.
Blankenship said one strike team of five engines, four division supervisors, three water tenders, an incident commander and three crew strike teams of 102 firefighters were on scene Wednesday.
She said there were three heat-related injuries reported among firefighters Wednesday. The injured firefighters received medical treatment, she added.
The Indian Fire's cause remains under investigation, Blankenship said. Cal Fire expects the fire to be fully contained on Thursday.
Late Wednesday evening, Cal Fire and Northshore Fire Protection District responded to two fires, one on Old Long Valley Road and one New Long Valley Road, reported at about 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. respectively, according to radio reports.
The Old Long Valley Road fire was reported contained at between four and six acres. A transformer had blown according to a California Highway Patrol report, with Pacific Gas & Electric called to the scene.
The second fire on New Long Valley Road was reported to have grown to about six acres in size shortly before 11:30 p.m. Firefighters at that point were expected to be committed to the scene for seveal more hours.
Elsewhere in the state, Cal Fire reported that the Curry Fire in Contra Costa County had reached 375 acres and was 90-percent contained, and the Post Fire in Kern County was 60-percent contained at 1,308 acres.
With the increased fire conditions and the drawdown of resources to other area fires, Cal Fire's planned burn at Lake Sonoma's dam had been posted to Aug. 30 and Sept. 1, officials reported.
Cal Fire urged the public to remain cautious due to the high fire danger resulting from hot, dry weather.
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The fire, which occurred at U Wanna Camp on Scotts Creek Road outside of Lakeport, was reported at around 4:30 p.m., according to Lakeport Fire Protection Chief Ken Wells.
He said the campground has several permanent residents, and one of them was a woman living in a singlewide mobile home.
The woman was visiting a neighbor when someone pointed out that smoke was coming from her trailer, said Wells.
Wells responded along with two engines, a water tender and seven firefighters from Lakeport Fire, with Kelseyville Fire sending an engine and two firefighters and another four firefighters and an engine coming from Cal Fire, said Wells.
Because the fire was in the state responsibility area and there was a concern that the fire could get into nearby wildlands, Wells requested a full wildland dispatch consisting of five engines, but he said the fire was contained within about a half hour, and it didn't get out of the park.
The trailer was a total loss, although the woman was able to recover a few personal belongings, Wells said. The woman is staying with a neighbor temporarily.
Wells said the woman told firefighters that she had been having trouble with a window-mounted air conditioner.
“We think that's probably what the cause was,” he said.
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Like much of California, daytime temperatures were well above normal on Tuesday throughout Lake County, although no records were broken here.
Around the rest of the state numerous records tumbled down as the mercury shot up due to a strong high pressure system that stalled over much of California and continued to heat up Northern California, including Lake County, on Wednesday.
According to Bob Benjamin, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, the high heat will not last and will cool down considerably through Sunday. That's when a strong trough from the Gulf of Alaska is predicted to settle over Northern California, with some areas forecast to see a 40-degree temperature drop.
High daytime temperatures should only reach the mid- to upper-80s Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Sacramento, and will trend downward as the cold trough moves in to Lake County.
The weekend will feel almost cold by comparison when temperatures only reach the mid- to upper-70s throughout Lake County, and overnight lows dip in to the upper 40s.
Average temperatures for this time of year are in the low-90s, with overnight lows in the mid-50s.
As the cooler weather settles over Northern California, a slight chance of rain is possible in the northern mountains, but forecasters predict it will be mostly clear to partly cloudy in Lake County throughout the weekend.
For up-to-the-minute weather information, please visit the Lake County News homepage.
E-mail Terre Logsdon at
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HOPLAND, Calif. – State officials have arrested seven individuals and are seeking an eighth in connection with an alleged embezzlement from Hopland Sho-Ka-Wah Casino.
The arrests resulted from an investigation begun in November 2008 by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Gambling Control, according to a Tuesday report.
Joan Elizabeth Pickron, 42, of Ukiah, and seven associates were suspected of embezzling more than $102,000 from the casino, the Bureau of Gambling Control reported.
State agents from the bureau worked closely with the Hopland Commissioned Police and Hopland Band of Pomo Indians' Tribal Gaming Agency during the investigation, which they say revealed that Pickron and her co-conspirators had allegedly overridden jackpot slot machines to cheat the casino.
On June 26, Pickron and her seven co-conspirators were sent notices to appear in Mendocino County Court for embezzling the funds, the agency reported.
A month later, on July 26 four suspects – whose names were not immediately available late Tuesday – turned themselves in as ordered. However, the Bureau of Gambling Control reported that Pickron and three of the other suspects failed to appear in court. Based on their failure to appear, felony arrest warrants were issued.
On Aug. 19, Bureau of Gambling Control agents, Hopland Commissioned Police and Ukiah Police detectives located and arrested Pickron, along with fellow Ukiah residents John Steven Glass Jr., 38, and Alex Ralph Martin, 47, and booked them for embezzlement and grand theft.
Bail for all three arrestees was set at $15,000, according to Mendocino County Jail records. Glass also was charged with violating probation.
One suspect is still outstanding, although officials did not release that person's name.
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