CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council is planning a special meeting to go over several items of business, including contract amendments and a proposed urgency ordinance relating to smoke shops.
The council will meet beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, in the council chambers at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.
On the agenda is consideration of an interim urgency ordinance adopting a 45-day moratorium on the establishment of tobacco retailing businesses, smoke shops, or hookah and vapor lounges within the city.
The report from City Manager Greg Folsom and City Attorney Ryan Jones explains that they’re proposing the urgency ordinance because the city has been approached by a company that wants a business license to open up a smoke shop on Lakeshore Drive.
“The City’s zoning ordinance does not distinguish between tobacco retailers, smoke shops, or hookah or vapor lounges and any other type of retailer,” the report said.
If approved, staff would begin to work on a permanent ordinance that would be presented first to the planning commission, Folsom and Jones said.
Also on the agenda is consideration of two contract amendments, including one for construction design services during the Country Club/Kings Lane Pavement Rehabilitation Project. It would allow for an additional $3,240 to Coastland Civil Engineers, with an allowance for up to 10 percent for additional unforeseen contract amendments.
Another amendment for construction design services would allow for an additional $4,880 plus up to 10 percent for unforeseen amendments to Coastland on the Dam Road Extension Project.
The council also will consider awarding the restriping and bike lane project to Chrisp Co. for $287,567.50, with a 10-percent amendment allowance.
In other business, the council will take up staff’s proposal to reject all bids for the Harbor Lane/Highlands Harbor pavement rehabilitation project and will consider a $92,000 contract with Foster Morrison Consulting for consultant services to develop a new city local hazard mitigation plan.
Also on Tuesday, the council will consider a letter of support for the Adventist Health-St. Joseph Health Partnership.
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.
LUCERNE, Calif. – Lines form early at the Local Assistance Center in Lucerne as residents affected by the Mendocino Complex fires arrive before opening.
The LAC is housed in the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center to which a mobile air conditioning unit has been attached to reduce temperatures inside the center by adding sprawling ducting connected to a truck in front of the building.
Inside the center Theresa Showen, program manager with Lake County Social Services, provided a tour of the various groups and agencies setting up shop in the center.
"We serve approximately 200 to 300 families each day, it's been way more than any Local Assistance Center we've run," Showen said. "We've done this for the last four years, it's the third LAC I've been involved in and it's a whole different animal this time around."
Showen said the center, which has been open four days, hasn't slowed, with as many new arrivals showing up as in the first days of operation. It had served 1,021 families as of the time of this writing.
During a media tour Tuesday, the scale and complexity of the operation came into stark view as Showen navigated the bustling building and fielded phone calls and questions from staff and evacuees.
Inside the main area, government agencies, county departments and nonprofits fill the room with folding tables and makeshift workstations.
Among the agencies offering support to evacuees are Verizon, which set up a mobile wifi network; the Department of Taxes and Fees, which is set up to aid business owners suffering from delays and avoid penalties; the Franchise Tax board is there for people with losses to help them reduce tax liability.
County Public Health is in place to aid people who may have lost vital records and the Employment Development Department is assisting those who may have lost wages due to the fire where they estimate they are filing 15 to 25 claims each day.
Red Cross is providing casework for people who have lost homes including financial assistance, referrals for those who have not lost homes in addition to providing meals, food and supplies for evacuees such as cleaning kits to remove ash and debris.
County departments including Environmental Health providing information on how to clean up property, Social Service for those who need CalFresh or to apply for cash aid. Behavioral Health is there for "anyone who needs to talk to someone," Showen said. Community Development is also represented.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is assisting and supporting other agencies and customers who billing questions or need to extending bills out.
North Coast Opportunities is on site accepting applications for the Wildfire Relief Fund to provide relief from evacuation costs, food replacement costs, partial to total losses.
Next to NCO is the Social Security department which can provide replacement social security cards among other services. Cal Vet is represented as well to provide relief support to veterans.
Child Support is present as well and among other services are providing children with things to do while their parents work their way through the room.
The DMV has set up a mobile DMV station which can provide registration, ID cares and replacement licenses for those lost in the fire.
California Department of Insurance is fielding Insurance policy-related questions and helping to resolve disputes with Insurance carriers.
The Contractors State License Board is available to help people avoid being scammed if they want to rebuild and CalPers is also represented.
Stepping over air conditioning ducting, Showen led the way to a smaller area next door where a variety of nonprofit agencies had not yet set up shop. St. John's Episcopal Church had set up and spaces were ready for California-Nevada Methodists among others who would be distributing gift cards and gas cards to those in need.
Out the back door, behind the senior center, fresh fruits, vegetables and canned foods are being provided and distributed by NCO. Gleaners will also be providing bagged foods while other groups will provide boxed food and supplies.
"If you lost your toothbrush, we've got those," Showen said.
Between giving direction to staff, answering questions for evacuees and conducting a media tour Showen, who herself was an evacuee during the Valley Fire, said she is working 12 to 14 hour days to provide services to the public.
"I've lost 10 pounds in the last five days, running around here like a crazy person," she said. "For me, this is really rewarding."
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It couldn’t be done, they said. France had tried it a half century before, only for noxious bogs and swarms of insects native to the land to swallow and suffocate the unfortunate workers sent to complete the impossible task.
But this was a man not accustomed to failure. He was at the height of his comfortable arrogance – the leader of a country equally confident in its own ability. If Egypt should have the Pyramids and Rome the Coliseum, then America should have its Pacific-Atlantic passageway, that very waterway connecting the hemispheres that Lewis and Clarke had so ardently sought. They hadn’t found it in America, so President Theodore Roosevelt would build it in Panama.
For the past 50 years, America and European countries had quarreled among themselves over who would build a pan-isthmian canal through Central America – a region early identified as the shortest, and therefore best, route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
These titans of imperial power held backroom negotiations, completely ignoring those nations whose land would actually be trenched, and the lives of whose workers would be lost in the attempt.
Finally, at the turn of the century, America had won the right among western powers to build such a thoroughfare.
In 1902, America opened negotiations with Columbia for the rights to build and maintain a canal. The American offer was not enough for the Colombian Congress, who turned it down in no uncertain terms.
In response, President Theodore Roosevelt promptly dispatched two fleets of American warships to Panama City on the Pacific and Colon on the Atlantic in support of Panamanian Independence. If Columbia wouldn’t give us what we wanted, we would create a country that would.
America’s imperial foray was a success, and the new Panamanian government sold to its American patrons a 10-mile-wide strip of land that cut across the country. For its part, America agreed to pay Panama a one-time grant of $10 million and an annual annuity of $250,000.
In a shrewd move, the new Panamanian government also added the condition that America forever guarantee its independence against any future incursions from regional powers.
With the land secured, President Roosevelt dispatched a team of engineers to set the work in motion. The year was 1904.
Over the next decade, thousands of workers sweated under the oppressive heat of summer months, and withstood the harassing attacks of swarms of mosquitoes.
During the French attempt at building the canal, over 25,000 workers had died – largely due to malaria and other diseases. During America’s construction of the Panama Canal, a little more than 5,000 died – not necessarily because of better treatment, but largely because of new medicines that limited the ravages of jungle diseases.
At the height of construction, when workers faced cutting through the nine-mile stretch of mountains that marked the continental divide, upwards of 6,000 men were working at once.
In the end, some 3.4 million cubic meters of concrete went into building the locks and other works along the canal, and nearly 240 million cubic yards of rock and dirt were excavated during the decade of American construction.
Although President Roosevelt had started the project, it was President Woodrow Wilson – perhaps the polar opposite in his foreign policy from Roosevelt’s “big stick” approach – completed the construction when he triggered the final blast of dynamite via a telegraph wired from Washington D.C. in 1914.
At the time of its completion, the Panama Canal was America’s greatest engineering feat to date.
When the first wave of ships passed through the canal on August 15, 1904, the history of world trade – and America’s role in international affairs – changed forever.
Antone Pierucci is curator of history at the Riverside County Park and Open Space District and a freelance writer whose work has been featured in such magazines as Archaeology and Wild West as well as regional California newspapers.
MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Officials have issued a new order closing a large area of the Mendocino National Forest, including the entire Upper Lake Ranger District and part of the Grindstone Ranger District, due to activity from the Ranch fire.
The purpose of the closure is to provide safety for the public and for the firefighters.
“The closure of the fire area is necessary to help ensure that no one is injured within or near the fire area. We still have a lot of work to do on the Ranch fire and we need your cooperation to keep the area clear so that our firefighters can perform their job safely,” Forest Supervisor Ann Carlson reminds the public.
The boundary of the Ranch Fire Closure Area begins at the intersection of County Road No. 301 and the Mendocino National Forest Boundary (Forest Boundary), then continues west and north along the Forest Boundary to where it intersects the Covelo Ranger District boundary on Long Doe Ridge, then continues east along south side of the Covelo Ranger District boundary to its intersection with Forest Road No. M1, then continues south along the west side of Forest Road No. M1 to its intersection with Forest Road No. M61, then continues east along the south side of Forest Road No. M61 to its intersection with Forest Road No. M6, then continues east along the south side of Forest Road No. M6 to its intersection with Forest Road No. M3, then continues south along the west side of Forest Road No. M3 to its intersection with Glenn County Road No. 308, then east along the south side of Glenn County Road No. 308 to its intersection with the Forest Boundary, then south, west, and north along the entirety of the remaining Forest Boundary back to its starting point, as shown in Exhibits A and B.
The area is closed due to fire suppression and rehabilitation activities that create a hazard to the public, including the use of heavy equipment, the falling of hazard trees weakened by the fire and the construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance of fuels breaks.
The closure will remain in place until hazards to the public are diminished. Forest Order No. 08-18-14 supersedes Order No. 08-18-13 dated Aug. 3, 2018.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Fire and law enforcement officials held a brief press conference late Monday to address the death of a firefighter on the lines of the Mendocino Complex earlier in the day.
Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, which hold unified command on the complex, were joined by other officials including Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman and Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin at the Ukiah command center.
During the three-minute press conference, officials confirmed the death of a male firefighter from Utah while working on an active portion of the Ranch fire, the largest of the two fires in the Mendocino Complex.
The Ranch fire on Monday night reached 300,970 acres; the overall complex has burned 349,890 acres, Cal Fire reported.
Radio reports from the Ranch fire lines on Monday evening stated that a male firefighter was injured by a falling tree shortly before 5:30 p.m., as Lake County News has reported.
A medivac unit was directed to respond to Drop Point 15, located several miles southwest of Lake Pillsbury, to pick up the firefighter, who was unconscious. Other fire personnel did cardiopulmonary resuscitation in order to revive him, according to radio reports.
Fire officials on Monday night did not offer any details about the incident location or precisely what occurred.
“There’s a lot of information that’s still being learned as we go through this tragedy,” said Cal Fire spokesman Jeremy Rahn.
Chief Sean Kavanaugh of Cal Fire Incident Management Team 2 confirmed that the firefighter was airlifted to a local hospital, where he died of his injuries.
“We are extremely heartbroken for this loss,” said Kavanaugh, who added, “We are dedicated to investigating what happened.”
He said they are mourning their fellow firefighter’s loss as they continue to battle California’s largest wildland fire, which is burning in extremely steep and remote terrain.
Allman reminded community members that there are areas of the fire that are under mandatory evacuation – and are very dangerous – where some people haven’t yet left.
He urged everyone to heed those mandatory evacuation orders, adding, “If this could happen to a firefighter, it certainly could happen to citizens.”
“Today’s events are definitely a tragedy. They’re not expected, they’re not wanted, but they’re a stark reminder of how dangerous this career is,” said Martin, who thanked firefighters for their efforts.
Two other firefighters had previously been injured while working on the Mendocino Complex, according to Cal Fire.
The 2018 fire season has been a deadly one for firefighters and heavy equipment operators. The Monday death on the Mendocino Complex is added to two firefighters who died on the Ferguson fire, a firefighter and equipment operator killed by the Carr fire, and the death last week of Cal Fire mechanic Andrew Brake of Chico, assigned to the Carr fire, who died in a vehicle crash, as Lake County News has reported.
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.
This story has been updated with an statement from Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A firefighter has died after sustaining injuries while battling the Ranch fire on the Mendocino Complex.
Cal Fire confirmed the firefighter death to Lake County News Monday evening.
In addition to the Monday fatality, two other firefighters previously were reported to have been injured on the complex, which began on July 27 and is now the largest wildland fire incident in California history, officials said.
According to radio reports, the firefighter was fatally injured on the Ranch fire portion of the Mendocino Complex, where in recent days crews have been engaged in a pitched battle to stop the fire and keep it from burning structures near Lake Pillsbury and advancing further into the Mendocino National Forest.
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday, radio transmissions from the scene stated that a male firefighter had been hit by a tree and immediate medical assistance was needed.
Minutes later, the man was reported to be unconscious, with personnel doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
The exact location of where the man was injured was not stated over the radio, but medivac units were requested to Drop Point 15, located about six miles southwest of Lake Pillsbury, according to radio reports.
Retardant drops also were requested to stop in the area at around 5:40 p.m.
Radio feed traffic then abruptly cut out.
Cal Fire said additional information was not available early Monday evening on the incident, and the firefighter’s name has not yet been released.
In a statement issued just before 7:30 p.m., fire officials said the following: The Mendocino Complex Unified Incident Commanders from Cal Fire, and the United States Forest Service are deeply saddened to report the death of a firefighter on the Mendocino Complex. Fact finding on the accident is ongoing and notification of the next of kin is in Progress.”
Officials said more information will be released as it becomes available.
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.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said this week that it has joined with other agencies to investigate a series of fires reported in the same day near Covelo earlier this month.
Lt. Shannon Barney said that on Aug. 5 the agency was advised of 15 separate fires that started north of the town of Covelo in the valley floor of Round Valley.
At the time these fires were reported, Barney said there was a heightened awareness of fire danger due to several ongoing incidents, including the Eel Fire, east of Covelo in the Mendocino National Forest, and the Mendocino Complex, composed of the River and Ranch fires, that began in Mendocino County before moving into Lake County.
Barney said that, due to the large number of fires that started in a relative short time frame – between noon and 3 p.m. – the community was naturally alarmed.
Five of these fires were started opposite the Round Valley Tribal Gas Station and Store on Highway 162, nine were started along Crawford and Refuse Roads, and one was started near the intersection of Biggar Lane and Highway 162, Barney said.
While no residences were lost, Barney said one of these fires destroyed a large amount of wooden fencing and threatened numerous homes and outbuildings.
Barney said that rumors began to circulate within the community about a possible active arsonist, and a potential suspect was named and described as having been in a vehicle in the area where two of the fires were started.
In an effort to address the community's concerns, Barney said the Mendocino County Sheriff's Patrol Division, the detectives division, Covelo Volunteer Fire Department and Cal Fire personnel initiated an investigation into the possible cause and origin of the fires.
A video surveillance system revealed the person who had been named as a possible suspect had a similar vehicle but was found to not have the same vehicle that had been seen in the immediate area, Barney said.
This person was contacted and interviewed, and denied any involvement in starting of any fires. Barney said this individual fully cooperated with law enforcement during this investigation.
In viewing surveillance tapes, authorities identified a second vehicle and contacted the owner, Barney said.
Barney said this person had been towing a recently acquired trailer and admitted to having driven the same routes in the immediate time frames as all the fires having started. An examination of the vehicle tow chains showed significant wear from "dragging" on the ground.
A Cal Fire fire investigator was consulted and agreed the starts appeared to be consistent with a chain dragging behind a trailer and did not appear to be fires that were intentionally set, according to Barney.
Barney said the case has been closed as accidental and will be handled in a noncriminal manner.
The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office reminds the public that we are facing extreme fire behavior, with firefighters on the lines of many large fires and resources stretched thin.
The public is encouraged to use all precautions to limit the potential fire threats from daily activities.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Mendocino Complex continued on its destructive path on Monday, claiming the life of a firefighter on the Ranch fire and burning structures near Lake Pillsbury.
Cal Fire said the Mendocino Complex had burned 349,890 acres and was 68 percent contained on Monday night after having burned for two and a half weeks. It is the largest wildland fire incident in state history.
While the River fire reached 100-percent containment at 48,920 acres on Monday evening, the Ranch fire remained volatile, rising to 300,970 acres with containment at 59 percent, Cal Fire said.
As of Monday morning, the Ranch fire had burned 56 percent of the Mendocino Forest in Lake County, according to forest spokeswoman Punky Moore.
The Ranch fire also claimed a life on Monday, with Cal Fire confirming the death of a male firefighter from Utah, as Lake County News has reported. The firefighter’s name has not been released.
Radio reports indicated the man was fatally injured after being struck by a falling tree while working on the Ranch fire early Monday evening.
The fire has been destructive in other ways. In property terms, the fire has destroyed 146 residences homes and 118 other structures, and damaged 13 homes and 24 other residences.
That count doesn’t appear to include additional structures that were reported destroyed in the Rice Fork area late Monday afternoon, according to radio reports.
Cal Fire said fire crews conducted successful operations on the far west side of the Ranch fire on Monday, tying in containment lines south of the Eel River.
Fire crews will continue to protect the southern areas of Lake Pillsbury along with prepping and protecting the Rice Fork summer homes, Cal Fire said.
On the northeast side of the fire, Cal Fire said crews will work to burn out fuel in order to keep the fire south of the Stonyford area.
The south side of the fire has had no significant events and remains in a suppression repair status with patrol, Cal Fire reported.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Mendocino Complex continues to show little sign of slowing, as overnight it burned 8,000 more acres and pushed further into public lands to the north.
Cal Fire’s Monday report put the complex’s overall size at 344,890 acres with containment having rolled back a few percentage points to 68 percent. More than 3,200 firefighters – including some from Australia as well as active duty military firefighters – remain assisted to the incident.
The complex began on July 27 in Mendocino County. Within days it had moved into Lake County, where it has done most of the damage and burned most of its acreage. It also is burning in western Colusa County, and overnight the Ranch fire portion moved into the southwestern edge of Glenn County.
The River fire near Lakeport hasn’t grown in size in some time; it remains at 48,920 acres and 93 percent containment. Officials said patrolling and suppression repair continue in that area of the complex.
The story is different on the Ranch fire, which burned all of the additional 8,000 acres overnight to reach 295,970 acres. Cal Fire said the Ranch fire’s containment also slipped three percentage points, to 59 percent.
The damage assessment records 265 destroyed structures – 147 residences and 118 other buildings. In addition, 36 structures – 13 residents and 23 other buildings – have been damaged, Cal Fire said.
With minimal humidity recovery during nighttime operations the Ranch Fire was very active in its northwest corner, continuing to burn towards Lake Pillsbury. As the fire moves in this direction, fire crews in and around the surrounding areas of Lake Pillsbury are preparing and defending structures, according to Cal Fire.
On the northeast side of the fire, Cal Fire said fire crews are still working on bringing the Ranch fire below and west of Lodoga Stonyford Road and back into the Mendocino National Forest. Dozer lines along with contingency dozer lines will continue to be put in and improved.
The U.S. Forest Service is in joint command with Cal Fire on the incident. Mendocino National Forest spokeswoman Punky Moore said the Ranch fire grew 13,000 acres in the 24-hour period ending Monday morning; for perspective, the fire had grown by 6,000 acres in the previous 24-hour period.
Moore said that on Sunday, the fire crossed the dozer line along McLeod Ridge and moved toward Rice Fork summer homes and Lake Pillsbury. This area remains under a mandatory evacuation order.
She said firefighters worked through the night and held the fire along the Eel River. Firefighters burned off the dozer line along Gilmore Ridge and north through the 2012 Mill fire scar toward Davis Flat. The operation went well and the line is holding.
On Monday, fire crews are patrolling and providing structure defense in the Rice Fork homes and Pillsbury Lake areas and working to hold the fire at the Eel River.
Firefighters will hold and patrol the dozer line along Gilmore Ridge and north toward Davis Flat, which Moore said is to secure the fire’s northeast corner to keep the fire west of Stonyford and Century Ranch.
Construction of a contingency dozer line along Noel Springs Ridge and Bushy Camp Ridge will continue, as will work on constructing a contingency line west of Stonyford to Black Diamond Ridge, Moore said.
She said firefighters are improving the roads around the northern and western edges of the Pine Mountain Project to keep the fire east of Potter Valley. Crews will improve the contingency dozer line around Potter Valley.
Moore said there are many areas that the fire has burned through that are extremely important to many people; one example is Letts Lake. When it is safe to do so, these areas will be assessed and the information made available to the public.
For those impacted by the fire, a local assistance center is open in Lucerne through Friday, Aug. 17.
The center is located at Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The county of Lake reported that a wide array of services are available, with many organizations on site to offer help for everything from food replacement to medical care access, animal-related issues, debris removal, replacing vital documents and requesting assistance with insurance.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Utah officials have identified the veteran firefighter who died while fighting the Mendocino Complex’s Ranch fire on Monday evening.
During a Tuesday morning press conference in Draper City, Utah, Mayor Troy Walker said Draper City Fire Department Battalion Chief Matthew Burchett, 42, lost his life while on the fire lines of the complex.
Walker, flanked by city fire, police and administrative staff, explained that Draper – a city of about 42,000 located in Salt Lake and Utah counties – sent a team of five firefighters, including Burchett, to California on Aug. 2.
“The team has worked tirelessly to protect lives and property,” Walker said.
He added of Burchett, “The entire community of Draper is grieving his loss.”
Chief Burchett joined Draper City Fire in May of this year after having spent 20 years working for the Greater Salt Lake Unified Fire Authority. He had extensive experience with both wildland and structure fires, Walker said.
Walker said Burchett leaves behind a wife and a young son.
He said Burchett’s death is a loss for fire departments across the nation.
Walker said he did not have much information on the incident that fatally injured Burchett on Monday evening.
Cal Fire also has not released any details about the incident, which Monday evening radio reports said had involved Burchett being hit by a falling tree, as Lake County News has reported.
Cal Fire officials said during a brief Monday night press conference that Burchett had been airlifted to a local hospital, where he died.
Fellow Draper City Battalion Chief Bart Vawdrey said he had known Burchett for a long time, and noted that Burchett had jumped at the chance to go to California to assist with fighting the fires.
Complex shows no sign of slowing
On Tuesday morning, the Mendocino Complex reached 354,410 acres and 68-percent containment, growing another 10,000 acres in 24 hours, fire officials said.
All of that growth has been on the Ranch fire, the active portion of the complex where Burchett was working when he was mortally injured. The Ranch fire as of Tuesday morning was 305,490 acres and 68-percent contained.
The River fire, at 48,920 acres, was fully contained on Monday, Cal Fire said.
The complex has destroyed 265 structures, more than half of them homes, and damaged another 36 buildings.
It also has injured two other firefighters, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire has the complex listed as the largest wildland fire incident in state history. The Ranch fire alone is the largest single wildland fire on record, surpassing the December Thomas fire by more than 20,000 acres.
Burchett was part of a firefighting force of thousands who came not just from around California and the nation, but from other countries – including Australia and New Zealand. Some 200 active duty military firefighters from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion are on the fire lines, officials reported.
Walker said Tuesday that Draper officials expect to have more information in the coming days regarding services and a donation fund for Burchett’s family.
On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Jerry Brown honored Burchett for his sacrifice.
“Firefighters from across the nation – and world – have selflessly battled California’s massive wildfires, and sadly today we mourn the loss of one of those heroes from Draper, Utah, Chief Matthew Burchett. Our hearts ache for his wife and young son, family members, loved ones, colleagues with the Draper City Fire Department and the entire state of Utah,” Brown said in a statement.
In honor of Chief Burchett, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff, the governor said.
Gov. Brown has ordered similar honors this summer for six other firefighters and first responders who have lost their lives in the state’s wildland fires. They are listed below.
Cal Fire Heavy Equipment Operator Braden Varney, 36, of Modesto: Died Saturday, July 14, while fighting the Ferguson Fire on the Sierra National Forest. He was a second generation Cal Fire employee and 10-year veteran of Cal Fire.
Redding Fire Prevention Inspector Jeremiah "Jeremy" Stoke, 37, of Redding: Died Thursday, July 26, while working to ensure the residents of west Redding had a chance to escape the flames. He began his firefighting career 17 years ago and was a 14-year veteran of the City of Redding Fire Department.
Bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, 81, of Pollock Pines: Died Thursday, July 26, while working to contain the Carr fire in Redding.
National Park Service Fire Captain Brian Hughes, 33, of Squaw Valley: Died Sunday, July 29, when he was struck by a tree while fighting the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park. Hughes was a Fire Captain of the Arrowhead Interagency Hotshots out of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. apprentice lineman Jairus Ayeta, 21, of Santa Rosa: Died Saturday, Aug. 6, in a vehicle crash while working to restore power in the Carr fire area in western Shasta County.
Cal Fire Heavy Equipment Mechanic Andrew Brake, 40 of Chico: Died Thursday, Aug. 9, in a single vehicle crash while on his way to work on the Carr fire burning in Shasta and Trinity counties. He is a six-year veteran of Cal Fire.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While California experiences another destructive fire season, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection announced that more than $170 million has been awarded in grants to prevent catastrophic wildfires, like the Carr Fire and Mendocino Complex, and restore forest health.
More than 100 agencies and organizations across California will receive funding to help the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions from wildfires and sequester carbon.
State Sen. Mike McGuire said $26 million in grants will come to North Coast communities.
Two Lake County organizations are among the grant recipients, according to the Cal Fire list.
Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association will receive $216,869 for fuel reduction.
Heart Consciousness Church, also known as Harbin Hot Springs, will receive a $469,000 grant for a project to address severe fire remediation challenges created by the 2015 Valley Fire, which destroyed the popular resort.
With the participation of multiple landowners, agencies and professional foresters, the project will restore forest health over 450 acres of the Upper Putah Creek watershed. It will use a wide range of management activities to promote the long-term storage of carbon in forest trees and soil and to minimize the loss of forest carbon from another wildfire and thereby reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“California is facing a new normal – the size and scope of wildland fires are getting worse. These grants will better prepare and protect the North Coast by reducing hazardous fuels, removing dead and dying trees and helping communities with fire planning,” Sen. Mike McGuire said. “With nearly 1 million acres burned so far this year, these mega-fires have proven deadly and extremely destructive and have also released countless tons of carbon into our atmosphere. The safety of our communities depends on programs like these being implemented across the state.”
With funds provided by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for California Climate Investments, or CCI, Cal Fire awarded 142 fire prevention grants totaling $79.7 million and 23 forest health projects totaling $91.5 million.
The Fire Prevention grants will enable local organizations like fire safe councils, to implement activities that address the risk of wildfire and reduce wildfire potential to communities and forests.
Funded activities include hazardous fuel reduction, fire planning, and fire prevention education with an emphasis on improving public health and safety, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“California continues to invest millions of dollars into creating healthier, more resilient forests that benefit all of us,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director and California’s state forester. “Already this year more than 700,000 acres have burned across the state creating significant carbon releases that counter our efforts at reducing greenhouse gases. Local projects funded by this money will prevent wildfires before they start, and when combined with our fire prevention activities, will help move us toward our greenhouse gas reduction goals.”
Cal Fire’s Forest Health grants were distributed to non-profits and local and state resource agencies to implement collaborative projects that extend across multiple land ownerships.
These projects seek to improve water quality, manage forest pests, and increase the use of tools such as prescribed fire and hazardous fuels reduction to create resiliency in California’s forests. Multiple projects include a bioenergy component – turning trees killed by drought and bark beetles into energy.
Five of the Forest Health grants will enable the purchase of conservation easements under Cal Fire’s Forest Legacy Program.
These grants will protect more than 14,000 acres of forestland in Humboldt and Sonoma counties from urban and agricultural development which would increase greenhouse gas emissions.
To date, Cal Fire’s Forest Legacy Program has conserved nearly 111,996 acres of working forest lands in California.
The 165 grants were made possible by proceeds from California’s cap-and-trade program to combat climate change.
Through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Cal Fire and other state agencies are investing in projects that directly reduce greenhouse gases while providing a wide range of additional benefits in California communities.
This May, Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the creation of the Forest Management Task Force to address the issue of the health of California’s forests, which have been adversely impacted by drought and climate change.
The task force, which has met twice, is working to facilitate strategies to reduce risk of wildfire and increase the pace and scale of forest restoration activities leading to improved watersheds.
A list of the North Coast grantees follows.
FIRE PREVENTION GRANTS
Humboldt County
University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Cooperative Extension, fire prevention education, $286,689
Lake County
Seigler Springs Community Redevelopment Association, fuel reduction, $216,869
Sonoma County
Mayacamas Fire Safe Council, fire prevention education, $5,000
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Three structures were reported to have been burned in a Sunday evening fire in a Clearlake neighborhood.
The fire in the 3300 block of Brown Street near Turner Avenue was first reported just before 7 p.m. Sunday.
Lake County Fire Protection District firefighters who arrived on scene just minutes after dispatch found multiple structures threatened, as well as fencing, boats and vehicles, according to reports from the scene.
Minutes later, radio reports indicated that two structures were fully involved and propane tanks were going off.
Cal Fire was asked to send resources, with a full wildland dispatch of five engines requested a short time later due to concerns about the fire spreading into vegetation, according to incident command. Cal Fire’s response included a strike team from the Ranch fire.
Just before 7:20 p.m., incident command reported stopping the fire’s progress into wildland, and canceled the two dozers and two crews that had been requested, but engines were asked to continue in.
Power lines also were reported to be down at the scene, and incident command stated problems with water supply.
Forward progress on the fire was stopped just before 7:45 p.m., when it was reported that several hours of mop up would be needed.
Incident command also requested dispatch notify the water company of several hours of high water flow in an effort to cool the outgassing propane tanks on the scene.
In response to the fire, the Clearlake Police Department issued a mandatory evacuation order for Grey, Brown and Amber streets from Olympic Drive to Bowers Avenue just before 7:25 p.m. That evacuation was called off at 10 p.m.
Incident command confirmed from the scene that three structures in total burned.
Mop up was still under way early Monday morning, and a Clearlake Police unit was asked to come to the scene just after 12:30 a.m. to take a further report on the fire, according to radio reports.
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.