NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Two wildland fires burning in Colusa County since Tuesday afternoon grew by several hundred acres overnight, causing an evacuation order to be issued for a nearby rancheria.
The “16 Complex” was sparked just before 4 p.m. Tuesday off of Highway 16, south of Highway 20, in the Rumsey Canyon area.
By Wednesday morning the fires had scorched 1,950 acres, with Cal Fire estimating containment at 10 percent.
Smoke from the fires was visible throughout Lake County on Wednesday morning.
The cause of the fires is under investigation, Cal Fire said.
On Tuesday night fire officials issued an evacuation warning for the Cortina Rancheria area, which remained in effect early Wednesday.
Due to the fire, officials had ordered Highway 16 closed from the junction with Highway 20 to 7.1 miles east of the Colusa/Yolo County line at Manzanita Avenue.
Cal Fire had approximately 600 of its firefighting personnel on scene Wednesday, along with 27 personnel from other agencies, and 150 engines, 28 fire crews, two helicopters, 16 bulldozers and three water tenders.
Along with Cal Fire, agencies involved in the response to the fire include fire and law enforcement agencies from Colusa and Yolo counties, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Caltrans.
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A new report finds that seat belt use for teens in California jumped more than 2 percent in the past two years, from 94 percent in 2010 to 96.1 percent in 2012.
The California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) reported the findings on Tuesday.
The newly released information nearly matches the usage rate for all vehicle occupants in the state, which stands at 96.6 percent, the agency said. Both are now are at record high levels.
Local rates were not available, as OTS told Lake County News that Lake County was not among the counties surveyed for the report.
The new teen rate is a large increase from the 88.9 percent observed just four years ago, according to OTS.
“We are encouraged by these latest results,” said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy. “Everyone in the car buckling up for every trip, every day, is the single most effective way to protect people and reduce fatalities in motor vehicle crashes. This is especially true with teen drivers, the age group with the highest crash rates.”
Nationally, teen seat belt use is in the low 80 percent range.
The reasons for California’s high rate are thought to be due to heavy enforcement and awareness campaigns like Click It or Ticket, as well as a large number of efforts aimed specifically at teens like Every 15 Minutes, Start Smart, Right Turn, Teen Smart, and Friday Night Live where seat belt usage is emphasized.
Researchers from CSU Fresno surveyed traffic near 100 high schools in 29 counties in the spring of 2012.
They also found the usage rate for passengers, as opposed to drivers, is up markedly in just three years, from 85.7 percent in 2009 to 95.8 percent this year.
Slightly more teen girls regularly wear seat belts than teen boys, 97.8 percent to 96.1 percent.
In addition, pickup truck occupants are still the least likely to wear their belts at 93.7 percent, but that rate has steadily improved.
Surveyed observations in Contra Costa and Santa Cruz counties showed 100 percent usage, although ongoing day-to-day use is likely lower.
Monterey was the county with the lowest usage rate at 87.2 percent.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Firefighters made additional programs on a two-fire complex burning in northern Mendocino County on Monday.
The lightning-caused North Pass Fires had burned 42,144 acres by Monday, with firefighters reaching 60 percent containment.
Cal Fire and US Forest Service officials anticipate the fires – burning near Mendocino Pass Road, 10 miles northeast of Covelo – will be fully contained by Monday, Sept. 10.
Firefighter and equipment resources gradually are being released from the incident, officials reported.
Fire personnel assigned on Monday totaled 1,372, including 54 engines, 14 fire crews, two airtankers, 14 helicopters, eight bulldozers and 30 water tenders, according to the Cal Fire and US Forest Service unified command.
On Monday firefighters continued to build containment line on the north end of the incident as it backed down the steep slopes to the Middle Fork of the Eel River. The fires have reached the Eel River on the northeast side and are remaining on the west side of the river.
Officials said fire crews have prepared several containment lines on the east side in case the fires move across the Eel River. Fire lines are holding along the south and west fire perimeter and crews have begun fire suppression repair in this area.
Evacuations remain in effect for some areas of Indian Dick Road (Forest Road M-1) and Mendocino Pass Road (Forest Highway 7), according to the report.
All areas of the Covelo Ranger District north of Mendocino Pass Road to the Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forest boundaries also remain under a US Forest Closure order.
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The number of reported hate crimes in California decreased 4 percent in 2011, with reports of such crimes in Lake County also down, according to a report from California’s attorney general.
California Attorney General Kamala Harris said there were 1,060 hate crime events reported statewide in 2011, a decrease from the 1,107 hate crime events reported in 2010.
“There is no place in our inclusive Golden State for hate crimes and their destruction of what makes California so special,” Harris said. “I welcome the decrease in these senseless crimes and commend state and local law enforcement for their efforts to protect every Californian.”
The report showed that in Lake County there were three hate crime “events” in 2011 with three victims and four resulting offenses. That’s down from six events, nine offenses and nine victims in 2010.
There were no suspects in any of the cases 2011 cases, according to the report.
Two of those cases were reported in the Lake County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction and one in the city of Clearlake. None were reported in Lakeport.
In addition, the report showed two hate crime cases were filed by the Lake County District Attorney’s Office in 2011. No convictions were reported in the 2011 timeframe.
Hate crimes with race/ethnicity/national origin account for the most common type of hate crime in the last 10 years and represented 57.5 percent of all hate crime events in 2011.
Anti-black hate crimes account for 29.5 percent of all hate crimes. Since 2002, anti-Hispanic hate crimes have decreased by 43.6 percent.
Hate crimes events involving a religious bias have increased slightly, from 198 in 2010 to 201 in 2011.
Anti-Jewish hate crimes continue to be most common, accounting for 8 percent of all hate crimes reported since 2002. Of the 201 hate crimes involving a religious bias in 2011, 132 were anti-Jewish.
All police agencies and district attorney’s offices in California, in cooperation with the Department of Justice, have developed local data collection programs and submitted hate crime statistics for this report. Categories are established by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A total of 313 hate crime cases were referred to prosecutors in 2011, and 253 cases were filed for prosecution. Of the 253 filed, 204 were filed as hate crimes. Of the 161 cases with a disposition available for this report, 46 percent (74) were hate crime convictions, 50 percent (80) were other convictions and 4 percent (7) were not convicted.
The hate crime reporting system was implemented by the Department of Justice in 1994. Law enforcement agencies are required to submit copies of initial crime reports to the department, and each agency has established procedures incorporating a two-tier review process.
The first level is done by the initial officer who responded to the suspected hate crime incident. Then each report is reviewed by at least one other officer to confirm that the event was, in fact, a hate crime.
The California Attorney General’s Office published its first hate crimes report in 1995. All previous reports can be found at: http://oag.ca.gov/cjsc/pubs#hate .
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Tuesday saw several additional wildland fires break out around the region.
Shortly before 4 p.m. the “16 Complex” broke out along Highway 16, south of Highway 20, in Colusa County’s Rumsey Canyon area.
The initial fire quickly grew in size, with a second spot fire starting three miles to the east of the first fire, according to radio reports.
Within the first hour a large order was made for air tankers and helicopters to respond as the first fire made a run to the north.
Cal Fire’s 7 p.m. update put the fires at 500 acres, but the main fire was estimated at closer to 1,000 acres and the smaller fire at 200 acres a short time later, reports from the scene indicated. Cal Fire confirmed the 1,200-acre estimate later Tuesday night.
At about 9 p.m. incident command issued an advisory evacuation for the nearby Cortina Rancheria, although the fire reportedly hadn’t yet reached the rancheria. Strike teams also were being ordered.
The 16 Complex has resulted in Highway 16 being closed from the junction of Highway 20 to 7.1 miles east of the Colusa/Yolo County line at Manzanita Avenue, according to Cal Fire.
In Yolo County, the “27 Fire” started at 3 p.m. on Road 27 and Road 28 near Madison. Shortly before 7 p.m. it was 175 acres and 90 percent contained, with Cal Fire reporting that forward progress had been stopped. It was said to be fully contained a short time later, based on radio reports.
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As wildfires continue to burn throughout California, a new documentary video released by the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) takes viewers behind the scenes with the governor’s top emergency managers as they direct state resources and help firefighters keep one step ahead of the flames.
Officials say it’s not often that people get to see what’s happening behind the scenes when flames dominate news headlines at the most spectacular wildfires.
“It’s important for people to see what the top emergency management leaders are faced with, especially when there’s such a complex emergency management system operating behind the scenes,” said Kelly Huston, Assistant Secretary of Cal EMA and producer of the video. “Our goal was to take viewers along to see some of the inner-workings of incident briefings, strike team strategy and the state’s mutual aid system at work on a real incident.”
The video, titled “No Time to Burn,” includes breathtaking images of several of this year’s wildfires, including point-of-view aerial footage from specially-equipped California National Guard Black Hawk helicopters dropping hundreds of gallons of water on flames.
It also takes viewers along with Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci, California National Guard General David Baldwin and CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott as they visit a special “helitack base” near the massive Ponderosa Fire in Tehama County.
There’s also footage from a strategy session with federal and state coordinators at a regional emergency operations center in Redding, Calif.
Officials also included an interview with two residents of Manton, Calif., who were evacuated from their homes, expressing the grim reality of destruction caused by the Ponderosa Fire.
Cal EMA is responsible for the coordination of overall state agency response to major disasters in support of local government.
The agency is responsible for assuring the state’s readiness to respond to and recover from all hazards – natural, manmade, war-caused emergencies and disasters – and for assisting local governments in their emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and hazard mitigation efforts.
NORTH COAST, Calif. – As two wildland fires in northern Mendocino County grew closer to full containment, officials released more firefighters and equipment on Tuesday.
The North Pass Fires’ estimated size was rolled back by approximately 251 acres to 41,983 acres total, with 65 percent containment, Cal Fire and the US Forest Service reported Tuesday evening.
The fires, caused by lightning, are burning in the Williams Valley, 10 miles northeast of Covelo.
The US Forest Service and Cal Fire, which share unified command of the incident because it’s burning on both state and federal lands, said crews continued to hold and improve fire line on Tuesday, with the fires holding at the Middle Fork of the Eel River.
Officials said the incident continues to progress west towards Castle Peak with single and small group torching, while the northern portion of the fire continues to burn between Pothole Creek and Stick Lake Canyon.
There were 1,283 personnel assigned to the fires on Tuesday. Equipment assigned included 45 engines, 29 fire crews, two airtankers, 14 helicopters, 10 bulldozers and 28 water tenders.
Approximately 29 structures remain threatened, with evacuations still in effect for areas of Indian Dick Road (Forest Road M-1) and Mendocino Pass Road (Forest Highway 7).
The Covelo Ranger District north of Mendocino Pass Road to the Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forest boundaries remains under a US Forest Closure order.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – On Sunday Lake County’s district attorney distributed funds from a program he implemented last year to local organizations to assist them with serving the community.
District Attorney Don Anderson was joined by Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen and California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds on Sunday afternoon at the Lake County Fair, where they handed out checks totaling approximately $14,531 to eight local groups, primarily nonprofits.
Groups receiving funds included the Kelseyville Fire Department, $6,000; Hammers for Hope, $3,000; Lake County Rape Crisis Center, $3,000; 4-H, $1,199; Future Farmers of Farmers, $1,166; Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, $1,166; Lake County Community Radio, KPFZ, $500; and Team DUI, $500.
Anderson’s alternative community service program allows people convicted in certain cases to convert community service hours into cash, which he then uses to benefit local organizations.
Since the program started in 2011 Anderson said it has raised $70,000.
Organizations wanting to be considered for an award from the program can contact Anderson at his office, 707-263-2251, and he said he will place them on a list for future distributions.
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California Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. has directed the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) to send personnel with specialized technical skills to Louisiana to help those impacted recover from the effects of Hurricane Isaac.
Three employees from Cal EMA and one from Department of General Services (DGS) with IT and telecommunications expertise are traveling to the Baton Rouge area today to setup computer banks that will enable displaced survivors to apply for various types of assistance.
The team from California will be working for the next 14 days setting up these systems in nine parishes in the region hit hardest by Isaac.
“Even though Isaac has passed, the effects will be felt for a long time by those who were forced from their homes by damaging winds and flooding,” said Cal EMA Secretary Mark Ghilarducci. “California knows all to well the impact of disasters on people’s lives and the importance of focusing on the long-term needs of those struggling to recover.”
Uncomfortably high temperatures above 100 degrees continue in much of Louisiana as thousands remain displaced, relying on dozens of open shelters for food, clothing and assistance.
Local, state and federal officials are now focused on long term recovery efforts and providing those impacted with greater access to services and assistance.
The deployment of California’s team came at the request of the Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness – who will reimburse California for personnel, travel and other costs.
They requested personnel with experience in a variety of disciplines including PC LAN, mobile satellite systems, data configuration and support switches, laptop support, Metro E Connections, T-1 Lines and DSL wireless networks.
Louisiana’s request came through a special system setup for state-to-state requests for help. Requests such as this are facilitated through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC).
This compact offers assistance during governor-declared states of emergency through a responsive, straightforward system that allows states to send personnel, equipment and commodities to help disaster relief efforts in other states.
Benefits to deploying resources through EMAC allows credentials, licenses and certifications be honored across state lines and leverages federal grant dollars for reimbursement purposes, both of which assist in eliminating a level of bureaucracy that could significantly delay response time.
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office is offering a free safety program for teen drivers and their parents in September.
The “Start Smart” classes will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the CHP office, 5700 Live Oak Drive, Kelseyville.
Traffic collisions are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in America.
Nationally about 5,000 teens will die in automobile crashes. About 10 percent of those deaths are in California alone.
In California in 2009, there were 61,029 collisions involving teenage drivers statewide, 346 resulted in fatalities.
The Start Smart program aims to help future and newly-licensed teenage drivers learn the responsibilities that accompany the privilege of being a licensed driver.
It is an educational tool for parents and teens to reduce the number of teen injuries and deaths resulting from traffic collisions.
The program provides information on defensive driving, state traffic laws, distracted driving, dynamics of traffic collisions, tips on avoiding collisions and DUI awareness.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Several new kittens and adult cats of various breeds are needing homes this week.
The cats, from blue-eyed Siamese to the ever-popular tabbies, range in ages and sizes.
Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and 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.
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”).
Male orange tabby
This male orange tabby mix is 3 years old.
He has gold eyes, a short coat and has been neutered.
He’s in cat room kennel No. 13, ID No. 33975.
Male domestic short hair mix
This male domestic short hair mix is 5 months old.
He has a gray and white coat, gold eyes, weighs 6 pounds and has been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 24, ID No. 34121.
Short-haired calico
This female domestic short hair mix is 2 years old.
She has a calico coat and has not been spayed.
She is in cat room kennel No. 27, ID No. 34139.
Male Siamese mix
This male Siamese lynx point mix is 6 months old.
He has blue eyes, a medium-length coat and weighs just over 6 pounds. He has not yet been altered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 32, ID No. 34120.
Female Siamese mix
This female Siamese mix kitten is 13 weeks old.
She has blue eyes and a short coat.
She’s in cat room kennel No. 55, ID No. 34114.
Male orange tabby
This male orange tabby is 5 months old.
He has a long orange coat and has not yet been neutered.
Find him in cat room kennel No. 58A, ID No. 33907.
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, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Since the dawn of the Space Age, mission planners have tried to follow one simple but important rule: Stay out of the van Allen Belts.
The two doughnut-shaped regions around Earth are filled with “killer electrons,” plasma waves, and electrical currents dangerous to human space travelers and their spacecraft. Lingering is not a good idea.
So much for the old rules. NASA has launched two spacecraft directly into the radiation belts--and this time they plan to stay a while.
NASA’s Radiation Belt Storm Probes blasted off from Cape Canaveral on August 30th, 2012. Bristling with sensors, the heavily-shielded spacecraft are on a 2-year mission to discover what makes the radiation belts so dangerous and so devilishly unpredictable.
“We’ve known about the Van Allen Belts for decades yet they continue to surprise us with unexpected storms of ‘killer electrons’ and other phenomena,” said mission scientist David Sibeck, “The Storm Probes will help us understand what’s going on out there.”
When the radiation belts were discovered in 1958, they upended orthodox ideas.
Most people assumed the space around Earth was empty. America’s first satellite, Explorer 1, proved otherwise.
The tiny spacecraft was equipped with a Geiger tube for counting energetic protons and electrons. Circling Earth, Explorer 1 found so many charged particles that the counter registered off-scale most of the time.
Back in the 1950s the radiation belts had little effect on ordinary people. Today they are crucial to our high-tech society.
Hundreds of satellites used for everything from weather prediction to GPS to television routinely skim the belts, subjecting themselves to energetic particles that can damage solar panels and short-circuit sensitive electronics.
During geomagnetic storms when the belts are swollen by solar activity, whole fleets of satellites can be engulfed, imperiling the technological underpinnings of daily life on the planet below.
“The Radiation Belt Storm Probes directly address these down-to-Earth problems,” said Lika Guhathakurta, the lead program scientist of NASA’s Living with a Star Program, which manages the mission. “RBSP is a unique mix of pure science and practical application.”
One of the biggest mysteries of the radiation belts is the crazy way they react to solar storms. “Almost anything can happen,” said Sibeck.
When a storm cloud from the sun hits the radiation belts, they often respond in counterintuitive ways.
One possible outcome is that the radiation belts fill with energetic particles such as the potent “killer electrons” that worry mission planners.
However, just as often the opposite happens. A solar storm can cause the belts to lose their killer particles, temporarily making them a safer place. And sometimes nothing happens! The belts remain completely unchanged.
“The problem is, there is no unified idea of what phenomena are most important inside the belts,” said Sibeck.
He describes attending scientific conferences on the subject: “If there are 100 people at a meeting, there will be 100 different answers for every question. How are killer electrons energized? Some say plasma waves do it; others point to solar wind shocks; others favor diffusion. The list goes on and on.”
Researchers hope RBSP will narrow the possibilities. During storms, the probes can sample electric and magnetic fields, count the number of energetic particles, and detect plasma waves of many frequencies.
The inner workings of the Van Allen Belts will be an open book to the two spacecraft, providing data for predictive models that tell forecasters when it’s safe to enter the belts, perform spacewalks, and operate sensitive electronics.
“The Van Allen Belts are part of our home in space,” added Guhathakurta. “RBSP will help us learn how to live there.”
So much for the old rules, indeed.
Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.