LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After weeks of unhealthy air quality, conditions began to improve this week, with the Lake County Air Quality Management District reporting that the weather is helping clear the air.

During the past month, multiple fires – including the August Complex in the Mendocino National Forest, the North Complex Fire burning in the Plumas National Forest, the Red Salmon Complex burning in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and many other fires in Northern California and Oregon – created smoke impacts throughout Lake County and other parts of California.

Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said particulate levels in Lake County are in the “good” range.

He said current winds are favorable for air quality, keeping smoke intrusions into the Lake County air basin to a minimum.

Gearhart said all areas of Lake County are forecast to have “good” to “moderate” air quality through Sunday but should be prepared for periods of “unhealthy” conditions should winds shift and smoke return.

The smoke plumes are remaining elevated and to the northeast of the air basin, Gearhart said.

For current air quality conditions visit the Purple Air map.

This latest image of Jupiter, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on Aug. 25 was captured when the planet was 653 million kilometers from Earth.

Hubble's sharp view is giving researchers an updated weather report on the monster planet's turbulent atmosphere, including a remarkable new storm brewing, and a cousin of the Great Red Spot changing color – again. The new image also features Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

A unique and exciting detail of Hubble's new snapshot appears at mid-northern latitudes as a bright, white, stretched-out storm moving at 563 kilometers per hour. This single plume erupted on Aug. 18 and another has since appeared.

While it's common for storms to pop up in this region, often several at once, this particular disturbance appears to have more structure behind it than observed in previous storms. Trailing behind the plume are small, counterclockwise dark clumps also not witnessed in the past. Researchers speculate this may be the beginning of a longer-lasting northern hemisphere spot, perhaps to rival the legendary Great Red Spot that dominates the southern hemisphere.

Hubble shows that the Great Red Spot, rolling counterclockwise in the planet's southern hemisphere, is ploughing into the clouds ahead of it, forming a cascade of white and beige ribbons. The Great Red Spot is currently an exceptionally rich red color, with its core and outermost band appearing deeper red.

Researchers say the Great Red Spot now measures about 15 800 kilometers across, big enough to swallow the Earth. The super-storm is still shrinking, as noted in telescopic observations dating back to 1930, but its rate of shrinkage appears to have slowed. The reason for its dwindling size is a complete mystery.

Researchers are noticing that another feature has changed: the Oval BA, nicknamed by astronomers as Red Spot Jr., which appears just below the Great Red Spot in this image. For the past few years, Red Spot Jr. has been fading in color to its original shade of white after appearing red in 2006. However, now the core of this storm appears to be darkening to a reddish hue. This could hint that Red Spot Jr. is on its way to reverting to a color more similar to that of its cousin.

Hubble's image shows that Jupiter is clearing out its higher-altitude white clouds, especially along the planet's equator, which is enveloped in an orangish hydrocarbon smog.

Jupiter's icy moon Europa is visible to the left of the gas giant. Europa is already thought to harbor a liquid ocean beneath its icy crust, making this moon one of the main targets in the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth.

In 2013 it was announced that the Hubble Space Telescope discovered water vapor erupting from the frigid surface of Europa, in one or more localized plumes near its south pole. ESA's JUpiter ICy moons Explorer, a mission planned for launch in 2022, aims to explore both Jupiter and three of its largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa.

Hubble also captured a new multiwavelength observation in ultraviolet/visible/near-infrared light of Jupiter on Aug. 25, which is giving researchers an entirely new view of the giant planet.

Hubble's near infrared imaging, combined with ultraviolet views, provides a unique panchromatic look that offers insights into the altitude and distribution of the planet's haze and particles. This complements Hubble's visible-light picture that shows the ever-changing cloud patterns.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – It’s been just over a month since the two Northshore school districts began the new school year, becoming the first of Lake County’s districts to open the doors to in-person instruction after months of COVID-19-related closures and challenges.

After the first month in session, the superintendents of both districts – Mike Brown in Lucerne and Dr. Giovanni Annous in Upper Lake – say that, so far, so good, with parents happy to have their children back in class, teachers glad to be with their students and the children getting back into the traditional learning environment, with the benefits of interaction not just with teachers but with their classmates.

Reopening Lucerne Elementary School District and Upper Lake Unified was the work of months for staff and administrators.

There were necessary and expensive adaptations, including reducing class sizes, installing new hand sanitizer stations around school grounds, regular rounds of school playground disinfection, increasing the number of bus runs, shorter school days, plexiglass cubicles and teaching stations, masking, staggering lunch hours and, much to the delight of the children, more chances to move the learning environment outdoors.

In describing the return to school, “The adjective that I use is ‘amazing’,” said Upper Lake Elementary Principal Stephanie Wayment.

She said everyone is happy and joyful to be able to be on campus. “They’re celebrating each other’s successes,” she said, adding that the return to school has been really good for everyone’s social and emotional development.

Once the doors were open, there were still more challenges. In the midst of this first month back to school, there have been massive wildland fires in Lake County and around the region that caused classes to be canceled at Lucerne Elementary on Aug. 25 because of air quality.

In Upper Lake, where the schools have a new HVAC system, Annous said it was challenging but they lost no school days, instead recommending that everyone stay indoors on the days with the worst air quality ratings.

Also in August, the state issued a new COVID-19 blueprint for recovery which, for some counties, meant schools couldn’t reopen for in-person classes. However, locally, it had no impact on the schools because Lake County’s case numbers have remained comparatively low.

Both Brown and Annous said their efforts have gained them the attention of parents in other districts who want their students back on campus.

“We’ve got a lot of parents requesting interdistrict transfers,” said Brown.

However, both he and Annous said so far they’ve turned away bringing new students into the districts in order to keep class sizes small because of the need for social distancing.

Because of the limitations of the state reopening guidelines, neither of the districts have begun organized sporting activities again, the superintendents said.

As of this week, all four of the county’s other school districts – Kelseyville, Konocti, Lakeport and Middletown – are still in distance learning mode but report actively working on how to transition back to having children and teachers in classrooms.

And on Thursday, Mendocino College said it is extending remote instruction for its students through Spring 2021.

‘A good start’ for Lucerne

Lucerne Elementary and Upper Lake Unified both started classes on Aug. 12, with the districts also offering a distance learning option for parents who wanted it.

“It was a good start. It was as magical as ever,” said Brown.

He said the little kids arrived in their brand new school clothes and waited in line as temperatures were taken, a process that got quicker every day.

Brown said people have been happy to see the school reopen.

In Lucerne, the changes they’ve implemented include serving lunch in the cafeteria at four different times so the children can be spaced apart for social distancing. “They’re talking and enjoying themselves,” Brown said.

For some of the younger classes, the school has small desks that can be taken outside and placed on the lawn. Brown said they’ve also moved a set of bleachers under the large and shady mulberry trees so classes can enjoy an outside learning area, and a lot of the teachers are taking advantage of the opportunity to go outside.

He said eating lunch and outdoor recreational activities are the only places the children can’t mask. “It’s a nice break for them to be able to get out and take that mask off.”

Brown said that the school started the year with about 85 of its students in the distance learning program and about 200 attending in person, which is close to last year’s enrollment numbers.

To keep classroom sizes small, Brown said they moved intervention teachers into the classrooms on regular teaching assignments and also hired a new teacher.

In the weeks since Lucerne Elementary started, Brown said they’ve made some adjustments to improve safety protocols.

He said they are expecting numerous students to return for in-person instruction early in October, at the end of the quarter. “Distance learning is not working out so well for some of them and others just want to return.”

If there was a wrench in the spokes, he said, it was the school’s bond construction project to build new classrooms, which had delays and required moving half a dozen teachers and their classrooms around the campus.

Brown said the cement for new sidewalks in key areas of the campus were poured the week before classes started. The project overall had been pushed back over the summer due to delays with moving key electrical equipment.

A new double kindergarten classroom with connecting bathrooms is supposed to be ready at about the start of November. Once that’s done, Brown said they will move other teachers so the next phase of the construction can take place, the removal of old modulars by Country Club Drive, which will be replaced with new classrooms.

He said the pandemic is illustrative of how important schools – especially teachers – are to the economy.

“I hope it’s not a lesson that’s soon forgotten,” he said.

‘100-percent dedication’

At Upper Lake Unified, Annous praised his staff for their efforts to work together and make changes that would keep students safe in an atmosphere where COVID-19 remains a major concern.

He credited them with having “full-on, 100-percent dedication” as well as resiliency.

Like Lucerne, Upper Lake is offering families the option of distance learning.

For the elementary school, 55 percent, or 188 children, are learning on-site, while another 154 children, the remaining 45 percent, are using the distance education option, he said.

At the middle school, Annous said it’s a 47 percent, or 88 children, on-campus versus 53 percent, or 100 children earning from home. The high school has roughly the same percentages, which equals 136 students in classrooms and 156 children distance learning.

“It’s going really well,” said Wayment. “Everybody is acclimating and working together collaboratively and maintaining all of their safety precautions.”

Wayment said she believes the return to school has been a success. “Everybody’s very happy to be back.”

She said all children and staff are wearing masks, and parents have all been very positive and patient, grateful for their students to have options to either be on campus or at home.

Class size reductions have been key to making it work because of the need for social distancing. Annous said before the pandemic, they had a districtwide class size average of between 22 to 32 students. Now, it’s between 12 and 15.

Another critical aspect is equipment. Annous said that they started the school year with 15,000 disposable masks, along with 2,000 face shields for staff, who get a new face shield every Monday.

Annous has personally spent his evenings and weekends in the high school shop fabricating custom, fit-to-order table dividers, shields and plexiglass teaching zones requested by staff.

The district also started the year equipped with 300 gallons of hand sanitizer which is distributed among classrooms, where 100 disposable masks also are kept at any one time, he said.

Annous said the district has 123 thermometers on hand for checking students’ temperatures when they get to school in the morning.

The district’s John Deere tractor, equipped with a fogger, sprays down picnic tables and playground equipment as many as three times a day, between breaks and events. Annous said the school district buses also get fogged with disinfectant.

Annous said they made a major change in the structure of school days, creating cohorts for students. Children now attend a 90-minute block for the first three periods of the school day while pushing the middle and high schools to a later start.

They now do two bus runs per route morning and evening to allow for fewer children – as few as eight with a maximum of 14 – on the bus at any one time, Annous said.

The district also is continuing its food delivery to students who remain at home distance learning, he said.

One minor adjustment the district made since opening school is to make every Wednesday a minimum day; previously, two Wednesdays a month had been minimum days. Annous said that extra time is used by staff to help support students on distance learning.

Annous said a teacher had told him how she had been concerned when first coming back, but as classes got underway she started to feel normalized and focused on the academics.

He emphasized the need for an emotional sense of safety for students and teachers.

Earlier this month, the district used Zoom and Facebook Live to host back to school nights for parents, with teachers getting the chance to talk about the transition back to the classroom.

Wayment said that at the end of the first grading period they are planning to introduce more changes, with additional students to return to campus.

Annous said they now have families who are on distance learning who are on a waiting list to transition back to campus.

However, Wayment said that because of social distancing requirements they may not immediately be able to accommodate all of the families interested in sending their children back to school.

Annous said he can’t put into words the gratitude he feels for his staff and their efforts. “Without that, we could never have been where we are today.”

While management can make decisions and leadership strategies, the staff, Annous said, “are the ones who take charge of it” and make sure it happens.

He added that the return to school – and meeting the challenges that went along with it – couldn't have been done without the “Upper Lake Strong” mindset, with everyone coming together.

Charter and Christian schools reopen doors; other districts make plans

In the weeks since Lucerne and Upper Lake reopened their doors, other districts have continued planning to do the same while also dealing with air quality issues and, in the south county, evacuations due to the LNU Lightning Complex.

Middletown Christian School reported that it went back to school for in-person instruction on Aug. 17.

On Sept. 2 Lake County International Charter School in Middletown reopened for in-person instruction, and on Monday began its full cohorts with 12 to 14 students per classroom, said Director Gwendolyn Maupin-Ahern.

“We are doing OK, but it is definitely a challenge doing a hybrid model where students are both online learning while others are also present in the classroom,” she said, adding, “We are working out the kinks. Our staff is amazing, creative and resilient.”

Konocti Christian Academy in Lakeport returned to in-person classes on Monday.

Meredith Wiser, KCA’s president and interim principal, said the school’s board of directors and staff worked together to develop a COVID-19 preparedness plan for safely instructing students this fall.

“Our goal is to provide an excellent Christ-centered education in a safe learning environment. KCA will continue to comply with local Public Health orders, governor’s orders and other laws,” she said.

Other districts around the county continue to hold classes virtually while continuing to evaluate transitioning back to the more traditional classroom model.

At Kelseyville Unified, Superintendent Dave McQueen said his district staff will determine on Friday whether it can meet the state guidelines to safely begin the hybrid learning model, a blend of in-person and distance learning.

If the district determines that it can meet those guidelines, the earliest Kelseyville Unified schools could be back to in-person instruction with a modified schedule would be Oct. 5. McQueen said he will make a public announcement once a decision has been made.

Middletown Unified School District began distancing learning classes on Sept. 3 after the LNU Lightning Complex and the related south county evacuations caused a necessary delay from its planned Aug. 24 start for school.

In a letter to parents, Superintendent Michael Cox reported that the district leadership team met on Tuesday morning to discuss and evaluate the reopening of schools. “I know it’s only been eight days, but we want to prepare for re-opening and creating a safe and secure learning environment where students can learn best, in our school. It is our goal to have a return to school in person as soon as it is safe and feasible to do so for all involved.”

Cox said the district’s leadership team will meet every two weeks to discuss and evaluate when students can return to school and will communicate their progress after each meeting.

“The leadership team has identified concerns and we are building a rubric that will be shared so you can see the progress we are making,” Cox said. “We will also be soliciting feedback from staff/families and community members using data to move forward in our re-opening efforts.”

He added, “This is a living document and process,” and it will change based on stakeholder input and guidelines from the California Department of Education and Lake County Public Health Department guidelines.

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. – School officials said Thursday that a preschooler in Kelseyville has tested positive for COVID-19.

In a letter to staff and the community, Kelseyville Unified Superintendent Dave McQueen said his district was informed that a preschool student in the Lake County Office of Education preschool, which is located at Kelseyville Elementary School, tested positive for the virus.

“Although this program is located on the Kelseyville Elementary School campus, it is not administered by KVUSD. No staff from KVUSD were in contact with this student,” McQueen said.

Separately, Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg said in a message posted to the Lake County Office of Education website on Thursday that his office sent a letter to the parents and guardians of the facility – which he didn’t identify – notifying them that a student had tested positive.

“The preschool cohort will be closed for 14 days after the last date of known exposure to give those who had exposure, a chance to quarantine. The physical building will be closed for the remainder of this week for deep cleaning and disinfecting,” Falkenberg said.

Falkenberg said the student in question has no symptoms.

“We will continue to work with our public health department, and partner agencies in addressing COVID-19 issues as they arise within our LCOE programs,” Falkenberg said.

The Office of Education operates eight preschool sites around the county.

Its preschools give enrollment priority to 4-year-olds, followed by 3-year-olds. If room is available, 5-year-olds who are not age eligible for kindergarten can be accepted.

Falkenberg said his agency chose to open the doors to its preschools based on the current data that suggests that younger children are at less risk of severe illness from COVID-19, as well as other factors like the county’s caseload status, and the Office of Education’s ability to meet all local and state guidelines.

Based on demographics released earlier this week, Lake County Public Health said that 40 local children from birth to age 12 have tested positive for COVID-19, accounting for less than 10 percent of the county’s cases to date. That youngest age group has the fewest cases in the county to date.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – Mendocino College will continue remote instruction through the spring 2021 semester, Superintendent/President Tim Karas said this week.

“After multiple discussions with staff, faculty and administrative leadership, the evaluation of guidelines by local and state health agencies, and recommendations from the State Chancellor’s Office, the decision has been made to continue holding most classes through a remote environment next term in order to protect the health and safety of our students, employees, and community,” Karas said.

As with the fall 2020 semester, a limited number of on-ground courses will be held, such as science labs, and will follow social distancing guidelines.

Some classes are also being taught using the hybrid model, which includes a mix of face-to-face and online instruction.

“We are making the call to continue mostly remote instruction at this time so that our faculty have enough time to prepare for high-quality classes for the upcoming term,” said Vice President of Academic Affairs Debra Polak. “It is our hope that as we get closer to the start of the spring semester we can build upon the primarily online schedule with more on-ground classes. We will be actively monitoring the situation and will base those decisions on advice from public health agencies.”

Mendocino College provides a host of online support and services geared toward student success, including free tutoring, books, tuition, and more.

More than half the students who attend Mendocino College qualify for some form of financial aid and many meet the guidelines that eliminate unit fees completely, regardless of their financial situation through the Mendocino College Promise Program.

Currently, enrolled students can register for spring classes using MyMendo beginning Nov. 21.  New students can apply now online on the college’s website.

The spring 2021 semester officially begins Jan. 19, 2021.

To make a counseling appointment, students can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A puppy has joined the dogs available to new homes at Clearlake Animal Control this week.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

‘Beans’

“Beans” is a female terrier mix puppy with a short white coat with black markings.

She is dog No. 4216.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female American Bully mix.

She has a short beige and tan coat.

She is dog No. 3537.

‘Boog’

“Boog” is a senior male American Bully mix with a short brown and white coat.

He is dog No. 4012.

‘Diesel’

“Diesel” is a male border collie mix with a black and white coat.

He is dog No. 4023.

‘Jack’

“Jack” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a short yellow coat.

He is dog No. 4155.

‘Lady’

“Lady” is a female German Shepherd mix.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3683.

The shelter is open by appointment only due to COVID-19.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.

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 – The US Forest Service said the August Complex is continuing to scorch more acreage across three national forests in very dry conditions, with the massive lightning complex expected to be fully contained in about two months.

On Thursday, the Forest Service said the complex – which began a month ago following a round of lightning storms – had grown to 839,175 acres, with containment remaining at 30 percent.

It is burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.

Officials said 35 structures have been destroyed and another 1,595 are threatened.

The Forest Service said Thursday that the complex is expected to be fully contained on Nov. 15.

In the South Zone of the August Complex, evacuation orders are in effect for Mendocino, Glenn and Lake counties, officials said. In Lake County, the evacuation orders cover Pillsbury Ranch and the entire Lake Pillsbury basin. Evacuation information is available here.

A virtual community meeting to discuss the complex’s South Zone – which includes the Doe fire area that burned into Lake County – is planned for 7 p.m. Thursday. It will be live-streamed on the Mendocino National Forest Facebook page.

The Thursday report on the complex said its South Zone continues to steadily spread toward the southwest while containment increases on the eastern side.

Weeks of record temperatures and limited precipitation have expanded severe drought conditions across much of the area. Due to these conditions, the Forest Service said growth is expected to continue on the complex even with the chance of rain in the forecast over the next few days.

In the Yuki and Sanhedrin Wilderness areas, the fire will continue to move toward the Lake Pillsbury area, and to the west beyond the Impassable Rock area, officials said.

In the Lake Pillsbury area, crews and dozers connected fire line to previously constructed fire lines from the 2018 Ranch fire. Structure protection groups are committed to building fire lines and removing vegetation around private property and critical communications infrastructure, the Forest Service said.

Cal Fire personnel are assigned to assist with operations in the southwestern corner of the fire. If necessary, a tactical burnout around structures in the area may take place. Officials said this is done in order to prevent the main fire from spreading rapidly toward structures.

In the Elder Creek area, additional containment has been obtained as crews continue mop-up operations with a focus on having this area of the fire contained within a few more days, officials said.

Vegetation interior to the perimeter of the fire and near the eastern edge of the fire continues to smolder and produce smoke. The Forest Service said control lines in the area of Salt Creek are holding well.

Officials said humidity is expected to increase, with a slight chance of rain Thursday and Friday. Temperatures in the area of the fire will remain in the upper 60s to the mid-70s. Southwesterly winds are forecast as a low-pressure system moves through.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As the LNU Lightning Complex reaches the one-month mark, Cal Fire has given its last update on the incident, which it said will be fully contained next month.

The LNU Lightning Complex is listed as the fourth-largest wildland fire incident in recorded California history.

It began Aug. 17 following lightning storms that passed over the region, eventually burning into six counties.

On Wednesday night, it remained at 363,220 acres, with containment up to 98 percent.

The complex has claimed a total of five lives – three in Napa County, two in Solano – and resulted in four injuries to civilians, with one firefighter also hurt, according to Cal Fire.

At one point, it had led to evacuations of tens of thousands of residents across several counties, with about 7,000 people in southern Lake County forced to leave their homes.

Damage assessments to date have reported that it destroyed 1,491 structures – including nine in Lake County – and damaged 232 others.

The Hennessey fire, which burned across Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Yolo counties, has burned 305,651 acres and was 98 percent contained as of Wednesday night, Cal Fire said.

On the west side of the complex, Cal Fire the Walbridge fire near Healdsburg has burned 55,209 acres, with Cal Fire reporting containment at 98 percent. The Meyers fire near Jenner was fully contained earlier this month at 2,360 acres.

Cal Fire said Wednesday night’s update was its final one on the incident, which officials expect to be fully contained on Oct. 1.

Two water tenders and 98 personnel remain assigned to the incident, working on final containment and fire suppression repairs, Cal Fire reported.

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 Office of Education will be offering Learning Hubs throughout Lake County to assist students and their families with educational resources.

This is a collaborative effort with the Lake County Office of Education, the local school districts and other partnering organizations such as the Clearlake Youth Center, County of Lake and community centers.

The Learning Hubs are open to grades TK-12th and can hold a various amount of students, depending on the size of the location to ensure Public Health guidelines are being followed.

“We want to provide kids with connectivity, a tutor to help them with learning if necessary and give them the social and emotional support that they need,” Deputy Superintendent of Schools Cynthia Lenners said.

Each hub will be accessible at various times and days of the week and will stay available for as long as necessary. A few of the participating centers include the Clearlake Youth Center, Lower Lake Museum, Spring Valley Community Center and Behavioral Health Offices.

“It is crucial that each and every student in our community has the resources they need to be able to learn and to do so effectively,” said Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg.

Each location will provide Internet access, a site and school district representative, and if possible scheduled transportation and food.

All Learning Hubs will ensure any visitors complete a self-wellness check and sign in, provide the appropriate district with attendance reporting documentation, wear masks and deep clean once a day.

Learning Hubs will start becoming available as soon as this week and continue to roll out as more locations and staffing becomes available.

“COVID-19 has brought and continues to bring numerous obstacles to Lake County. With Learning Hubs in place, we can work through some of these challenges,” Falkenberg said.

For a list of what is offered and all participating agencies, please visit www.lakecoe.org/LearningHubs.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The US Forest Service will host a virtual community meeting to update area residents on the ongoing efforts to contain the August Complex South Zone.

The meeting will take place online beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17.

It will be live-streamed on the Mendocino National Forest Facebook page.

The lightning-caused complex, which began Aug. 17, had burned 817,952 acres and was 30-percent contained as of Wednesday night, the Forest Service said.

Officials said it has burned 35 structures, with another 400 buildings threatened.

The complex is burning on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.

The Forest Service said that approximately 1,804 personnel are assigned to the complex, which is the largest wildland fire incident in recorded California history.

For those who would like to submit questions ahead of time, email them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

During the live event participants also can ask questions in the comment section on the Facebook page.

The Forest Service said the speakers will attempt to answer as many questions as they can during the live event.

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 US Census Bureau said Wednesday that 93 percent of housing units nationwide have been accounted for in the 2020 Census, but in areas like Lake County, the response rate remains low.

The Census Bureau said that of the housing units counted so far, 27.1 percent were counted by census takers and other field data collection operations, with another 65.9 percent of housing units responding online, by phone or by mail.

In California, the enumeration rate is 95.4 percent, the Census Bureau said.

California’s self-response rate is higher than the national average, at 68.4 percent.

Lake County’s self-response rate as of Wednesday was 47.7 percent, up nearly 3 percentage points since July. Its Internet response rate is 29.9 percent.

The city of Clearlake’s self-response rate is 40.9 percent while Lakeport’s is 66.1 percent, the Census Bureau reported.

Census Bureau data shows that Lake County has the sixth-lowest overall self-response rate amongst California’s 58 counties.

The county’s overall self-response rate in the 2010 Census was 44.9 percent.

Visit www.2020census.gov to respond now and for more details.

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. – Three more residents at a Lakeport skilled nursing facility have died as the result of a COVID-19 outbreak there.

The three new deaths bring the total COVID-19-related deaths at Lakeport Post Acute to seven, and Lake County’s overall COVID-19-related deaths to 10, according to Public Health officials.

Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said that all three of the individuals who just died were older than 65 years of age and had chronic health conditions.

To date, Lake County has 433 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 54 are active and three hospitalized, with 372 having recovered and 10 deaths overall, Public Health reported.

As of early Wednesday evening, health departments across California reported more than 770,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 14,700 deaths statewide.

The COVID-19 outbreak at Lakeport Post Acute began late in August, with the first death reported on Aug. 29.

Pace said that so far 30 residents of the facility – a number that includes the seven who have died – have tested positive for COVID-19.

While Pace has not named the facility, the California Department of Public Health has identified it as Lakeport Post Acute in its COVID-19 reporting dashboard, as Lake County News first reported last week.

CDPH also reported that 19 health care workers at the facility have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday. The agency had confirmed health care worker cases at that facility last week, as Lake County News has reported.

“This outbreak has been heartbreaking for residents, family and staff, and it is still being monitored,” said Pace. “These cases appear to have been picked up in the community and transmitted through the facility by people providing care and services. Many people have mild symptoms, and some unknowingly spread COVID-19. Risks for the vulnerable can be dire.”

He said the cases and deaths have occurred despite the efforts by staff and Public Health officials to contain it.

Across California, 25,184 residents of 1,223 skilled nursing facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, with 4,326 dying, CPDH said Wednesday.

The state said another 18,739 health care workers in those facilities have tested positive, with 146 COVID-19-related deaths reported among those workers.

In an update to the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday night, Pace described the efforts taken at the facility to contain the virus, including setting up a separate COVID-19 wing for those who tested positive and consulting with local and state health officials.

At that point, he had warned of the potential for more deaths “in the near future.”

“This is a very vulnerable population and once the infection gets in that population it can be very devastating,” he told the council.

Pace said Wednesday that when an outbreak occurs in a residential facility, there are established protocols to stop the spread, including weekly testing of residents and staff, use of personal protective equipment, proper disinfection and establishment of a separate COVID-19 ward for infected or exposed individuals.

“These guidelines are being followed now. The State’s Healthcare-Associated Infections team has visited and consulted, and they did not identify any significant problems,” he said.

In addition to the new deaths and cases at Lakeport Post Acute, Pace said another local skilled nursing facility has reported two staffers who tested positive for the virus.

While Pace also didn’t name the second facility, CDPH said Meadowood Nursing Center in Clearlake has staff with the virus, but so far no residents there have tested positive.

In reference to the health care worker cases at Meadowood, Pace said, “They are now isolated, and this facility has put all residents in quarantine, and begun testing all residents and staff; families are being notified, as well. We are in the early stages of determining if this is a separate significant outbreak or if the virus has been prevented from spreading.”

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