NORTH COAST, Calif. – A control burn on Lake Mendocino's Coyote Valley Dam will take place early next week.

On the evening of Monday, June 13, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in cooperation with Cal Fire will conduct a control burn at the dam from 5 to 9 p.m.

Officials said the smoke will be visible throughout the entire Ukiah and Redwood Valley areas.

The purpose of the control burn is to assist the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in removing the vegetation from the face of the Coyote Valley Dam, allowing access and visibility for a required inspection, officials said.

As a result of the burn, officials said the Coyote Dam and the Fish Hatchery area near the base of the dam will be closed to the public.

The burn will be conducted under very tight restrictions for the personal safety of firefighters and area residents, Cal Fire said, noting that safety is of the utmost concern.

Lake County, Calif. -- Preliminary primary election results for the June 7, 2016 presidential primary elections direct from the Lake County Registrar of voters. These results will be updated as the registrar updates.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Two people were flown to trauma centers on Tuesday following a wreck that involved a car and a dump truck.

The California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at 10:49 a.m. Tuesday on Highway 29 south of Doten Road near Lower Lake.

The CHP said Krista Deluna, 27, of Kelseyville, was driving a 2002 Honda Civic southbound on Highway 29 and was stopped, intending to turn left onto private property.

Behind Deluna was Matthew Gunn, 38, Clearlake Oaks, who was driving a 2007 Freightliner dump truck southbound on Highway 29 at an unknown speed, the CHP said.

For unknown reasons, Gunn failed to observe that Deluna’s car was stopped. The CHP said Gunn applied his brakes, and turned to the left and then to the right, but was unable to avoid hitting Deluna’s car. 

The force of the impact pushed Deluna’s car onto the south shoulder and caused Gunn’s truck to overturn onto its left side, spilling its load of gravel onto Highway 29, the CHP said.

The CHP said one-way traffic was in effect for approximately three hours while the scene was cleaned up.

Kelseyville Fire, Cal Fire, the CHP and Caltrans responded to the incident, along with air ambulances from REACH and Calstar, according to the report.

Both Gunn and Deluna were flown to out-of-county trauma centers. The CHP said Gunn, who had moderate injuries, was flown by Calstar to Santa Rosa Memorial. Deluna had major injuries – including broken ribs and a facial laceration – and was transported to Kaiser Vacaville.

Both drivers were wearing their seat belts at the time of the wreck, the CHP said.

The CHP had no update on the conditions of Deluna and Gunn as of Wednesday afternoon.

CHP officer Mark Crutcher is investigating the collision.  

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. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office has begun to release numbers for Tuesday's presidential primary.

The first count was made up largely of absentee ballots that have been processed since May 17.

As of 9:40 p.m., the early absentee ballot count for Lake County races was as follows:

– District 1 supervisor: Monica Rosenthal, 29.6 percent; Jose "Moke" Simon III, 26.3 percent; Voris Brumfield, 24.6 percent; Jim Ryan, 19.2 percent.

– District 4 supervisor: Tina Scott, 34.5 percent; Martin Scheel, 21.4 percent; Ted Mandrones, 20.7 percent; Phil Murphy, 13 percent; Ron Rose, 10.2 percent.

– District 5 supervisor: Rob Brown, 66.1 percent; Phil Reimers, 20.8 percent; John Stoddard, 12.4 percent.

– Kelseyville Unified Measure U, yes, 59.8 percent, no, 40.2 percent.

Updated results will be posted as they become available.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Two children sustained major injuries and were flown to an out-of-county trauma center and four others also were hurt as the result of a Sunday morning vehicle crash near Lakeport.

The crash occurred at approximately 9:26 a.m. Sunday on Big Valley Road north of Stone Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office.

Leora Hopper, 31, of Lakeport was driving a 2003 Chevy Tahoe southbound on Big Valley Road, with seven passengers riding with her, including 57-year-old Calvin Hopper Sr. of Lakeport, and six juveniles ranging in age between 3 and 11.

The CHP said Leora Hopper was driving approximately 40 to 45 miles per hour when, due to her speed – which the CHP said was unsafe – she was unable to negotiate a sharp lefthand turn in the roadway.

The CHP report said she went off the right side of the road, with the right side of her vehicle hitting an oak tree stump.

When it hit the stump, the Chevy spun around 180 degrees and came to rest in a grass field, the CHP said.

One of the six juveniles in the vehicle was ejected from the Chevy through the rear window, sustaining major injuries. She and the second girl who had major injuries were flown by a REACH air ambulance to UC Davis, the CHP said.

The CHP said the six juveniles who were involved included two females aged 11 and 5, who suffered major injuries; a 10-year-old female and a 9-year-old male had minor injuries, along with a 3-year-old and 5-year old, with the gender of the latter two not reported.

CHP Officer Kory Reynolds said the children who had minor injuries – specifically, complaints of pain – were taken to Sutter Lakeside. Neither Leora Hopper nor Calvin Hopper sustained injuries.

As of Tuesday Reynolds said he had no update on the condition of the children taken to UC Davis.

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.

UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A quick response by firefighters early Tuesday morning is credited with preventing an office fire from destroying an entire building.

The fire was first reported shortly before 1 a.m. at a commercial plaza located at 375 E. Highway 20 in Upper Lake.

The complex houses the Habematolel Pomo tribal offices, Village Antiques and Country Barn Antiques next to Judy's Junction restaurant.

Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said firefighters responding to the report of a fire alarm found a small fire burning in the tribal offices, which are at the back of the complex.

Had firefighters not gotten on scene so quickly and found the fire in its early stages, Beristianos said the incident could have been much worse.

Along with Northshore Fire, Cal Fire and Lakeport Fire responded, Beristianos said.

The fire was contained shortly before 1:30 a.m., with firefighters continuing mop up and investigation for another two hours, according to radio reports.

Beristianos said the fire was contained to one room in the tribal offices, but smoke traveled through the rest of the building – which is laid out in a near square around a courtyard – reaching Village Antiques, which faces Highway 20.

After firefighters opened up the store's front door – triggering the alarms system – smoke poured out of the building and also came from openings on the roof as firefighters worked to make sure the fire hadn't spread.

Power was shut off to the plaza and Pacific Gas and Electric responded to address the power issues.

Beristianos said the cause is under investigation.

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.

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Caltrans will hold a meeting on Wednesday, June 8, to discuss plans to widen a section of Highway 29.

The open public forum on the Lake 29 Improvement Project will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lower Lake High School gymnasium, 9430 Lake St.

Caltrans, the Lake County Area Planning Council and the Federal Highway Administration are proposing to widen an eight-mile segment of Highway 29 between Lower Lake and Kelseyville to a four-lane expressway with access control.

The proposed project will start at the top of the Glasgow Grade – at Diener Drive – about 3.3 miles north of the town of Lower Lake. The proposed project will end just north of the Highway 29/175 intersection.

At the public hearing, attendees will be able to visit display stations to view project exhibits, discuss the revised partial draft environmental impact report/environmental assessment with Caltrans project staff and enter formal comments into the public record.

For more information visit http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist1/d1projects/lake29/index.htm .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – An updated ballot count that now includes precincts was released by the Lake County Registrar of Voters as of 11 p.m.

The updated numbers in local races are as follows:

– District 1 supervisor: Monica Rosenthal, 30.8 percent; Jose "Moke" Simon III, 26.5 percent; Voris Brumfield, 24.1 percent; Jim Ryan, 18.5 percent.

– District 4 supervisor: Tina Scott, 34 percent; Martin Scheel, 22.8 percent; Ted Mandrones, 19.3 percent; Phil Murphy, 13.5 percent; Ron Rose, 10.1 percent.

– District 5 supervisor: Rob Brown, 65 percent; Phil Reimers, 20.8 percent; John Stoddard, 13.5 percent.

– Kelseyville Unified Measure U, yes, 60.8 percent, no, 39.2 percent.

Updated results will be posted as they become available.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Plans for a new downtown eatery will go before the Lakeport Planning Commission this week.

The commission will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 8, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On Wednesday the commission will consider an application from Carrie Caron and Carma Jordan of Twisted Sisters Eatery and Events LLC.

The women are seeking a minor architectural and design review, and zoning permit for outdoor dining and live entertainment at the rear of a property located at 350 N. Main St.

Plans include converting the existing commercial building to a restaurant, repainting the building's exterior, revising the entry, expanding the outdoor dining area and installing new signage for the new pub and grill, which also is going through the building permit process, according to the staff report.

Planning staff are recommending approval of the project, which they've found to be in general conformance with the municipal code and zoning ordinance.

In other news, the commission and staff will review and discuss existing mapping inconsistencies between the general plan land use designations map and the zoning map citywide. No action is requested on the item.

Also on Wednesday, the commission will discuss projects pending approval by the Lakeport Planning Department as of June 1 and schedule the next meeting for July 13.

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.