The latest update from Cal Fire puts the Lake Fire in Clearlake at 40 percent contained. 150 personnel are there and shoring up containment lines, putting out hotpots, and keeping roads clear and safe for both emergency and normal traffic. The fire started Sunday afternoon.
Ukiah police say two men are in jail, charged with being part of an organized theft ring that stole merchandise from several area businesses. Dijon Wilkes of Oakland and Birdean Gaines of Salinas were arrested after a chase on Highway 101. Police say the pair were first linked to a theft at the Cloverdale CVS on Friday, and were thought to be headed to Ukiah to target other drugstores and retailers. The FLOCK license plate system picked up the gateway car suspected to have been used in Cloverdale, after a reported shoplifting at the Walgreens on Perkins Street. The suspects took off and weren’t caught until stop sticks flattened their tires near Willits. A search of their car found items from the drug stores and other businesses. Police think Wilkes and Gaines are part of an organized theft ring that steals items and then resells them for cash. Wilkes also has felony warrants for thefts from several other California Counties.
The Lakeport City Council is considering whether to move forward with a potential sale of a former transfer station site on Bevins Avenue. The Council will discuss declaring that property as surplus, which would clear the way for it to change hands. The site has been unused for around 15 years, and the city says there has been an uptick in interest in the property. A report to the council says that while the designation doesn’t mean there WILL be a sale, but opens the door for the possibility. The property is just over 2 acres and is not far from the Lake County Tribal Health’s expansion and the future courthouse project. Also on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting–approval of the delinquent list for utility accounts and letting Lake County Arts Council operate the Silveria Community Center until needed renovations funded by a 1.27 million community block grant can get started–with a reopening date set for the spring of 2027.
