Most evacuations for the Cache Fire in Lake County have been lifted as the fire reaches 50 percent containment with no active flames. Dam Road in that area is still closed and likely will remain closed through the weekend. Cal Fire will do a damage assessment, but as of now, it looks like 58 residences and more than 100 structures were destroyed in an 83-acre burn zone. There have been no reports of anyone seriously hurt or missing. Schools in Clearlake that were closed today are expected to be reopened on Monday.
The city wants to hear from residents of the Creekside or the Cache Creek Mobile Home Parks, even if after hours.
Lost pets can be reported to the City Animal Control Office
The city has set up a webpage with resources for those affected by the Cache Fire. You can find the link on the Local News tab of our website. (https://www.clearlake.ca.us/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=Cache-Fire-Resource-Page-35)
The Lake County fire is tiny compared to the dozens of others raging across the state. So far, they have burned over 1,000,000 acres or 2,000 square miles. The biggest, the Dixie fire, is still only 35 percent contained.
The US Forest Service is CLOSING several national forests because of the risk of more fires. Among them—the Mendocino National Forest. The closure starts at 11:59 PM on Sunday, though at least September 6th. In addition to Mendocino, the Tahoe, Plumas, Lassen, Six Rivers, Klamath, Shasta Trinity, and Modoc National Forests will all be off-limits.
It’s slowed on the Monument Fire in the Shasta Trinity Forest, as pillars of smoke hovered above. But the fire grew some. It’s now 136,379 acres, an increase over the last day of just under 700 acres. The northwest area of the fire triggered a new evacuation warning for the hamlets of Denny and Hawkins Bar. Crews used helicopters to flyover and dump water and ground crews were on spot fires, one was six acres, the other only one acre near Bell Bar. There was also a drone with infrared technology watching over a couple more spot fires east of the North Fork Trinity River, one is about 15 acres and another was one acre.
Hundreds of people had to leave Lake County due to the fast moving Cache Fire which has stopped all forward movement. Clearlake and Lower Lake have been devasted by the fire which gutted a mobile home park and burned trees, cars and buildings. 56 homes and 81 outbuildings along with 158 vehicles and 30 telephone and power poles were fried by the fire. Lake Co News reports a state of emergency was declared yesterday due to the environmental dangers left behind. That means the state and federal government can pitch in to help. The news site reports the Lake County Fire Protection District Chief said there was a lot of dust particles that are contaminants so people need to stay away. The fire charred 83 acres and is said to be between 35% and 40% contained. No word how it may have started.
Hundreds of students and a couple hundred staffers at five schools in Clearlake and Lower Lake had to be evacuated due to the Cache Fire. Since the area is still inundated with smoke and dust, the schools are closed for deep cleanings today. They do plan to reopen Monday.
2 mobile home parks were hit hard by the fire, one worse than the other. Creekside Mobile Home Park is gone, and 3 homes in the neighboring Cache Creek Mobile Home Park were also destroyed. One other building also burned. Over 700 people are still evacuated as neighborhoods are cleared of debris, downed power lines and hazardous materials. There were two evacuation centers this week, first at Kelseyville High on Wednesday, then yesterday it was the Twin Pines Casino, where about 70 people stayed. The Cache Fire broke out Wednesday in windy conditions, during a red flag warning.
There’s been a second death at a homeless shelter in Santa Rosa due to complications of COVID-19. The largest homeless shelter in Sonoma County, the Santa Rosa’s Samuel L. Jones shelter has been devastated by the virus this year. The latest death was someone who had been vaccinated, but was in the hospital and had other medical conditions. The Sonoma County Department of Public Health has confirmed the death of the man who died over a week ago. They reported he was between 55 and 64 years old. Two residents first tested positive in early July so the shelter was closed to new residents, then an outbreak occurred less than a week later, infecting nearly 50 residents. Of the 153 people who regularly live there, 83 were fully vaccinated. They had a total of 114 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and 66 of them were fully vaccinated. Fifty-two were the delta variant strain.
Another outbreak at the Mendocino County Jail of COVID. Apparently four cases popped up during the booking process so those inmates were immediately quarantined. Then on Wednesday, jail medical staff and the Mendocino County Public Health Dept. tested all inmates and found six male inmates and one female inmate tested positive for the virus. So there are now 11 positive cases at the jail. And correctional officers are testing daily due to an increase in community spread, so they detected three Corrections Deputies who tested positive; two detected by the jail and the other from off-site testing. All arrestees who are going to jail are tested, then if they test positive, they are quarantined. All new entrees are also quarantined for ten days before mixing in general population.
A special meeting’s being held by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors due to the drought. The special meeting is Tuesday and called for because of the critical water shortage emergency in the town of Mendocino. Water experts will be there to help the Board and attendees understand the extreme water shortage in the 5th District which was heightened by the severe, historic drought. The agenda will have discussion and possible action with direction for staff to set aside money for drought assistance and other immediate funding opportunities. 5th District Supervisor and Board Vice-Chair Ted Williams says water is scarce there and citizens are scrambling for solutions. The meeting is at 1:00 pm and will be live streamed on the county’s YouTube page.
Thousands of firefighters working in dire conditions throughout Calif as fires continue eating away land mass, homes, cars, trees and power lines. The massive Dixie fire, the largest of the mix, has been burning since July 13th and keeps jumping in size. It’s burned just under 700,000 acres and remains only 35% contained. The Caldor Fire, the latest to blow up in size, has no containment. It’s burning in El Dorado County and ravaged the Sierra town of Grizzly Flats this week. The fire has blackened 68,630 acres. The Cache fire took down an entire mobile home park in Lake County, and three units in another nearly mobile home park. At least 50 homes burned in total. The Sheriff and local fire chief gathered for a hasty meeting last night saying the fire moved “quickly and severely.”
Pacific Gas and Electric reports turning power back on to everyone in Lake County. There were people in the dark in 18 counties. Nearby they had their power back on Thursday, but there were about 1,400 Lake residents still in the dark, who were restored last night. 50,000 Northern California customers had to deal with the public safety power shutoff. The utility company reported clocking wind gusts of more than 50 mph. They recorded at least 10 incidents of weather-related damage and hazards to their equipment. They say four could have caused fires if they didn’t power down.
The Mayor of Clearlake says he wants to reward employees who get the COVID19 vaccine, but the mayor of Lakeport, not so much. The Record Bee newspaper reports the two mayors on opposite sides of the lake are also on opposite sides of the fence. Clearlake Mayor Dick Slooten said he wants to reward every employee with $100 of his own money if they get the jab by Sept. 15th. The Lakeport Mayor Kenny Parlet, on the other hand says he used to be a pre-med student, doesn’t trust the media, and knows science. He says masks don’t work and they’re harmful. He also says the vaccine is lethal and kills.
At a town hall regarding the pandemic, State Senator Mike McGuire hosted some scientists. Online on Wednesday, the senator updated community members about the state’s response and the Delta variant. There were two doctors on the virtual meeting with him, an infectious disease physician at UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health and Geffen School of Medicine and as kids are getting ravaged by the virus ahead of back to school time, McGuire also hosted a pediatrician and assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco. McGuire says 64% more Californians are getting infected, and that the surge is mostly in the unvaccinated. The doctors noting half the US population who are eligible have been vaccinated and we need it to be 80 to 90%. They say the way to stop the variants are through vaccinations globally, not just in the US. And they discussed children who are experiencing, not only illness, but stress, depression and anxiety.
