.
Crews have wrapped up at the scene of a fire in Clearlake. The Big Fire in the 15900 block of Dam Road in Clearlake wasn’t very big. It burned about a quarter acre and firefighters stopped it quickly. Another fire was reported Thursday evening. The Manx Fire burned a couple of acres near Manx Trail and Dunstan Road in Lucerne before it was contained late last night.
The National Weather Service says the heat will stay with us into the weekend, gradually increasing to the upper 90s and lower 100s by Monday in many places including Ukiah, Lakeport, and Covelo.
CalFire crews are on the scene of a couple dozen fires statewide. The biggest is burning about 36,000 acres near Santa Barbara Southern California. About 2,500 personnel are working to contain it.
The fire risk isn’t confined to California. National Interagency Coordination Center has raised the nationwide threat level to 5–its highest number. The Center says Significant wildland fire activity is now occurring in most geographic areas with a high potential for additional large wildland fires to yet to come–even in places where fires aren’t as common as they are here.
Mendocino County Superior Court has awarded a million dollars to a woman who claimed she was raped by former Ukiah cop Kevin Murray. Corinne Johnson filed that suit back in 2022 after the department fired Murray who was accused of breaking into another woman’s hotel and raping her. Her lawyer says the civil judgment holds Murray accountable, even though they may not be able to collect the money. Johnson’s allegations date back to 2014. She initially sued the city as well, claiming the department should have known that Murray was unfit to be an officer. That part of the suit was tossed out. Murray didn’t put on a defense in the trial.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s office is warning about a phone scam making the rounds. The department says it’s received reports of callers claiming to be with the department and threatening a fine for missing jury duty that requires immediate payment. Don’t buy it. The MCSO says it never makes this kind of call and never takes payment through things like gift cards, Bitcoin, or money transfer apps like Venmo or Zelle. If you get such a call, you can report it, after just hanging up on the scammer.
A man from Point Arena is facing charges after the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office says he broke into a thrift store near Fort Bragg. Deputies say surveillance video from The Ark on North Highway 1 led them to a man identified as Peter Rose. They also say Rose has had several similar run-ins with the law. Rose was taken to the county jail on $15,000 bail.
Ukiah is hosting the first of three community workshops next week to get citizen input on its climate action plan. The virtual workshop Monday at 5:30 is informal, with a brief question-and-answer period. The city’s Community Development Department is considering a climate action plan to address how to reduce Ukiah’s Carbon Footprint. That could include things like more electric vehicles, more shade trees, or restrictions on natural gas appliances. The meeting is on Zoom and you can find out more on the city website.
