Short-term housing is currently the City of Clearlake’s top priority as the recovery begins from the Boyles Fire. At a special meeting Thursday to ratify a local emergency declaration for the fire, City Manager Alan Flora told the city council that North Coast Opportunities has been given $200,000 from the city to help those who lost their homes or have major damage. Lake County News reports with the final damage assessment at 25 homes completely destroyed and three damaged, as of yesterday NCO was helping about 20 residents. Flora says the damage estimate submitted to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services is $15 million.
As Boyles Fire evacuees return to their property, the Lake County Public Health Officer has declared a local health emergency due to the hazardous conditions from the debris. The City of Clearlake and Lake County Environmental Health are asking private property owners to avoid attempting to clean up or dispose of hazardous waste on your property. The Department of Toxic Substances and Lake County Environmental Health will take care of removing any toxic or flammable debris. If you need help knowing when they are coming to your property, check the city’s Boyles Fire Resource Website.
The City of Clearlake is opening a Local Assistance Center for those impacted by the Boyles Fire. Starting on Monday those who need help can go to the Clearlake Youth Center on Golf Avenue on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, September 16-18, from 10am-7pm. Among the agencies there to help will be Clearlake Waste Connections, the DMV, the County Assessor/Recorder, Behavioral Health, and the Department of Social Services which can help with Medi-Cal, CalFresh, and CalWORKS. Plus there will be teams that do Recovery Casework, Damage Assessment and Emergency Supplies.
A Mendocino jury has convicted a Ukiah man who the CHP says did thousands of dollars in damage to some road safety signs. The DA’s Office says on Thursday Michael Edward Blahut was found guilty of felony vandalism to three separate traffic safety signs along Highway 101 in May. A representative from the CHP testified that Blahut caused about $4,500 in damage by cutting power cords from the signs and doing what the DA calls other mischief. After the jury left, the judge set another hearing in the case which could add some aggravated circumstances that could affect his eventual sentence.
Another Mendocino County Superior Court judge is set to retire, which will leave the court two short of its full complement of judges. The Court announced this week that starting on Monday September 16 Judge Cindee Mayfield will start winding down the trials and duties currently she has, and will be retired by the end of the year, so will no longer be taking any regular new assignments. The Court says Judge Jeanine Nadel retired in January so Mayfield’s retirement leaves two judicial vacancies; they are reorganizing the workload among the remaining six judges plus a visiting judge.
The Ukiah Triathlon is back in action this weekend. The run-swim-bike race is on Sunday at Lake Mendocino. After going for several years, the Ukiah Triathlon stopped in 2019 when the lake levels were too low and then when the pandemic hit in 2020, the organizers pivoted to a different type of fundraiser. But the Ukiah Daily Journal reports John and Lauren Strangio of Ukiah worked to bring it back last year and are now running it for the second time. They say they have 60 athletes signed up and most of them are from out of town which will be a nice boost for the local economy.
The little town of Elk could be in store for a big boost of tourism. Travel + Leisure Magazine has named Elk “America’s Best Small Food and Wine Town.” The Mendocino Voice reports the magazine calls out the Harbor House Inn, the Sacred Rock Inn, and the Elk Cove Inn & Spa for the actual food and wine. But it also suggests going to Greenwood State Beach, riding horses at Manchester Beach, driving through Navarro River Redwood State Park and shopping at the the Artists’ Collective, Matson Mercantile and the Elk Store. The executive director of Visit Mendocino County tells the magazine that Elk is a “key driver of sustainable tourism” for the county.
