KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On June 2, Lake County Department of Public Services and the Konocti Regional Trails team held a small ceremony on Mount Konocti's Wright Peak to dedicate the seventh in a series of interpretive panels on the mountain.

The panel commemorates a fatal plane crash that took two lives nearly 50 years ago.

The sunny June morning in 2016 was a direct contrast to the tragic day in 1970.

On Jan. 26, 1970, Mervin and Julia “May” Enzler left Santa Rosa airport to fly home to Ukiah in their white and turquoise 1946 Navion A.

The Enzlers had recently retired as owners of the “Model Bakery” in Ukiah, today operating as Schat's Courthouse Bakery and Café.

Increasingly bad weather forced them to request navigational assistance from air traffic control in Ukiah. After a brief navigational correction with the tower, further contact ceased.

A massive air and ground search was conducted. Due to the remote location and lack of access, it wasn't until early February that the crash debris was spotted on the side of the mountain by a local pilot.

The wreckage was largely forgotten until the fall of 2011, when the roadsides were cleared for the opening of Mount Konocti Regional Park, once again uncovering the aircraft.

An increasing number of phone calls requesting information on the plane debris prompted then-Cal Fire Battalion Chief Greg Bertelli, to contact Konocti Regional Trails members about installing a commemorative plaque at the site near the Cal Fire lookout tower.

Konocti Regional Trails then researched the family, tracking down the Enzler's son, Ed Enzler, now in his 80s and still living in Mendocino County.

After initial discussions, Ed Enzler agreed to collaborate with Tom Nixon of Konocti Regional Trails and Kelseyville's Emmy-award winning art designer Gerri Groody on an interpretive panel depicting his parents' tragic deaths.

The Lakeport Rotary Club volunteered to pay for the panel and installation, culminating in the June ceremony.

Attending were the Enzler family, including son, Ed Enzler and grandchildren Steve Enzler, Scott Enzler, Karen Adamski and Eileen Husted; members of the Lakeport Rotary Club represented by President Jennifer Strong; Lake County Department of Public Services staffer Dana Smalley; and Konocti Regional Trails members headed by Nixon, who has spearheaded all seven panel projects to-date.

This was the first time most of the Enzler family had seen the plane crash, resulting in some poignant moments and memories.

The gathering ended with a trip to the top of the Cal Fire lookout tower for 360-degree views of the mountain, and side tours to visit Mary Downen's cabin and the ancient maul oak grove.

Six other interpretive panels covering cultural and natural history were previously installed on Mount Konocti via a State Parks grant.

Mount Konocti Regional Park is open daily from dawn to dusk, and accessible via hiking only.

For more information on Mount Konocti Regional Park, visit the Web site at www.KonoctiTrails.com or call Lake County Public Services at 707-263-1618.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Kitten season is here, and Lake County Animal Care and Control has some new young cats available along with several adults.

The available cats include tabbies and cats with Siamese-type markings.

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 medium hair mix

This female domestic medium hair mix has a gray and white coat.

She's in cat room kennel No. 55, ID No. 5036.

Domestic medium hair cat

This female domestic medium hair cat has an orange tabby coat.

She's in cat room kennel No. 80, ID No. 4986.

Domestic short hair mix

This female domestic short hair mix has a calico coat.

She's in cat room kennel No. 95, ID No. 4839.

'Mom'

“Mom” is a female domestic short hair mix with Siamese markings and blue eyes.

She's in cat room kennel No. 115, ID No. 5090.

'Sammy'

“Sammy” is a female gray tabby kitten with a short coat.

She's in cat room kennel No. 136a, ID No. 5021.

Gray tabby kitten

This male gray tabby kitten has a short coat.

He's in cat room kennel No. 136b, ID No. 5034.

Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm .

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

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.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Firefighters quickly contained a small wildland fire in Clearlake that burned close to structures, caused a power outage and led to the evacuation of a nearby school.

The fire was first reported shortly before 1 p.m. on Arrowhead Road near Ukiah Street in the city of Clearlake, according to radio reports.

Cal Fire Division Chief Greg Bertelli said the fire was less than an acre, adding, “It was in really close proximity to several structures.”

Bertelli said the fire occurred in the “mutual threat zone,” which led to a combined response from Cal Fire and Lake County Fire Protection District, with the two agencies initially holding unified command on the incident.

“We both respond together to make sure we get enough resources,” Bertelli said.

In addition to engines and crews from Lake County Fire, Bertelli said Cal Fire sent a full wildland dispatch that included three air tankers, one helicopter, one air attack, five engines, two dozers and hand crews.

Clearlake Police officers also were on scene, with Bertelli reporting that they did an excellent job of quickly setting up roadblocks and preparing for evacuations if necessary, he said.

The fire led to the cancellation of the remainder of the first day of summer school at nearby Pomo Elementary School, according to Konocti Unified School District Superintendent Donna Becnel.

“We decided to go ahead and relocate the kids because at one point we lost power,” Becnel said.

Becnel said at 1 p.m. the district began notifying parents and shifting the children whose parents they couldn't contact over to Burns Valley School.

Some of the children are only on campus for a half day, so they already were headed home by the time the fire occurred, Becnel said.

Once they decided to end school for the day, “We didn't go ahead and move anybody back to the school,” Becnel added.

The Clearlake Police Department set out a Nixle alert just after 1 p.m. suggesting that residents of Burns Valley Road between Woodland and Ciwa could evacuate but it was not mandatory.

The agency followed up just before 1:30 p.m. to report that residents could return home but asking people to stay out of the area of Burns Valley Road, Ukiah Street and Arrowhead Road for the duration of the incident.

Burns Valley Road between Pomo and Woodland still remained closed at around 1:30 p.m., police said.

Bertelli said it took up to 25 minutes to contain the fire, which had some moderate but erratic winds hitting it.

He said they wanted to make sure they had good line all the way around the fire before calling it fully contained.

Bertelli said resources were being released from the scene as early as 2:30 p.m., with a few engines expected to stay on later in the day for monitoring.

Radio reports indicated that the incident command was terminated just before 3 p.m.

Bertelli said the cause remains under investigation. What appeared to be a power line came down during the incident, but he said it was a guy wire, not an energized line.

Pacific Gas and Electric reported that its crews also were at the scene Monday afternoon working to restore power to a small number of customers impacted by the outage the fire caused.

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.

NORTH COAST, Calif. – A single-vehicle crash on Highway 101 south of Hopland on Sunday afternoon killed a child and seriously injured an adult.

The California Highway Patrol's Ukiah Area office said the crash occurred at 1:30 p.m. on Highway 101 near Pieta Creek and Frog Woman Rock, between Hopland and Cloverdale.

A 7-year-old girl died of her injuries and the 30-year-old woman who was driving suffered major injuries, the report said.

The CHP did not release the names of either of the two crash victims, who are from Stockton.

CHP officers who arrived at the scene found a black 2007 Honda had gone off the embankment and had come to rest on its wheels in the Russian River.

According to witnesses at the scene, the Honda was traveling southbound when the driver suddenly lost control and veered off the highway, the CHP reported.

The Honda went over an embankment and overturned before coming to rest in the river, according to the CHP.

Cal Fire and Hopland Fire Department arrived on scene to care for the patients, and were joined by a Calstar air ambulance out of Ukiah and the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's Henry-1 helicopter, the CHP said.

The CHP said that, due to the steep terrain, the two crash victims had to be brought up from the river bottom to the highway's shoulder via helicopter. Reports from the scene had stated that the vehicle was 300 feet down the embankment.

Highway 101 was closed for a short period of time while the crash victims were removed from the river, according to reports from the scene.

The girl died at the scene of her injuries, the CHP said.

Calstar took the driver to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries including a fractured right arm and pelvis, according to the report.

The CHP said both crash victims were wearing their seat belts, and intoxication does not appear to be a factor.

The crash remains under investigation, the CHP said.

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 body of a man who went missing from his sailboat last week on Clear Lake has been recovered.

Michael Eugene Haberski, 59, of Sebastopol had gone missing on the evening of Tuesday, June 7, in Konocti Bay, as Lake County News has reported.

His body was found at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, close to where he had last been seen, according to according to Lt. Steve Brooks. 

On the night he disappeared witnesses reported seeing a man go into the water without a life jacket, according to reports from the scene.

Northshore Fire's fire boat and the Sheriff's Marine Patrol responded to find Haberski's sailboat 300 yards offshore in the middle of Konocti Bay, based on radio reports.

The search that followed primarily used side scan sonar, as visibility issues prevented the use of divers, Brooks said.

Officials with the Lake County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol had brought in search K9s from out of county to assist with the search on Saturday, and they were preparing to deploy the dogs when Haberski's body was found, having surfaced in the search area, according to Brooks.

Brooks said authorities are still investigating why Haberski went into the lake.

An autopsy is scheduled that will give Haberski's cause of death and will document any injuries, said Brooks, adding it will take at least a few days to get those preliminary results.

Haberski was a retired Petaluma firefighter who also had taught fire technology at Santa Rosa Junior College, according to his Linked In profile.

He was the third person to have died in Clear Lake in about a week and a half, as Lake County News has reported.

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.