LAKEPORT, Calif. – Several organizations are coming together this spring to present a powerful new educational experience for young people.

The inaugural Lake County Ag and Natural Resources Day will be held at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport, from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 16.

The event will offer kindergarten through sixth graders and special education students exciting hands-on learning opportunities.

Created through the efforts of Lake County Fair Foundation, Lake County Farm Bureau and the University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources division and 4-H, the purpose of this event is to educate kindergarten through sixth grade students on all things agriculture and natural resources.

Students will have an opportunity to take a closer look at educational booths, displays and hands-on activities, giving them the foundation to begin the educational journey to understand more about the source of their food and fiber and local natural resources.

Supporting partnerships are available through sponsorships, exhibits, hands-on activities and demonstrations.

Participant forms are available online at www.lakecountyfairfoundation.org .

For more information, contact Lake County Fair Chief Executive Officer Debbie Strickler at 707-263-6181 or Lake County Farm Bureau Executive Director Brenna Sullivan at 707-263-0911.

For assistance planning a child-friendly educational booth or activity, contact Julie Frazell, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or Car Mun Kok, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , at 707-263-6838.

LUCERNE, Calif. – One person was seriously injured as the result of a structure fire on Monday night in Lucerne.

The fire at 5890 Grove St. was first reported at 10:15 p.m., according to radio reports.

The initial report from a neighbor was that there was an explosion with flames seen at the home, with one person possibly trapped inside. The caller told Central Dispatch that they couldn't access the front door, because it was blocked.

The crew of the first Northshore Fire Protection District engine on scene reported that flames were coming out of a window, according to Deputy Chief Mike Ciancio.

Firefighters were able to rescue one person from the home, who Ciancio said had burns and was transported by Northshore Fire Protection District ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

There, the CalStar 4 air ambulance was expected to meet them for transport. However, at the scene Ciancio could not yet confirm if the patient would in fact be transported out of county.

The fire at the stick-built home was said to be out within about 15 minutes of the dispatch, with Ciancio reporting that firefighters were looking for the source of the smoke.

Units remained on scene into the early morning hours on Tuesday for mop up operations, according to radio reports.

Along with Northshore Fire, Lakeport Fire responded on mutual aid, Pacific Gas and Electric sent a truck and two Lake County Sheriff's units also were on scene.

Ciancio told Lake County News that the cause of the fire remained 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.

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SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – If you had approached a house being built in Whispering Pines by a collaboration of Team Lake County member agencies this last week, you would have most likely have first noticed, from a distance, “Old Order” Mennonite women from Pennsylvania on the job.

They were chatting cheerfully amongst themselves while working on second story scaffolding, attaching insulation to the outside walls of the house.

The women wore ankle-length light blue smocks with shoulder straps over white, short sleeved blouses. Their hair was tucked under a hairnet-styled “prayer cap.”

They were part of a Mennonite Disaster Services, or MDS, team which will be building homes for uninsured or underinsured Lake County fire survivors for the next few years.

Inside the house the Mennonite men were framing and sheet rocking the walls. The project manager, Pat Powell, stood outside supervising the progress of this house which is one of three homes MDS is currently helping to build in south Lake County.

“We have crews coming in from all over. They have various talents. The most we can have at any one time is 26 people at our dorms, which we rent from United Methodist Church in Clearlake,” Powell explained.

“I’ve been here for three months,” Powell continued. “Another manager will take my place in February and supervise for the following three months. Some volunteers stay for two weeks, one week or just a few days depending on their own personal time frame.”

The foreman on this particular job, David Hagelgans, has come from Frankfort, Germany, to spend a year working for MDS.

He’s already been working at disasters in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Michigan.

He graduated from a carpentry trade school in Germany where he specialized in roofing and framing.

After finishing a three-month stint here in Lake County, Hagelgans will return home to Frankfort.

“Lead man” – assistant to the foreman – David Hochstetler, a Nebraskan, is a college graduate with a degree in disaster management.

“I’ve worked in disasters in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and now, California,” he recounted. When asked what his favorite part of carpentry is, Hochstetler replied, “I’m getting used to drywall work.”

Cousins Seth and Dr. Adam Nofziger are part of a crew from Ohio.

Dr. Nofziger, an emergency care physician, also volunteers as a doctor in projects all over the world.

“Volunteering here is a nice break from our normal lives. It’s too easy to be selfish, and be focused on a ‘buck’ and whatever your normal life consists of,” Nofziger said. “It’s a good way to get out and show God’s love.”

Seth Nofziger echoed his cousin's sentiments. “I think it’s a great ministry to serve other people, and show Christ’s love through action. I like talking with the owners. Sometimes talking to them is more important than the building.”

His friend, Caleb Groenewig, brought a little more experience with him. “I’m a Realtor and appraiser. I normally do repairs for our rentals back home. My dad was a contractor. As a child I went on MDS projects with my parents.”

The Whispering Pines homeowners, Stephan and Pam, reflected on the time that has passed since their home was destroyed in the Valley fire.

“This last 16 months has been quite a journey. It’s been up and down. But the groups helping us in the rebuilding process have worked unselfishly,” Pam said, “We thank them, but they say, 'Thank you for letting us help you.’ They consider it an honor to work for fire survivors like us.”

Dennis Purcell writes for Team Lake County.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County has had its first flu-related death in a person under age 65 so far this season, which state officials said has been especially severe.

Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait said her department received a report on Monday of a woman in her 40s who had died with a positive flu test.

Tait said she had essentially no background information at that point about risk factors the woman had for flu complications.

Lake County hasn't had a reportable flu-related death since the 2013-14 flu season, according to state records. Tait had confirmed that fatal case – in a woman between 30 and 40 years of age, in February 2014.

Earlier this month, the California Department of Public Health reported that the state was experiencing more severe influenza activity than last year, with “significantly higher numbers of hospitalizations and outbreaks.”

The last information on reportable flu deaths released by the agency, through Jan. 21, confirmed 23 influenza-associated deaths statewide.

CDPH said the numbers it has are only a fraction of the statewide flu deaths because only deaths in people younger than 65 are reported to the state and not all influenza-related deaths are easily attributable to influenza.

Overall, Tait said Lake County is experiencing a lot of flu activity this year.

She did not have total case numbers, but added that they are confirmed to be up from last year, just as they are all around California.

She said outbreaks in health care facilities are reportable to the county Public Health Department, which – along with CDPH’s Licensing and Certification Division – works with those facilities to take measures to interrupt the spread of infection. Tait said she does not make public specific facility information when it comes to such outbreaks.

“I will say that we have had some reports of outbreaks in congregate settings, and one of them was probably another respiratory illness other than influenza,” she explained. “There are various viruses circulating at this time of year that can look like flu, including parainfluenza viruses and, in young children, respiratory syncytial virus, which has been confirmed in a number of pediatric cases of illness.”

Tait encouraged people to get vaccinated, noting that it's not too late in the season to do so, although she said it takes a couple of weeks for the protective effects to kick in.

“There is a good match between the vaccine and circulating strains this year,” she said. “Even so, vaccination is not 100-percent effective at preventing infection, but a vaccinated person is less likely to be hospitalized or die from any infection that occurs.”

Since this is the season for all kinds of respiratory virus infections, Tait also suggested taking other measures to be protected from illness, including good hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette – coughing into an elbow rather than into one's hand – and staying home when sick.

She said people with chronic medical conditions should contact their health care provider right away if they develop fever with sore throat or cough because they might benefit from antiviral treatment for influenza.

Tait said anyone interested in a flu shot can call the Lake County Public Health Department at 707-263-1090 to arrange for a vaccination.

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. – A woman injured in a late Monday night house fire in Lucerne has died.

Nancy Lee Yeafoli, 64, was the victim in the fire, according to Lt. Steve Brooks of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Yeafoli was at her home at 5890 Grove St. when the fire was reported at about 10:15 p.m. Monday, based on radio reports.

The initial call reported an explosion at the residence, but Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jay Beristianos said Tuesday that the sound came from a window on the house that broke due to the fire.

Northshore Fire and Lakeport Fire arrived shortly after dispatch and quickly put the fire out, remaining on scene for several hours to conduct mop up.

Radio reports stated that at the scene firefighters were working to resuscitate Yeafoli, who the incident commander said had suffered burns, before she was transported by ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital to await an air ambulance.

Brooks said there is going to be an autopsy, so on Tuesday he was unable to give an official cause of death for Yeafoli.

Regarding what triggered the fire, Beristianos said it appears to be accidental. He said investigators suspect a cigarette was the cause.

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. – A Clearlake man charged with setting fire last week to a residential care and mental health facility where he lived is due to appear in court on Tuesday to enter a plea in the case.

Anthony Wayne Conley, 29, was arrested early Thursday morning shortly after police officers and firefighters arrived at the fire at San Sousee adult care facility on Konocti Street in Clearlake, as Lake County News has reported.

The Clearlake Police Department reported that its officers arrested Conley for setting the fire at the facility, where the agency confirmed he was a resident.

Conley was arraigned in Lake County Superior Court on Friday, and is due to reappear on Tuesday morning along with his appointed legal counsel to enter a plea, according to Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Hinchcliff.

Hinchcliff said Conley is charged with one count of arson, four counts of attempted murder and three counts of elder or dependent abuse.

He said the latter three charges were for other residents at the facility, which is for individuals with mental health issues. A fourth attempted murder charge was for a staff member present at the time.

Hinchcliff did not have details on why Conley was at the facility, and said even if he did he did not believe they could be released due to health care privacy laws.

Conley has no adult criminal history in Lake County, according to Hinchcliff, who added that he could not discuss any possible juvenile issues.

Since his arrest, Conley has remained in custody at the Lake County Jail, with bail set at $800,000.

San Sousee is an adult residential facility with a capacity of six clients, ages 18 through 59, that's been licensed since 2009 with the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division, according to state records.

The county of Lake has a $133,000 agreement with the facility for adult residential support services and specialty mental health services for this fiscal year that was updated in September.

Lake County Behavioral Health's report on the contract said it places at San Sousee clients ready to be transitioned from mental health institutes or whose who have been brought back to Lake County from out-of-county placements.

Asked if there are likely to be issues with the prosecution because of Conley's mental health, Hinchcliff replied, “We don't know yet, but I would expect that under the circumstances.”

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.