Wearing a mask indoors is mandatory again. Now that the new omicron variant is upon us and cases are jumping up, the Governor announced mask wearing indoors is a thing again, at least until Jan. 15. Cases have gone up nearly 50% in the past two weeks. The statewide mask mandate was lifted in June for those vaccinated, but many counties imposed their own mask mandates as cases from new variants kept rising. The state is also ordering people going to indoor events prove a negative test within one or two days if you’re not vaccinated and that travelers visiting or returning be tested within five days of their arrival.
Hundreds of people have lost their power in sections of Mendocino County due to the winter storm that is bearing down on us. PG&E reported 700 customers were without power. Most of the county, not on the coast, was under a winter weather advisory until this morning, but there’s another storm system lining up behind this one. PG&E reported an equipment issue with power to be restored sometime this afternoon for those on SR 128. And they warn drivers out on the road to be cautious with snow at lower levels. The next storm is due tomorrow with snow possible at the 2,000 foot level, and possibly to the 1,500 foot level.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has a packed agenda for their last meeting of the year. They’ll consider Naphcare again after a tiff with 5th District Supervisor Ted Williams in mid-November, where the CEO got into it with Williams after reports of jail inmates not getting adequate care during mental health crises. Naphcare is awaiting a multi-million dollar deal to continue service. The board is also considering spending wildfire disaster settlement money from PG&E and they’ll get an update on the cleanup efforts after the Hopkins Fire. They will also spend some time considering the new Redistricting Maps.
A new cooperative home development is happening in the Little River area. “The Woods” residents have closed on their deal for the land where they live, but the sale price is not being released to the public. Residents are paying $1,000 month for space rents now, and will probably have to pay another $200 bucks/month beyond that. The Woods Cooperative Association owns the Woods in Little River, a mobile home park. The nonprofit bid against big money to buy the land for the folks to be able to keep their mobile homes there. There’s a fund set up too, for those who can’t afford the additional $200/month.
A woman booked into jail for arson after reportedly threatening to light her apartment building on fire. MendoFever reports Desiree Lynn Chavan was arrested by Willits Police after they found associated evidence with her threat last Monday. Police say they got a call to loud threats of setting a fire to the building by others. They say when they got there they found a fire had been set inside Chavan’s apartment. But they only found burn marks in a wall. Neighbors and the apartment manager told police of Chavan’s threats. A maintenance person put out her apartment fire. She’s held on one felony charge of arson with bail set at $100,000.
The CEO of PG&E says underground power lines should help to stop so many wildfires across California. The Press Democrat reports CEO Patti Poppe saying they will bury nearly 100 miles of electric distribution lines. This comes after the utility giant agreed to pay $125 million after Cal Fire found the company’s equipment started the massive Kincade fire. Poppe did not tell the newspaper when we could expect the Public Safety Power Shutoffs to end, but said they’re affecting less and less people each year. The company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying it expects at least a $1.15 billion loss from the Dixie fire, the second-largest wildfire in California history, which some fear could trigger, yet another bankruptcy filing.
It was just a training exercise… if you happened upon a fire in the Redwood Valley area Saturday. The Redwood Valley Calpella Fire Department and CAL FIRE were training how to work with cinder and smoke at a structure fire on a real home that had been donated for the exercise. The volunteer fire dept. got to work on a real burning building and learn hands on experience in a real life setting. A construction company donated the home which needed to be cleared. The firefighters also did an environmental impact report, a HAZMAT report, air quality assessment, an asbestos report, and more before the burn.
Wreaths that will be placed upon veteran’s graves at Lake County cemeteries are due to arrive. The Wreaths Across America truck with the holiday decorations will arrive tonight downtown in Lakeport. Then community members can join in. They’re encouraged to line Main St. and bring flags to help welcome the truck. Ceremonies will take place at Hartley, Kelseyville, Lower Lake, Middletown, St. Mary’s and Upper Lake cemeteries this Saturday morning, with the theme, “Live Up To Their Legacy.” Lake Co News reports youth and veterans organizations will present the Wreaths Across America ceremony this year.
A man from Willows has been killed in a solo tanker truck crash on Highway 20. The CHP reports the big rig overturned on Highway 20 Saturday morning east of Clearlake Oaks. The patrol reports while the driver tried to make it around a right hand curve on the highway, it rolled over, landed on the eastbound lane and went down an embankment. The tanker was filled with milk which offloaded onto the ground beneath it. They say the driver did have on a seatbelt, but had major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Phase 2 of the cleanup after the Hopkins Fire has been approved by the State of California. Properties impacted by last summer’s fire should make sure they’ve filled out the Right of Entry Form for the state debris removal program, or they won’t be included. Of course if they have a private contractor, they won’t need one. The forms are due this Friday. But the work is delayed since a lot of forms weren’t turned in and so the county can find a contractor.
Right-of-Entry permit applications should be sent in to the Prevention, Recovery, Resiliency, and Mitigation (PRRM) Division by:
Mailing or delivering them to the PRRM Division at: 501 Low Gap Road, Room 1010, Ukiah, CA 95482
- Faxing them to (707)-463-5649
- Emailing them to PRRM at disasterrecovery@mendocinocounty.org
For more information, please contact PRRM at:
(707)-234-6303
disasterrecovery@mendocinocounty.org https://www.mendocinocounty.org/community/fire-recovery
A lawsuit has been filed by the family of a woman who died in the Sonoma County Jail last year. The Press Democrat reports the federal lawsuit was filed against the Sheriff’s Office and some county officials claiming Amber Marcotte overdosed on drugs that should not have been in the jail. The lawyers also claim the sheriff’s office had a “culture of lawlessness” so that county employees and others connected to the jail could bring illicit narcotics, like fentanyl, into the facility. The family says Marcotte had been held in a locked area and could not have gotten drugs for the overdose in any other way and say she died of a fentanyl overdose.
