LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following a day of heavy snow and rain, power outages and dangerous road conditions, many area residents were waiting for power to be restored and weather forecasters predicted Lake County could have still more rain and snow to come.
Thursday's snow – much of it falling in the first half of the day – caused school closures in the Kelseyville, Konocti and Middletown school districts, shut down area roadways and contributed to falling tress that in turn knocked down utility lines and poles, as Lake County News has reported.
First responders – law enforcement from various agencies, firefighters and paramedics – spent an exhausting day running to what seemed liked endless calls – health-related assists, fires, crashes and emergencies caused by downed utility and power lines.
The California Highway Patrol's incident logs recorded well over 100 incidents for the day, many times the number of incidents seen on a regular basis, based on Lake County News' daily observations.
One of the major fallouts for Lake County's residents was the loss of power.
Pacific Gas & Electric reported early in the day that the storms knocked out power to a total of 16,000 county customers, a number which early in the afternoon had been reduced to about 12,600 customers, according to PG&E spokesperson Brandi Ehlers.
County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said he received word that PG&E was moving 27 crews in the county to work on repairs.
Late Thursday, PG&E spokesperson Jana Morris said a company report on the storms highlighted that Lake County – like other foothill and mountain areas of the state – “has experienced a significant amount of damage due to the storm.”
Morris said PG&E crews were working through the night to continue repairs.
One of the issues that PG&E was encountering in Lake County and in the Sierra division was the combination of difficult terrain and snow, which was making it a challenge to access some equipment that required repair, Morris said.
In some cases, due to safety concerns, PG&E staff may have to wait until daylight to continue work, said Morris.
Shortly before midnight Thursday an estimated 3,800 customers in Clearlake remained without power, Morris said.
Other areas with continuing outages included Cobb, 1,650 customers; Hidden Valley Lake, 1500; Middletown, 1,000; Lower Lake, 800; Kelseyville, 350; Clearlake Park, 11; and Clearlake Oaks and Lakeport each had two.
Morris said about 250 additional customers in Cobb were expected to have power restored by midnight, and 350 more in Lower Lake by about 2 a.m. Friday.
One transformer on Winchester in Lower Lake that had been under repair Thursday evening blew up once it was reenergized, causing a fire concern, according to radio reports.
Power losses caused issues for the county's sanitation district on Thursday.
Jill Shaul with Lake County Special Districts said they were receiving calls from their alarm company regarding power failures and high water levels in the Southeast Regional Wastewater System, which serves Clearlake and Lower Lake.
Power failures had been reported at pump stations one, two, three, 15 and 17, Shaul said, but those failures hadn't resulted in any effluent discharges.
“We're holding our own,” she said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office also encountered some communications problems Thursday.
Capt. James Bauman said he was the one to discover the problem with the agency's Siegler repeater, which is used for its primary law enforcement channel.
When he left the office and tried to call in, “Nobody was talking back to me.”
Some checking revealed the repeater wasn't functioning correctly, Bauman said.
Other agencies, including CHP and local fire districts, also rely on the repeater, although Bauman said they weren't having issues. “It's just our frequency that's having a problem.”
The agency moved all of its law enforcement traffic over to the Office of Emergency Services frequency. Bauman said the owner of the property where the repeater is located was standing ready to help them access it to make repairs.
Bauman couldn't say definitely that weather was the cause, but noted, it was the “most interesting weather day we've had in a long time.”
The National Weather Service said snow could fall to about 1,600 feet overnight and into Friday morning, although it's not expected to accumulate. Showers are expected to decrease throughout the weekend.
The Western Weather Group said the storm that hit Lake County Thursday was part of a storm system coming from the Gulf of Alaska.
Thursday night the weather broke and the skies cleared for a time, long enough for a bright full moon to be visible. The cold, clear conditions raised concern for nighttime ice.
Caltrans and county road crews plowed state highways and county roads throughout the day, trying to clear the way for drivers, many of whom found themselves stuck in the snow as they tried to make their ways to home, work or school Thursday.
Early Thursday evening, county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road, and all roads in the Clear Lake Riviera and Riviera Heights areas had been reopened.
He said Bottle Rock Road was open to Sulphur Creek Road, where PG&E was working on downed pole and lines. Fallen power lines also had closed Point Lakeview at Bayless Cove near Lower Lake and Anderson Springs at Highway 175.
PG&E was making repairs on Siegler Canyon Road between Perini and Big Canyon Road. Stangland said Siegler Canyon was open with a detour on Perini Road, Stangland said.
Stangland said 12 plow vehicles were to work through the night to open roads in the Cobb Mountain and Middletown areas that were blocked by power lines. He said crews also would remove snow, rocks and downed trees on New Long Valley, Sulphur Bank, North and Lakeshore Boulevard.
On Thursday night, Caltrans reported that some restrictions still remained on state highways.
Highway 175 was closed from the junction of Highway 29 to fives miles west of Middletown due to downed trees.
Chains or snow tire requirements remained in force on two other stretches of Highway 175 – from 5.5 miles east of the junction of Highway 101 in Mendocino County to 1.8 miles west of the Lake/Mendocino County line over the Hopland Grade, and 7 miles west to four miles west of Middletown.
Highway 29 remained closed over Mount St. Helena from 5.5 miles north of Calistoga in Napa County to the junction of Highway 175 in Middletown because of the snowfall, according to Caltrans.
Caltrans said travel restrictions had been lifted on Highway 20.
Drivers can find the latest conditions online at the Caltrans Web site, www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi, or by calling 800-427-7623.
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