The Lake County Air Quality Management District is reporting smoke from fires in NorCal and Oregon is impacting regional air quality. Lake County News reports current monitor readings through the county are unhealthy for sensitive groups. Yesterday, all areas of Lake County had moderate to unhealthy air. The forecast through tomorrow will be in the same range with higher elevations experiencing most of the smoke impact. Gusty winds may bring worse areas of haze. In Mendocino County air quality inland is a bit better this afternoon with decreasing air quality along the coast. Point Arena is a point of worsening air quality. Smoke is being pulled into the area by Hilary’s air pattern according to the Press Democrat.
People along the Mendocino Coast have their power back after experiencing a power outage yesterday afternoon. MendoVoice reports nearly, 3,800 PG&E customers on the coast had no power yesterday from about 11:30am to 2:30pm. The outage was reported from Sonoma County to southern Mendocino County. The cause is under investigation.
The average price of gas in California is at about $5.25 a gallon, up about ten cents from last week. In Mendocino County, the price of gas in Little River was a whopping $7.48, according to gas buddy. It’s nearly double the national average that AAA reports is $3.86, up a cent from a week ago.
Crescent City Harbor Commissioners are sending a letter to Assemblymember Jim Wood, Representative Jared Huffman and Senator Mike McGuire asking for a moratorium on banning all ocean fishing along the North Coast. The Triplicate reports last week Harbor Commissioners held a couple of emergency meetings on the statewide directive. Earlier this month, the Department of Fish and Wildlife sent out word of the ban that started yesterday from Mendocino north to the Oregon border. The ban extends into the ocean 15,000 feet. The department is citing severe population declines in quillback and other groundfish. They are asking the boundary to be changed for the Northern Management Area to move the shoreline boundary to 3,000 feet to protect fishermen. The fishing industry is reeling with the current order; the group says creates an economic domino effect for the entire area.
Mendocino County continues hosting community resilience public outreach sessions after the first one in Hopland last week. This Saturday the session is in Caspar at the Community Center from 1 to 2:30pm. The input they’re seeking will help decide projects to pursue grant funding for. They’ll talk emergency prep, community planning and capacity building, infrastructure, health and social services, housing and more. After the next session on the 26th, the next one is planned for August 30th in Ukiah.
California superblooms last spring are helping conservationists gather seeds for the future. The AP is reporting the seed collection includes goldeneye and brittlebrush among many more. Seed banking is a fire management tool in preserving habitats throughout the state. It’s considered insurance for future generations as invasive weeds and wildfires ravage areas. With recent injections of funding from the Bureau of Land Management the seed banking process as risen recently although demand is outpacing supply. This year many agencies and groups are collecting seeds to mitigate vegetation loss caused by the changing climate.
The North Coast Region is welcoming the state’s Fifth Climate Change Assessment Regional Workshop a week from today. In the Russian River Water Update, the assessment announced will target resilience priorities to build the 2024 Update to California’s Climate Adaptation Strategy and more. The public is invited to help with input on the framework for the Regional Synthesis Reports identifying local priorities to be addressed in the assessment as they find partners interested in being part of regional author teams. The Workshop for counties including Mendocino and Lake will be Tuesday the 29th. It’s part of a statewide effort to work with local and regional partners in science and education, Tribal organizations, local governments and more. The North Coast Region meeting will be at the Yurok Tribe Main Office in Klamath.
As the waters recede from the biggest storm to hit southern California in decades, lawmakers in Sacramento are considering a bill tomorrow (Wednesday) to make schools more resilient. Senate Bill 394 would require the California Energy Commission to create a statewide plan to help school districts integrate climate resilience and sustainability into their master plans. The bill has already passed the California Senate and has a hearing on Wednesday in the State Assembly Appropriations Committee. According to California News Service, advocates would like to see school districts get better air filtration and air conditioning systems, plant more trees in schoolyards and more.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital has earned the designation of 5 stars for quality from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The overall star ratings were introduced in 2016 to give residents a summary of performance and are considered the gold standard in the industry. Last year, Sutter Lakeside got 4 stars, higher than the national average. This year, the facility’s performance categories of mortality, safety, readmission, and patient experience gained that 5th star. Lake County News reports the facility also decreased healthcare related infections. Early this year, the hospital earned an award for Best Hospital and Emergency Care from the annual Best of Lake and Mendocino 2023 survey. The not-for-profit hospital has continued to earn accolades in their ER and more.
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will meet tomorrow and hope to finalize a housing plan. The Press Democrat reports the board will consider approving the blueprint, or housing element, that outlines how to create nearly 4,000 housing units outside city limits over the next 8 years. If approved the plan has to go to the State Department of Housing and Community Development before final adoption. It could make Sonoma County eligible for state funds set for affordable housing projects. The blueprint includes nine areas in unincorporated parts of the county including Cloverdale, and the lower Russian River from Guerneville to Forestville.
The first tropical storm to hit the state in over 80 years has moved on. Hilary flooded roads and created mudslides throughout southern California. Her remnants of thunderstorms and torrential rains are expected to head into southeast Oregon and into Idaho today. The AP reports the storm caused at least one death. Hilary brought tornado warnings to the southern valley. Officials are warning that risks remain in mountain regions where wet hillsides could cause more mudslides. In Palm Springs search and rescue officials rescued 46 people between late Sunday night into yesterday afternoon. And a years worth of rain fell on Death Valley National Park forcing it to close as about 400 tourists sheltered in buildings inside until roads are made passable.
A new scientific instrument created at NASA can spot signs of wine grape diseases that cost vintners billions yearly. Lake County News reports the airborne sensing tool could help, along with ground monitoring. Researchers have studied a virus that attacks grapevine is mostly spread by insects. The viral leafroll associated complex reduces yield and can sour growing grapes. The NASA instrument uses an optical sensor that uses the interaction of sunlight with chemical bonds; the instrument has been used to monitor wildfires, oil spills and air pollution. The instrument is used in research planes and has surveyed around 11,000 acres of vineyards in the state. Researchers say the data can be used with other systems on agricultural decision making globally.
Two more homeowners’ insurance companies are leaving the state in what is growing to be an exodus. AmGuard and Falls Lake Insurance are pulling out of California completely. The call comes as State Farm, Allstate, Farmers and other insurance companies are changing business in California or are leaving altogether. The latest two are relatively small in comparison to the national companies. Falls Lake notified the state it is stopping renewals starting in September with AmGuard following suit in November. The Press Democrat reports that there are companies still offering coverage. The California Department of Insurance says over a quarter of homes in Mendocino and Lake Counties are at high fire risk, making finding coverage difficult. For those who are being dropped, an option is the state FAIR Plan.
