- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
State, local officials offer update on Valley fire response, plans for recovery
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Local and state officials offered an update on Thursday afternoon regarding the latest developments on the multiagency effort to respond to the Valley fire.
The press conference at the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport featured District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Mike Smith, Sheriff Brian Martin, Dave Fukutomi of the California Office of Emergency Services and Social Services Director Carol Huchingson.
“I'm devastated by the destruction that our community has faced in this disaster,” Brown said, “The damage is immense and widespread.”
He said the victims aren't just his constituents, they're his friends and neighbors. “I know that this county has a resiliency and a sense of community that makes it special,” he said, adding the community will band together, help each other and accept help. “We will be strong.”
Brown thanked everyone working on the fire as well as those from around the nation who have offered support and donations. “We are coordinating an unprecedented response to this disaster.”
He encouraged people to visit www.lakecountylac.com for information on the help available.
Smith said at that point that there were nearly 3,600 firefighters from around the Western United States working to contain the fire.
On the incident's fifth day, Smith said the size estimate remained at 73,700 acres with 35-percent containment.
He said the recent rain helped, but warmer temperatures are on the way, and firefighters can't be lulled into a state of complacency. Firefighters are continuing to fight the fire on all fronts, and are protecting infrastructure and homes.
Martin said it was coming to the point where the the county would need to start moving into the recovery phase.
He said his agency had been offering escorts to residents into certain evacuated areas in order to feed pets and livestock.
However, Martin said those escorts were suspended and resources were redirected to preparing to repopulate the evacuated areas.
Martin asked that anyone needing to have animals checked call Lake County Animal Care and Control to make arrangements.
The sheriff's office is continuing the process of following up on several missing persons' reports, Martin said. He asked anyone who believes someone is missing to call the sheriff's office at 707-263-2690.
He said the number of confirmed fatalities remained at three.
“We expect and anticipate we are going to find more,” Martin said. “This fire simply moved too fast for us to respond and for people to get out in a timely manner.”
Martin added, “It's tragic. It's devastating, and we want to ensure that we don't have any more loss of life.”
He said a lot of the areas in the fire were going to remain closed, but officials are actively working on repopulation efforts.
He said repopulation has started in some of the outlying edges of the fire areas, including Berryessa Estates in Napa County. Residents there were able to start returning home at 2 p.m. Thursday.
Martin said authorities need to make sure areas are safe before letting residents return. “Just because the fire appears to be out, doesn't mean that all of the hazards have been mitigated.”
He warned of many hazards, including falling and damaged trees, downed power lines and hazardous materials left behind as a result of the fire.
“Know that we are working to get you back in as soon as possible,” Martin said.
Martin said outside law enforcement agencies are sending in personnel to help with patrolling evacuated areas to protect against those taking advantage of the situation.
“Our officers are out patrolling the evacuated areas day and night,” he said.
He said several arrests have been made in the fire area for crimes including impersonating an officer, possession of burglary tools and drug charges. Details at that time were pending about the arrests of three Bay Area men found in the fire area, one of them with a concealed weapon, with burglary tools also in the car.
Fukutomi said Cal OES is on the scene to support the county and coordinate the state agencies helping local government and survivors.
Dozens of emergency managers from around the state are in Lake County to assist local agency representatives as they work on response and recovery, he said.
With the governor's emergency declaration in place, Cal OES is working to advance funds to offset the costs to local government in responding to the fire, Fukutomi said.
He said Cal OES will continue to be present to support local agencies and community members as the recovery process takes place.
Huchingson said she's leading the team that has been working on care and shelter throughout the event.
She said county staffers are running a shelter at the Highlands Senior Center in Clearlake, with the Red Cross in charge of a shelter at Kelseyville High School.
Huchingson said the Kelseyville High School shelter will close and evacuees will transition to Grace Church in Kelseyville on Friday afternoon.
She said they are now planning for sheltering in Middletown once the roads reopen and evacuees from the south county begin to return.
It's not yet been determined whether the county or the Red Cross will operate the Middletown shelter, which will be located at Twin Pine Casino's event center.
She said Middletown Rancheria has been incredibly supportive and generous. “We just can't thank them enough for welcoming our shelter operation there.”
Huchingson said a local assistance center is anticipated to open at the Middletown Library and Senior Center on Saturday. However, if the community has not yet been repopulated at that point, the center's opening will coincide with the time of residents returning home.
It's also anticipated that the repopulation will take place in phases, and the shelter in Napa County will remain open during those phases, Huchingson said.
Those wanting to volunteer to help are asked to visit www.ncoinc.org and sign up, Huchingson said.
In addition, Fukutomi said people from out of the area who want to volunteer can sign up at www.californiavolunteers.org to help meet the county's needs.
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