LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — With thousands of Lake County residents remaining out of power due to this week’s snowstorm, and as another storm is anticipated to arrive on Sunday, officials are extending warming hours and urging community members to be prepared.

The National Weather Service’s Eureka office is forecasting rain during the day on Sunday in Lake County and the potential for more rain and snow on Sunday night.

That is expected to be followed by gusty winds along with more snow falling at the 1,000 foot elevation level on Monday night and into Tuesday.

Forecasters said heavy mountain snow could fall above 2,000 feet from Sunday through Tuesday across the North Coast.

On Friday, Sheriff Rob Howe declared a local emergency in response to the storm that hit earlier this week, bringing low elevation snow that knocked out power across a large swath of Lake County, as Lake County News has reported.

In a Facebook message on Saturday, Howe urged people to be cautious and prepared, and to take care of each other, as the forecast calls for the weather event to continue through the early part of this coming week.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Saturday afternoon that its crews are continuing to assess damage and restore service to the 33,600 customers in Lake County whose power was knocked out by the low elevation storm, which dropped several inches of snow across the county.

As of 1:30 p.m., PG&E said approximately 19,300 customers remained without power in Lake County.

In the previous 24 hours, PG&E reported that it had restored service to approximately 12,000 Lake County customers.

PG&E said hundreds of PG&E personnel and contractors are on the ground restoring customers in PG&E’s Humboldt Division, which includes Lake, Mendocino and Humboldt counties.

Those crews include 88 four-person electric crews, 26 Tmen — PG&E’s first responders — as well as 45 inspectors and 53 personnel. There also are 138 vegetation-management workers removing trees and limbs from power lines on duty in the Humboldt Division.

Offering a respite from the weather are two warming centers that are now open in Lake County to offer shelter during the winter weather.

The Lakeport warming center, located at 1111 Whalen Way in Lakeport, opened earlier this month to serve individuals experiencing homelessness. It has now extended its hours to seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

In response to the unprecedented snowfall, life-threatening temperatures and the additional weather event on the way, on Friday the city of Clearlake partnered with the county of Lake to open a warming center at the Clearlake Senior Center, located at 3245 Bowers Road.

Initially, the weather event was expected to end on Feb. 26, at which point officials planned to close the Clearlake warming center.

However, with the National Weather Service reporting that another weather event is inbound and could continue until Tuesday, the county said the Clearlake facility’s operation as a warming center will be extended.

The temporary Clearlake Senior Center warming center will close at noon on Sunday, Feb. 26, for maintenance purposes, and will reopen during new evening hours beginning Monday, Feb. 27, and Tuesday, Feb. 28. It will be open from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. both days.

Visitors must register and no pets, weapons, alcohol, or drugs are allowed.

The city of Clearlake, the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, the Lake County Department of Social Services and Lake County Behavioral Health are working together to provide cots, blankets, light food and snacks to those in need at the center.

PG&E said it has provided 500 grab-and-go bags that include a blanket, water, snacks and a portable cellphone charger which are being distributed at the Clearlake and Lakeport warming centers. The company said it also has provided a generator at the Lakeport warming center.

PG&E also partners with the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers, including 16 centers in 36 counties, to offer support for older adults and people with disabilities. Customers who are reliant on a medical device or assistive technology for independent living can find resources by contacting 2-1-1. So far, approximately 31 Lake County customers have reached out to PG&E or 2-1-1 for additional support.

The company said it also has been reaching out to Medical Baseline program customers to provide 2-1-1 as a support line and referring customers to available resources based on their needs.

Sheriff Howe reported the county is working to get generators up and running at additional locations, including the Little Red Schoolhouse in Cobb, 15780 Bottle Rock Road; the Kelseyville Senior Center, 5245 Third St.; Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive; and the Habematolel Community Center, 9470 Main St. in Upper Lake.

In Lakeport, city officials reported that its personnel are continuing to respond to storm related issues.

The city said that frozen snow continues to cover roadway shoulders and sidewalks in many areas of the city. As such, motorists are asked to drive slowly and watch for pedestrians.

Public Works crews will be clearing downed trees on the city right of way along roads on Monday, the city of Lakeport reported.

Also on Saturday, the Lake County Department of Public Works said crews were making their way through areas including Cobb and Kelseyville to plow snow from the roads.

The agency reported on its Facebook page that a small crew was running a plow and sanding truck through Riviera Heights, Riviera West and Buckingham areas, with more personnel on Cobb trying to open up the remainder of Harrington Flat Road and replowing Gifford Springs Road.

“Secondary roadways in the Cobb area will be scheduled for this coming week,” Public Works reported.

Lake County Public Works said requests for immediate help for road clearing must go through the California Highway Patrol’s dispatch.

INFORMATION AND CONTACTS

County services

Contact information for each County department is available at https://www.lakecountyca.gov.

General information

City of Clearlake: https://www.clearlake.ca.us/
County of Lake on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lakecountycagov
City of Lakeport: https://www.cityoflakeport.com/

Law enforcement and first responders

Clearlake Police Department: https://www.clearlake.ca.us/210/Police-Department or https://www.facebook.com/clearlakepolice
Lake County OES on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LakeCountyOES
Lake County Sheriff's Office: Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/lakesheriff
Lakeport Police Department: https://www.facebook.com/LakeportPolice

Roads

Caltrans: https://roads.dot.ca.gov/roadscell.php and https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov

Lake County Department of Public Works: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lakecountydpw/

Solid waste/recycling

Public Services for the Eastlake Landfill: 707-262-1618
Lake County Waste Solutions: 707-234-6400
South Lake Refuse and Recycling: 707-994-8613

Utilities

Pacific Gas and Electric outage map: https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outagecenter/ or 1-800-743-5002.

PG&E customers who are reliant on a medical device or assistive technology for independent living can find resources by contacting 2-1-1. As of Saturday, approximately 31 Lake County customers have reached out to PG&E or 2-1-1 for additional support.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.