Sonoma County has had four norovirus outbreaks in the past month. There were three outbreaks in June and one last week. Three of them were in healthcare facilities, including local hospitals. The fourth outbreak was at a residential substance use treatment center. Public health officials say high levels of norovirus have also been detected in Sonoma County’s wastewater in recent weeks. The CDC says norovirus is the leading cause of vomiting, diarrhea and foodborne illness in the United States.
A woman found dead inside a home in Willits died after being attacked with a wooden table leg. That’s according to new court documents. The 77-year-old woman, Roberta McNeal-Wood, was killed on June 29th. The suspect, Michael Coleman, is facing murder and burglary charges. Coleman is scheduled to enter pleas to both charges on Wednesday.
Crews are battling a fast-moving vegetation fire in the Tahoe National Forest. Cal Fire reports the blaze started near the Royal Gorge and has burned 54 acres with zero-percent containment as of Sunday night. Smoke could reportedly be seen from Interstate 80. An evacuation warning was issued for five nearby homes. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Ground resources face challenging terrain, and aerial resources have been deployed.
A Cloverdale man is now facing charges for a brush fire near Geyserville. CAL Fire officials say the suspect was arrested over the weekend in connection with the eleven-acre Pocket Fire. Investigators believe the fire was started by the man using a riding lawn mower to cut four-foot-tall cured annual grasses. The riding lawn mower should only be used on green lawns, not dry weeds or tall dry grass. The blades can throw sparks when they hit rocks. Residents are also reminded not to use weed eaters, chainsaws, grinders, welders, or trimmers when fire warnings are in effect. The suspect faces a felony and several misdemeanors for allegedly starting the fire. Cal Fire says it’s the second arrest this season. The first was on July 3rd when a man was arrested for weed-eating dry grasses and causing the Adams Fire.
Two separate forest fires are causing problems in Northern California. In Soda Springs, homes were evacuated Sunday night due to the 54-acre Royal Fire that is burning near the homes. U.S. Forest Service officials say the fire is burning at a rapid rate and was caused by a left behind campfire. In Oroville, 13 homes were destroyed by the Thompson Fire that ripped through Butte County this month but is now 94 percent contained and sits at about 38-hundred acres.
The Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit continue to battle the Toll Fire. So far 41 acres have burned near Old Lawley Toll Road, northeast of Calistoga. The fire that started on July 2nd is about 75% contained. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Mendocino County Planning Commission has approved a major use permit for a new solar farm. The commission had a short hearing on Wednesday to discuss the plan for the 20 acre solar farm just northeast of Ukiah. According to a press release the site will have more than 10 thousand solar modules on sun tracking swivels and could generate up to 4 megawatts of renewable energy. That’s enough to power about 200 homes, according to officials.
A murder suspect was arrested on the Mendocino Coast after a police chase. Fort Bragg Police said in a news release that they arrested Nathan Hoaglin Junior just after 10pm on Friday. Police suspected Hoaglin of DUI and tried to pull him over, but he took off. Officers chased him down Highway 1 into Mendocino where Hoaglin lost control of the vehicle and caused a crash on the Jack Peters Creek Bridge. Hoaglin and his two passengers then tried to run from police. Hoaglin was finally found on Main Street in Mendocino and arrested. The two other people in the vehicle were also arrested later that night. Police searched the wrecked vehicle and found a handgun with a high capacity magazine. They also found Hoaglin was wanted on a felony warrant for attempted homicide and gang participation in Santa Rosa. He was booked into Mendocino County Jail on multiple charges.
The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has their regular meeting tomorrow. The meeting will be held at 9am in the Board Chambers on Low Gap Road in Ukiah. Items on the agenda include a discussion of a Memorandum of Understanding between Mendocino County and Union that represents California’s Long Term Caregivers. Board members will also discuss options for transferring county owned land near the Covelo Airport to a partner entity for the possible development of a community skate park. You can see the full agenda and get the zoom link for the meeting on the county website.
