COBB, Calif. – Cobb residents packed the Cobb Elementary School on Monday night to hear a number of agencies and organizations discuss the issue of tree removal following the Valley fire.
County Supervisor Rob Brown hosted the event, which was intended to discuss the reasons for removing thousands of trees in the 76,067-acre fire area.
He said the forest is one of the single most important reasons why many people chose to live on Cobb.
Brown opened the meeting before inviting the representatives of various organizations to address the group.
Below is a list of speakers and the times in the video when they spoke, as well as their topics:
– Cal Fire Assistant Chief Jim Wright, 5:34: Tree health and reasons for removing trees.
– Phil Frisbie, public information officer, Caltrans District 1, 19:30: Caltrans' role in tree removal.
– Carl Schoenhofer, Pacific Gas and Electric senior division manager, 52:44: PG&E and the hazardous tree removal process, protection of power facilities.
– Rob Brown and other officials, 56:35: Explaining the “x” marks on the trees, removing felled trees from lots that are in the way of the cleanup.
– Korinn Woodard, district conservationist, United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Services, 1:10:40: Tree cleanup programs.
– Greg Giusti, University of California Cooperative Extension director and advisor for forests and wildland ecology in Lake and Mendocino counties, 1:13:13: The reforestation process.
– General questions and answers: 1:54:55 to the end of the meeting, 2:34:50.
LUCERNE, Calif. – On Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m., Marymount California Lakeside Campus at “The Castle” in Lucerne will host a panel discussion related to the current Lake County Big Read focus on the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Big Read coordinator Robin Fogel-Shrive commented on “how fortunate we are to have such a panel of dignitaries to make the connections between race relations as depicted in Mockingbird and the recently released Go Set a Watchman with the subsequent Civil Rights Movement as well as current issues.”
Prior to the panel, at 4 p.m., Marymount Executive Director Michelle Scully will lead a tour of the facility and answer questions about admissions and curriculum for all High School students and parents in attendance.
Moderator of the panel will be Tallman Hotel owner and Big Read committee member Bernie Butcher.
“I know the panel members well,” said Butcher, “and they’re all lively speakers with unique perspectives on the subject.”
Speakers include:
– Stanford University Professor of History Emeritus David M. Kennedy. Kennedy has focused on 20th Century U. S. History and won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for his major work “Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War.” He is also co-author of the most widely used AP U. S. History textbook “American Pageant.”
– U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup. Alsup grew up in Mississippi in the 1950s and 1960s, graduating from Mississippi State University in 1967. After Harvard Law School, Alsup clerked for liberal Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. He practiced law in San Francisco before being confirmed by the Senate as a District Court Judge in 1999.
– Well-known Kelseyville Attorney Peter Windrem. Windrem grew up in Lake County and was attending the University of the Pacific in Stockton when he became involved in the southern civil rights movement in the 1960s. He subsequently earned his J. D. Degree at the University of Virginia before returning to practice in Lake County.
– Christopher Veach, director of the Lake County Libraries, is a sponsor of the October Big Read Program. “Especially with the controversy surrounding the recently released manuscript by Harper Lee, 'Go Set a Watchman,' this is a perfect time to explore both the literary and historical significance of 'Mockingbird,'” he said. “This panel should be both interesting and informative.”
The next evening, on Saturday, Oct. 24, the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake will host a “Mockingbird”-themed mystery dinner based on an original script by Bert and Christine Hutt of MurderUs Productions in Lakeport.
Participants, who are encouraged to wear 1930s costume, will meet for cocktails in the Blue Wing Restaurant before proceeding to solve the mystery over a three-course dinner in the Tallman Dining Room.
Details about the panel may be obtained by contacting Bernie Butcher at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-245-0041.
For the mystery dinner please contact the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The work of getting the vast number of donations into the hands of thousands of Valley fire survivors is expanding this week, with many dedicated individuals laboring behind the scenes to make sure that those whose lives were hit hardest by the fire get the help they need.
This week, a partnership that includes Adventist Community Services, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the county of Lake will open two distribution points – both in Lakeport – with plans for another as-yet unannounced location in Hidden Valley Lake and another location currently being offered in Cobb.
On Monday, a storefront will open at 857 11th St., in the former Sears retail space in the Willow Tree Plaza behind Round Table Pizza in Lakeport, which will be overseen by Adventist Community Services.
Offered will be clothing for all ages, bedding and towels, food, hygiene products, cleaning supplies, housewares, water and more.
The 7,000-square-foot space is set up like a store, and fire survivors will be able to pick up what they need – for free – after presenting identification and proof of address, according to Seth Cantu, a member of the pastoral team at Upper Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church, who is one of the tireless individuals involved in getting distribution points open.
Hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, Cantu said.
Next to Lampson Airport in Lakeport is the 66,000-square-foot Work Right building, located at 4615 Work Right Circle, which has served as the hub for receiving donations collected by organizations in Lake and neighboring counties.
The Work Right building also will officially open as a distribution point on Wednesday, according to Lori Thornton, a local member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose efforts secured the space.
Thornton said the hours at the Work Right building will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily or by appointment.
Thornton said Sunday that the Little Red Schoolhouse, located at 15780 Bottle Rock Road in Cobb, also is acting as a distribution point for donations, with work under way to confirm a Hidden Valley Lake location.
Since the fire broke out on Sept. 12, donations have poured in – not just from other county residents, but from other parts of California and from across the United States.
This past week, the county of Lake announced that it would no longer take donations of clothing or personal items, but instead was asking people to consider donating money to a number of local funds that have been set up for that purpose.
Deputy County Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said donations have come in from the lower 48 states, and while that generosity has been heartwarming, the sheer quantity of items has created a logistical challenge as officials have looked for sufficient space to warehouse, organize and sort the items.
The Work Right building's vast warehouse space is almost entirely filled by just a portion of the donations. “I have enough stuff waiting in semi trucks and conex boxes to fill another one of those,” Rein said.
Thornton said the Mormon Church didn't start its own effort after the fire began, but instead joined the Adventists and the Kelseyville Lions Club.
When it became clear that more warehouse space was needed, she reached out to the Work Right building's owner, Ed Olsen, who drove up from the Bay Area on Sept. 27, the day after she contacted him, and gave her the keys to the building for an initial six-month commitment. Free of charge.
“When we took over that warehouse, that became the hub,” said Cantu.
Rein said the building subsequently became the receiving point for donations collected by organizations including the Middletown and Cobb Lions clubs, Middletown Bible Church, United Christian Parish and Clearlake Methodist Church.
Cantu said donations came in from other places, too, including the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, which sent 626 pear bins filled with items; the Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, which had been an evacuation shelter; and Bushay Campground at Lake Mendocino, which also had given space to evacuees.
Rein credited both Adventist Community Services and the Mormon Church for their work to put order to the near chaos created by the avalanche of donations, which are now being sorted and rolled out to the distribution points. “We didn't know what we had,” Rein said.
Rein said the Federal Emergency Managing Agency, or FEMA, which is involved in the fire response due to President Barack Obama's Sept. 22 presidential major disaster declaration, looks to the Adventist Community Services for donations management. “That is their area of expertise.”
Charlene Sargent of Adventist Community Services, who oversaw donations for Hurricane Katrina, came to Lake County to help get the situation sorted out, with organization improving vastly within 24 hours, Rein said.
He said the Mormon Church members and four crews of California Conservation Corps members – about 72 young people – began the sorting process.
Cantu said that in two 12-hours shifts, with 50 people working on each shift, they managed to get things in order. He said new processes for accepting and sorting items were put in place to help get ahead of the disorganization that was in place at the warehouse at first.
“It was indescribable,” he said.
Cantu explained that in the 1970s a number of major mass care groups got together and chose specialty niches when responding to disasters.
Red Cross chose sheltering, the Baptist and Methodists churches became providers of top notch food pantries, and the Adventists chose donation allocation, including distribution and warehousing, he said. “That's what we train on.”
Since then, the organization has worked on major disasters, like hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, he said.
Preparing to open the doors
Cantu stepped up into his current role when the Lakeport Seventh-day Adventist Church became an evacuation shelter, donation and distribution point after the fire started.
He said they housed about 50 people but had room for many more, and he found himself in a leadership role when he went to Randy Brehms, pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist churches in Lakeport and Upper Lake, and suggested that the church's evacuation, distribution and warehousing operations could be run differently.
The result: Cantu said he was “voluntold” – a new word he's created – to take charge. He's since worked up to 20 hours a day for a month, getting little rest and seeing his wife and young children very little of the time.
“I miss my pillow,” Cantu said.
He said he's gotten training on the job, and that the experience, though tiring, has been wonderful. “I've truly appreciated the opportunity to serve the people.”
Said Brehms, “He is amazing.”
On Sunday afternoon, at the Lakeport storefront, Cantu, along with Brehms and a host of volunteers were busily moving racks of clothing, setting up displays for other goods and arranging the 5,000-square-foot showroom floor.
“We have a lot to do in a short amount of time,” said Cantu as he directed the volunteers on where to set up items and showed off the stocked space in the back part of the building.
The building space has been donated, Pacific Gas and Electric is providing electricity without charge and other organizations – like UPS – have offered services at no charge, Cantu said.
Brehms, who has been in the ministry for more than three decades, said he's personally never been involved in such a disaster response project.
“This really is what the church is supposed to be doing,” said Brehms.
He said the Adventists, United Christian Parish, Mormon Church and other faith groups have worked well together, noting he's been impressed with the level of cooperation.
Brehms pointed out that there is more to do than any one church organization can take on, comparing the situation to trying to take a drink out of a firehose.
With the forecast calling for a wet winter, Brehms is concerned about the potential for other emergencies ahead. “This is just a prelude of what's coming next.”
A family effort
At the Work Right building on Sunday afternoon, Thornton and her family – husband, Gene, son Patrick and his wife, Sharon – were working alongside a team of California Conservation Corps members on the ongoing organizational project.
Still to be sorted is what everyone involved with the warehouse calls “Mount St. Moose” – the stacks of hundreds of pear bins containing the Moose Lodge donations.
The Thorntons also were getting everything in order so that they can be open on Wednesday for distribution.
Part of their ongoing efforts also include moving goods out to the other distribution points in Lakeport and Cobb.
“We've got to get this stuff out of here now,” Lori Thornton said. “It's a big push.”
One of the needs is for household goods like furniture. She said they've already been working to try to get furniture to the survivors who need it.
Thornton estimates she walks five miles a day back and forth through the vast warehouse, which looks smaller now thanks to all that it contains.
Taking another turn through the warehouse Sunday afternoon, Thornton – pointing to the hundreds of shrink-wrapped pallets of sorted goods, as well as the boxes and bins that still need to be sorted – said, “All of this stuff here belongs to fire survivors.”
She said they are working to be good stewards of all of the donations.
Both she and Cantu noted the incredible generosity they've seen. Thornton said one man drove all the way from Los Angeles with a load of donations.
How you can help
The donation distribution facilities need volunteers in order to keep doors open and goods moving out to those who need it.
To volunteer at the Lakeport storefront, visit the location at 857 11th St. and fill out a volunteer application.
To help at the Work Right distribution center, contact Lori Thornton at 707-349-0849. Those needing to arrange to pick up goods at the center also can contact Thornton.
The Thorntons said there are specific items needed at the Work Right distribution center, including five-gallon buckets, hand tools, shovels and rakes, and tarps.
They also are seeking donations of RVs, as they reported some people on Cobb are still living in tents.
For people who still have goods like clothes that they want to donate, Cantu urges them to hold yard sales and donate the money, as the centers are no longer taking donations of any clothing items.
Officials continue to encourage people who want to help to make monetary donations through local organizations, including following:
– Mendo Lake Credit Union and North Coast Opportunities: Payments may be made online at www.LakeCountyLAC.com or checks may be made out to Mendo Lake Credit Union or North Coast Opportunities with a memo for Valley fire and mailed to the following branch locations: 14866 Olympic Drive, Clearlake, CA 95422; 953 11th Street, Lakeport, CA 95453; 526 S State Street, Ukiah, CA 94582.
– Redwood Credit Union: Donate online at www.redwoodcu.org/lakecountyfirevictims or mail a check payable to Redwood Credit Union to RCU Lake County Fire Relief, c/o Redwood Credit Union, P.O. Box 6104,Santa Rosa, CA 95406.
– Lake Area Rotary Club Association: Donate online at www.larca5130.org or mail your donation to LARCA, c/o Lakeport Rotary Valley Fire Relief Fund, P.O. Box 937, Lakeport, CA 95453, nonprofit tax ID # 46-1149482.
– Middletown Area Merchants Association: Donations can be sent directly to Tri Counties Bank, 707-987-3196, Routing No. 121135045, Account No. 238008098; or send checks made out to the MAMA Valley Fire Recovery Fund and mailed to the association, P.O. Box 872, Middletown, CA 95461.
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.
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – In response to the devastating Valley fire in Lake, Napa and Sonoma sounties, Larkmead Vineyards of Calistoga is raising $50,000 for those affected by the fire by matching up to $25,000 in donations to the Valley Fire Relief Fund.
More than $20,000 has been donated by supporting individuals so far, and with Larkmead’s matching, the total is now over $40,000.
They hope to reach their goal of $50,000 by the end of the month.
“So many businesses and homes have been destroyed by this brutal catastrophe,” owner Cam Baker said. “We feel it is our responsibility as a neighbor and member of the community to come together and do what we can to help. Over 1,400 homes have burned and so many people have lost their place of employment and their jobs. We want to help our friends and families in Lake County in this time of great need.”
The Valley Fire Relief Fund is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit and is channeling funds to two primary organizations.
The Up Valley Family Center provides immediate aid to families who are struggling with large bills such as mortgages, utilities and car payments as well as providing funds for urgent daily needs such as food, diapers and toiletries in the form of gift cards.
The Rotary of Middletown will also receive money to help aid families who were renting with no insurance and suffered severe losses.
If you would like to make a donation that will be part of the Larkmead Vineyards match, please send a check to Larkmead Vineyards (note Larkmead Match) at 1100 Larkmead Lane, Calistoga, CA 94515, care of Amy Rushforth or to the Calistoga Chamber of Commerce at 133 Washington Street, Calistoga, CA 94515.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – There is still time to nominate a special individual, business or organization for the Stars of Lake County Community Awards.
Organizers said the deadline for Stars nominations has been extended to this Friday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m.
Nominations postmarked by that date also will be accepted.
There are several categories for which there have been no nominations. Organizers ask community members to review the list of nominees below and consider nominating a person, organization or business that deserves recognition for their efforts on behalf of their communities.
To date, Stars of Lake County has acknowledged more than 1,750 entities throughout Lake County.
The 18th annual Stars of Lake County will be held on Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Soper Reese Theatre.
Tickets are on sale now. All seats are reserved and cost $25 per person.
Contact the Lake County Chamber at 707-263-5092 for tickets or stop by the office at 875 Lakeport Blvd. at Vista Point. Every nominee will receive two free tickets.
The reception will be catered by The Lodge at Blue Lakes beginning at 5 p.m. and the awards ceremony begins at 6:15 p.m. There will be a no host bar.
Current nominees are listed below.
1. Marla Ruzicka Humanitarian of the Year (Sponsored by Cliff and Nancy Ruzicka):
– No nominations.
2. Senior of the Year (Sponsored by Westamerica Bank):
– Gene Paleno, Lakeport.
3. Volunteer of the Year (Sponsored by Sutter Lakeside Hospital):
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Calico and tabby cats are waiting for adoption at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.
The cats are a mix of short and longhair mixes, with four adults and two kittens.
For those looking for lost pets as a result of the Valley fire, visit the Lake County Animal Care and Control Web site, which features additional dogs and cats that officials are looking to reunite with their families.
In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.
If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.
In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .
The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).
Domestic short hair mix
This domestic short hair mix has calico markings.
The cat is in cat room kennel No. 4, ID No. 3755.
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix has a gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he is an older gentleman who has been neutered and is missing some teeth.
He's in cat room kennel No. 34, ID No. 3842.
Domestic short hair mix
This female domestic short hair mix has a coat with calico markings.
She is in cat room kennel No. 35, ID No. 3263.
Domestic longhair mix
This domestic longhair mix cat has a light orange coat.
The cat is in cat room kennel No. 86, ID No. 3843.
Male tabby kitten
This male kitten has a short gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he was found on Foothill Drive in Lucerne.
He's in cat room kennel No. 120a, ID No. 3765.
Male tabby kitten
This male kitten has a short gray tabby coat.
Shelter staff said he was found on Foothill Drive in Lucerne.
Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.
Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.
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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Thanks to a grant, the Historic Courthouse Museum in Lakeport is hosting special events this week in honor of October being California Archaeology Month.
Tony Pierucci, curator of the county's museums, said the Historic Courthouse Museum received the grant from the Society for California Archaeology to help support the museum’s archaeology outreach programs this month.
“We were really happy to get it,” Pierucci said of the grant.
Pierucci said California Archaeology Month is dedicated to the preservation of California’s cultural heritage.
Archaeology is of special importance to Pierucci; he has master's degrees in both archaeology and art history, and has worked on digs at Roman ruins in Jordan and Turkey.
Across the state, different museums, historical societies and libraries are putting on programs for the public to raise awareness of the value of archaeology, he said.
“Only a select number of these programs were awarded grants, and the Historic Courthouse Museum was lucky to be one of them,” Pierucci added.
During the summer, the Society for California Archaeology contacted Pierucci to see if he was interested in having the museum become a local point of contact for events. “We agreed to be one,” he said, adding they have yet to get an assignment, such as speaking to groups.
The society sponsors California Archaeology Month, and gives out between $5,000 and $10,000 in grants in each, Pierucci said.
“Since I started as curator in June I knew I wanted to do something in celebration of California Archaeology Month,” said Pierucci, who pursued – and received – a grant of a few hundred dollars.
While this first grant isn't a lot of money, Pierucci said it was enough to support the museum putting on a few free upcoming events.
The first of the events, a workshop for students, will take place on Thursday and Friday, and is not open to the general public, he said.
Working with sixth grade teachers from Terrace Middle School, Pierucci said the museum will host a mock archaeological excavation in the museum itself.
Over the course of the two-day workshop, 117 students in four sixth grade classes will learn the basics of archaeological excavation, recording and analysis, he said.
He said students will learn about the importance of archaeological context and what it takes to recreate past events.
Pierucci said such a program has never been offered at the museum before.
Archaeology in Lake County recently became a news story due to arrests of individuals who were discovered with looted artifacts.
While Pierucci said the close timing of the museum activities and the looting arrests is a coincidence, he thinks it's an opportunity to approach the topic of archaeology with children, adding that indifference is just as bad as actually going out and looting sites.
Students also will be taught about the importance of leaving artifacts in their context and not picking them up, Pierucci said.
“An arrowhead to us might not be a big deal, but to the living culture of the Pomo here, it's a big deal,” he explained.
The second event, which the community is invited to attend, is the free “Day of Archaeology,” which will include an afternoon of presentations by local archaeologists, Pierucci said.
It will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday in the courtroom upstairs at the Historic Courthouse Museum, on Main Street in downtown Lakeport. Refreshments will be served.
Pierucci said the featured speakers will be Dr. John Parker, who will discuss Lake County's archaeology; Professor Douglas Prather of Mendocino College, who will speak about his recent excavations at a medieval castle in Ireland; and museum Assistant Curator Whitney Petrey will give a presentation on underwater archaeology.
Petrey started her job with the county in August, said Pierucci. She has extensive experience with underwater archaeology. Her professional work includes studying riparian areas in North Carolina and finding World War II plane wrecks in Hawaii.
“We're really excited,” Pierucci said of Saturday event, which he anticipates will be well attended.
“Archaeology in Lake County is really fascinating,” Pierucci said.
He said those who attend will leave with a better understanding of what archaeology is and how it's exercised across different disciplines.
“We're definitely planning on doing something like this annually,” Pierucci said.
He plans to seek a larger grant next year if these new programs are well received, and may also add events at another point in the year as well.
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.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum will present its next “Living History” event on Saturday, Oct. 24.
This will be the final Living History Day for this year. November and December events have been suspended due to the approaching holiday season.
The October event will welcome Phil Smoley, Lake County Historical Society Board member and Civil War aficionado.
Smoley will be available to the public in the Ely main house starting at noon to talk about how the Civil War helped to save Clear Lake.
He will be available until 2 p.m. to visit with guests and answer questions.
The Lake County Historical Society’s Ely Stage Stop & Country Museum is located at 9921 State Highway 281 (Soda Bay Road) in Kelseyville, near Clear Lake Riviera, just north of Highway 29-Kit's Corner.
Current hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.
Living History events are held on the fourth Saturday of each month from noon until 2 p.m.
Fiddlers’ Jams occur the first Sunday of every month, again, from noon until 2 p.m.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – For those community members with horses and other large animals needing help in the wake of the Valley fire, a North Coast nonprofit is continuing its efforts to make sure that animals are fed and their people have the supplies and tack needed in the days ahead.
Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue, or SAFER, is offering assistance in the form of feed for all types of large animals and livestock – horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas – to Lake County residents affected by the Valley fire, and also have expanded that assistance to those impacted by the Rocky and Jerusalem fires before it.
“We just have an enormous amount of hay and feed coming in,” said Kate Sullivan, who founded SAFER in 2007.
There also are bags of food like Equine Senior, and a wide array of donated tack, tools, tarps, some fencing and other supplies, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said they are increasing their local outreach – which has included social media, fliers at locations such as animal hospitals and outreach to groups around the state – to make sure that they have reached everyone who needs their help.
SAFER – also known in Mendocino and Lake counties as North Counties Horse Rescue – had an active presence in Lake County well before the fire, both on the side of animal rescue and assistance for owners trying to afford their horses through economically trying times.
Several years ago, SAFER instituted its “Donate A Bale” program through Rainbow Ag, which offered assistance for horse owners trying to hold onto their animals during the depths of the recession.
The organization joined many other groups from across the region, California and even the nation in offering assistance to impacted animals after the Valley fire began its devastating sweep through southern Lake County on Sept. 12.
Sullivan said SAFER also has assisted victims of the Butte fire, which burned in Amador and Calaveras counties at the same time as the Valley fire.
SAFER has a number of public programs, one being the rescuing of horses directly from auctions, Sullivan said.
On the day the fire started Sullivan was heading home to Sebastopol from the Escalon Auction outside of Modesto with six horses she had purchased after outbidding a notorious meat buyer, and thinking she might take a break for a few days. Then she heard about the fire.
She soon was swinging into action to offer help, calling Jim Mayfield of Rainbow Ag the next day to make adjustments to the Donate A Bale program so that it could also serve evacuees, their horses and livestock.
That night, she followed up by sending out an online request to her extensive network of connections, seeking help for fire victims.
While she couldn't have guessed how enormous the need would be, neither could she nor her group have known how big the response would be.
Working closely with Sullivan is Carleene Cady of Lakeport, an equestrian and a retired nurse practitioner who was employed in a Sonoma County hospital emergency room, and whose multitasking abilities make her just the person for the job, according to Sullivan.
Cady calls the entire experience of working both with fire victims and those who want to help them “truly amazing.”
Help from far and wide
On Sept. 14, Scott Bell at Bell Ranching called Sullivan, wanting to donate a semi load of hay for the fire victims. However, Bell had a short window in which to deliver it, and Sullivan needed a place to store the hay.
She began making phone calls and was pointed toward Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brenna Sullivan, herself an accomplished horsewoman.
By the next day, Brenna Sullivan secured a large shed at Adobe Creek Packing for feed storage. Adobe Creek Controller Shirley Campbell contributed the facility for long-term feed storage.
Other help also started coming in, such as a donation from Rainbow Ag and Purina of 24 pallets of Equine Senior, plus smaller loads from other donors, Kate Sullivan said.
From there, Sullivan said supplies started rolling out to those who needed them.
SAFER now has supply depots in both Kelseyville and Middletown, with fire survivors also able to access help through the Rainbow Ag stores in Lakeport and Ukiah, Sullivan said.
She recognized the ASPCA's equine division for its help, noting the organized quickly granted SAFER $5,500 for horse hay purchases.
Sullivan said North Coast Barns and 7-M Ranch came forward in the Middletown area to participate with SAFER's fire assistance program. She also recognized Kevin Tighe for all his work receiving and dispensing feed as well as his counsel on how best to serve the agriculture community at this time.
“Together we watched and listened anxiously as reports came in of sad losses and miraculous survivals amongst the families impacted by the fires. We are both humbled and delighted to be working with so many folks from all over Northern California who have come forward to help out fellow animal owners. It's a great community,” Sullivan said.
There has been so many offers of help that SAFER had to turn some donations down, Sullivan said.
Sullivan said Cady came on four days into the effort, working seven days a week coordinating the comings and going of more than $150,000 worth of hay, feed and other donations, while also arranging meetings with people at the depots to either take applications for assistance or to receive donations and give tax receipts to donors.
“She's just tireless,” Sullivan said of Cady.
Cady said a lot of hay has been trucked in from the Sacramento Valley. Equine groups like the Shoreline Riders of Fort Bragg have stepped up to offer tack, putting out the call for donations and then driving over from the coast to deliver five Western saddles, three English saddles, saddles pads and bridles.
Only one of the saddles is left, Cady said.
She recalled one woman coming in seeking tack, and when asked what kind of saddle she wanted, she said she was happy with any kind – she just wanted to ride her horse.
For those who have lost everything save their animals, it's the little things that have had great meaning, said Cady.
She said one person came in and picked up a hoof pick to clean their horse's hooves. “You would have thought it was worth $100,” she said of the usually inexpensive item.
Another fire survivor became emotionally overwhelmed when she picked up a set of donated screwdrivers, noting she didn't even have that most basic tool, Cady said.
Cady said other donations have included shovels, tape measures, levels, pliers and duct tape. One person who came in gave an exclamation of delight at finding the duct tape, she said.
“These people have been so wonderful,” she said. “They don't want to take too much.”
The survivors also are optimistic, Cady said, and “are starting to get their feet under them a little bit,” and beginning the process of planning for the future.
“They're phenomenal,” she said.
She's been glad to help, calling it a rewarding but exhausting experience. Returning home after a busy day, she reminds herself that she is in her own house – something that isn't a fact for many of the people she is assisting.
She said those who come in seeking assistance are sharing their stories with her. “When bad things happen, sometimes you need to tell your story over and over,” she said.
Most of the people who have come to SAFER for assistance saved their animals, but then there are heartbreaking cases, like the woman who showed Cady pictures of the horses she lost.
“The people that lost animals, they've all said that was the worst,” beyond loss of houses, Cady said.
It's still not clear just how many large animals and livestock died during the fire or afterward as a result of their injuries. The California Office of Emergency Services reported that in the weeks after the fire, animal carcasses – including more than 100 cattle and five horses – were taken to a rendering plant.
Separately, Sullivan said they've heard of other animals that have died whose owners buried them at home.
Sullivan said that, as of this week, SAFER has fed more than 800 head of surviving cattle, at least 70 of the evacuee foster horses as well as contributing feed to Middletown Animal Hospital and Lake County Animal Care and Control.
“We are still sending horse hay to major evacuation fosters as well as livestock ranches and will continue to do so as necessary,” she said. “We are also aware, however, that the local businesses that supply these folks also need to be supported and we plan to phase out support of those animals whose situations are resolved.”
Sullivan added that, for families who have lost everything, SAFER will be here as long as they are needed to help care for dependent animals while rebuilding takes place.
Cady said they continue to store hay, tack, some fencing and other supplies, with everything kept secure and protected from the weather so it can be available in the months ahead.
In the midst of its Valley fire efforts, SAFER is keeping busy with one of its core tasks – finding homes for horses in need.
Case in point: Remember those six horses that Sullivan rescued the day before the fire? She said they were vetted, trimmed and evaluated by a trainer, and four already have been adopted in the month since they were rescued from the meat buyer at the Escalon Auction.
For those who would like to assist SAFER, money can be donated by calling the Rainbow Ag store in Lakeport at 707-279-0550 and asking for the SAFER Fire Relief Account; a tax receipt will be sent.
To donate goods like hay and horse supplies or to request assistance, call Cady at 707-349-1993. Kate Sullivan can be reached at 707-824-9543.
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.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Among several cases involving allegations of looting during the Valley fire, two have been resolved, one has been dismissed and another is set for preliminary hearing later this year.
District Attorney Don Anderson told Lake County News that among the cases his office reviewed one has been dismissed.
That's the case involving 36-year-old Whispering Pines resident Steven Fredrick Worley, arrested in Cobb on Sept. 14 after a short vehicle pursuit with a sheriff's deputy.
After Worley was stopped the deputy found a number of items in his vehicle, chief among them a safe, Anderson said.
Anderson said his office ultimately chose to dismiss the case, explaining that Worley had permission to possess the safe, which belonged to one of his friends.
Regarding the cases that have been settled, on Oct. 12, one of the felony cases Anderson has handled personally resulted in a plea agreement.
Jeremiah Patrick McGinnis, 25, of Cobb, pleaded to two charges of burglary, Anderson said.
On Sept. 17 McGinnis was arrested in Loch Lomond in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that he had stolen from Lower Lake and painted in an attempt to make it look like a law enforcement vehicle, officials said.
After stopping McGinnis, a sheriff's deputy found in the Jeep items believed to be stolen, including a box of live ammunition, a flat screen television, a DVD player, an air rifle, an air pistol and a drill. Also found in the vehicle was a box of spray paint, a crate filled with aerosol can solvents and a box of matches, authorities said.
Anderson said McGinnis had two victims. McGinnis pleaded guilty to first-degree burglary for burglarizing the home and shed of the first victim, and for the second victim, he pleaded to second-degree burglary for stealing the Jeep from a detached garage.
As a result of the plea agreement, additional – and lesser – charges of being a felon in possession of ammunition, felony vandalism, unauthorized entry into a disaster area and possession of burglary tools were dropped, Anderson said.
When McGinnis is sentenced on Nov. 16, he is expected to get five years in state prison, Anderson said.
Another case that's been resolved is the misdemeanor case involving 26-year-old Royce Sterling Moore of Lakeport, who deputies arrested Sept. 15 as he was trying to get into the Cobb area while in possession of gloves, a black bandanna, a BB gun and a backpack that contained pliers, channel locks and a cordless drill with a grinder wheel attachment, and a methamphetamine smoking pipe.
Anderson said Moore reached an agreement to plead guilty to being in a restricted area during a disaster.
Moore received 75 days in the Lake County Jail, three years' probation that includes a search and seizure clause, and 40 hours of work service, Anderson said.
The last of the cases involves three defendants who were arrested on Sept. 17: Dyami Gene Connell, 23, of Brisbane; Michael James Jimenez, 28, of Brisbane; and 23-year-old David Michael Cesari of San Francisco.
The three men were taken into custody near Hidden Valley Lake after authorities found a full face concealing mask, three pairs of gloves, tools, duct tape, zip ties, numerous key rings with keys, acetone, lighter, headlamps, flashlights, binoculars, empty plastic bags, empty garbage bags, backpack and large knives in their vehicle, the Lake County Sheriff's Office reported.
Cesari also was found with a loaded .40-caliber pistol and magazine hidden in his clothing, authorities said.
Anderson has charged all three with conspiracy. Cesari is charged with having a concealed firearm in his possession, having a concealed firearm in a vehicle, having a loaded firearm in a vehicle, possession of burglary tools and unauthorized entry in a disaster area, and Connell and Jimenez are charged with possession burglary tools and unauthorized entry in a disaster area.
Anderson said all three are set for preliminary hearing on Dec. 2.
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.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Monday morning solo-vehicle crash in Kelseyville resulted in a power outage and an extended road closure, with minor injuries for the driver.
The crash occurred at 7:50 a.m. on Konocti Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said Angela Kania, 30, of Kelseyville, was driving her 2002 Ford Explorer westbound on Konocti Road at an unknown speed with her 10-month-old son in the vehicle.
Kania reported she fell asleep as she was driving, which allowed her vehicle to drift off the north roadway edge and strike a utility pole, Reynolds said.
The force of the crash snapped the pole at its base, causing the pole to fall across both lanes of traffic and causing a power outage in Kelseyville and damage to at least one other utility pole, according to Reynolds.
Reynolds said Kania suffered minor injuries and her son was uninjured in the collision. Kania was wearing a seatbelt and her son was in a child safety seat.
Drugs and alcohol are not suspected in the collision which is still under investigation by Officer Greg Buchholz, Reynolds said.
Konocti Road was closed for several hours but had reopened by mid-afternoon, the CHP reported.
Pacific Gas and Electric's online outage center showed no related outages still in effect by Monday afternoon.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – A central storefront for distributing the Valley fire donations that have poured in from around the country is set to open this week in Lakeport.
The “store” – which actually will offer donated goods at no cost to Valley fire victims – will open on Monday, Oct. 19, in the former Sears retail store at 857 11th St., next to the laundromat behind Round Table Pizza.
The store is being run by Adventist Community Services, according to Seth Cantu, who is a part of the pastoral team at the Upper Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church.
“We'll be open Monday for our first day,” said Cantu.
This week, the store will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday as they work to finalize the schedule and make sure they have volunteers to cover all the hours, Cantu said.
Then, next weekend, regular hours will get fully under way, with the store to be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, Cantu said.
He said Sunday is being added to the schedule so that people who work have a chance to stop in over the weekend.
“In the beginning we really want to be there as often as we can for the people,” he said.
As time goes on, Cantu said survivors' needs will determine opening hours and days.
The 7,000-square-foot building has 5,000 square feet of display space and 2,000 square feet for stocking and sorting, Cantu said.
Cantu said the hub for handling donations – including sorting and storage – is at the Work Right building next to Lampson Airport.
County Deputy Administrative Officer Jeff Rein said the 66,000-square-foot Work Right building is filled with donations that are being sorted and that then will be transferred to the Lakeport storefront for free distribution.
Rein said the county has received donations from all 48 continental states. “As a result, the county has been inundated with donated clothing, personal items, household goods and the like and for the most part, material donations are more than sufficient to meet the need.”
He credited both Adventist Community Services and members of the local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for lending their time and expertise to achieving “significant progress” in organizing the consolidated approach to handling the donations.
Donations that had been collected by other organizations, such as the Clearlake Oaks Moose Lodge, the Middletown and Cobb Lions clubs, Middletown Bible Church, United Christian Parish, Clearlake Methodist Church and many others, are now being directed to the distribution center, according to Rein and Cantu.
When community members impacted by the fire visit the store, they will be asked to present a form of identification, as well as their pre-disaster address, their current address and information about their family, Cantu said.
That information, he said, will be used to help keep track of needs and assist with outreach, as well as ensure that people who need the items get them.
In addition to the Lakeport site, Rein said the county is attempting to find space in Cobb or Middletown – or both – to set up similar distribution points in the south county.
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.