A Potter Valley man’s body was found in the Russian River near Ukiah. The body of Joshua Freeman, a Mendocino County resident, was found just after 10 Friday morning resting against a tree and partially submerged in the river. A Swift Water Response team was called in to recover the victim. Ukiah Valley Fire Authority, Little Lake Fire District, and Hopland Fire Protection District all helped with the recovery effort. The Coroner is still investigating Freeman’s cause of death but says so far there are no signs of foul play. An autopsy is pending. Anyone with information is asked to call the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
The Sierra continues to be hammered by blizzard-like conditions that aren’t expected to let up today. Snow fell fast on Sunday and joined forces with hurricane type winds to create whiteout conditions in some areas. Several cars got caught in a snowslide on Echo Summit but no major injuries were reported. Most roads in the area are closed for travel as of now, and several more feet of snow is expected to fall in the higher elevations today and tomorrow.
The only post office in Leggett has burned down. The fire was reported around 5:30pm on Friday. Video taken by local residents showed the building completely engulfed. According to reports, the fire was started when nearby vegetation was hit by lightning. Firefighters from several area fire departments helped put out the blaze, but the building was a total loss.
Five people died at the Mendocino County Jail due to overdose. The MCSO identified one of the victims as Artemio Reyes of Ukiah. Jail officials said they got reports of the first overdose around noon on Friday when a deputy found an unconscious inmate in their cell. While that inmate was being attended, other deputies found several inmates also suffering from overdose symptoms. All five inmates were taken to the hospital, where Reyes later died. Officials have not said what drugs were to blame for the overdoses, and the incidents are still being investigated.
Lake County was covered in a blanket of snow over the weekend. The storm system moving through the region covered the county in flakes on Saturday. Cobb reported snow first, but it didn’t take long for the rest of Lake County to be affected. Sunday afternoon and evening saw reports of several vehicles getting stuck in snow or sliding off the area roads. The National Weather Service says rain is expected to continue through Wednesday, with winds gusting around 20 miles an hour. We’ll finally see the sun by the end of the week.
A Mendocino County couple welcomed a baby on Leap Day. Mackenzie Dailey of Ukiah gave birth to a healthy baby girl at 2:19am on February 29th at Bloom Water Birth Center. Dailey and her husband Tyler named their daughter Thena and said in the future they’ll celebrate her birthdays on February 28th, with a big party thrown every four years on the 29th. Thena’s birth on Leap Day is part of a statistic that only happens to 1 in every 1,461 people.
A two-vehicle crash shut down part of Highway 20 yesterday. It happened in Lake County just before one Sunday afternoon. According to California Highway Patrol, a pickup collided with a Toyota corolla near Blue Lakes, near the Mendocino – Lake County line. The crash cleanup and investigation had both lanes blocked until about 4pm. Officials haven’t released any information yet about injuries or how many people were involved in the crash. The incident remains under investigation.
Caltrans crews working in Lake County could slow you down this morning. Crews are doing tree work along Route 175 starting today. Look for alternating lane closures from Adams Spring Drive to Junction route 29 from 8am to 3pm causing minor delays. In Mendocino County, crews will be starting electrical work today on route 1. The work zone is south of Caspar from Sea Pines Lane to Little Lake Road. One-way traffic control will be going on until 4pm, expect delays.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has voted to approve a hiring bonus in an effort to try and fill the Ag Commissioner position, a seat that’s been vacant since 2022. A planned hiring bonus of 40 thousand dollars will be paid over 3 years to the successful applicant. Officials said the state is at risk of losing funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture if they don’t hire an Ag Commissioner soon.
The Fort Bragg City Council has approved a cease fire resolution for Gaza. The Council voted unanimously in favor of the resolution at their meeting on February 26th. The community group Showing Up for Racial Justice, or SURJ, opened the meeting by reading the proposed resolution. They also condemned the October 7th attack by Hamas on Israel and called for the release of all hostages.
