Most Boyles Fire evacuees have started returning to their neighborhoods. With the fire declared 100% contained by CalFire, Clearlake Police gave the OK return to the area around 7pm last night for everyone except the area south of 18th Avenue and north of 7th Avenue, between Boyles Avenue and Irving Avenue. However, those whose homes were completely lost or heavily damaged should not try to access them until the Department of Toxic Substance Control removes hazardous waste. Remember to check the City of Clearlake’s Boyles Fire Resource Page for relevant information on available help. You can find it on the City’s website.
The Lake County Fire Authority’s latest damage assessment puts the destruction tally at 35 homes, 32 garages and outbuildings, and 79 vehicles with another three homes and four garages and outbuildings damaged. The cause of the Boyles Fire, which started around 2pm Sunday, is still under investigation.
Three Konocti Unified School District schools remain closed for cleaning – Obsidian, Blue Heron and Lewis – with the Superintendent telling Lake County News they are trying to get that done today with a chance to reopen Friday. And she says schools will have counselors on campus as well as other support services for students and their families. Meanwhile the Woodland Community College campus is closed for the rest of the week for a deep cleaning and to replace filters in the buildings, but classes continue online.
If you would like to help those who have suffered losses from the Boyles Fire, the Lake County Community Foundation has established the Lake County Comes Together Emergent Needs Fund. The fund enables LCCF to act rapidly, ensuring immediate relief gets to those most in need by supporting the local nonprofits serving victims and families. LCCF says 100% of donations will stay within Lake County to support local disaster response. Since the Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, your donations are tax-deductible. You can donate online with a link at https://www.lakeccf.org/boylesfire. They also have info there for how to send a check.
Ukiah Police say a repeat offender known to approach children and who recently got out of jail has allegedly done it again. UPD says John Hill has been arrested many times and last March was sentenced to a year in the county jail after approaching three young girls. But they say he was released after just 6 months on September 4. When a woman claimed he was following her that same day, UPD says they arrested him for a parole violation. They say they requested that the California Department of Corrections Parole Office put an ankle monitor on Hill so police could track him but that request was denied. When Hill was released again Tuesday, he allegedly approached two teenage girls at the Quest Mart on N. State St. He was again arrested and jailed. UPD says they are actively working with relevant agencies to figure out how to keep him off the streets.
A stolen pickup truck has been recovered which the Ukiah Police Department says was done with the help of their Flock automated license plate recognition system. They say on September 5 the Flock alerted on the reported stolen truck and a short time later an officer found it parked on South Oak Street. When they watched a man and woman get into it, they were detained. The woman said she had no idea the truck was stolen and was later released with no charges. The man, now identified as Lorenzo Cruz, told officers he got the truck from a friend, but when a search allegedly turned up ammunition and meth, Cruz was arrested on several charges.
More than 200 Mendocino County cannabis cultivators will be getting help from the state to transition from provisional licenses to annual ones. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that their Cannabis Restoration Grant Program has awarded $3.1 million to the Rural Resilience Project which will help cultivators who own less than 20,000 square feet of canopy and actively comply with all the rules. The main focus is helping cultivators identify and avoid environmental impacts by doing biological surveys, water conservation, engineering and more before the provisional license program sunsets in December 2025. CDFW says they will hold an informational webinar for cultivators late this month.
