The Willits Educational Foundation announces its Summer Gala has been canceled. But the foundation says kids still need help during the current challenges of COVID-19 and distance learning. They say each student in the Willits Unified School District will probably need about $60 worth of supplies which adds up to about $90,000. With that the Rotary and foundation are working together to bring basic school supplies to the school district, not the music, art and library supplies the Gala has typically helped fund. The school superintendent says schools provide all needed distance learning supplies, but they need to have double their supplies, for at home, and at school, they can’t use the same stuff for sanitation reasons. So the foundation has a go fund me instead of their yearly gala.
The fires on the Upper Lake and Grindstone ranger districts in the Mendocino National Forest caused by lightning are being managed together. One of the fires in the August Complex, the Doe Fire is close to the Hull. The Doe is the biggest of all of the fires in the complex, at just over 160,000 acres. The August Complex on the Grindstone District is in Glenn County and the Hull Fire outside Lake Pillsbury is on the Upper Lake Ranger District. The fires have burned almost 200,000 acres and are 17 percent contained. There’s a chance of more thunderstorms again too today.
There’s an air quality alert in Lake County due to the fires. The Lake County Air Quality Management District says the alert goes thru tonight. The LNU complex of fires burning in Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties along with the August Complex in the Mendocino National Forest is bringing unhealthy and potentially hazardous air to the region. Winds are expected to change directions today which could blow the smoke out but is expected to linger until the fires are all contained.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors has unanimously approved the emergency declaration for the LNU Lightning Complex. The Sheriff Brian Martin issued the declaration last Thursday after the fire started the weekend before, when it was about 131,000 acres and had zero containment. It’s now 27% contained, but it’s nearly double that size at 356,326 acres. The fire’s also taken down almost 1,000 structures and killed five people, three in Napa County and two in Solano County, there were also four civilian injuries. The Sheriff had ordered evacuations for several neighborhoods. Lake Co News reports as many as 7,000 residents are affected. The county has also asked for help from out of county agencies to be patrolling the evacuation area.
Crews getting the upper hand on the Walbridge fire which has burned more than 54,923 acres in northwestern Sonoma County. The fire is 19% contained but some folks are being allowed to return home. Fire officials say it’s mostly surrounded, but a shift in wind could blow containment lines. 5,100 people are still under a mandatory evacuation order and there are warnings for more than 400 more. The fire’s part of the massive LNU Complex, straddling five counties. The Meyers fire is nearly contained, the Hennessey fire is 33% contained but one fire, near the county line of Lake and Napa is still troublesome, in Middletown, where the Valley Fire burned in treacherous terrain.
The National Guard and California Conservation Corps could be joining Cal Fire as the fire season is in full swing and it could get worse with more lightning forecasted. The lightning-sparked fires have grown in a week to some of the biggest we’ve ever seen in Calif. Inmate firefighters are not supplementing crews like in years past due to the pandemic. Cal Fire’s Chief of planning says historically, it’s in early fall when the biggest and most damaging wildfires hit the state, so the middle of August is “very concerning”. Firefighters have been using more bulldozers, aircraft and getting help from firefighters from other states and the federal government. A union representing Cal Fire firefighters says 96% of their crews are committed.
The state auditor says the state’s been getting so much money from the federal government to help with the pandemic, that it’s a high risk for waste, fraud and abuse. Auditor Elaine Howle sent a letter to the Governor and legislative leaders invoking a state law that gives her the authority to watch over 18 government agencies who are supposed to oversee spending. She says prior audit findings and the federal money moving so fast into the state mean that responsible state agencies don’t have adequate processes in place for possible risks.
The LNU Complex has grown several thousand acres. From yesterday the complex added more than 6,000 acres for a total of 356,326 acres with 27% containment. Cal Fire reports 978 structures have been destroyed and another 256 damaged. Cal Fire reported there’s extreme fire behavior and in one area between Napa and Lake, where the Valley Fire burned in 2015 in Middletown is particularly challenging. They were trying to choke the fire off last night there, we haven’t received the morning report yet. The fire was switching directions with the wind, and crossing containment lines.
After two firefighters in Ukiah contracted coronavirus we find out, it seems they got it while fighting a fire in Southern Calif. The city manager says after contact tracing, they have confidence the two firefighters got in while they were on a Strike Team in Southern California, but that quick work from the fire dept. and other team members contained the virus from spreading. The first positive case was two weeks ago today, Aug. 12th so their quarantine period ends today. The two firefighters who tested positive are self-isolating and being monitored by the city and the Mendocino County Public Health Office.
A bill in the legislature that looks to ban flavored tobacco has passed the Assembly. The bill passed the appropriations committee Monday and heads back to the Senate now for another vote. Assemblyman Wood and State Senator Mike McGuire support the bill which has a $250 fine for violations. The bill includes flavored tobacco, including menthol. Wood tweeted Monday it’s to curb smoking in younger people. McGuire is one of the group of senators who introduced the bill, saying it’s essential for youth health.
A Sherwood Oaks nursing facility resident who recently tested positive for COVID-19 is now in the hospital. The head of the facility says they were admitted to Adventist Health Mendocino Coast Monday even though they’re asymptomatic. He says they decided to have the patient transferred there to protect others at the Fort Bragg facility which had suffered an outbreak, which ended in 8 patients dying and several other residents and staff infected. 5 residents and staff who may have been exposed to this patient were tested and they expect results back today. All other residents and staff are stable. 16 residents and 8 staffers have recovered from Covid. Yesterday the county confirmed 7 more cases of coronavirus for a total of 652 cases. 16 people have died from the virus in the county. There are currently 125 isolating including 4 in the hospital and one in an ICU. 506 people have been released from isolation and are considered no longer contagious.
Another community meeting with Cal Fire for Lake County residents. This one tomorrow night on Local Cable channel 8, Zoom or Facebook. The meeting at 6pm will include Cal Fire representatives, and from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and other partnering agencies in the response for the county to the wildfire. There will also be representatives of the Red Cross, County Health Dept. and Social Services Agencies, Lake County Behavioral Health Services, and others available to answer constituent questions. Elected representatives have also been invited.
A live stream will again be posted at http://www.facebook.com/lakecountycagov/. We ask that most people listen in via this feed.
Questions can be emailed ahead of time, to vision@lakecountyca.gov, or posted as comments in the Facebook live stream.
A limited number of County residents can also participate and ask questions in real-time via Zoom:
Meeting ID: 946 1262 9840
Passcode: 288749
Those without reliable internet can listen or participate by phone: 1-669-900-6833. You’ll need the the Meeting ID and Passcode listed above.
A new fire burning near Calpella has triggered evacuations. The fire by the exit to Hwy 20 on the east side of Hwy 101 near mile marker 29.2. The Mendocino County Sheriff has ordered evacuations of nearby residents and has deputies knocking at homes telling people they need to leave. Mendo Fever reports the fire was spotted across N. State Street before 2:30 this afternoon. The Sheriff says the areas of North State Street near Agnes Lane north to Calpella, Central Avenue, Hopkins Street, Moore Street, eastside Calpella Road, Graziano Lane, Third Street, and Durable Mill Road.
The Sheriff says with the help of US Cellular, service to the Covelo area is improved. The Sheriff announcing work with the Round Valley Indian Tribe and Senator Mike McGuire and Supervisor John Haschak to get better service to the area. Sheriff Kendall says it’s not perfect, but they’re still working on long term solutions.
The LNU complex has grown some… Cal Fire Chief Sean Kavanaugh on the complex. Kavanaugh says if the weather stays calm people can go home over the next 24 to 72 hours, but there’s a lot of work to do. Firefighters moving to Middletown to try to corral the area of the fire in the Valley Fire burn, which is in treacherous terrain and the highest priority. There’s also a tough area for firefighters on the Walbridge Fire, part of the complex in W. Sonoma County where there are a lot of structures and fuel to feed the fire.
