The Mina Fire in Mendocino County is currently 97% contained. The fire that started last Monday afternoon has burned 98 acres northwest of Covelo. CalFire reports crews continue with mop-up operations to establish full containment, and suppression repair is underway. The Mina fire destroyed two structures and one person is confirmed dead as a result of the fire. An investigation into what started the fire continues.
A new fire started last night in Lake County. Dubbed the San Joaquin Fire, it started around 10:00 in the 12000 block of San Joaquin Avenue at Palomar Drive near Clearlake. Lake Co News reported several structures were being threatened by the fire. Evacuation orders were issued for Carter Lane and advisory evacuations were issued for Mendocino Avenue, both of which have since been lifted. The San Joaquin fire reportedly burned about 10 acres. A second fire, reported just before 1am, was near an apartment complex on Dam Road. That fire burned less than an acre and was reportedly put out by 2am.
California schools are now banned from mandating teachers to tell parents about student gender identity changes. Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law Monday. It comes as some school boards in California decided to require schools to notify parents when a student changes their name or pronouns or when they ask to use facilities that don’t match their gender on official records. Some school districts in the state are facing lawsuits over their policy decisions. Eight states have passed gender notification policies since 2020, while California is the first to ban such policies.
The California State University system is cracking down on sexual harassment. Governor Newsom signed a new law that requires all 23 campuses to have stronger policies for tracking and investigating cases. They must implement recommendations from last year’s audit which found some complaints weren’t properly handled. One of the lawmakers behind the bill says this will ensure survivors are heard and perpetrators held accountable.
New rules are coming for California homeowners. Some won’t be allowed to have plants and bushes within five feet of their property. This will affect those in areas at risk for wildfires. The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection is finalizing the changes and expects to discuss them before the end of the year. South Lake Tahoe is already enforcing the ban before it goes statewide, telling thousands to clear all combustible materials.
You may want to go get a lottery ticket. Starting today, the overall prize for the Daily Derby game will be boosted by 100-thousand dollars for the next 12 days. It’s thanks to a glitch in some ticket machines. Seems the quick pick option only printed numbers in ascending order and with no repeating digits. Officials say the software issue was fixed within 24 hours but because of it, players across the state will now have a chance to win bigger jackpots.
The summer COVID wave is getting worse. California is now one of seven states with very high coronavirus levels in its wastewater. This is the first time that’s happened since winter, and it’s nearly double the nationwide level. New CDC data also shows the rate of positive tests has almost reached last summer’s peak. But they point out this doesn’t account for the people who test at home or don’t check for COVID at all when sick.
