As the rain wanes before the next system moves through, damage has been left behind along with inundated roads, power downs and trees on roads and homes across Calif. Power is out across Lake County and in Humboldt County lines are down leaving many without power. A tree down near Trinidad meant the closure of Highway 101. The high winds were in Mendocino County and a lot of flooded streets were reported in the county, especially along the Russian and Navarro Rivers. The director of the California Department of Water Resources says if you live near the rivers to pay attention to your county’s emergency operations and “heed
their warnings.” Residents are also told to call 911 if they see downed powerlines and of course, not to go near them. PG&E management says their crews have been working around the clock to minimize any impacts from the storm. Still there are tens of thousands without power, some the entire week, due to stormy weather New Year’s weekend.
PG&E is asking for the public’s help to get power back on for Lake County residents quickly, simply by calling them. There are over 40 outages across the county on 1,300 of their meters. The majority are in the Middletown, Konocti, Lucerne and Hartley (Lakeport-area) substations. PG&E crews were working up assessments and damage reports, but say they have no estimated time for restoration. Because of this they say if you are near downed power lines or see lines or trees down to call right away. They say then crews can respond if you have documented an exact address or even a cross-street or mile post marker. 800-743-5002
The Mendocino County Superior Court is expanding public hours at the clerk’s offices in Ukiah and Fort Bragg and over the phone. The clerk’s offices are now open to the public 8:30 to 3:30. And they will answer public phones the same hours Monday through Friday. There’s also a lot of information available on specific court cases, hearings, jury duty and self-help assistance online. There you can file documents electronically, download and purchase copies of court case documents, and pay court fines and fees. You can also confirm or postpone jury duty online. Please visit our website at www.mendocino.courts.ca.gov
If you’re without power in or around the Point Arena area, during regular business hours you can hit up City Hall for WIFI or electronics charging. The building itself is running on generator power. They also have updates regarding the power outage. They’re open from 9am to 4pm Friday and Saturday or for as long as the outage lasts, which could be as soon as tomorrow night.
A post on Facebooks shows the Point Cabrillo Lighthouse flooded after a wave broke through the backdoors. The post said there was about 2 feet of standing water inside and to be alert and stay away from the headlands.
The Sheriff also posted on Facebook about what he called “pretty bad conditions”. Sheriff Kendall said flooding was just as expected and could have been much worse. He says there were high winds throughout the county that left many without power and roads closed. The Mendocino County Department of Transportation, Cal-Trans and utility crews were working to get power on and roads reopened as they can. The Sheriff says it would be helpful if folks could remain patient as crews are working in “some seriously dangerous conditions and they have safety protocols they must follow”. He reminds to obey road closures and if you see crews working, to please slow down and give them a wide swath as you pass.
PG&E reports getting the power back on to over 406,000 customers. The energy company says as of yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m., there were more than 2,000 outages affecting about 95,000 customers, in the North Coast, Bay Area and Central Coast. The company says they had reports of felled trees, flooding and debris flows which made it difficult for crews to repair lines, which could delay power restoration. And since more storms are supposed to be coming, that could further delay restoration and even bring more widespread outages. They say the worst of the storm hit Wednesday and brought wind gusts to some areas of over 100 mph and as much as five inches of rain. They have real time info you can follow by putting in your exact address on their website for updated info.
Police in Ukiah say they’ve been seeing a lot more burglaries of coin operated laundry facilities and caught a suspect. On Wednesday, cops got a call to investigate another laundromat rip-off and say there was forced entry into one laundry machine at an apartment complex. They say the damage was over $400. Then officers got video surveillance footage from the complex, seeing a man committing the theft. Since Deputies from the Sheriff’s Office were investigating another apartment complex burglary at a laundry facility. They got surveillance video and say it looked like the same guy who was also apparently seen trying to burglarize a Redwood Valley business. They identified Nathan Totten as a person of interest and arrested him after his car was seen on more surveillance videos. Totten was found with evidence related to the case and clothes he was seen in on the surveillance footage. He’s held in Mendocino County Jail.
That nest for bald eagles that PG&E was trying to remove, remains. There’s been a prayer group hanging around under the nest which is way up a 120-foot-tall pine tree. On Tuesday ahead of the worst of the storm, there were reports there were about 15 people gathered under the tree in Potter Valley praying it wouldn’t be felled and the nest moved elsewhere. The energy company has been wanting to take the tree down because it poses a fire hazard since it’s so close to one of their power lines. The same group was trying to get PG&E to hold off a year ago to protect the nest. So far there hasn’t been any word from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service about granting PG&E a permit to cut the tree down ahead of nesting season, starting in a week or so.
The Governor is being sworn in for his second term. And on the anniversary of the US Capitol insurrection, Newsom will march to the state Capitol. Ahead of the festivities Newsom’s inaugural committee put out a statement saying the observance is “of the California spirit of opportunity and inclusion — ‘the California Way’ — will stand in peaceful contrast to the violent insurrection and assault on our democracy”. The invitation only event starts later this morning with the march which will end near the Capitol where he will be sworn in and give a speech. They were planning for about 1,000 to be in attendance.
Mendocino County at one point during the Wednesday and Thursday weather event had more than 2,500 PG&E customers without power. The reports came from Gualala, Point Arena, Manchester, and Albion. Most without power still because the energy company couldn’t access affected equipment. There were still roads closed yesterday afternoon, downed trees and mud and rockslides. All roads on Highway 1 had opened by around 4 pm yesterday, there were only road closures on state-maintained roads in Mendocino County, that included a full closure of Highway 175 from Highway 101 to Hopland Railroad Crossing in Hopland.
If you have to get help fostering your pet in Mendocino County, Animal Care Services had made an announcement earlier this week they were all filled up, and they may have to euthanize animals if they have to. They put out a statement that if you find a stray dog, they might not be able to help because of packed kennel space. They were telling people to please hold onto animals if they could, and if you were thinking of adopting or fostering, now is the time. The Mendocino Voice reports the Mendocino Coast Humane Society is also at capacity, and they do not euthanize, but also asks community members to do what they can to help take the burden off the shelter and humane society.
A new police chief has been approved for hiring in Clearlake. It was a unanimous vote yesterday to offer the contract to Tim Hobbs to be Clearlake’s new police chief. He has spent almost 2 decades, his whole career with the department, his latest highest rank was lieutenant. He was already the interim chief, sworn in by the departing Chief Andrew White who headed to the City of Martinez for the same position. The contract covers three years with incentives for more money with extra training and college degrees.
An ex high school soccer coach at Middletown High has been ordered to trial on multiple stalking and sex assault of minor charges. Lake County News reports Michael Dodd, also the school’s science teacher, was charged with 14 counts involving nine juvenile victims, both boys and girls. He faces charges of felony stalking, felony lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, annoying or molesting a minor, and simple battery, which is noted as harmful or offensive touching. The news site reports Dodd was hired by the school about 18 months ago as a science teacher and boys soccer coach and made contact with students during soccer practice and in his science class. It was less than a month that a complaint was made against him for inappropriate behavior toward a student.
Another wallop is coming. The National Weather Service says yet another strong Pacific cyclone is headed to the North Coast today with more winds, high mountain snow, rain and possibly more flooding. There will be a short reprieve between weather events, then gusty, strong winds, high elevation snow and widespread flooding threats from heavy rain on already soaking earth. At the same time as the cyclone hits, another atmospheric river will collide with the system.
New hope for the severe drought as we’ve been pruned by recent rains, but it’s said to be helping. The last U.S. Drought Monitor maps released showed there were no longer any areas at the worst level, and it could be even better once maps are released that include all the stormy weather soaking into the ground. Drought experts say there’s still a long way to go to avoid a fourth dry year, which runs through the end of September.
Calif. Public health officials are reportedly expecting another COVID wave. Even though cases were waning, numbers have not really gone up yet from all the holiday gatherings across the state, or from those visiting other places and returning to California. The state is also reportedly monitoring another new strain said to be spreading fast. The state was seeing an 11-percent drop in cases but the rate of people testing positive is up 12-percent. This latest update shows hospitalizations were mostly stable the past month with 45-hundred patients.
There’s a new Superintendent of Schools in Mendocino County. Newly elected Supe Nicole H. Glentzer took her oath of office for her four-year term Tuesday. She was elected in June after two terms as the assistant Super at Ukiah Unified School District. She also had time as the Superintendent and Principal of Potter Valley Community Unified School District and has almost 3 decades of education experience under her belt. She says she is looking forward to working “side by side with educators, staff, administrators, parents, and the public to ensure that the students in Mendocino County receive the very best education we can provide them.”
