LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities have issued evacuation warnings for two areas south of Middletown due to the Glass fire getting closer to Lake County.

The Glass fire, which has been burning since last Sunday, grew by about 400 acres overnight for a total of 63,885 acres and 17-percent containment by Sunday morning, Cal Fire reported.

The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued the evacuation warnings just after 3 p.m. for areas south of Rancheria Rancheria Road, east of the Lake-Sonoma County Line, north of the Lake-Napa County Line and west of Highway 29, and for South Mirable Road, east of Highway 29, north of the Lake-Napa County line and west of McGuire and Three Peaks ridgeline.

A map showing the evacuation warning areas is below.

“These Evacuation Warnings are due to the Glass Fire moving closer to the Lake County Line. We are asking everyone to take preparations in the event that a mandatory evacuation order is issued,” the sheriff’s office said in its alert.

Should evacuation orders be issued and shelter is needed, evacuees you will be directed to a temporary evacuation point, the sheriff’s office said.

Cal Fire said Highway 29 remains closed to vehicle traffic in both directions between Tubbs
Lane and the Lake County line.

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. – In honor of this month’s holiday, Halloween, today’s column will celebrate the odd, the eerie, and the out of the ordinary when it comes to fruits and vegetables.

I traipsed to a local supermarket today, phone in hand, hoping to take photos of a few exotic offerings in the produce department. I didn’t have much luck, as what was there was pretty commonplace, at least from our point of view.

But when I began to view the veggies and fruits through the camera’s eye, it dawned on me that ordinary is really just a matter of perspective. The colorful fresh fare that lines the shelves of the average supermarket produce aisle is anything but ordinary.

The array of colors is amazing, not to mention the varying shapes, sizes and textures of each farm-produced item. It boggles the mind to think that such diversity sprang from the ground … or the branch … or the vine.

Take the avocado, for example. Its hard outer coating is so bumpy and rough that it’s also known as an alligator pear. The skin that hides the rich flesh within is anything but appetizing.

How about the artichoke? Who would’ve thought that we’d consider this bud from a thistle plant such a delicacy, and who had the nerve to eat the first one?

Fuzzy kiwi look like cute little alien creatures, not unlike short-haired versions of the “Tribbles” of Star Trek fame. (Can’t you just imagine them purring?)

Gnarled rhizomes of ginger look more like tree roots than food, and pineapples remind me of hand grenades with wild hair-dos on steroids.

Let’s not forget mushrooms, the “fungus among us” which is harvested from light-deprived growing caves.

You may think I’m easily amused, and perhaps I am, but I think of produce as art from a very creative mind. And the best part is that we’re privileged to eat it.

The truth is that many of the fruits and vegetables we now take for granted were once considered rare and exotic. Hot peppers, kiwi fruit and mangoes all fall into this category.

What follows is a fun look at some unique fruits and vegetables from around the world and close to home. They may seem exotic now, but who knows? One day they may be commonplace fare in our local market.

What better plant to celebrate autumn than the pumpkin tree? These branches with mini pumpkin-like fruit are sold for decorative purposes this time of year. As much as it looks like a pumpkin, the fruit is actually an ornamental eggplant, which is used in Asia in stir-fry dishes.

The dragon fruit’s official name is pitaya. Common in Asia, as well as in Central and South America, it sports a hot pink outer rind, out of which emerge neon green leaves that are reminiscent of tropical fish fins. Its bright white black-flecked flesh is sour, juicy and refreshing.

Chinese artichokes, also known as crosnes, look like grubs or caterpillars. They have a rich, artichoke-like flavor and are eaten sautéed, pickled or as a garnish.

The grapefruit-sized cherimoya looks almost reptilian, with tight green scales on the outside. Inside is white flesh that’s soft and super sweet. It’s described as having a flavor that’s similar to a combination of banana, strawberry, and pineapple.

Durians are popular across Southeast Asia. Green, football shaped, and spiny, they’re known for their strong, unpleasant odor and are banned from being eaten in public in some locations. Despite the smell, their silky, sweet fruit is used in desserts, or sometimes eaten raw in segments.

The black radish looks nothing like its small, red, rotund counterpart that we’re used to seeing. Rather, it looks more like a chubby, black-skinned carrot. A more common variety is round and about the size of a tangerine. It has a pungent flavor and is used often as a supplement.

Fiddleheads are a short-lived delicacy, being available for only a few weeks in the spring. These curly fronds from young ferns are native to Canada and New England and taste somewhat like asparagus. One note of caution, though: When eaten raw, they’ve been linked to food poisoning, so it’s best to steam them before eating.

Lychee fruit has long been seen as a dessert on a Chinese menu, but have you ever seen them in their natural state? This fruit native to Asia looks more like a sea creature than a fruit. Green tentacles grow out of bright pink skin which surrounds the sweet, juicy, white flesh inside.

Morel mushrooms, native to woodsy areas in the U.S. and Europe, have a honeycombed head, making them look like elongated brains on a stick. Be careful if you hunt them in the wild as some varieties are poisonous.

Star fruit, also known as carambola, have five fin-like segments along their elongated body, so when cut a star shape appears. This tropical yellow fruit tastes a bit like plums or pears.

When sliced, the lotus root has a beautiful, almost snowflake-like, design in its flesh. It’s crunchy like water chestnuts or jicama, but has a more delicate flavor than either of these.

Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are becoming increasingly popular with chefs. This member of the onion family has a scallion-like bulb and flat, broad leaves. Native to North America, it’s typically available for only a few weeks each year.

That’s my exotic green grocer’s dozen. Can you think of any I missed?

As to today’s recipe, below are instructions for making a tasty baked pumpkin stuffed with cornbread and autumn greens. We have a plethora of pumpkins growing in our home garden now, both large and small. The bright spots of orange that peek through the tangle of green vines reminded me of this delightful and somewhat out of the ordinary treat for your fall dinner table.

The recipe below is a vegetarian version of this dish but, if you prefer, cooked sausage or sauteed ground meat can be added. Enjoy!

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

Ingredients

1 medium pumpkin, about 10 inches in diameter
1 recipe cornbread, baked, cooled, and chopped into 1-inch cubes
4 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups fresh autumn greens, such as kale, collards, turnip greens, beet greens, or chard (or a combination), washed and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1 egg
3 tablespoons chopped mixed fresh herbs of your choice, such as sage, thyme or parsley (Note: 3 teaspoons dried herbs can be substituted)
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Vegetable broth to moisten

­Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut the lid off the pumpkin and scoop out seeds and fibers. Place cleaned pumpkin on a lightly-oiled baking sheet and bake for around 45 minutes, then remove from oven and keep warm.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil or butter over medium-high heat and add onion and garlic, stirring to coat with oil. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are slightly softened and golden, about 5 minutes.

3. Add greens and fresh herbs. Cook, stirring, until greens are wilted and coated with oil.

4. In a large mixing bowl, place cornbread cubes, wilted greens, walnuts, egg, salt, and pepper, stirring to combine. Add enough broth to moisten.

5. Place stuffing in pumpkin and cover with foil. Replace pumpkin in preheated oven and bake for 35 or more minutes, until stuffing is cooked and pumpkin is tender.

6. Transfer pumpkin to a pretty platter and remove foil. Serve warm, being sure to scoop bits of cooked pumpkin on to everyone’s plate along with the stuffing.

Serves 6.

Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Officials are planning a virtual community meeting to discuss their work to contain the Glass fire, while to the north on the August Complex’s South Zone efforts continue to strengthen lines protecting communities around Lake Pillsbury.

Dry, hot weather conditions have continued to drive the Glass fire, but firefighters kept its growth to 1,090 acres during the course of the day on Saturday, for a total of 63,450 acres by nightfall, with containment rising to 15 percent, Cal Fire said.

The fire has been burning for a week in Napa and Sonoma counties.

At 6 p.m. Sunday, Cal Fire will host a virtual community meeting to give an update on the Glass fire. The meeting will be live-streamed on the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Facebook page.

Cal Fire said there are 2,773 firefighting personnel assigned to the incident, along with 408 engines, 49 water tenders, 23 helicopters, 27 hand crews, 66 dozers and nine masticators.

So far, no injuries to firefighters have been reported.

Critically low fuel moisture,very warm and dry weather conditions are contributing to very active fire behavior, Cal Fire said.

Aggressive mop up and tactical patrol continues in areas where the fire’s forward progress has stopped. Crews are working aggressively to construct and reinforce existing control lines, officials said.

Cal Fire said it is threatening 21,613 structures, down by several thousand since Saturday morning.

The fire has so far destroyed a total of 826 buildings, 561 in Napa, 265 in Sonoma. Another 163 buildings – 91 in Sonoma, 72 in Napa – have been damaged.

Sonoma County has now posted a damage assessment map.

The August Complex – burning since Aug. 17 – grew by nearly 15,000 acres since Friday, reaching 984,804 acres and 51-percent containment by Saturday evening, officials reported.

On the complex’s South Zone, which includes the Mendocino National Forest in northern Lake County, the US Forest Service said that hard work on Friday in the Lake Pillsbury region resulted in high confidence in the integrity of the containment lines built to protect property and resources.

All hose, fixtures, pumps and other fire apparatus have been pulled and reset for potential use in the northwestern corner of the August Complex. Patrol status has been achieved at Lake Pillsbury, Rice Creek and adjacent areas, officials said.

The Forest Service said Sunday will be a transitional day, with Pacific Northwest Team 2 migrating resources and strategy to the northwestern corner of the August Complex. In upcoming shifts, the team will further join forces with Cal Fire and the Alaska IMT1.

Along with that movement, task forces consisting of multiple fire engines and water tenders will continue patrolling the long containment lines from Lake Pillsbury to the west up to Eel River, and east and north to Paskenta, officials said.

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.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Officials said assessment work is now underway on the South Zone of the August Complex on the Mendocino National Forest.

A Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response, or BAER, team was established by the Mendocino National Forest to begin burned area assessments of the August Complex South Zone.

The BAER team is being led by Forest Service Hydrologist Luke Rutten, Natural Resource and Planning Staff Officer Kendal Young and Fishery Biologist Dan Teater.

Another Forest Service BAER team is tentatively scheduled to begin its assessment of the North Zone of the August Complex in a couple of weeks.

The Forest Service said both teams will coordinate with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service; National Weather Service; US Geological Survey; the counties of Lake, Mendocino, Glenn, Tehama and, Trinity; and other federal, state and local agencies as they assess potential post-fire impacts to the burned watersheds.

BAER surveys are rapid assessments that evaluate the burned area to identify watersheds having increased potential for post-fire flooding, sediment flows and rock slides, the Forest Service said.

Since the BAER survey is a rapid assessment to assist land managers prepare the burned area for rainstorms, officials said the team focuses on potential emergency impacts to life, and safety on National Forest System land and share the findings with the responsible downstream agencies.

The Forest Service said BAER teams may consist of scientists and specialists including hydrologists, geologists, soil scientists, road engineers, botanists, wildlife biologists, recreation specialists, archeologists and geographic information specialists.

The teams collect data during their burned area surveys to analyze through GIS and computer models and present their findings along with recommended BAER emergency response actions in a BAER assessment report, forest officials reported.

BAER teams utilize satellite imagery and specialist data to analyze and produce a map that shows the levels of burn severity on the watersheds. The Forest Service said this is the first step in assessing potential watershed impacts from wildfires to any National Forest System values that may be at-risk from potential increased flooding, sedimentation, debris flows and rock slides.

Based on their work, the Forest Service said BAER teams produce a report that describes threats associated with the burned area’s post-fire conditions along with recommended emergency stabilization measures and actions.

BAER emergency response efforts are focused on the protection of human life, safety and property, as well as critical cultural and natural resource values such as the water quality of streams and wetlands on National Forest System lands, officials said.

The resulting BAER reports are shared with interagency cooperators who work with downstream private homeowners and landowners to prepare for potential post-fire flooding and debris flow impacts, the Forest Service reported.

Homes or businesses that could be impacted by flooding from federal land that resulted from wildfires may be eligible for flood insurance coverage. Visit https://www.floodsmart.gov/.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has six dogs waiting for new homes this week.

Dogs available for adoption this week include mixes of border collie, Chihuahua, Labrador Retriever and pit bull.

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.

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”).

Call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm for information on visiting or adopting.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever has a short black coat with white markings.

She is in kennel No. 8, ID No. 14073.

Female Labrador Retriever

This female Labrador Retriever mix has a short black coat with white markings.

She is in kennel No. 9, ID No. 13989.

‘Ruby’

“Ruby” is a young female Chihuahua with a short tan coat.

She has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 19, ID No. 14055.

Male pit bull

This male pit bull has a short white and brindle coat.

He is in kennel No. 20, ID No. 14058.

Male pit bull

This male pit bull has a short brown coat.

He is in kennel No. 22, ID No. 14066.

Male border collie

This young male border collie has a short black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 27, ID No. 14052.

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.

Perseverance is one of a few Mars spacecraft carrying laser retroreflectors. The devices could provide new science and safer Mars landings in the future.

When the Apollo astronauts landed on the Moon, they brought devices with them called retroreflectors, which are essentially small arrays of mirrors. The plan was for scientists on Earth to aim lasers at them and calculate the time it took for the beams to return. This provided exceptionally precise measurements of the Moon's orbit and shape, including how it changed slightly based on Earth's gravitational pull.

Research with these Apollo-era lunar retroreflectors continues to this day, and scientists want to perform similar experiments on Mars. NASA's Perseverance rover – scheduled to land on the Red Planet on Feb. 18, 2021 – carries the palm-size Laser Retroreflector Array (LaRA). There's also a small one aboard the agency's InSight lander, called Laser Retroreflector for InSight (LaRRI). And a retroreflector will be aboard the ESA (European Space Agency) ExoMars rover that launches in 2022.

While there is currently no laser in the works for this sort of Mars research, the devices are geared toward the future: Reflectors like these could one day enable scientists conducting what is called laser-ranging research to measure the position of a rover on the Martian surface, test Einstein's theory of general relativity, and help make future landings on the Red Planet more precise.

"Laser retroreflectors are shiny, pointlike position markers," said Simone Dell'Agnello, who led development of all three retroreflectors at Italy's National Institute for Nuclear Physics, which built the devices on behalf of the Italian Space Agency. "Because they're simple and maintenance-free, they can work for decades."

A box of mirrors

The devices work a lot like a bike reflector, bouncing light back in the direction of its source. Perseverance's LaRA, for example, is a 2-inch-wide (5-centimeter-wide) dome speckled with half-inch holes containing glass cells. In each cell, three mirrored faces are positioned at 90-degree angles from one another so that light entering the holes is directed back out at exactly the same direction it came from.

LaRA is much smaller than the retroreflectors on the Moon. The earliest ones, delivered by the Apollo 11 and 14 missions, are about the size of a typical computer monitor and embedded with 100 reflectors; the ones delivered by Apollo 15 are even larger and embedded with 300 reflectors. That's because the lasers have to travel as much as 478,000 miles (770,000 kilometers) to the Moon and back. By the return trip, the beams are so faint, they can't be detected by the human eye.

The beams that Perseverance's LaRA and InSight's LaRRI were built to reflect would actually have a far shorter journey, despite Mars being some 249 million miles (401 million kilometers) away at its farthest point from Earth. Rather than traveling back and forth from Earth, which would require enormous retroreflectors, the laser beams would just need to travel back and forth from a future Mars orbiter equipped with an appropriate laser.

Illuminating science

Such an orbiter could determine the precise position of a retroreflector on the Martian surface. And since Perseverance will be mobile, it could provide multiple points of reference. Meanwhile, the orbiter's position would also be tracked from Earth. This would allow scientists to test Einstein's theory of general relativity, as they have with retroreflectors on the Moon. Each planet's orbit is greatly influenced by the bend in space-time created by the Sun's large mass.

"This kind of science is important for understanding how gravity shapes our solar system, the whole universe, and ultimately the roles of dark matter and dark energy," Dell'Agnello noted.

In the case of the InSight lander, which touched down on Nov. 26, 2018, laser-ranging science could also aid the spacecraft's core mission of studying Mars' deep interior. InSight relies on a radio instrument to detect subtle differences in the planet's rotation. In learning from the instrument how the planet wobbles over time, scientists may finally determine whether Mars' core is liquid or solid.

And if the science team were able to use the lander's retroreflector, they could get even more precise positioning data than InSight's radio provides. LaRRI could also detect how the terrain InSight sits on shifts over time and in what direction, revealing how the Martian crust expands or contracts.

Better landings on Mars

Mars landings are hard. To help get Perseverance safely to the surface, the mission will rely on Terrain-Relative Navigation, a new technology that compares images taken during descent to an onboard map. If the spacecraft sees itself getting too close to danger (like a cliffside or sand dunes), it can veer away.

But in such a mission-critical event, you can never have too many backups. Future missions barreling toward the surface of the Red Planet could use the series of reference points from laser retroreflectors as a check on the performance of their Terrain Relative Navigation systems – and perhaps even boost their accuracy down to a few centimeters. When the difference between successfully landing near an enticing geological formation or slipping down the steep slope of a crater wall can be measured in mere feet, retroreflectors might be critical.

"Laser ranging could open up new kinds of Mars exploration," Dell'Agnello said.

More about the mission

A key objective for Perseverance's mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will also characterize the planet's climate and geology, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first planetary mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with the European Space Agency, would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

Managed for NASA by JPL, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASA's Artemis lunar exploration plans.

For more information about NASA's Perseverance, go to www.mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/. For more about NASA's Moon to Mars plans, visit www.nasa.gov/topics/moon-to-mars.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Cal Fire said Saturday that it’s making progress against the destructive Glass fire, but a red flag warning in effect through Sunday morning could create challenging conditions for firefighters.

The more than 2,600 firefighters assigned to the Glass five have continued to prevent it from the kind of explosive growth it saw in its earliest day while continuing to strengthen containment numbers.

On Saturday, Cal Fire said the incident was up to 62,360 acres, an increase of just over 2,200 acres since Friday morning. Containment on Saturday was reported to be 10 percent, an increase of 4 percent over the previous 24 hours.

It continues to threaten 28,835 structures, Cal Fire said.

The incident continues to burn in Napa and Sonoma counties. However, the latest mapping released by Cal Fire on Saturday showed the fire is burning about two miles south of the Lake and Napa County line.

Cal Fire said Saturday afternoon that Smoke and flames from the Glass fire may be visible from Middletown.

Officials said there are currently no evacuation warnings or evacuation orders for Lake County. However, they added that south county residents are reminded to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate in the event that fire activity changes.

Highway 29 south of Middletown, closed earlier this week, remains shut down due to the fire. Caltrans said there is no estimated time of reopening.

A red flag warning is in effect in parts of the fire area through Sunday morning, with reports on Saturday afternoon of winds picking up across the south county.

The red flag warning was issued due to high winds, hot temperatures and low humidity, which can create increased fire danger.

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 Sheriff’s Office said it has arrested a Hidden Valley Lake man for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman to whom he provided alcohol during a party at his home this summer.

Mark Greydon Tolson, 44, was arrested on Wednesday, Lt. Corey Paulich said.

On July 16, the female victim contacted the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and reported she had been sexually assaulted by Tolson, Paulich said.

Paulich said the victim reported that on July 15 Tolson provided alcohol to her and other adults under age 21 at his residence. The victim reported that later in the night she woke up to Tolson sexually assaulting her.

Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit detectives continued the investigation. On Wednesday, detectives served a search warrant at Tolson’s residence, Paulich said.

Tolson subsequently was arrested on charges of oral copulation and sexual battery and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was booked on the charges. Paulich said Tolson later was released after posting bail.

The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone who may have further information regarding Tolson to please contact Det. Jeff Mora at 707-262-4224 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Containment numbers on the vast August Complex are continuing to move up.

The August Complex was up to 970,930 acres and 55-percent containment on Friday night, officials reported.

The Forest Service said 583,201 acres of the complex is on the Mendocino National Forest.

Officials said 1,849 personnel remain assigned to the incident, which began on Aug. 17 due to lightning and is burning on the Mendocino, Six-Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forests.

The complex is threatening 2,200 structures and has destroyed 108 to date, the Forest Services said.

The Forest Service said substantial work was carried out on Thursday along the southwestern corner of the fire near Big Signal Peak to mop up and secure unburned fuel within the control line.

Fire personnel began assessing areas farther north along the southwestern edge in anticipation of moving and focusing resources in areas with more active fire. Crews pulled eight miles of hose from the interior of the fire, from exterior lines that are fully contained, and contingency or back-up lines, officials said.

Good progress was made along the eastern and southern edge by removing equipment and 60 percent of the hose that will be reallocated to higher priority locations, according to the Forest Service report.

The Forest Service said Friday that crews moved clockwise around the perimeter toward the western area of the fire to gain further information to plan for next steps.

Although resources were moving in that western vicinity, activity continued elsewhere as crews focused on repair of fire suppression activities including dozer and handlines, officials said.

Officials said firefighters will continue patrolling and backhauling of equipment and hose along the eastern and southern edge, where there is good containment.

The structure protection group will remove pumps, hose, and other fire apparatus from areas around Pillsbury Ranch and Rice Creek areas, the Forest Service said.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Air Quality Management District has issued another air quality alert in response to continuing unhealthy conditions in the air basin due to fires around the region.

Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said that due to significant fire activity this week, all of Lake County is forecast to have “unhealthy for sensitive groups” to “unhealthy” air quality through Sunday as smoke settles into the area.

Gearhart said smoke from the Glass fire in Napa and Sonoma counties, the August Complex, and other fires burning in California and Oregon will continue to impact Lake County in the coming weeks.

Current conditions are degraded from the Glass fire and the regional wind pattern transporting smoke into the Lake County Air Basin, he said.

There is a potential for periods of improved air quality and overall improvement as wind patterns change, Gearhart said.

He said early forecast information indicated that a wind shift that started Friday night and continuing into Saturday may push the smoke from the Glass fire out the air basin, but increased activity in the August Complex fire may contribute smoke into the air basin due to the wind direction.

Up-to-date air quality conditions for Lake County can be found at PurpleAir.

What's up for October 2020? Not one, but two, full moons; Mars at opposition; and finding the Andromeda galaxy.

This month brings not just one, but two full moons, at the beginning and end of the month. The full moon that took place on Oct. 1 is called the harvest moon. The harvest moon is the name for the full moon that occurs closest to the September equinox. (One of two days per year when day and night are of equal length.)

Most years the harvest moon falls in September, but every few years it shifts over to October. The name traces back to both Native American and European traditions related, not surprisingly, to harvest time.

At the end of October, on the 31st, we'll enjoy a second full moon. When there are two full moons in a month, the second is often called a blue moon. (There's another, more traditional definition of a blue moon, but this is the most well known.) Note that this is the only two-full-moon month in 2020!

October is a great time for viewing Mars, as the planet is visible all night right now, and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight. This period of excellent visibility coincides with the event known as opposition, which occurs about every two years, when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun.

This is also around the time when Mars and Earth come closest together in their orbits, meaning the Red Planet is at its brightest in the sky, so don't miss it.

Spacecraft from several nations are currently on the way to Mars, including NASA's Mars 2020 mission, which is scheduled to land there in February.

Finally this month, it's a great time to try and spot the galaxy of Andromeda. Andromeda is also known as M31. It's a spiral galaxy similar in appearance to our own Milky Way, but slightly larger. Both contain hundreds of billions of stars, and (we think), trillions of planets.

Now we can't see the overall shape of the Milky Way, because we're inside it, so Andromeda gives us a sense of what our galaxy would look like if you could see it from afar.

Andromeda is faint, and best viewed with a telescope, but you can observe it with binoculars or even a cell phone with a good camera on it, even from light-polluted areas. And under very dark skies, it's just barely a naked-eye object. So although it might be a little challenging, it's worth it to see an entire galaxy with your own eyes!

To find the Andromeda galaxy, look to the northeast in the evening sky once it's truly dark. Find the sideways "W" that represents the throne of queen Cassiopeia. To the right of Cassiopeia lies the constellation Andromeda, which includes this string of bright stars.

Moving upward, hang a left at the second of these bright stars, and as you scan back over toward Cassiopeia, you'll notice a faint, fuzzy patch of light. That fuzzy patch is the Andromeda galaxy, located 2 million light-years away. If you manage it, congratulations! You've just gone intergalactic.

You can catch up on all of NASA's missions to explore the solar system and beyond at www.nasa.gov.

Preston Dyches works for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Newly reported sampling data from numerous sites around Clear Lake have revealed high levels of cyanotoxin.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace reported that sampling conducted on Sept. 15 detected concerning levels of cyanotoxin at 19 Clear Lake sites, which can be seen on the map above, a larger version of which can be found here.

Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians and Elem Indian Colony conduct regular monitoring on sites across Clear Lake.

On its cyanotoxin monitoring website, Big Valley reported that on Sept. 15 they collected water samples from 24 sites on and in the lake. Cyanobacteria blooms were in most of those locations, so the tribe said it further reviewed those samples to get preliminary toxin data.

Sites showing testing results above the caution and warning trigger levels are:

– Four areas Lakeport: First Street boat ramp, Big Valley Shoreline, Lakeside County Park and a site in the Upper Arm of the lake;
– Three areas near Kelseyville: Soda Bay Cove, Horseshoe Bend and Buckingham Park;
– Two areas in Clearlake Oaks:the Oaks Arm of the lake and the west side of the Clearlake Keys; and
– One site in Clearlake: Shady Acres on Cache Creek.

Sites with results in the danger level are on Lakeshore Drive, north of Lakeport; Lucerne Harbor Park; Keeling Park in Nice; the Elem Colony and the Sulphur Bank mercury mine Superfund site, both in Clearlake Oaks; Lily Cove, Austin Park Beach and Redbud Park in Clearlake; and Jago Bay in Lower Lake.

Pace said people and pets should stay out of the water in those areas. Don’t touch scum in the water or on the shore. Don’t let pets drink the water. Fish and shellfish from those areas should not be eaten.

Symptoms of exposure include skin rashes, eye irritation, diarrhea and vomiting. Pets who contact the toxin can experience seizures and death. Pace said to contact a medical provider or veterinarian if symptoms due to exposure are suspected.

Much of the aquatic plant growth visible in Clear Lake is harmless, and there is no need to be overly concerned about activities in areas of the lake where algae blooms are not present, Pace said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance regarding harmful algal blooms can be found here.

“This is a challenging time with the fires, poor air quality, and COVID, but harmful algal blooms can cause significant suffering, so we encourage people to be careful and be aware of the risks,” Pace said.