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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
On Oct. 22, a team of five engines – one each from Lakeport Fire Protection District, Northshore Fire Protection District, Lake County Fire Protection District, South County Fire Protection District and Mendocino County's Anderson Valley – and 14 firefighting personnel reported for duty in Southern California, as Lake County News reported last week.
The group was assigned to the Lake Arrowhead area, where they helped protect homes, Lakeport Fire Protection District Chief Ken Wells reported last week.
On Monday afternoon Wells said the contingent was released from duty and by 2 p.m. were on their way home from Victorville.
Wells said he wasn't sure if they would stop along the way to rest or push to drive straight home.
The firefighters are returning home with “no injuries whatsoever,” said Wells.
“They'll probably have some nice stories when they come home,” he added.
On Monday Cal Fire reported that a total of 517,797 acres burned across San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Riverside and Ventura counties.
Five fires are still burning as of early Tuesday morning, including the Witch, Harris and Poomacha in San Diego County, the Slide Fire in San Bernardino County and the Santiago Fire in Orange County.
Last week, in response to the severe fire conditions in Southern California, Cal Fire reopened Northern California's fire season, which allowed the agency to retain seasonal firefighting personnel to both respond to the southern wildfires and keep the northern areas staffed.
As of Monday, Cal Fire had not changed fire season's open status.
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However, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Craig McMillan says the infection is nothing new, and is confident that local doctors have the knowledge to deal with it when it appears.
McMillan said Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is everywhere, literally in every county across the state, including Lake County.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that MRSA is resistant to common antibiotics including methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin and amoxicillin.
The infection is found most frequently among people with weakened immune systems who are often in hospitals and facilities such as nursing homes, according to the CDC.
A fact sheet from the Journal of the American Medical Association (AMA) stated that 85 percent of all MRSA cases are related to exposures to health care delivery.
Health care facilities aren't the only places where MRSA is found, said McMillan; jails around the state also are having a constant problem.
The AMA also reported that the estimated number of people who developed a serious, invasive MRSA infection in 2006 was 94,360; among those, 18,650 people died during a hospital stay related to these serious MRSA infections.
McMillan said MRSA has been found in Lake County, where there have been as many as 100 cases over the last two years. “And those are just the ones they choose to report to us.”
There could be more cases that have occurred locally, said McMillan, because MRSA is not a disease that must be reported to local health officials.
McMillan noted that MRSA cases are not appearing in “extraordinary numbers” in Lake County.
He said local health care providers are very knowledgeable about MRSA, and hospitals pay a lot of attention to it. A state expert on MRSA spoke on the topic to local doctors and nurses at a June continuing education session, and Sutter Lakeside Hospital held a training for Lakeport Unified School District.
There is some good news when it comes to fighting MRSA, said McMillan.
Some antibiotics can help control MRSA, he said. In fact, a sulpha-type antibiotic works very well in controlling MRSA, working 99 percent of the time.
Strains of MRSA resistant to all antibiotics are rare, he added.
For more information about MRSA, visit the CDC online at www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa.html.
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Here is a roundup of Halloween happenings from around the county. {sidebar id=20}
Spooky story time
Wild About Books in Clearlake will host a day of Halloween stories on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Stories will include a mix of the scary and the funny, according to Lori Peters of Wild About Books.
Those who come in costume will receive a treat, Peters reported.
Wild About Books is located at 14290 Olympic Drive, Clearlake; telephone, 707-994-9453. Visit the store online at www.wildaboutbooks.net.
Popular children's parade returns
In Lakeport, the Lakeport Elementary School Halloween Parade will take place beginning at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31, said Trish Wiggs, the school secretary.
Lakeport Police will close off a portion of Main Street, allowing first, second and third graders to parade from Natural High School down to Museum Park and back down the other side of the street to their starting point, said Wiggs.
The parade should last about a half hour, Wiggs said.
Leading off the parade will be the Clear Lake High School Marching Band, followed by the school children in their costumes, said Wiggs.
“This has been a tradition for years and years,” she said.
The parade, which Wiggs said has been taking place for more than three decades, draws a lot of people from around the community, and is an annual favorite.
“People really look forward to it in the community,” she said, noting that the school starts getting calls in the weeks before the parade from people making sure it's taking place.
Following the parade, the children will return to the school where their classrooms will hold Halloween parties, said Wiggs.
Halloween party in Clearlake City Hall
Clearlake City Hall is once again extending an invitation to children and parents to come and visit its Halloween party, scheduled from 1 to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Mayor Judy Thein reported that city hall's corridors will be transformed with decorations for the occasion, with city staff dressed in costume.
The event will feature tasty goodies conjured up by city staff, and children will receive reflective trick or treat bags featuring the words “Don't be tricked – drugs are no treat!” to help celebrate Red Ribbon month in conjunction with local schools, Thein said.
Clearlake City Hall is located at 14050 Olympic Drive. For more information call 707-994-8201.
Other happenings in Clearlake include a haunted house at the Lake County Fire Protection District Fire House, 14815 Olympic Drive.
Church hosts harvest party in Hidden Valley
Hidden Valley Lake Community Church has a fun evening planned for the whole family on Wednesday.
The church's 17th annual Harvest Party will feature lots of games, candy, a fun mystery house, contests, puppet show, chili cookoff, raffle prizes (including a new bicycle) and more, according to church member and Lamar Morgan.
Visitors can come in costume or regular clothes, according to Morgan.
The party begins at 6 p.m. and last until 8:30 p.m., said Morgan. It's free and open to the general public, and families with small children are encouraged to attend.
People interested in attending this party are encouraged to RSVP by going to www.squidoo.com/HVCC, clicking on the Evite invitation and following the instructions, Morgan reported.
The church is located at 18160 Spruce Grove Rd. Ext., across from the Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course.
For more information call the church office, 707-987-3510.
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The Clearlake Highway Patrol's incident logs reported that the vehicle-versus-cow collision occurred at 7:32 p.m. on southbound Highway 29, two miles north of Middletown.
The black cow was reportedly dead at the scene, found on the road's west shoulder, according to the CHP.
A rancher who may have owned the cow and Caltrans were reportedly on their way to the scene to remove the animal, CHP reported.
No information was available about the vehicle involved.
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