94.5 KWINE PM News 10/31/19

It’s been a day of getting back to normal for people whose lives have been turned upside down by this week’s public safety power shutoff and the Kincaid and Burris fires. Most power was back today, except in some parts of Lake County near the front line of the Kincaid Fire. Mendocino County reports 100 percent power restored, but if you are still experiencing issues, you can call the county at 707-463-4441.

Crews are still hard at work on both fires. Cal Fire reports the Kincaid fire is now 60 percent contained and has burned 77,000 acres. Full containment is about a week away. Five evacuation warnings in Sonoma and Napa counties were lifted today, but there are still several in effect and thousands of people still can’t go home.

The Burris fire is 92 percent contained according to CalFire. About 300 firefighters are working there watching for hotspots and reinforcing existing fire lines.

Local governments will now have to find ways to pay for their response to the fires. Supervisors in Sonoma County have already set aside 2.5 million dollars from the county budget, but state aid could help the county get some of that money back.

Now that the power is on again, food safety is a concern, and so is the proper was to get rid of what was spoiled. Lakeport Disposal is asking its customers to NOT separate packaging from any perishable food that was spoiled during the recent PSPS. Very little perishable food packaging is suitable for recyclingand so those customers should dispose of all spoiled food in their black solid waste containers. For information about what to throw away and what is OK to keep, there are some tips on the website foodsafety.gov.

One problem during the shutoff was cell service—or lack of it. Dozens of towers were offline, cutting off a vital communications link. State Senator Mike McGuire says because we now depend so much on our mobile devices, there should be a law requiring communications providers have backup power, so he’s sponsoring a bill Sacramento that would mandate the a secondary power source for telecommunication towers. MCGuire says in this day and age, having a cell signal can literally be a matter of life or death in an emergency. Senate bill 431 will be up for consideration when state lawmakers reconvene in January.

News 10/31/19

The Kincade fire now the largest wildfire to ever burn in Sonoma County. The fire blackened land that’s three times the size of the city of Santa Rosa. Winds couldn’t keep firefighters down, they gained ground on the massive inferno which has burned almost 77,000 acres. It’s now 45% contained though. The fire started a week ago east of Geyserville and grew 1000% in that week from 700 acres last Wednesday to 120 square miles. It has burned 266 structures, half of those homes. Four first responders have also been hurt, working the fire. At the height of the fire’s growth, almost 190,000 people had been evacuated. The most in county history. Several thousand are still evacuated, mostly in remote areas. The sheriff says they think the threat is behind them. A National Weather Service meteorologist says there are power lines, telephone lines and trees down. Damage assessment teams are out documenting exact damage and locations. The fire is expected to be fully contained by Monday.

Cal Fire reports an arrest of a man from Santa Rosa for arson for another fire that burned about 3½ acres near Lake Sonoma. Andrew Craig Faulkner reportedly seen in the area of the fire which was quickly contained.

Health officials warn if you have food in your refrigerator without power more than 4 hours, it’s no longer safe to eat.

Many people evacuated had no power due to the PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoffs. The Press Democrat reports evacuation orders for more than 140,000 residents were lifted. Folks from Healdsburg and Windsor were evacuated last Saturday morning at the same time as the last public power shutoff. Parts of Santa Rosa, Larkfield, Rincon Valley and Fulton were also evacuated later Saturday and Sunday. And even more near Mount St. Helena, Knight’s Valley and eastern edges of Mark West Springs Creek Canyon. In Windsor, the mayor and other elected officials, city staffers, and firefighters were at the Central Windsor HIghway 101 off-ramp with signs that said Welcome Home.

Officials in Southern Calif. say it was electrical equipment that caused two wildfires. One of the fires killed three people and burned more than 1,600 homes last year — and the other is still burning. The Getty Fire. That fire started Monday morning near the J. Paul Getty Museum and spread after high winds caused a branch to hit an electric line and ignite nearby grass. That word from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power utility and the Fire Department. And Southern California Edison reported its equipment started the Woolsey fire last year. Firefighters found the utility’s equipment started the fire that burned homes in Thousand Oaks, Calabasas and Malibu

A letter drafted to the California Public Utilities Commission from the Lake County Board of Supervisors regarding the ongoing Public Safety Power Shutoff’s. The gist of the letter, “enough is enough”. The letter asking when the Commission will intervene. The letter says no county better than Lake understands the threat of wildfire, having been thru ten disasters in four years. It says natural disasters brought on in part because of Global Climate Change. The County still recovering from the Great Recession of 2008. The letter says this is another disaster, brought by the negligence and abuse of authority of the Pacific Gas & Electric Company and the California Public Utilities Commission. The letter names businesses and residents who have suffered during the power down which caused undue stress.

The Lake County Board of Supervisors has called an emergency meeting to discuss the Public Safety Power Shutoff. The Sheriff Brian Martin will be on hand to discuss the impacts of the Kincade Fire and the power shutoff and possibly declaring a state of emergency due to the power down and the letter to be sent to the Commission.

The Potter Valley Burris Fire is nearly surrounded. The fire doubled in size yesterday, but firefighters have it 90% contained. There had been a Red Flag Warning for most of Mendocino County yesterday. But firefighters held the fire back from forward movement. They’re now mopping up hot spots and patrolling the perimeter to make sure there are no flare-ups. All evacuation warnings and orders lifted yesterday and there are no more road closures either. No reports of injuries of structures damaged or destroyed. There’s no word when they will reach full containment.

Ukiah schools are opened today, but there’s no school tomorrow because of a pre-planned professional development day.

Power should be back on for most folks in Lake County as inspections were continuing during daylight hours yesterday. Most residents should have had their power re-energized by last night. The Lake County Special Districts Administrator reported power back on at the Southeast Treatment Plant which powers the Southeast Regional Wastewater System from Pirates Cove to Lower Lake and the City of Clearlake.

The only part of Lake County that may still be without power is the area near the Kincade Fire. There’s no word yet when that power will come back on. About 650 Lake County PG&E customers have no estimated time for restoration of power.

PG&E has reportedly told the County they plan to restore power to 75% of those without power from the latest power down yesterday and the other 25% today, except for those in the footprint of the fire.

You can pick up a Christmas tree permit at Mendocino National Forest offices. Starting tomorrow and lasting thru Monday, Dec. 23^rd, you can get a $10.00 permit that’ll allow you to cut one tree in a designated area of the Mendocino National Forest until December 24th. Only one per household is allowed on a first-come, first-served basis. They’re only good for this year. If you’d prefer getting it thru mail, you have until Dec. 14^th. You can pick up the mail order form online at the forest service website.

Options for folks in the unincorporated areas of Lake County with extra food waste because of the ongoing power outages. If you’re a customer of South Lake Refuse or Lake County Waste Solutions, you’re encouraged to put spoiled food in your waste bin and clean, empty and dry containers into your recycle bin. If it’s more than the space you have available, you can call either company for further help. You can also take food waste to the Eastlake Sanitary Landfill in Clearlake or to C&S Waste Solution’s Lake County Transfer Station and Recycling Center in Lakeport.

The all clear came for power to be back on in parts of Mendocino County including Gualala, Ukiah, Redwood Valley, Potter Valley, Willits and Laytonville. They reported power on yesterday afternoon with restoration continuing today for others still left in the dark. A declaration of local emergency was declared in Mendocino County by the Executive Office and the Office of Emergency Services. That’s so more resources can pour into the County.

For more information, please contact the Executive Office at 707-234-6030. For updated County information on the public safety power shut off, please visit www.mendocinocounty.org/psps or follow the County on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mendocinocounty and twitter https://twitter.com/countymendocino. Residents can submit complaints related to the PG&E PSPS event to the County at (707) 234-6300.

Some folks noticing on the PG&E website, deals for portable power stations. The utility company being called out for having public power shutoff’s forcing many people to have to buy a generator so they wouldn’t be in the dark and losing the food in their refrigerators. Some folks tweeting about it that PG&E is making money off the plight of others from a problem they created. A spokesperson for PG&E says they don’t make money off the PG&E Marketplace which is intended to help customers research and find energy efficient products. Instead if a customer buys one it goes straight to the dealer, and the customer can request a rebate if available.

 

94.5 KWINE PM News 10/28/19

The lights are coming back on in Mendocino county officials are increasingly optimistic that most people will have power by nightfall. In Lake County, the sheriff’s office says the power should be fully restored in 80 percent of the county by dark too. The City of Ukiah says ALL power has been restored there, and that anyone within the city limits who does not have power should check circuit breakers before calling the outage line at 707-463-6288. If you live in Ukiah and have food spoiled by the outage, officials say you can check the ukiahrecycles.com website for guidelines on how to dispose of it. Food safety experts are telling anyone who has food left refrigerated – if in doubt, toss it out.

As the lights come back on for PG &E customers, the news is also better from the fire lines. All evacuation warnings for the Burris fire have been lifted and the fire is said to be around 85 percent contained. Today’s operations have focused on mopping up hot spots and keeping an eye on containment lines.

Progress to report on the Kincaid fire too, as mandatory evacuation orders are being downgraded to warnings in Windsor, Healdsburg and parts of Geyserville which means those people can now return home at their own risk. The Sonoma sheriff’s office says those who go back should be aware conditions are still dangerous and that power and natural gas are still out in those areas. The Kincaid fire has burned more than 77,000 acres and is now officially listed as the largest ever in Sonoma county. Last reported containment was 30 percent and it may take another week for full containment. CalFire will be hosting a community meeting regarding Kincaid Fire update at Twin Pines Casino at 6:30 PM tonight. The meeting will be live streamed on the Lake County Facebook page.

People in Mendocino County who get CalFresh benefits can request replacement if they have experienced food loss as a result of the power shutoff. The agency says those people can contact the social services office in Fort Bragg on South Franklin Street and the Ukiah Social Services Office on S State St. for more information. A similar food replacement program is available in Lake County too, so if you are in need you can contact the Social Services Office on Anderson Ranch Parkway in Lower Lake, which will be open on Thursday from 8:00 to 5:00.

Even as fire conditions gradually improve in NORTHERN California, they remain dire elsewhere in the state. Crews are struggling to contain one large fire that has surrounded the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, which is home to countless historical items related to the former president.

News 10/30/19

Some residents may already be getting their power back on. Mendocino County reports monitoring the Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) but being dependent on PG&E for accurate, updated information to be shared with the public. The county reports widespread outages still taking place but that it should end this morning with an expected 8:00am all clear from the utility company. The call came at 4:15pm yesterday for power restoration over the next 24 hours. There was supposed to be power back on on the south coast from Gualala to Point Arena and this morning at the Philo substation which means the lights should be on in the Philo area and on the coast from Point Arena to the Town of Mendocino. PG&E is prioritizing restoration of the transmission line to the greater Ukiah area by this afternoon. Then the northern parts of the County including Willits and Fort Bragg.

For more information, please contact the Executive Office at 707-234-6030. For updated County information on the public safety power shut off, please visit www.mendocinocounty.org/psps or follow the County on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mendocinocounty and twitter https://twitter.com/countymendocino

The Kincade Fire grew some and there’s still a Red Flag Warning in place thru this afternoon. The fire did flare up some last night, now at 76,825 acres. It’s holding steady at 30% containment.  There were reports that folks all the way out in San Francisco could see the flames, that’s about 85 miles away. 206 structures have burned, including 84 homes. The fire is reportedly burning into part of the Tubbs Fire burn scar. The winds were supposed to kick up more overnight. There were reported wind gusts of around 50 miles an hour by Mount St. Helena.

PG&E reported equipment failure on a transmission tower when the fire started a week ago, but the cause is under investigation.

There had been reported danger the Kincade Fire could move back towards Highway 128 and the 101. A spot fire reportedly ignited near Windsor in an area where firefighters had already doused the flames. The Leap Now Transformation Learning Center which was saved over the weekend burned yesterday. Some folks in Santa Rosa who had been homeless due to the Tubbs Fire and are just in their new homes had to evacuate again. There are more than 150,000 people under evacuation orders in Sonoma County including entire towns of Geyserville, Windsor and Healdsburg.

PG&E manning a fourth power shutdown to prevent wildfires. Customers are speaking out about being in the dark for such a long time. The latest Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) went into effect yesterday impacting about 540,000 customers in Northern California. That doesn’t even include about 400,000 customers who were already in the dark because of the last shutoff Saturday. But the utility company says nearly ¾ of those who lost power Saturday had their power restored last night. The Associated Press reports some residents say it’s a major inconvenience and hope it’s not the new way the utility plans on handling major wind events. Some folks lost all of their food because they had no power, others have no cell phone service or had to leave town altogether. The California Public Utilities Commission says it’s investigating the shutoffs.

Many businesses have no electricity to prevent a fire, but it’s also forcing public institutions to reduce operations or close altogether. Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital and Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Medical Center are both closed. They will have to restock food and medical supplies and recalibrate equipment during an inspection before they reopen. It also has to be certified by the California Department of Public Health and the Office of State Health Planning and Development. Many flights had to be canceled out of the Sonoma County Airport, SMART trains are running on a limited schedule and several school districts have closed.

The Villa Capri senior care center which burned down in the Tubbs fire and the Varenna at Fountaingrove were fully evacuated before the Kincade fire got into Santa Rosa. They’re two in 80 in Sonoma County that reported being totally evacuated by Mondday afternoon. There was only only left in Sonoma County that reportedly only being partially evacuated. Primrose Alzheimer’s Living in northwest Santa Rosa. There was only one resident there with staff Monday. But no calls to the facility by reporters were returned after that. Some others are already allowing residents back in in northwest Santa Rosa.

There have been some arrests around mandatory evacuation areas due to the Kincade Fire. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Dept. reports three men, who are all homes, were found in the evacuation zone. The Sheriff Mark Essick has said repeatedly there would be zero tolerance for looters or others found in mandatory evacuation areas. There are more patrols on the streets too with officers from outside the Northern Calif. law enforcement area helping. The first arrest was Sunday morning. Jesse Gandarilla arrested for suspicion of entering an evacuation zone and violating his probation. Then Sunday night, Lonnie Frederick for entering an evacuation zone, public intoxication and an outstanding warrant; and the third arrest Monday afternoon. Gary Villa of Cloverdale busted for misdemeanor entering of an evacuation area.

One person is dead after a head on crash between a van and semitruck followed by a multi car wreck down the highway. The first crash yesterday afternoon across the street from the Dollar General on hwy 20 in Nice. Lake Co News reports a white Ford cargo van crashed head-on into a semi which kept going before finally stopping against another van next to the Bent Fir cabinet shop, which also had damage. A little while after that crash, the highway reopened to one way traffic only. Then, a multi car crash moments later in the Glenhaven area. The news site reports two people flown by air ambulance out of the crash scene to hospitals and three more to hospitals by ground ambulance, the rest denied help to a hospital.

Schools in Ukiah and in Lake County closed until the official all clear is announced for the red flag weather conditions. PG&E put the fourth power shutoff into place early yesterday for almost 600,000 more customers who weren’t already in the dark due to Saturday’s shutoff. Lake Co News reports as many as 400,000 PG&E customers in Lake County were still without power from Saturday’s shutoff when the fourth power down kicked in. The County Administrative Office has reported low gas supplies because of how long the power has been off.  The Sheriff in Lake County reports there should be an all-clear for this wind event between 6 and 8 a.m. this morning.

The Burris Fire has pretty much quieted down. The fire that started Sunday near Potter Valley has burned 350 acres and is 75 percent contained. Cal Fire reports there are still 40 structures threatened and evacuation warnings are still in place along Highway 20 south to Highway 175, east of the Russian River and west of the Lake County line, and the Potter Valley area. There’s still a red flag warning in place until 4 p.m. today.

Rebates may be coming to customers impacted by PG&E’s public safety power shutoff. The governor’s office reports after continued pressure on the utility company, asking for rebates of $100 for residential customers and $250 for business customers, the utility agreed, but nothing much more concrete than that. The Governor’s office reports Newsom has repeatedly called on PG&E for automatic rebates to customers after the utility company’s mismanagement and “overly broad power shutoffs”. The governor’s office getting word from PG&E yesterday they were moving forward with a rebate plan. Investigators are still trying to determine whether the company’s equipment has caused any wildfires this year including the Kincade Fire.

An air quality alert due to the Kincade Fire. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air Alert yesterday with winds blowing towards the Bay Area bring hazy skies and unhealthy air quality. An executive officer for the air district says the strong winds in the forecast and a potential for more fires makes it important for residents to protect their health and stay indoors with windows closed if possible so they’re not exposed to the smoke.

PM News 10/29/19

Lake County officials have declared a state of emergency due to the ongoing public safety power shutoff. They say 93 percent of the county is still without power and there is no reliable estimate about when the lights will be back on for good. The proclamation says the hardships caused by the shutoff are beyond what the county alone can handle and critical public safety services are being effected. The three resource centers are available at the Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport, Clearlake Senior Community Center in Clearlake and at the Upper Lake Unified School District Middle School in Upper Lake. Officials say those are places were people can go to deal with basic needs during the power shutoff and get answers to any questions they may have.

Mendocino County officials sounding frustrated in a social media message today, saying they are NOT confident PG @ E and will be much help providing additional assistance for county residents while the power is out across the county and that there is a special concern for those with medical needs. County C E O Carmel Angelo was especially blunt after a meeting today with P G @ E.she says she doesn’t believe a word the utility says and that PG E is creating a public health emergency for people in the region. Angelo is afraid someone may die because of the shutoffs.

The latest red flag warning that had led to the shutoffs is in effect though sometime Wednesday and is s causing concerns for firefighters along the lines. The latest on the Burris fire is that while containment is up to 65 percent of the 350 acres that have burned but winds could make the fire could jump quickly and spread further. There is an evacuation warning in effect from. Highway 20 south to Highway 175, east of the Russian River, and west of the Lake County line in the Potter Valley area. There are no evacuation ORDERS at this point. Cal-Fire says there are more than 1,000 personnel assigned to Burris fire and that today’s goal has been to re enforce containment lines and deal with new flare ups. Officials say the winds are making it especially dangerous for those men and women because of how fast the fire direction can change and how tall, burning trees can simply topple with little to no warning, trapping crews below.

The much bigger Kincaid fire is now said to encompass more than 75,000 acres and is about 15 percent contained. 124 structures have been destroyed and around 90,000 remain threatened. There have been no fatalities and only 2 of the 4,500 fire fighters hard at work have suffered minor injuries. The part of the Kincaid fire burning in Lake County has led to an evacuation warning—not an order—for an area around Middletown. That means people there should be ready to go at a moment’s notice IF an actual order comes down. The latest estimate of containment for the Kincaid fire is November 7th—a week from Thursday.

Information about the fires and shutoffs is changing constantly, so the state has set up a new web portal to help people find out the latest. The website is response.ca..gov. Governor Newsom says it will give people a way to find critical information during this declared state of emergency across California. Local Governments in Lake and Mendocino Counties are also posting what information they have on their web pages and social media platforms, while PG @ E promises to provide as much information as it can online as well.

As for the weather, things seem to be be looking up. Once the red flag warning is over, possibly tomorrow, winds will die down, and while it will still be very dry, it should ease the risk of wildfires as we head toward the weekend. Still forecasters there’s no rain in the long term forecasts for so dry ground and brush will continue to make fire a very serious concern.

News 10/29/19

All Ukiah Unified schools are closed. The district out with a message they’ll reopen when power is restored, but nobody knows when that will happen. The district says as soon as they know when power will be up, they’ll let the public know. The same for Lake County schools and Community Colleges.

Officials in Mendocino County say they’re monitoring the two Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events, one we’re in and supposedly getting our power back, the other on it’s tail, meaning, we actually don’t know when power will come back on. The County says they’re counting on PG&E to provide accurate, updated information to be shared with the public. The utility announced yesterday morning an all clear, so that just meant they would go out and inspect their equipment, then within 48 hours folks would get their power on. But they announced another power down for today into Thursday due to another wind event. They also announced significant damage to two major PG&E transmission lines that feed Mendocino County. Lines should be re-inspected tomorrow for safety, then re-energized.

For more information, please contact the Executive Office at 707-234-6030. For updated County information on the public safety power shut off, please visit www.mendocinocounty.org/psps or follow the County on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mendocinocounty and twitter https://twitter.com/countymendocino.

A new fire has broken out at the old Outrageous Waters water park in Clearlake. Firefighters got there early yesterday on Old Highway 53 finding the structures still there, that include the main building, were fully engulfed in flames. The old amusement park closed about a decade ago and the property was sold to a developer. Fire officials say they were concerned the flames could spread to nearby vegetation because of high winds. But they contained the fire before it could spread. Firefighters were there about 6 hours in all. The fire chief says there are many homeless people who stay in the area, but they didn’t find anyone there at the time. They’re investigating how the fire started.

Still no power across much of Northern California because of fire weather as Pacific Gas and Electric announces another to start this morning. Last night after 11 p.m. the energy company announced the next shutoff due to a Red Flag Warning from the National Weather Service. The warning was to go into effect at 8 a.m. and last until 4 p.m. tomorrow.  Lake Co News reports the shutoff in Lake County was expected by around 7 a.m. based on previous shutdowns. But some people may still not have gotten their power back from Saturday’s event. This next one is to include 29 counties and nearly 600,000 customers. PG&E reported 57 percent of 970,000 customers they powered down, had their lights back on. Now it happens again. But Lake County officials reported there were no reports by residents of power restoration. There are three community resource centers for water, charging electronic devices and to get wifi during the outages in Lake County.

An impromptu poll on the Facebook page for Lake County News with hundreds of responses showed nobody had their power due to the public safety power shutoff. That means those PG&E customers could be without power at least five days as there’s another public safety power shutoff today and tomorrow. The current one started Saturday after another last week.

Even though there’s more containment on the Burris Fire in Mendocino County, fire officials are reportedly concerned the fire could jump its lines and move towards Potter Valley and with that a new evacuation warning. Cal Fire reports the fire’s still at 350 acres and 50 percent contained, but it’s still threatening about 40 structures. It started Sunday afternoon and folks were evacuated just after the fire broke out. No homes have been damaged and no injuries reported. There is a Red Flag Warning starting this morning, prompting the Sheriff’s office to announce that evacuation warning for the Potter Valley area.

The Governor’s announced a new website to help those dealing with the public safety power shutoffs and wildfires.  The website response.ca.gov has resources including emergency response, recovery and resilience. That includes health services, shelters and housing, preparedness information and local and state information. The governor says the website will give Californians a unified portal with critical information during the state of emergency which will be continually updated. This came the day after the governor declared a statewide emergency because of the dangerous weather conditions.

The Kincade fire keeps growing by thousands of acres, but now it’s containment has also grown. The fire’s now charred over 74,320 acres and it’s 15% contained. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office has issued an evacuation warning for Middletown. It’s not mandatory, but officials say they’re fighting a spot fire north of Mt. St. Helena. The fire has destroyed 123 structures, including 57 homes. Twenty other structures were damaged, and still more than 90,000 structures are threatened. Weather conditions last night were calmer, but the terrain is difficult for firefighters to access because of narrow roads and steep terrain. Also a new Red Flag warning is going into effect this morning.

Residents of Sebastopol, Guerneville, Bodega Bay, Forestville and more west Sonoma County municipalities are now under an evacuation warning. So those who were already evacuated can return home at their own risk. All other evacuation orders are still in effect.

Some cell phone companies say about 25% of their cell sites are down in Sonoma County because of a lack of power due to PG&E’s planned blackout to prevent wildfires. In Lake County, 25% also offline. But the FCC’s daily cell site outage report does not include Mendocino County.

Congressmembers Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson telling wildfire evacuees to seek shelter and services and not to be afraid of immigration enforcement action. A statement put out on Friday by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, that there would be no immigration enforcement actions connected to any wildfire-related evacuations or shelters unless there’s a “serious public safety threat.”

Sonoma County firefighters are fighting the Kincade fire in the footprint of the Tubbs Fire. The fire moved quickly into Shiloh Estates and near Wikiup, Larkfield and the Mark West Springs corridor. These are all communities still rebuilding from the historic October 2017 Firestorm.  Sonoma County’s main dispatch center used an “all-call” tone for the first time so any other fire company could come help make a stand against the fire as it swept into the area. More than 1,700 homes were lost two years ago. Fire officials planned this time around. The Press Democrat reports they studied weather models and fire behavior science and were able to save all but two homes.

Almost two million people could be impacted by this fourth public safety power shut-off. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. warned customers yesterday there will be new blackouts today. Just as they announced the all-clear from Saturdays power down. The utility company announced restoring power to 39% of those in the dark, or 375,000 of the 970,000 affected over the weekend. The Press Democrat reports in comparison to the 2017 October firestorm, and specifically the Tubbs Fire, that wind event lasted 6 to 8 hours. The wind event on Saturday lasted 30 hours.

Many Lake County residents are headed to PG&E Resource Centers to get powered up. Since power’s been off for much of Lake County since Saturday, about 150 people used the four PG&E Customer Resource Centers in Lake County Sunday.

The following resource centers were slotted to be open Monday, and should PG&E shut down power again Tuesday, they may remain open into midweek:

Konocti Vista Casino
2755 Mission Rancheria Rd
Lakeport, CA 95453

Clearlake Senior Community Center
3245 Bowers Ave
Clearlake, CA 95422

Upper Lake Unified School District (Middle School)
725 Old Lucerne Rd
Upper Lake, CA 95485

 

 

 

News 10/28/19

 

The Kincade Fire has grown again. The fire has now burned more than 66,000 acres and remains just 5% contained. Another weather system is supposed to be headed to Northern Calif. too which doesn’t help firefighters in dry conditions. So far 96 structures have been destroyed, 16 were damaged and another 70,000 homes are threatened. The Red Flag Warning continues today with 40-50 mph winds forecasted. Fire officials say narrow roads and steep terrain is making their fight more difficult and several roads around the fire have been closed.

Tens of thousands of people evacuated the area of the Kincade Fire and to make matters worse, a small earthquake has rumbled thru the area. The 3.3 earthquake rattled nerves early this morning. It happened about 1:10 a.m. At the same time Pacific Gas & Electric had power off to almost 1 million customers and another 100,000 were in the dark because of the crazy weather. The utility company also says it’s monitoring another severe wind event due tomorrow and Wednesday which could cut the lights for 32 Counties Across Northern and Central California. Southern Calif. Edison is also shutting down power to potentially 300,000 in coming days too.

The Kincade Fire has destroyed one winery and damaged others in the Alexander Valley region. The fire crossed Highway 128 near Chalk Hill Road east of Healdsburg and took down the Soda Rock Winery. There two homes, an artist studio, a water tower and the winery’s main 20,000-square-foot wine production facility, tasting room and event space burned to the ground. The owner says with that, they lost their entire 2019 vintage and most of their wine inventory. The main building goes back to the late 1800’s. The San Francisco Chronicle reports Field Stone Winery on Highway 128 also burned, but there’s no report yet, on the extent of damage.

Firefighters bolstering the containment on a fire that broke out in Mendocino County that has led to evacuations. Highway 20 was closed between Upper Lake to Ukiah for a time too after the fire east of Calpella started. So fire the Burris Fire has burned 350 acres and is 20-percent contained. The fire started yesterday and spread quickly due to high winds. With that Sheriff Tom Allman announced mandatory evacuations. There was an evacuation center quickly opened at the Veterans Hall and a large animal evacuation center at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds. Part of Highway 20 between Upper Lake and Ukiah was closed much of Sunday but reopened last night with one lane of controlled traffic in the immediate fire area.  The fire is under investigation.

A fourth Public Safety Power Shutoff event is predicted as PG&E starts to ramp down the one we are in right now. Nearly a million customers lost power across the state. Mendocino County says it’s received notice from the utility company that power should be restored in the next 2 days or 48 hours. The de-energization over the weekend should come to an end this morning. But that just means they will be checking their equipment for damage, before your power comes back on. There is still a Red Flag Warning thru the day due to gusty winds and low humidity. The re-energization can only happen during daytime hours.

No worries about water in Ukiah. The city’s director or water and sewer reports the city of Ukiah’s water and sewage treatment plants are fine because they have “permanent back-up generators”. Plus the city can also tap its wells, but the agency’s director doesn’t think that will be needed. The generators in place until heavy rains start pouring down this winter. But the Ukiah Electric Utility Director says they would be out of power because of weather and fire. They shifted their load to Santa Rosa, but since the Kincade Fire broke out, that can’t happen.

PG&E says there’s another weather system expected tomorrow so the power may come on, then go right back off again. The news came as the utility shut off power Saturday night for 38 counties. Another 100,000 people had no power because of the windy conditions. Some customers may already have their power back on, as the all clear came from PG&E last night for re-energization for Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Northern Mendocino and parts of Lake County. There were reports of trees and power lines down in Lake County, wind gusts of nearly 90 mph in Butte County and 102 miles an hour in Sonoma County and around the Kincade Fire. The next windy weather system is due tomorrow until Thursday.

The Gov. has declared a statewide emergency because of the continued high-winds which have meant massive fires and evacuations. The Kincade Fire has burned more than 66,000 acres and is just barely 5% contained. Nearly 200,000 people have been evacuated and almost 100 structures have been destroyed. Several more are threatened. In Southern Calif. the Tick fire is 70% contained after charring more than 4,600 acres. The Gov. says they’re coordinating with multiple agencies and deploying all available resources. He has also announced a $75 million program for state and local governments to help with impacts of power shutoffs and that his administration has several new partnerships and tools for medically vulnerable populations.

​One person is dead after a crash in Clearlake Oaks. The CHP reports the accident last night just before midnight on Highway 20 by Long Valley Road. There were two people in the car, the other had minor to moderate injuries. Dispatch reports said there was an air ambulance request, but that was canceled because the person, the passenger of the car, was being worked on, then they died and a coroner was requested. No word on the driver of the vehicle or how the accident happened.

PG&E since their Wildfire Assistance Program has given out more than $18 million to people displaced by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp fire. A $105 million fund was approved by the bankruptcy judge for those who were uninsured or need help with alternative living expenses or other urgent needs. The money should be distributed by a third party administrator who is urging those who have not applied to get on it before the Nov. 15th deadline. Final payments should be forthcoming by the end of the first quarter of next year. So far they say they’ve received about 11,500 claims and sent payment for 5,200 eligible claims.

A man from Kelseyville at a court hearing after being charged for stealing a car, carrying a gun in the vehicle, and having ammo. 26 year old Leopoldo Gutierrez Bravo was due back in court this morning to be charged with 11 felonies after an incident last month where he was found with the stolen truck at the Robinson Rancheria Casino. Cops were there on another call and found Bravo, checked his records can found he was on probation for a drug charge from Los Angeles County. They searched the stolen truck and found a loaded .38 caliber semi-automatic handgun which he said was not his. But they also found he was a confirmed gang member with a history of weapons and narcotics violations.

 

News 10/25/19

5PM UPDATE

Two urgent fire weather alerts have come from the National Weather Service over the last few hours. The warning that historic high winds and possible widespread power outages would be happening across the North Bay tomorrow through Monday morning. The winds were predicted from 15 mph to 30 mph and gusts of up to 45 to 55 mph. There could also be 65 mph to 75 mph gusts in higher elevations, including Mount St. Helena. The most dangerous winds are expected tomorrow night around 8 p.m. and will last until midmorning on Monday. The weather service with a dire warning, that any fires that break out would spread quickly. They also warn the winds could take down trees and power lines. The forecast says the dangerous winds mixed with low humidity could produce “historic” weather conditions. Back during the October 2017 firestorm, winds peaked at 65 mph.

As the Kincade fire plowed thru brush, it also blackened vineyards on Sonoma County Wine Country estates. The fire making it’s way to the Alexander Valley taking one of the family member’s Julia Jackson’s home, and a bunch of buildings on the Jackson Family estate. The Press Democrat reports some of the landowners who lost property just after the fire got going are some of the wealthiest in Sonoma County, and from longstanding Sonoma County wine families. The Jackson family owns the ninth-largest wine company in the United States. The Robert Young Estate Winery and Vineyard and Garden Creek Vineyards had damage to their properties. Many wineries were closed and under mandatory evacuation orders.

Power came back on for many on Thursday as the same households, and many more, 830,000 prepare for yet another public safety power shutoff. Almost 179,000 customers across Northern California were affected Wednesday and Thursday, and as the power was turned back on, PG&E warned customers there will be another shutoff this weekend.  The potentially affected areas include Potter Valley, Redwood Valley, Calpella, properties across the 101 on the Ridgewood Grade, parts of the unincorporated Ukiah Valley east of the City of Ukiah, Hopland, Yorkville, Boonville, Anchor Bay, Gualala and southeastern Mendocino County near the Mendocino/Sonoma County line. In Lake County, the Sheriff said it was likely to be countywide.

 

NOON UPDATE

The Kincade Fire grows in acreage again with minimal containment. Cal Fire reports the fire near Geyserville has grown from 16,000 acres last night to nearly 22,000 acres. That’s another 6,000 acres in just hours. There are also reports the fire may have started near PG&E equipment. Even though the area was supposedly de-energized in the latest public safety power shutoff.  But not all equipment was de-energized due to wind speeds. The fire is still just 5% contained. It has burned 49 structures. We’re not sure how many of those are homes or outbuildings or businesses. Even though Cal Fire pegs it at just 5% containment, containment on acreage has moved slightly up this morning from 800 to nearly 1,100. There are no reports of injuries or fatalities. Evacuation orders are in place for thousands. No word if new orders are forthcoming or when any of those told to leave, can return.

As we’ve been reporting another public safety power shutoff is forthcoming in windy conditions this weekend. The Gov. Gavin Newsom is also demanding PGE follow previously agreed to protocols and to work closely with state and local officials to protect public safety and limit the impact. In a letter to PGE yesterday, the governor said inconsistency in following agreed to protocols are undermining the coordination efforts with first responders to help protect the public. He also demanded transparency and consistent notification to state and local government officials and to plan ahead to meet the needs of vulnerable residents.

Reports there was a PG&E transmission line experiencing issues just before the massive fire started inside The Geysers. The Press Democrat reports Cal Fire found a broken piece of equipment on a PG&E transmission tower which had not been de-energized during this last public safety power shutdown. The company filed a report yesterday with the state Public Utilities Commission that there was a problem on a 230-kilovolt transmission line running through The Geysers Wednesday night at 9:20 pm. The fire was first spotted at 9:26 p.m. A video of the fire starting has gone viral. It’s from an ALERTWildfire camera in the hills near the Geysers. It shows a flickering light, then a brighter light, then smoke rising on the horizon.

______________

Firefighters from Mendocino County are working the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. A five engine team headed to the fire quickly spreading near Geyserville yesterday morning. Apparently they were pre-positioned in Lake County because of the Red Flag warnings. The operations coordinator for Mendocino County, Hopland Fire Chief Mitch Franklin says the timing worked out well. The teams from the Hopland, Little Lake, Redwood Coast, South Coast and the Redwood Valley-Calpella fire departments left yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m. and another team from Mendocino, Anderson Valley, Fort Bragg, Redwood Valley-Calpella and the South Coast fire departments headed out too. The terrain is said to be challenging and conditions are dry with low humidity and high heat. And windier conditions are expected tomorrow and Sunday.

A permit has been approved for a move of the Mendocino Animal Hospital. The city of Ukiah’s Zoning Administrator approved the permit for East Gobbi Street. The applicant, Nick Channell asking for the Minor Use Permit for a relocation of the animal hospital into a 5,500-square-foot commercial building currently occupied by Tapestry Family Services, who are relocating. During the public comment section of the meeting where the request was made Tuesday, it was noted the new location for the animal hospital had a larger parking lot. They won’t be making any changes to the outside of the building and are not proposing any landscaping changes.

As the all clear is given by PG&E for the latest public safety power shutoff, yet another is planned for the weekend. The all clear for weather was expected yesterday so that crews could get out into the field to check the utility’s equipment for damage, before the power is turned back on. But now word that a stronger wind event is anticipated. Something the Lake County Sheriff spoke about last night… SOT

The PG&E CEO mentioned the shutoff at a press event Wednesday. And a PG&E meteorologist says we’re stuck in a weather pattern conducive to offshore wind patterns. The next from tomorrow to Monday afternoon, an event the meteorologist says could be the strongest wind event of the season. The National Weather Service is predicting red flag weather conditions late tomorrow morning into Monday morning.

You can get information on the power shutoffs at PG&E’s resource center set up at the Twin Pine Casino for Lake County residents. Residents of Cobb, Loch Lomond, Middletown and unincorporated areas south of Kelseyville who don’t have power can head over to charge your electronics and medical machines. They’re open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m during the shutoff. They’ve got water, a medical kit, air conditioning, fax and copy machines. You can also head to the Konocti Vista Casino center as well.

The Kincade Fire has blown up again, now at 16,000 acres and reportedly started near electric equipment. 49 structures have burned in the fire that started Wednesday night and quickly expanding, charring 10,000 acres. Then last night at the press conference, Cal Fire announced the fire threatening the entire town of Geyserville, grew 6,000 acres more. Only 800 acres of the massive inferno has been contained, 5%. Now word that the fire may have broken out near PG&E equipment. PG&E had power off in the area, but there are reports of possible power lines down. A dispatch report about 9:30 pm Wednesday night called it a life safety hazard. Cal Fire says there’s no confirmed report. A PG&E spokesperson says they believe the fire is near the “footprint” of the “public safety power shutdown”. The fire broke out near the Geysers Geothermal plant, but there’s no official word if the plant was producing power at the time the fire started.

Police in Clearlake following an erratic driver in a stolen car make an arrest. A community service officer followed the driver in a red Kia Sephia on Highway 29 Tuesday night. The officer ran the Washington state license plate, finding it was reported stolen a couple hours before. The Kia drove into the Walmart parking lot and backup officers were waiting, pulling the car over for a felony traffic stop. 29 year old Marissa Prude was arrested for vehicle theft and violation of probation and held on $15,000 bond. The car has since been returned to its owner.

As your lights start to flicker back on, officials are warning of a third public safety power shutoff. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. notifying customers about the power down coming this weekend, that they say could last longer than the one we had October 9^th. Some people were in the dark as long as five days. This shutoff from tomorrow to Monday as the National Weather Service forecasts red flag warning conditions. In Lake County the high wind watch starts tomorrow night at 11 and lasts thru Sunday night at 11. There’s also a fire weather watch from 11 a.m. tomorrow until 5 p.m. Monday.

A man from Fort Bragg has been arrested for multiple child sex abuse felonies. Fort Bragg police say 42 year old Jonathan Sastre-Cordova had been arrested nearly two years ago on similar charges. The Advocate newspaper reports the DA’s office didn’t respond by press time whether the new charges are related to the February 2018 charges. Sastre-Cordova booked in jail Oct. 16 for alleged sodomy with a victim younger than ten, aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of a child and several other charges. He was held on $400,000 bail.

PG&E has reportedly filled out an incident report on an area by the massive Kincade fire, of power line failure. The fire started outside the Geysers Geothermal plant Wednesday night. Then yesterday there was an electric incident report filed with the California Public Utilities Commission regarding a failed transmission line in the fire area. 6 hours before the fire PG&E had started the last public safety power shutoff. Lake Co News reports the utility company said it turned off power to almost 28,000 Sonoma County customers, including in Geyserville and the surrounding area. But they only deenergized power distribution lines, not transmission lines because wind speeds didn’t meet their protocol.

Some recommendations by the Lake County’s Public Health officer in light of the third public safety power shutoff. Lake Co News reports the Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace says being prepared is very important especially for the medically fragile. Those with major medical needs may consider leaving the area until there’s power again. To make sure you have all the meds you need as pharmacies may be closed during the power outage. They recommend at least a one week supply of your essential medications.  If you’re dependent on electricity, you’re advised to sign up with PG&E as a medical baseline customer. And if you’re dependent on oxygen, make a plan to stay with friends or family or get a generator. You can also go to a community resource center during the daytime hours.

News 10/24/19

Almost 4,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians getting ready for a strike across Calif. that could affect more than 100 clinics in California. The workers include psychologists, social workers and therapists. The National Union of Healthcare Workers strike to impact those seeking individual therapy and for social work. Yesterday some workers were gathering for a vigil in Oakland as a tribute to former patients who died by suicide. Workers say some had to wait too long for care. Some workers say they have a waiting list for patients to see them of up to 6 weeks.  The issues reportedly the center of negotiations between the hospital giant and the union for more than 18 months. The strike to begin next month.

As promised PG&E has shut down power to parts of Mendocino County. The second in as many weeks. This was expected to impact less customers than the power down two weeks ago. Last night by 5 pm, more than 300 customers were without power. But the utility company said earlier this week there would be about half that, plus nearly 1,900 in Lake County and almost 27,000 in Sonoma County. Word is power should be restored sometime today. PG&E has set up a Community Resource Center (CRC) at the Potter Valley Bible Church from 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Last time around PG&E was criticized for jammed phone lines and a downed website. They say this time around there will be a temporary website with more information, but that was reportedly glitchy yesterday. All of this due to Red Flag conditions in elevations above 2,000 feet in interior Mendocino, Northern Lake, and Southern Trinity counties through today.

A case of measles reported at Disneyland and also went to a Starbucks in the Palms area of Southern Calif. State health officials say that person may have exposed others at the two locations last Wednesday, Oct. 16. That would have been from just before 8 am until 10 am at the Starbucks on S. Sepulveda Blvd. and at Disneyland from 9:15 a.m. to 8:35 p.m. This brings the number of infections from measles in Los Angeles County to 19, plus there were 11 other non-resident cases.

Three fires reported in Ukiah under bridges where transients hang out. Ukiah Valley Fire Authority says it’s dangerous due to dry brush near creek beds which could easily cause a huge fire if there’s a wind event. They had a call Tuesday morning for a fire under the bridge in Gibson Creek, and again yesterday morning. And the third spotted by someone driving by in Orrs Creek where transients were.  Fire officials say people start the fires to cook food and stay warm in hidden places so they won’t get into trouble for other things they may be up to.

The governor has signed a bill into law so that all new rape kits connected to a crime have to be submitted quickly. The bill by State Senator Connie Leyva and Assembly member David Chiu. Their bill had several sponsors. It will address the weakness in current state law, they say, which allows dangerous perpetrators to run free. There was a law about five years ago saying state law enforcement should submit rape kits within 20 days of collecting them. But there’s been creative license with what that actually means. One nonprofit, Joyful Heart was one of the sponsors, they’ve been working across the country to get comprehensive rape kit reform legislation passed.

A fast moving wildfire that started in the Geysers area blows up in red flag conditions. The Kincade fire reported last night before 9:30 p.m. and has exploded to 10,000 acres. The fire started in the Geysers geothermal steamfield and could be seen in parts of Lake County. Wind speeds of 69 miles per hour were recorded overnight in the Pine Mountain area. Within one hour the fire had already consumed 400 acres. Radio reports later into the night said the fire was burning into the back of Black Mountain and officials were predicting it was headed to Alexander Valley and would burn vineyards there. By about midnight the fire had burned 5,000 acres. And evacuation orders were called with evacuation centers opening. The Lake County Sheriff was monitoring the fire and State Sen. Mike McGuire has been posting updates on his social media accounts. Overnight the CHP was closing roads. Firefighters reporting intense wind and problems with cell coverage as they climbed into the rugged and remote area.

A man charged with killing a friend as they were touring the Northern California area is being held over for trial. 21 year old Mavrick Fisher had his preliminary hearing yesterday connected to the murder of 25-year-old Grant Whitaker of Mackinaw, Illinois.
Fisher’s facing murder, assault with a deadly weapon and a special allegation of inflicting great bodily injury, and grand theft of a vehicle charges.  He was caught in Mexico this summer after the death of his friend. The two of them are deaf. The victim’s family reported there was an altercation between the two who were in Humboldt County. They had come to Calif. to buy property because they wanted to start a deaf farming community.

A flood leaves more than two dozen senior citizens out of their apartments in Lucerne. Northshore Fire reports getting a call to the North Shore Villas apartments last night.  The sprinklers in the building were somehow triggered, and that flooded the building. The building became uninhabitable and the Red Cross was called to help find temporary housing for more than 30 people.

If you can believe it, there may be yet another Pacific Gas and Electric public safety power shutoff. 3 in two weeks’ time. Right now several thousand are affected by the power shutoff due to red flag weather conditions. The company says there’s another offshore weather system which could trigger another shutoff this weekend. PG&E called this latest shutoff on Wednesday morning which has impacted a few hundred in Mendocino County and nearly 1,900 in Lake County. As well as thousands in Sonoma County. At the same time there’s a giant fire in Sonoma County, the Kincade Fire which has charred 10,000 acres already. Last night officials with the utility company at a press briefing said there was another incoming weather system which may mean another shutoff. A PG&E meteorologist says the incoming system could be an even stronger weather event than what we had around Oct. 9. And a fire weather watch is anticipated from the National Weather Service. The PG&E CEO says if that all comes to fruition, the next power down would be late Saturday.

Discussions about the microwave communications system or public safety radio network in Mendocino County shows some fixes are needed to keep communications flowing uninterrupted between departments. The agency maintaining the equipment says if areas of the system go down, they’re trying to find parts on ebay. If a major piece of equipment fails, it could be weeks without the equipment, and communications between agencies. So if a deputy called for backup and the system was down, they’d be on their own. The Deputy CEO reports the executive office is trying to find ways to pay for upgrades.

The Kincade Fire is holding at 10,000 acres. The Governor has announced the federal government will make money available so Sonoma County is not responsible for 100% of the cost to fight the fire. The Gov. commented he was grateful for the swift approval. About 2,000 people have been evacuated. Last night Sheriff’s deputies immediately evacuated a few hundred just after the fire started, then the evacuations became more widespread overnight and this morning. The fire broke out in the Geysers after 9 pm last night with the fire quickly spreading towards Alexander Valley but firefighters made a play and stopped it at the valley floor, but fire officials say some homes were lost. There was no official count, that will come later today. The high temperatures and gusty winds in dry conditions with a heat advisory is not helping. Some wind gusts last night recorded at more than 75 mph. The winds are supposed to ease today and tomorrow but pick back up again over the weekend. Some of the folks evacuated lost their homes or were somehow impacted by the massive Tubbs Fire in Sonoma County in October of 2017. Some of the victims telling the Press Democrat they are being re-traumatized. Firefighters were surrounding the town of Geyserville due to the possibility of wind-swept embers. The Monte Rio Fire Chief tells the news site an ember tossed about a mile from the fire to a home which burned. The fire has no containment yet.

A sheriff’s deputy from Northern California has been killed after he went to the scene of a theft at a private marijuana garden. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office reports Deputy Brian Ishmael was shot to death in the community of Somerset. He also had a ride-along passenger with him, an off-duty deputy who was shot and injured. The off duty cop returned fire and tried saving Ishmael. Then a CHP officer came to the scene and took the injured off duty officer to the hospital where he had surgery and was later released. Two men were detained, one had been shot and went to the hospital. No word on his condition of if anyone else was involved. Flags were ordered to be flown at half-staff at all state buildings across the state by Governor Newsom.

A man suspected of a robbery disappeared in Lakeport and police want your help. The Police Department reaching out to the community to help find 24 year old Alexander Gene Gard who they say is connected to a robbery yesterday at Campos Casuals. Police say it happened mid-morning in the area of Second and Main streets for a report of a man running from the theft. Cops searched the area with no luck. Police questioning people in the area. Those at Campos Casuals say the guy tried to steal more than $100 in merchandise. An employee apparently got into an altercation with the suspect and got the stolen items back in the tussle. He left the building at that time with several people trying to stop him to no avail. Gard is the only suspect and is currently wanted for robbery.

More than 500 firefighters on the ground tackling the 10,000 acre Kincade Fire. A couple thousand people evacuated including all of the town Geyserville. Also those in Healdsburg have been warned to get ready to leave their homes. There is no containment on the fire yet.  The fire ignited last night about 9:20 near the Geysers Geothermal Plant, and fire officials say they’re not sure if the plant somehow was involved or if there was a PG&E Power Shutoff in the area. Winds have slowed from last night where there were wind gusts recorded of more than 75 mph. No word how many homes were destroyed so far, but there are pictures floating around online of homes on fire.

Another PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff is most likely coming this weekend. The third in two weeks. Officials say they’re monitoring the “potentially strong, widespread dry offshore wind event” which is supposed to hit the North Bay, East Bay, Peninsula, Central Coast, Sierra Foothills and Humboldt County Saturday. The energy company says there will be blackouts in almost every zone of PG&E’s service territory.  Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin says he’s been informed it will hit some areas for longer than our current outage…

 

 

News 10/23/19

Social Media giant Facebook says it’s putting up $1 billion for affordable housing in Calif. The cash could help developers put up as many as 20,000 homes over 10 years time. The company giving $150 million for the Bay’s Future Fund which is an affordable housing fund started earlier this year by Mark and Chan Zuckerberg’s foundation, along with the San Francisco Foundation, Facebook, Genentech and others. The company also says it’s starting a new partnership with Gov. Newsom’s administration for mixed-income houses for teachers and other essential public workers that will be built on excess state-owned land. The company earlier announced it was donating $25 million for up to 120 apartments for teachers in Palo Alto.

You may have heard from PG&E already about their latest public safety power shutoff. Now Mendocino County is announcing the power down today and tomorrow for parts of the county to start today between 2 and 5 p.m. today. And apparently, it’s just a short time without power. It should be restored tomorrow. The areas that may be affected: Potter Valley and southeastern Mendocino County near the Mendocino/Sonoma County line. The utility company says they expect less than 1,000 customers will be without power in Mendocino County. But 15 counties and about 219,000 customers could be impacted across California.

It’s the five year anniversary for REACH air ambulance services. The base at the Willits Airport features four air ambulances and crews serving surrounding counties including Mendocino County if they’re in a remote location. The REACH vice president says they act like a fire station. They have up to 14 crewmembers working at the location on rotating 12-24 hour shifts. That would include their pilot, a flight nurse and a paramedic for each call. REACH is subsidized by a $4 fee on moving vehicle violations, and a new funding source recently extended cash coming in for six months. They’re apparently working on a more long term funding source.

A man from Clearlake Oaks accused of intentionally setting three wildfires has pleaded not guilty. Matthew Miravalle arrested last month for three fires over the summer months. He was in court for his preliminary hearing and charged with two counts of property arson and one count of arson of structure/forest land. The Lake County Sheriff’s office reports Miravalle admitted he started the fires after his arrest. He was also seen in the area of the most recent fire which happened on Monday, Sep. 23 near an apartment complex. Investigators say it was an arson fire. And Miravalle has a previous arson conviction.

Another power shutoff coming from Pacific Gas and Electric Company across Northern and Central California. The power down expected to impact about 200,000. Nearly 1,900 will be in the dark in Cobb, Loch Lomond and Middletown. One of the officials for PG&E working the incident says windy weather is prompting the shutoff. The wind is forecasted for 5 p.m. The utility company said yesterday it was giving impacted customers a 8-12 hour warning.  The red flag warning is covering higher elevations above 2,000 feet in areas of Lake, Mendocino, and Trinity counties.

Governor Newsom has reportedly sent a letter to the CEO of PG&E regarding the recent public safety power shutoffs and the next one. The Governor demanding the utility company provide better information to customers impacted by the shutoffs and to do more to reduce the number of people affected. The letter saying the immediate goal to better manage this next power shutoff. The letter went yesterday to CEO Bill Johnson, urging the company to follow instructions by the California Public Utilities Commission. The letter also offering technical and operational assistance to include forecasting, tech support and using aircraft equipment and emergency personnel.

New rules for California’s water usage from the Trump Administration. Environmental groups none too happy with the plan and the potential effect on endangered species. It includes more water going to farmers, something the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service say, “will not jeopardize threatened or endangered species.” It includes as much as $1.5 billion to support endangered fish. Plus the fed would be monitoring rivers for endangered fish and is committing to reduce pumping when fish are present. But the Natural Resources Defense Council says these kinds of programs don’t work because endangered fish species populations are too small. They plan to stop the new rules by going to court.

One person is dead after a fire at a home near Robinson Rancheria. The fire reported yesterday afternoon after 4. A stick built home was totally engulfed in flames when firefighters got to the scene. They got a report that one person was trapped, but they died in the fire. Several area fire crews responded. No word how the fire started. Investigators were called to take a look last night.

Some tweaking of numbers by PG&E for those who will be impacted by the next power shutoff. The Sacramento Bee reports the utility company was saying 209,000 households and businesses in 17 counties would be affected, now it’s down to 189,000 in 16 counties. They will apparently make their final decision this morning. The utility company says it will continue to monitor the weather forecast models and wind event on their 600 weather stations. The CEO of PG&E says they should have an all clear for most of the impacted customers by noon tomorrow and noon Friday for the rest.

California is suing the United States Postal Service as foreign cigarettes keep getting delivered to California residents. The Attorney General Xavier Becerra and New York City filing suit together saying the postal service knew cigarettes or smokeless tobacco was being delivered in violation of the Prevent All Cigarettes Trafficking Act. The suit asking the postal service to stop the deliveries and not allow it to happen in the future. The trafficking act put in place in 2009 to stop contraband cigarettes from entering the United States. The cigarette-makers don’t pay taxes.

A massive replacement of CalFresh benefits is being offered due to the last public safety power shutoff. The California Department of Social Services says the Food and Nutrition Service has authorized the massive replacement of CalFresh benefits for those affected by PG&E’s de-energization of power lines from two weeks ago. It’s for people across the state, including in Mendocino County. Those who lost their food because of the power shutoff are being offered a 60% automatic replacement of their October CalFresh allotment. The deliveries are happening tomorrow.

A workshop’s being offered for those interested in putting an accessory unit on their property. The workshop tomorrow at 5:30 pm at Jug Handle Creek Farm. It’s free and hosted by the Housing Action Team. 4^th District Supervisor Dan Gjerde will be on hand along with the former city manager of Fort Bragg. They will explain possible construction plans and accompanying county rules. They’re providing refreshments and a tour of the Jug Handle facility for those interested.

A woman from Fort Bragg has been arrested after reports of a domestic violence incident. Mendocino deputies called last Thursday night to a home in the 20000 block of Hansen Road meeting the husband and wife, seeing the male victim with a small injury to his head and minor bleeding. They came to find after a verbal argument, the wife, identified as Angela Lina, hit the man in the face. She was arrested for domestic violence battery and taken to Mendocino County Jail and booked on $25,000.00 bail.

PG&E down-scaling its latest public safety power shutoff. The utility informing Mendocino County the power may be turned off because of red flag warnings and fire hazard conditions. They had told counties, including part of Mendocino County to be prepared for a 3 pm shutoff. In Mendocino County, to include Hopland east of Highway 175, parts of Potter Valley and southeastern Mendocino County near the Mendocino/Sonoma County line. The outage was changed to be affecting less than 400 customers in Mendocino County and that that might also change. They’re encouraging customers to check the http://www.pge.com for the most accurate information. Power is predicted to be back up tomorrow morning. There is a PG&E Community Resource Center set up at the Potter Valley Bible Church starting at 8am tomorrow morning. Nearly 1,900 in Lake County are expected to be impacted including Cobb, Loch Lomond, Middletown and a small unincorporated area outside Kelseyville. There are two community resource centers in Lake County, the Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport and the Twin Pine Casino & Hotel in Middletown. The utility company is warning some who are not supposed to be impacted, that they may still have power outages due to the company’s equipment getting damaged during the wind event. And those folks will not be notified in advance.

An unrelated power outage reported in the Laytonville and Covelo areas had about 3,000 people in the dark.  A PG&E spokesperson says the areas involved are not involved in the planned Public Safety Power Shutoff. But there were about 160 customers who were expected to be impacted later. All of the customers had their lights back on this morning after the occurrence and the utility company had crews inspecting lines with helicopters and ground crews to figure out what caused the power outage.