NORTH COAST, Calif. – Officials on Saturday morning issued new evacuation warnings and orders in anticipation of further growth on the Kincade fire.

The fire began Wednesday night in The Geysers in northern Sonoma County and as of Saturday morning had burned 25,455 acres, with containment up to 10 percent. The structure loss count remains at 49.

Thousands of structures are now threatened by the fire. On Saturday morning, the number of threatened structures had jumped to 23,500 form 700 the night before.

Authorities on Saturday issued new evacuations orders for the areas of Highway 128 north Knights Valley Area to the Napa County line and the Highway 101 corridor from Geyserville south through the town of Windsor, including the entire city of Healdsburg and the town of Windsor and all areas East to Chalk Hill Road area.

New evacuation warnings were issued for the Dry Creek Valley west to Forestville and Larkfield and Mark West Drainage, according to Cal Fire.

The area east of Highway 128 from Geysers Road north to the community of Geyserville remains evacuated, Cal Fire said.

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said Saturday morning that the new orders call for the evacuation of 50,000 people.

“We are evacuating because this fire is very dangerous and it is expected to move towards Healdsburg and Windsor this evening,” he said.

Essick said they want the communities evacuated no later than 4 p.m. Saturday, ahead of a possible public safety power shutoff.

On Friday night, the fire’s entry into Lake County near the community of Cobb led to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office issuing an evacuation warning for Cobb Mountain and the surrounding communities of Adams Springs, Hobergs, Cobb, Whispering Pines, Gifford Springs and Anderson Springs, and those residents living on Ford Flat Road and Socrates Mine Road, as Lake County News has reported.

“We’re going to go ahead and keep those warning notifications in place for the rest of the day,” Sheriff Brian Martin said Saturday morning.

He said firefighters had some success working on the fire overnight and that it doesn’t pose an immediate nature to homes on Cobb Mountain.

However, Martin said he wants everyone to be prepared in case they need to evacuate people.

At the same time, authorities are monitoring a wind event expected to arrive on Saturday night that is prompting Pacific Gas and Electric to start a public safety power shutoff across the region on Saturday afternoon.

Martin said the predictions are that the incoming winds will push the fire away from Lake County.

The National Weather Service is reporting that the wind direction will be from the northeast and will push the fire in a southwesterly direction, toward the Highway 101 corridor.

Cal Fire has increased the resources on the fire. It reported Saturday morning that personnel and equipment committed to the incident included 179 engines, 24 water tenders, 10 helicopters, 53 hand crews, 24 dozers and 2,090 firefighters.

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.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A man police sought for a Wednesday morning robbery in downtown Lakeport has been arrested.

The Lakeport Police Department said its officers located and arrested 24-year-old Alexander Gene Gard.

On Thursday, police had reached out to the community for help in locating Gard, who had tried to steal more than $100 in merchandise from Campos Casuals.

A store employee had tried to stop Gard and in the ensuing struggle the employee suffered minor injuries, police said.

Police said Gard had left the stolen items behind following the struggle and then fled on foot through downtown, ultimately escaping.

Officers were able to identify Gard after speaking with witnesses.

After asking for the community’s assistance, the police department said numerous members of the public provided information as to Gard's whereabouts.

As a result, at 11:30 a.m. Friday officers located Gard in the city and arrested him.

He was booked into the Lake County Jail on a felony probation violation and a felony charges of second degree robbery. He’s being held without bail because of the probation violation, according to his booking sheet.

Gard is due to appear for arraignment in Lake County Superior Court on Tuesday, based on jail records.

The Lakeport Police Department thanked all of the members of the public who provided information that led to Gard’s arrest.

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 – California State Public Health Officer and Director Dr. Sonia Angell is urging residents in areas where wildfires are burning to stay indoors and reduce outdoor activity to avoid the inhalation of smoke.

“Breathing smoke can irritate eyes and lungs, and aggravate serious health conditions such as asthma, and lung and heart problems,” said Dr. Angell. “Californians, especially children, older adults, and women who are pregnant, should reduce outdoor activity and stay indoors if possible.”

Residents should monitor children and check-in on others who may be more susceptible to the health impacts of wildfire smoke. Seek immediate medical care if someone is experiencing chest pain, chest tightness, or shortness of breath.

The following tips can help Californians reduce smoke inhalation during wildfires:

Stay indoors: Stay inside with the doors and windows closed to reduce exposure to smoky air. If you have power, run an air conditioner if you have one. If the air conditioner has a recirculate option, use it. Smoke levels can change during the course of a day, so try to stay indoors during smokier times.

Reduce activity: Reduce physical activity to reduce inhalation of smoky air. During exercise, people can increase their air intake as much as 20 times from their resting level.

Be prepared: Monitor wildfire activity in your area and be prepared to evacuate if advised.

For information on air quality in your area and how to protect your health during wildfires, please visit the CDPH website.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has a big new group of dogs waiting for homes this week.

The kennels also have many dogs that need to be reunited with their owners. To find the lost/found pet section, click here.

The following dogs are ready for adoption. They include mixes of American Staffordshire Terrier, husky and shepherd.

‘Balto’

“Balto” is a male husky mix with a short black and brown coat.

He already has been neutered.

He is No. 2739.

‘Blue’

“Blue” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

He has a short blue and white coat and has been neutered.

He is dog No. 2420.

‘Bones’

“Bones” is a male hound mix.

He is dog No. 3038.

‘Charlotte’

“Charlotte” is a female Akita mix.

She is dog No. 3040.

‘King’

“King” is a male Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a short brindle coat.

He has been neutered.

He is dog No. 3034.

‘Ollie’

“Ollie” is a male terrier puppy with a tricolor coat.

He is dog No. 2951.

‘Spice’

“Spice” is a female pug mix with a short tan and black coat.

She has been spayed.

She is dog No. 3033.

‘Teena’

“Teena” is a female terrier.

She is dog No. 3025.

‘Tyson’

“Tyson” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix.

He has a short gray and white coat.

He has been neutered.

Tyson is dog No. 1863.

Clearlake Animal Control’s shelter is located at 6820 Old Highway 53, off Airport Road.

Hours of operation area noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The shelter is closed Sundays, Mondays and major holidays; the shelter offers appointments on the days it’s closed to accommodate people.

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.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or at the city’s Web site.

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.

Whether it is two-wheeled transportation or hitting the road by foot, safety is a two-way street.

To help fund the California Highway Patrol’s yearlong effort to drive the message home, the department was awarded the California Pedestrian and Bicyclist Enforcement and Education Project VII grant, which began Oct. 1 and enables officers to conduct enhanced-enforcement patrols and public awareness campaigns.

“Pedestrian and bicyclist safety are a priority for the CHP,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “This grant provides us additional resources to enhance the safety of the most vulnerable roadway users.”

Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities account for nearly 28 percent of all traffic-related deaths in California.

Approximately one-half of all pedestrian crashes in the state occur at a crosswalk. The CHP reminds motorists that every corner is a crosswalk, whether marked or unmarked.

On Oct. 2, National Walk to School Day, the CHP focused on locations with high numbers of pedestrian and bicyclist crashes.

Officers in plain clothes worked with uniformed officers to monitor crosswalks for motorists and pedestrians who failed to yield the right-of-way or who took unsafe and illegal actions.

School zone enforcement operations will take place throughout the year. To improve pedestrian safety in school bus zones, officers will ride school buses to watch for drivers who fail to stop for flashing red lights. When they spot a driver who has not stopped, they will relay the vehicle description to an officer in the vicinity.

The educational component funds traffic safety rodeos and educational presentations related to safe and courteous traffic safety behavior.

The grant also supports safety publications, bicycle helmets, reflective gear and other safety equipment.

Funding for this program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A dramatic glimpse of the aftermath of a collision between two exoplanets is giving scientists a view at what can happen when planets crash into each other.

A similar event in our own solar system may have formed our Moon.

Known as BD +20 307, this double-star system is more than 300 light years from Earth with stars that are at least one billion years old. Yet this mature system has shown signs of swirling dusty debris that is not cold, as would be expected around stars of this age. Rather, the debris is warm, reinforcing that it was made relatively recently by the impact of two planet-sized bodies.

A decade ago, observations of this system by ground observatories and NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope gave the first hints of this collision when the warm debris was first found.

Now the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, revealed the infrared brightness from the debris has increased by more than 10 percent – a sign that there is now even more warm dust.

Published in the Astrophysical Journal, the results further support that an extreme collision between rocky exoplanets may have occurred relatively recently. Collisions like these can change planetary systems. It is believed that a collision between a Mars-sized body and the Earth 4.5 billion years ago created debris that eventually formed the Moon.

“The warm dust around BD +20 307 gives us a glimpse into what catastrophic impacts between rocky exoplanets might be like,” said Maggie Thompson, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the lead author on the paper. “We want to know how this system subsequently evolves after the extreme impact.”

Planets form when dust particles around a young star stick together and grow larger over time. The leftover debris remains after a planetary system forms, often in distant, cold regions like the Kuiper Belt, located beyond Neptune in our own solar system.

Astronomers expect to find warm dust around young solar systems. As they evolve, the dust particles continue to collide and eventually become small enough that they are either blown out of a system or pulled into the star.

Warm dust around older stars, like our Sun and the two in BD +20 307, should have long since disappeared. Studying the dusty debris around stars not only helps astronomers learn how exoplanet systems evolve, but also builds a more complete picture of our own solar system’s history.

“This is a rare opportunity to study catastrophic collisions occurring late in a planetary system’s history,” said Alycia Weinberger, staff scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism in Washington, and lead investigator on the project. “The SOFIA observations show changes in the dusty disk on a timescale of only a few years.”

Infrared observations, such as those from SOFIA’s infrared camera called FORCAST, the Faint Object Infrared Camera for the SOFIA Telescope, are critical for uncovering clues hidden in cosmic dust. When observed with infrared light, this system is much brighter than expected from the stars alone. The extra energy comes from the glow of the dusty debris, which can’t be seen at other wavelengths.

While there are several mechanisms that could cause the dust to glow more brightly – it could be absorbing more heat from the stars or moving closer to the stars – these are unlikely to happen in just 10 years, which is lightning fast for cosmic changes.

A planetary collision, however, would easily inject a large amount of dust very quickly. This provides more evidence that two exoplanets crashed into each other. The team is analyzing data from follow-up observations to see if there are further changes in the system.

SOFIA, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 106-inch diameter telescope.

It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center, DLR. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute at the University of Stuttgart.

The aircraft is maintained and operated from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703, in Palmdale, California.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Kincade fire on Friday continued to challenge firefighters as it created spot fires and burned through rugged terrain into Lake County, prompting a Friday night evacuation warning for Cobb area residents.

Cal Fire said Friday night that the Kincade fire, which began Wednesday night in The Geysers geothermal steamfield, has burned 23,700 acres. It remains at 5 percent containment. Full containment on the fire is expected on Oct. 31.

The number of structures destroyed in Sonoma County remained at 49, with 600 more threatened.

Throughout the day, the main fire continued to throw smaller spot fires ahead of it – some as far as two miles – and was even spotting over power lines in the area, according to radio traffic.

Scanner reports indicated that it was moving toward the Lake-Sonoma County line in the area of Sawmill Flat Road.

On Friday night, Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said the fire had crossed into Lake County.

Based on evaluations and assessment of fire behavior and weather activity, Martin’s office issued an evacuation warning at 8:15 p.m. for residents of Cobb Mountain and some surrounding communities, including Adams Springs, Hobergs, Cobb, Whispering Pines, Gifford Springs, Anderson Springs and those residents living on Ford Flat Road and Socrates Mine Road.

The sheriff’s office said an evacuation warning is not a mandatory evacuation, simply a warning and an opportunity for residents to prepare.

Martin told Lake County News shortly before 9 p.m. that, as the crow flies, the fire is about two miles from any south county neighborhoods.

“Out of an abundance of caution we issued the evacuation warning,” Martin said, explaining that the goal was to give people time to get ready.

In Sonoma County, Sheriff Mark Essick reported Friday night that evacuation orders are remaining in place, which he said he understands is causing frustration.

As an example, Essick said aggressive individuals have been approaching checkpoints into the evacuation area where California Highway Patrol and sheriff’s deputies are staged.

He said 50 deputies are patrolling in Geyserville and to the east of the town to offer help with evacuations, direction and support. So far, there are no reports of looting.

Essick said his agency also hasn’t received missing person’s reports or reports of fire-related fatalities.

With the effort to contain the fire under way, and with what Essick and other officials are calling a “historic” wind event expected this weekend, he explained what people can do to help authorities.

“We’d like you to stay home,” he said.

Unless people are evacuated, Essick asked them to stay off the road and highways, remain vigilant, stay informed and keep in contact with neighbors, especially the elderly and the infirm.

Officials report incident on fire lines; more winds in the forecast

Just before 4 p.m., there was an incident in the area of Pine Flat Road that resulted in a request for a strike team of five engines and three ambulances to care for several individuals – including at least one firefighter plus two to three civilians. All were reported to be conscious and alert and were being transported out of the fire area by line medics.

At the Friday night briefing, Cal Fire officials reported that they didn’t have specifics but would release more information as soon as they had it.

Aircraft have continued to be critical in the firefight. On Friday they worked throughout the day, with all fixed and rotary wing aircraft reported to be off the fire for the night at 6:30 p.m.

On Friday night, firefighters began conducting firing operations to slow the fire’s spread.

Quiet overnight weather conditions are expected, with single digit winds from the northwest, low humidity and temperatures dropping into the mid 50s.

Fire officials are continuing to monitor conditions related to a weather event expected to arrive on Saturday night, bringing with it heavy winds.

On Friday, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for the region – including Lake County – that will be in effect from Saturday through Monday due to fire weather conditions. At the same time, Pacific Gas and Electric is considering another large public safety power shutoff across more than 30 counties, including Lake and Sonoma.

Smoke from the fire has continued to push into Lake County’s air basin.

On Friday, Lake County Air Pollution Control Officer Doug Gearhart said the Kincade fire was responsible for smoke and haze in Cobb and Middletown, and it was expected to reach Hidden Valley Lake unless there was a change in prevailing winds. All other areas of Lake County expected to have periods of “moderate” to “unhealthy” air quality conditions depending on the wind.

Gearhart said these conditions are expected to impact Lake County through Saturday and intermittently until the fires are out.

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. – Faced with an incoming weather system that could bring some of the most powerful winds California has experienced in decades, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it is continuing to monitor the situation as it decides whether to implement another public safety power shutoff across a huge swath of its California service area, including Lake County.

As of Friday afternoon, the company said it hadn’t yet determined whether to move forward with a shutoff, but will continue to monitor weather conditions and provide more definitive information on the potential timing and scale of shutoffs as weather models are updated.

At the same time, the National Weather Service on Friday issued a red flag warning that’s in effect for Lake County from 11 a.m. Saturday to 11 a.m. Monday due to hot, dry conditions that raise the possibility of fire.

The agency also has issued a high wind watch for Lake County timed for 11 a.m. Saturday through 11 p.m. Sunday.

PG&E said the potential public safety power shutoff could affect approximately 850,000 customers and may impact portions of 36 counties across portions of Humboldt, the Sierra foothills, Western Sacramento Valley, North Bay, and across the greater Bay area, Monterey Bay and northern Central Coast on Saturday, Oct. 26. Customers in the southernmost portion of PG&E’s service area in Kern County could have power shut off for safety on Sunday, Oct. 27.

This potential shutoff could see the power shut off to 100,000 more customers than were impacted in the shutoff that began on Oct. 9.

In this predicted shutoff, all of Lake County’s communities are anticipated to be impacted. PG&E said a total of 37,441 customer accounts – including 2,170 medical baseline customers – would have their power cut.

PG&E said the potentially powerful and widespread dry, hot and windy weather event is expected to begin impacting the service area Saturday between 6 and 10 p.m. and lasting until midday Monday.

“The upcoming wind event has the potential to be one of the strongest in the last several years. It’s also likely to be longer than recent wind events, which have lasted about 12 hours or less,” said Scott Strenfel, principal meteorologist with PG&E.

Local resources to be available

Two community resource centers will be available in Lake County should the shutoff take place: at Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road in Lakeport, and Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.

The centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during a shutoff and will offer restrooms, bottled water, electronic device charging and air-conditioned/heated seating for up to 100 people.

The city of Lakeport said its facilities, police station and City Hall will be open and operational during business hours.

The Lakeport Police Department will have increased staffing on during the nighttime hours to patrol neighborhoods and business districts.

The city also will have emergency operations staff on standby. Public Works will also have nighttime staffing to monitor water and sewer infrastructure which we anticipate will remain fully operational.

Lakeport officials reported that they are working in cooperation with the Lakeport Fire Protection District, which also will have increased staffing during this event and are prepared to handle any emergency fire situations.

Thanks to backup generators at the Lake County Courthouse and Clearlake City Hall, operations at those locations will continue during normal business hours next week.

In addition to regular business hours taking place at the courthouse next week, the Department of Social Services in Lower Lake now has a backup generator at its 15975 Anderson Ranch Parkway facility, so services will be available there, too, according to Matthew Rothstein of the Lake County Administrative Office.

Power could be off for several days

If it does move forward with the shutoff, PG&E will need to turn off power for safety several hours before the potentially damaging winds arrive.

As the weather system sweeps from north to south over a period of two days, PG&E said its customers across Northern and Central California will feel the effects of hot, dry winds at different times, which means outage times will vary, as well.

Predictive data models indicate the weather event could be the most powerful in California in decades, with widespread dry Northeast winds between 45 to 60 miles per hour and peak gusts of 60 to 70 miles per hour in the higher elevations.

PG&E said winds of this magnitude pose a higher risk of damage and sparks on the electric system and rapid wildfire spread. The fire risk is even higher because vegetation on the ground has been dried out by recent wind events.

Customers should prepare for a shutoff lasting 48 hours or longer, given the long duration of the wind event. Power cannot be restored until the dangerous weather has passed, safety inspections of de-energized lines are complete, and damage to the system has been repaired, PG&E said.

“We understand that a longer shutoff would be very difficult for our customers. We are already working to minimize the length, including amassing a force of field personnel from PG&E, plus contractors and other utility companies, to be ready to tackle the inspection, repair and restoration process as soon as the weather passes,” said PG&E Corporation CEO and President Bill Johnson.

To help speed inspections and repairs, the company has requested mutual aid of 1,000 workers from other energy companies, including ATCO Energy in Alberta, Xcel Energy in Minnesota and Florida Power & Light. These crews are expected to be staged and briefed on the restoration plan by Sunday evening. If weather progresses as expected, restoration could begin in some portions of the affected area as early as Monday afternoon.

The company and its mutual aid partners will prioritize areas that can be safety restored to bring the maximum number of customers back online as quickly as possible.

PG&E said it is working to minimize customer impact wherever possible through a combination of sectionalizing the grid and providing emergency backup power generation resources that will be able to quickly re-energize customers in portions of some cities.

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. – Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is notifying customers across Lake County of another potential public safety power shutoff that could start this weekend, with the sheriff warning it could impact as many people – but last longer – than the Oct. 9 event.

PG&E is reporting that Lake County and many other counties across the region are under an elevated watch for a shutoff from Saturday through Monday.

A map of the potential outage area, which can be seen above and is available here, shows that most of Lake County will be impacted.

The news comes as the National Weather Service placed Lake County and a large swath of Northern California under high wind and fire weather watches.

The high wind watch is in effect for Lake County from 11 p.m. Saturday through 11 p.m. Sunday, and the fire weather watch is in effect from 11 a.m. Saturday through 5 p.m. Monday.

PG&E President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson said the shutoff now being considered is about the same size as the Oct. 9 shutoff, but could last longer.

Customers began receiving calls, emails and texts on Thursday about the possibility of the shutoff.

While PG&E did not offer more specifics, officials from around the region were sharing the information they had about the potential shutoff.

The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office said it received information that the proposed shutoff could affect 32 California counties and approximately 640,000 customer connections.

Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin also posted a video with details about the situation after emerging from a Thursday afternoon conference call with PG&E.

Martin said the shutoff, if it takes place, could begin on Saturday.

“The numbers that we’re getting are pretty concerning about the scope of this event,” said Martin.

He said the customer count numbers are pretty similar to the ones that impacted the entire county on Oct. 9.

“It’s likely to be a countywide event, again. So get ready,” he said.

The sheriff encouraged everyone to think of how the countywide event earlier this month impacted them: Did they have enough gas, water, food, medications and other necessities?

He also urged them to start preparations right away, as this may be a stronger and longer event because of the severity of the forecast winds and the potential for damage to power equipment, which could delay reenergization.

PG&E has established two community resource centers in Lake County, one at Twin Pine Casino and another at Konocti Vista Casino. Martin said both of those will be opened if a shutoff takes place.

He said he’s also asked for two more centers but doesn’t know if he’ll get them.

At a Thursday night briefing with reporters, PG&E Chief Meteorologist Scott Strenfel said the company’s teams are closely studying the forecast for the incoming weather system.

“We do think it will be the strongest offshore wind event this season by a large margin,” he said.

Indications are that there could be wind gusts averaging between 40 to 60 miles per hour, with 70- to 80-mile-per-hour gusts in some areas, he said.

The PG&E Web site states that the forecast indicates “a very rare and strong wind event” combined with very dry fuels that are highly susceptible to ignition.

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. – Fire officials are investigating a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission line failure near the origin of the Kincade fire in northern Sonoma County.

The fire was first dispatched shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday in the area of John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road in The Geysers geothermal steamfield.

On Thursday afternoon, PG&E said that it filed an electric incident report with the California Public Utilities Commission due to the discovery of a failed transmission line in the fire area.

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, PG&E had begun a public safety power shutoff covering portions of the North Bay including Lake and Sonoma in response to a red flag warning for heavy winds, as Lake County News has reported.

As part of that shutoff, PG&E said it turned off the power for safety to approximately 27,837 customers in Sonoma County, including Geyserville and the surrounding area.

PG&E said it deenergized power distribution lines in those areas; however, based on its protocols and procedures, the transmission lines in the same areas remained energized because the forecast weather conditions, specifically the wind speeds, didn’t meet the protocol.

Company Chief Executive Officer and President Bill Johnson explained in a Thursday evening briefing with reporters that protocols for shutoffs – which are based on years of data – call for sustained wind speeds of 45 miles per hour to shut off distribution lines and 55 miles per hour for transmission lines.

PG&E’s report to the CPUC said that at approximately 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, it became aware of a transmission-level outage on the Geysers No. 9 Lakeville 230kV line when the line relayed and did not reclose, deenergizing the line.

Firefighters would be dispatched about 10 minutes later, finding the fire had already burned a few hundred acres and was being pushed by high winds, Cal Fire Incident Commander Chief Mike Parkes of the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit said in a Thursday night briefing.

By Thursday morning, Cal Fire said the fire had burned 10,000 acres.

At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday, a responding PG&E troubleman patrolling the Geysers No. 9 Lakeville 230 kV line observed that Cal Fire had taped off the area around the base of transmission tower 001/006 in the area of the Kincade fire, PG&E said.

Johnson said the 43-year-old tower had been inspected four times in the last two years. “It appears to have been in excellent condition, recently inspected.”

PG&E said the transmission tower was inspected earlier this year as part of PG&E’s Wildfire Safety Inspection Program.

On site Cal Fire personnel brought to the troubleman’s attention what appeared to be a broken jumper on the same tower, PG&E said.

Mark Quinlan, PG&E’s senior director of emergency preparedness and response, said the company is coordinating with Cal Fire on the event, and has had a management team working with Cal Fire since Wednesday night.

Johnson said that PG&E and Cal Fire are continuing to investigate the transmission tower failure.

He said that filing the report with the CPUC does not explain where or why the fire started, conclusions that he said, ultimately, will rest with Cal Fire.

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. – Studies have shown that riding a school bus is the safest way for children to travel to and from school, and there are many rules and agencies involved in the effort to prepare bus drivers to get their precious cargo safely to class.

This week is National School Bus Safety Week, and officials are asking drivers to be extra careful around schools and watch for children boarding or exiting a bus.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, students are about 70 times more likely to get to school safely when taking a bus instead of traveling by car.

Agencies such as the California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety are supporting efforts to promote the safety of children riding a school bus.

“The CHP’s oversight of school bus safety and enforcement is something we take very seriously each day,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “Please do your part and join the Highway Patrol in our efforts to help keep children safe by being alert when approaching school buses and bus stops.”

“Children should feel safe getting onto or off the bus,” OTS Director Barbara Rooney said. “Drivers should always be watching for people walking or on a bike, but especially around schools and when children are at a bus stop.”

School bus safety is a high priority for the CHP, which launched the “Vehicles Illegally Passing a School Bus,” or VIPS, enforcement project in 2017. The OTS provides funding for the program.

While riding the bus is the safest way for children to get to and from school, many drivers illegally pass school buses that are stopped with their red lights on.

According to a 2016 one-day survey of 137 school districts and nine school bus contractors, more than 26,000 drivers did not stop for a bus loading or unloading children.

California law requires drivers to stop in both directions when a school bus has flashing red lights on. A school bus will turn on flashing yellow lights to warn drivers to slow down and be ready to stop. Drivers must stay stopped until the red lights are off.

If the school bus is on a street with a raised or center median, or with more than two lanes in each direction, drivers on the opposite side of the street do not need to stop.

Drivers who illegally pass a bus face up to a $1,000 fine and could have their license suspended for one year.

During VIPS enforcement operations, CHP officers ride on school buses and patrol bus routes, watching for vehicles that do not stop for flashing red school bus lights. The VIPS project also encourages people to report drivers who illegally pass a school bus.

Since the implementation of VIPS, more than 150 statewide school zone safety operations have been conducted, resulting in nearly 1,200 citations being issued.

School buses are the most regulated vehicles on the road, designed to be safer than passenger vehicles. The flashing red lights and stop-sign arms are crucial features.

More than 50,000 certified school bus drivers transport more than one million students each year in California, traveling approximately 243.5 million miles.

To help ensure the safety of the state’s students, the CHP inspects more than 20,000 school buses each year; California has not had a pupil passenger fatality since 1995.

Among Lake County’s six school districts, there are approximately 80 bus drivers, according to Officer Joe Wind of the Clear Lake Area office of the CHP.

The drivers, who usually start the hiring process at the school district level, are trained in the classroom and behind-the-wheel in a minimum 40-hour course by instructors who are certified to instruct by the State Department of Education, Wind said.

During this time – if not before – the driver applies with CHP to receive a special certificate, which is issued from the California Department of Motor Vehicles through the CHP.

“During this process, the driver is required to have, or be able to obtain, a Class B driver's license or permit with a passenger endorsement, a current medical examination report and certificate, have a current driving history report, as well as have a fingerprint submission for criminal background review,” Wind said.

Once they have fulfilled those requirements, Wind said the drivers must successfully pass a written test, first aid test, and a pre-trip inspection and driving test, which is overseen by the CHP.

“They can then be issued the special certificate to drive a school bus, and must renew it every five years,” Wind said. “The driver continuously receives training during this renewal period. The special certificate renewal testing process has the same criteria.”

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. – With Pacific Gas and Electric Co. considering conducting another public safety power shutoff from Oct. 26 through 28 due to a strong wind event, Lake County’s Public Health officer is recommending community members be prepared.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said preparation for the shutoffs is very important, especially if you are medically fragile. If you have major medical needs, it may be a good idea to leave the area to visit friends and family until the power comes back on.

Remember, get the essentials stockpiled before the power shuts off.

Medications:

· Many pharmacies were closed during recent events. Last time, only Lake, Lucerne and Moran’s Pharmacies were open.

· Keep at least a seven-day supply of essential medications in the house. Refill any medications that are low before the power goes out.

· If your pharmacy is closed, other pharmacies may be able to provide a small supply, or you may need to go out of the area to fill your prescription. Take your prescription bottle with you.

Medical equipment, especially oxygen:

· People who are dependent on electricity due to their medical condition should sign up with PG&E for their “Medical Baseline” program. Sign up at www.pge.com.

· If you are oxygen dependent, you need to have a plan before the power goes out: Consider going to stay with family or friends out of the area who have power; get a properly installed generator, if possible; during the day, you can go to the community resource center to plug in your equipment; fill extra tanks to give some reserve; contact your medical equipment provider if you have questions.

· Other equipment – CPAP, motorized scooters, nebulizers all require power and need similar planning as oxygen.

· For more ideas, check out: https://prepareforpowerdown.com/.

Hospitals and nursing homes:

· During the last outage, both hospitals were running on generators, but with some limitations in x-ray services.

· All three nursing homes were open and running on generators.

Outpatient medical providers:

· All outpatient clinics were closed throughout the last event.

· If you need some medical guidance, try calling your provider. No answer? Try calling your insurance company since some have on-call nurses to answer questions. Resources include Partnership HealthPlan, 24/7 call number: 866-778-8873. For other insurance: check your insurance card for advice numbers. Last event, both Sutter and Adventist hospitals had call centers open to answer medical questions for their patients.

· If you are having a medical emergency, go to the emergency room or call 911.

· Behavioral Health: If you are feeling significantly stressed, Lake County Behavioral Health has a 24 hour hotline: 1-800-900-2075.

Community resource centers:

· These were created by PG&E for people to come and plug in their devices, get bottled water, and other basic services. They are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Locations yet to be announced. CalOES’ Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaOES/, publishes lists of these center location as available. You do not need to have a Facebook profile to access this valuable information.

General concerns:

· Gasoline/propane. Most suppliers were closed, people should fill their tanks before the power goes out.

· Food. Most grocery stores and restaurants were closed, so get food before the shutdown. If you do not have, a way to keep food cold, purchase non-perishables like canned and packaged goods. Use frozen gallon jugs of water or ice to help keep food cold and prevent spoilage. “When in doubt, throw it out.”

· Water. People on wells with electric pumps may be without water. Fill bathtubs or other storage tanks prior to the event.

· Temperature regulation. Electric heating and cooling may not work. Plan ahead to keep comfortable, especially when elders and children are in the house.

Additional information is available at PG&E’s Web site and Twitter pages (you do not need to join Twitter to access), the Lake County Sheriff’s Office site and the county of Lake.