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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
CLEARLAKE OAKS – A Sunday night fire destroyed a large barn that had been used an a walnut dryer.
The fire took place on Sulphur Bank Drive, according to Aaron Stewart, who lives next door to the building.
Stewart said he was sleeping when the fire broke out, and awakened at about 1:30 a.m. when either a small propane tank or the fuel tank of one of two classic cars stored inside the building exploded and shook his house.
Calls to Northshore Fire Protection District's Clearlake Oaks station were not returned Monday. Northshore Fire Chief Jim Robbins said he had not yet received a full report on the incident from the crew, who had been out all night on the fire.
Stewart managed to capture a short video of the fire as it was dying down; see it at www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKSzWpH4bvc.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The California Highway Patrol's incident logs reported that two collisions took place at about 6:25 p.m.
The first collision involved a vehicle that was reported to be on fire, according to the CHP logs.
The second crash, which the CHP reported took place just south of the first, involved two vehicles – one of which was a pickup on its roof. A single-axle trailer, which possibly was towed by the pickup, was reported to be on its side.
The CHP reports did not mention injuries to drivers or passengers, and did no specify the number of vehicles.
Four CHP units, Cal Fire, Lake County's Road's Department and Caltrans responded, according to CHP reports. Caltrans was asked to bring a sweeper to clean up the large amount of debris in the roadway. Tow companies also were called to remove vehicles involved.
The highway was closed at 7:12 p.m. while the cleanup took place. The roadway was reported to be clear by 9:13 p.m.
No further information was available Monday night.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Chief Deputy Jim Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported that two businesses were hit earlier this month – CJS Ranch Supply, located on Highway 20, and Gotta Have It, on Calistoga Street.
CJS' alarm was reportedly activated at about 11 p.m. Feb. 1, said Bauman. When the owner arrived, he found the business' front glass door had been smashed in. Inside, the store had been ransacked. Pieces of merchandise also were scattered outside of the business.
Bauman said the business owner reported the burglary to a deputy who was in the area.
While a complete inventory of the stolen items is still to be completed, Bauman estimated the initial loss reported was $250 to $500 in currency from a cash drawer.
Bauman said the preliminary investigation yielded the discovery of a cell phone, presumably left at the scene by the suspect.
Using information based on the evidence they found, detectives subsequently arrested a 16-year-old juvenile from Cobb on Feb. 7, said Bauman. The suspect was booked at juvenile hall for commercial burglary.
That incident isn't believed to be related to the second burglary reported in Middletown, which targeted Gotta Have It, said Bauman.
Gotta Have It is a furniture and home accents shop owned by Shirley Milner.
Bauman said on Feb. 9 Milner reported a break-in and vandalism to the business that occurred the previous night. He said about seven wooden signs, with a total value of $665, were stolen and several statues were damaged, valued at about $300.
There are no leads on the suspect in this case, said Bauman.
Milner, who opened her store in October of 2003, told Lake County News that she has never had any problems with break-ins or vandalisms to her shop until this month.
Although Lake County News was unable to confirm any other Middletown businesses being broken into recently, one business – CPS Country Air's Middletown branch on Calistoga Street – reported having issues about three months ago.
CPS staffer Terrina Szymczak said someone broke into the building one evening sometime between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Szymczak said the suspects didn't do any damage or even go through files. Rather, they used the Internet for several hours, reportedly to view pornography.
The sheriff's department responded to the business and took a report, said Szymczak, but no suspects were identified.
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About three weeks ago, two break-in occurred about a week apart at the Keys Club's storage lot, said Tom Piazza, the club's vice president.
As part of Piazza's duties, he oversees the storage lot, where area residents rent spaces to store boats, fifth-wheel travel trailers and other vehicles.
The suspects broke windows and doors on fifth wheels and set off fire extinguishers in the trailers, ruining the interiors – including appliances, electronics and carpeting, said Piazza.
In all, Piazza estimated as many as 14 trailers were broken into, with some suffering as much as $4,000 of damage.
Bob Summerrill, co-chair of the area's Neighborhood Watch, said a flier was circulated in the community about the break-ins. That flier estimated $38,000 in damage had been done to a total of 15 vehicles.
The Keys Club hosted a community meeting to address the issue last Tuesday, said Piazza. Sgt. Chris Chwialkowski of the Lake County Sheriff's Office – who also oversees the Clearlake Oaks Community Recovery Task Force – and Supervisor Denise Rushing were in attendance to discuss the matter.
Calls to Chwialkowski seeking comment on the situation were not returned.
Summerrill said there also is an effort to put together a reward – with suggested amounts now ranging between $500 and $1,000 – seeking information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspects.
“We're trying to get this thing squashed quickly,” said Summerrill.
Keys Club President Ron Walker added, “It's a pretty bad situation right now.”
Walker said the Keys Club is now working with a security firm to expand protections for the storage area. They're also asking the sheriff's office for more frequent patrols.
Piazza said the club has received a bid for a new security system. “Hopefully within a month it will be installed.”
He added, “There have been break-ins in the past, but nothing this bad.”
Anyone with information is being asked to call the sheriff's office at 262-4200.
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