Mendocino County Public Health has declared a heat emergency for the Ukiah and Potter Valley areas until Friday night. High temperatures are forecast to hit 116 today, and be near, or over, 110 degrees each day through Friday. The City of Ukiah has opened a cooling center at the Civic Center where anyone can come and escape the heat. It’s open today (Tuesday) through Friday from 8 am to 8 pm, although Mendocino Health officials say those hours will be extended if there are rolling power outages.
Other cooling shelters include: the Ukiah Senior Center, Ukiah Library, Alex Rorabaugh Center, Round Valley Senior Center, Round Valley Library, Round Valley Volunteer Fire Protection District, Round Valley Indian Health Center, and Willits City Hall.
Rolling blackouts are a real possibility this week. The California Independent System Operator declared a Stage 1 emergency alert on Monday due to statewide usage, and the rolling blackouts come when they get to a Stage 3 alert. The Record Bee reports power consumption Monday peaked at nearly 49,000 megawatts but the power forecast today is a peak of more than 51,000 megawatts which would be the highest in 16 years in California and drought has lessened the available hydroelectric power since then.
The Ukiah City Council is set to discuss whether to support a sales tax hike for fire protection proposed by the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors that will be on the ballot in November. The Ukiah Daily Journal reports Measure P is a one-quarter-cent sales tax with 90% of the revenue going to fire protection agencies including the Ukiah Valley Fire Authority and 10% going towards prevention and resiliency efforts. The Ukiah City Council meets Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m.
The Ukiah Valley Russian River Cleanup is set for Saturday, Sept. 17 as part of Coastal Cleanup Day during which hundreds of communities worldwide work to prevent litter from contaminating drinking water and killing fish. It’s co-sponsored by the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District, Mendocino County Water Agency, and Redwood Waste Solutions. Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. for a safety talk and to divide into teams. They ask that you register by Sept. 10 with a link at https://mcrcd.org.
The newly-formed Konocti Fire Safe Council has received a $10,000 donation from the District 5 Supervisor to get their organization going. Lake County News reports the Council was formed by a group of four Kelseyville homeowners’ associations that worked together to get a new firehouse in the Soda Bay corridor, which didn’t happen, and now want to lead the community in reducing wildfire risk. They plan to focus on preparedness, education, evacuation readiness, and hazardous fuel reduction.
A potential zoning change to allow for a new housing project is on the agenda for the Lakeport City Council. The council is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the Parkside Residential Project which calls for 128 new apartment units and 48 cluster homes on a 15-acre site on Craig Ave. This is the first reading of the potential zoning change – the second is Sept. 20. Lake County News report when the Lakeport Planning Commission considered the project last month, they recommended the city council approve it.
The Middletown Area Town Hall has a meeting this week. The group known as MATH is set to meet Thursday, Sept. 8, at 7pm in the Middletown Community Meeting Room. The meeting is open to the public either in person or on Zoom. The agenda includes Cal Fire Chief Paul Duncan and Pacific Gas and Electric representative Melinda Rivera. MATH is a municipal advisory council serving residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley, Hidden Valley Lake, Long Valley and Middletown.
The Lakeport City Council is set to start mulling how to fill the seat of Mayor Pro Tem Mireya Turner who resigned last month to become Lake County Community Development Director. Lake County News reports when the council meets tonight they will be asked to direct the City Clerk to solicit applications to fill Turner’s seat and work with the Mayor to set a date for interviews at either a regular or special meeting. But they could be asked to just nominate and elect a new mayor pro tem.
