NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – With record rainfall in the Northern Sierra and the snowpack still building, the California Department of Water Resources on Friday increased its estimate of this year’s State Water Project supply to 100 percent for contractors north of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and 85 percent of requests for other contractors.
“We’re hopeful we’ll be able to increase deliveries even more as we monitor conditions,” said William Croyle, acting director of the Department of Water Resources, or DWR.
Friday’s allocation is the highest since 100 percent in 2006.
DWR initially estimated it would only be able to deliver 20 percent of the 4.1 million acre-feet of SWP water requested this year.
That projection, or allocation, was increased to 45 percent on Dec. 21 and to 60 percent on Jan. 18 as storms developed.
In step with Friday’s allocation increase, DWR announced that repairs have been completed to the intake structure at Clifton Court Forebay, a reservoir feeding the Delta pumps that deliver State Water Project water to most of California.
Erosion damage was discovered last month on the concrete apron that supports the reservoir’s intake gates. Clifton Court Forebay and Delta pumping operations will return to normal on Sunday.
Emergency work is under way to repair spillways at the keystone SWP reservoir, Lake Oroville.
Lake levels this spring and summer have not been determined yet and will depend on public safety, the weather, and the pace at which the Sierra Nevada snowpack melts, among other factors.
But the above-average size of that snowpack will allow DWR to deliver at least 85 percent of SWP contract requests and perhaps adjust the allocation higher later this spring.
The 29 public agencies contracting to receive SWP water serve more than 25 million Californians and nearly a million acres of irrigated agricultural land.
Clear Lake is part of the Bay-Delta Watershed. Its waters flow into the Bay Delta through Cache Creek.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Gordon Worra, 73, died April 11, 2017, at Bill’s Saw Shop in Lakeport.
He had moved to Lake County from El Monte with his family in 1973.
Mr. Worra was born May 13, 1943, in Minneapolis, Minn.
He was the proud owner/operator of Bill’s Saw Shop for 43 years and enjoyed all the friends he made while doing a job he loved.
One of his favorite pastimes was fishing and he planned an annual family trip every year to Rock Creek, Calif.
Gordon served in the United States Army from March 1965 to January 1967 as a heavy equipment mechanic.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Pat, in 2000.
He is survived by his daughter, Debbie Worra of Lakeport; son and daughter-in-law, Dean and Kim Worra of La Mesa; brother and sister-in-law, Walter and Carole Worra of El Monte; brother and sister-in-law, Marvin and Carol Worra of Groveland.
There will be a graveside service at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18, at Hartley Cemetery with a reception immediately following at Gordon’s house.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 1701 Nimbus Road Rancho Cordova, CA 95670 (please specify fishing).
For further information, please contact Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary at 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
COVELO, Calif. – There will be no sales at the Covelo Ranger District office of the Mendocino National Forest the week of April 17 to 21.
During this week, the office located at 78150 Covelo Road, will be open for visitor information but the public will not be able to purchase forest maps, passes or permits for products such as firewood.
The public may obtain these services at forest offices in Upper Lake, Willows and Stonyford.
NASA scientists are releasing new global maps of Earth at night, providing the clearest yet composite view of the patterns of human settlement across our planet.
Satellite images of Earth at night – often referred to as "night lights" – have been a gee-whiz curiosity for the public and a tool for fundamental research for nearly 25 years.
They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness. Produced every decade or so, such maps have spawned hundreds of pop-culture uses and dozens of economic, social science and environmental research projects.
But what would happen if night lights imagery could be updated yearly, monthly or even daily? A research team led by Earth scientist Miguel Román of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, plans to find out this year.
In the years since the 2011 launch of the NASA-NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, or NPP, satellite, Román and colleagues have been analyzing night lights data and developing new software and algorithms to make night lights imagery clearer, more accurate and readily available.
They are now on the verge of providing daily, high-definition views of Earth at night, and are targeting the release of such data to the science community later this year.
Since colleagues from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA released a new Earth at night map in 2012, Román and teammates at NASA's Earth Observing Satellite Data and Information System (EOSDIS) have been working to integrate nighttime data into NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) and Worldview mapping tools.
Freely available to the science community and the public via the Web, GIBS and Worldview allow users to see natural- and false-color images of Earth within hours of satellite acquisition.
They are releasing a new global composite map of night lights as observed in 2016, as well as a revised version of the 2012 map.
The NASA group has examined the different ways that light is radiated, scattered and reflected by land, atmospheric and ocean surfaces. The principal challenge in nighttime satellite imaging is accounting for the phases of the moon, which constantly varies the amount of light shining on Earth, though in predictable ways.
Likewise, seasonal vegetation, clouds, aerosols, snow and ice cover, and even faint atmospheric emissions (such as airglow and auroras) change the way light is observed in different parts of the world. The new maps were produced with data from all months of each year. The team wrote code that picked the clearest night views each month, ultimately combining moonlight-free and moonlight-corrected data.
Román and colleagues have been building remote sensing techniques to filter out these sources of extraneous light, gathering a better and more consistent signal of how human-driven patterns and processes are changing.
The improved processing moves Suomi NPP closer to its full potential of observing dim light down to the scale of an isolated highway lamp or a fishing boat. The satellite's workhorse instrument is the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which detects photons of light reflected from Earth's surface and atmosphere in 22 different wavelengths.
VIIRS is the first satellite instrument to make quantitative measurements of light emissions and reflections, which allows researchers to distinguish the intensity, types and the sources of night lights over several years.
Suomi NPP observes nearly every location on Earth at roughly 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. (local time) each day, observing the planet in vertical 3000-kilometer strips from pole to pole. VIIRS includes a special "day-night band," a low-light sensor that can distinguish night lights with six times better spatial resolution and 250 times better resolution of lighting levels (dynamic range) than previous night-observing satellites.
And because Suomi NPP is a civilian science satellite, the data are freely available to scientists within minutes to hours of acquisition.
Armed with more accurate nighttime environmental products, the NASA team is now automating the processing so that users will be able to view nighttime imagery within hours of acquisition. This has the potential to aid short-term weather forecasting and disaster response.
"Thanks to VIIRS, we can now monitor short-term changes caused by disturbances in power delivery, such as conflict, storms, earthquakes and brownouts," said Román. "We can monitor cyclical changes driven by reoccurring human activities such as holiday lighting and seasonal migrations. We can also monitor gradual changes driven by urbanization, out-migration, economic changes, and electrification. The fact that we can track all these different aspects at the heart of what defines a city is simply mind-boggling."
For instance, VIIRS detected power outages in the wake of Hurricane Matthew, a major storm that struck the northeastern Caribbean and the southeastern United States in late September 2016. NASA's Disasters Response team provided the data to colleagues at the Federal Emergency Management Agency; in the future, NASA, FEMA and the Department of Energy hope to develop power outage maps and integrate the information into recovery efforts by first responders.
The NASA team envisions many other potential uses by research, meteorological and civic groups. For instance, daily nighttime imagery could be used to help monitor unregulated or unreported fishing. It could also contribute to efforts to track sea ice movements and concentrations. Researchers in Puerto Rico intend to use the dataset to reduce light pollution and help protect tropical forests and coastal areas that support fragile ecosystems. And a team at the United Nations has already used night lights data to monitor the effects of war on electric power and the movement of displaced populations in war-torn Syria.
In a separate, long-term project, Román is working with colleagues from around the world to improve global and regional estimates of carbon dioxide emissions. The team at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) is combining night lights, urban land use data, and statistical and model projections of anthropogenic emissions in ways that should make estimates of sources much more precise.
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Public Health has lifted the Feb. 2 toxic shellfish health advisory for Mendocino County.
The advisory had warned consumers not to eat recreationally harvested bivalve shellfish due to dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP. Recent tests indicate shellfish in these areas are now safe to consume.
Advisories remain in effect for Humboldt County (sport-harvested razor clams) and Del Norte County (sport-harvested razor clams, sport-harvested bivalve shellfish and crab viscera).
While there have been no reported illnesses associated with these events, dangerous levels of PSP toxins can cause illness or death.
PSP toxins affect the central nervous system, producing a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish.
These symptoms are typically followed by loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing.
In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur.
For current information on shellfish advisories and quarantines, call CDPH’s toll-free Shellfish Information Line at 800-553-4133.
Historically low numbers of fall-run and winter-run Chinook salmon have prompted the California Fish and Game Commission, or FGC, to drastically limit the state’s salmon fishery for the remainder of 2017.
In the Klamath Management Zone, which is the area between the Oregon/California border and Horse Mountain (40° 05’ 00” N. latitude), the entire ocean salmon fishery will be closed, as will the fall-run Chinook fishery on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers.
Returning stock projections for fall-run Chinook in the Klamath River Basin are the lowest on record. By limiting, and in some cases closing, the fisheries for the remainder of 2017, the FGC hopes to maximize fall- and winter-run Chinook survival and reproduction and support efforts to rebuild the fisheries.
“Closing an entire fishing season is not something that I take lightly, but the survival of the fall-run Chinook in the Klamath and Trinity rivers is at stake,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham. “CDFW and other fisheries management partners agree that these restrictions are necessary to help recover this vital species.”
Inland, spring-run Chinook fishing will still be allowed through Aug. 14 on the Klamath River and through Aug. 31 on the Trinity River. After these dates, both fisheries will close for the remainder of the calendar year.
However, the nearby Smith River will remain open for fall-run Chinook, and there are additional opportunities in southern Oregon rivers. During the salmon season closure, steelhead angling will still be allowed in both the Klamath and Trinity rivers.
The ocean salmon season north of Horse Mountain will be completely closed in 2017. All areas south of Horse Mountain opened on April 1 and will remain open, with some restrictions, as follows.
– In the Fort Bragg area, which extends from Horse Mountain to Point Arena (38° 57’ 30” N. latitude), the season will continue through May 31, reopening Aug. 15 and extending through Nov. 12 with a 20-inch minimum size limit for the season. The summer closure in this area is also related to the limited numbers of Klamath River fall-run Chinook. – In the San Francisco area, which extends from Point Arena to Pigeon Point (37° 11’ 00” N. latitude), the season will close on April 30 under a 24-inch minimum size limit, and reopen on May 15 through Oct. 31 with a 20-inch minimum size limit. – In the Monterey area between Pigeon Point and Point Sur (36° 18’ 00” N. latitude), the season will continue through July 15, while areas south of Point Sur will continue through May 31. The minimum size limit south of Pigeon Point will remain 24-inches total length.
Other restrictions for these areas are as follows:
– The daily bag limit is two salmon per day of any species except coho salmon and no more than two daily bag limits may be possessed when on land. On a vessel in ocean waters, no person shall possess or bring ashore more than one daily bag limit. CDFW reminds anglers that retention of coho (also known as silver salmon) is prohibited in all ocean fisheries. – For anglers fishing north of Point Conception (34° 27’ 00” N. latitude), no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks shall be used, and no more than one rod may be used per angler when fishing for salmon or fishing from a boat with salmon on board. In addition, barbless circle hooks are required when fishing with bait by any means other than trolling between Horse Mountain and Point Conception.
Shortened ocean salmon seasons in Northern California were necessary partly because data show that Klamath River fall-run Chinook are most likely to be caught in ocean areas near the Klamath River mouth, with impacts on this stock decreasing the further south fishing opportunity occurs.
Concerns are also high for endangered Sacramento River winter-run Chinook, contributing to the decision to shorten ocean fishing seasons in areas south of Pigeon Point.
Three consecutive years of low juvenile numbers, coupled with unusually warm and unproductive ocean conditions, led fishery managers and industry representatives to implement protections beyond those required by the Endangered Species Act biological opinion and the federal salmon Fishery Management Plan’s harvest control rule.
Fishery data suggest that winter-run Chinook are concentrated south of Pigeon Point, especially south of Point Sur, during the summer and early fall. Ocean fishery closures and size limit restrictions implemented in the Monterey management areas are intended to minimize contact with winter-run Chinook.
Klamath fall-run Chinook are currently classified under the federal plan as “approaching an overfished condition.” Given the poor return of adults to the river the past two years, coupled with returns this fall that are expected to be just as poor or even worse, the stock is expected to be classified as “overfished” in 2018.
As a result, CDFW will be working with federal and tribal partners to develop a Rebuilding Plan for Klamath River fall-run Chinook next year.
CDFW and the FGC are tasked with managing the state’s fishery resources to ensure sustainability. Given the stock status, extra precaution is warranted. Every fish counts this year – especially every fish returning to the river to spawn.
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – South Lake County residents had the chance to ask questions and raise concerns about a planned safety project on Highway 175 during the Middletown Area Town Hall on Thursday night.
Jaime Matteoli, Caltrans’ Lake County project manager who had made a presentation to MATH on the $12.5 million safety project in November, returned to speak to the group about the project’s latest developments.
While there haven’t been a lot of changes to the plans to the project – which will widen the roadway and reduce curves along a 2.5-mile portion of Highway 175 from Putah Creek to Dry Creek – Matteoli said he wanted to hear any new or continuing concerns from community members.
Matteoli said Caltrans identified a need for the project based on data from the years 2007 to 2012, during which that stretch of highway had a fatal collision rate nearly five times the state average.
During that time, there were a total of 13 collisions, of which two were fatal and eight resulted in injuries, he said.
Ten of those 13 crashes involved vehicles running off the road and hitting objects – the most common being trees, with other objects that were struck including utility poles, a ditch and a fence, he said.
“This is important when we talk about trees,” Matteoli said. “Five trees were hit.”
Highway 175 from Middletown to Cobb was not built to current design standards, which require 8-foot-wide shoulders. The shoulder along the highway varies from none at all to a maximum of 4 feet in width, Matteoli said.
Matteoli said standard design also usually includes 20-foot-wide “clear recovery zones” which cannot have fixed objects like trees or utility poles.
The highway safety project will widen the shoulder along the southern side of the highway to a width of 6 feet, and 4 feet on the north side, Matteoli said.
Matteoli said that narrower shoulder width is meant to help reduce the number of trees that will need to be removed in the project area, which remains one of the principal concerns for community members.
Other goals of the project are to widen curves to make them safer and reduce vertical curves to address sight distance issues, according to Matteoli.
Regarding the project’s timeline, Matteoli said the draft environmental impact report was circulated beginning on Nov. 15 and Caltrans held a public house in Middletown on Dec. 1.
He said environmental issues that were out of Caltrans’ control – due to working under the requirements required by the Federal Highway Administration – pushed back the process, meaning that approval of the final environmental document has been delayed from Dec. 15 to May 1.
Likewise the right-of-way acquisitions have been delayed, and rather than having started on Dec. 15, they are now set to start on May 15, Matteoli said.
Matteoli said the project is expected to be designed and ready to build by March 1, 2018, with construction to start by the fall of 2018 rather than the summer of 2018, as had originally been estimated.
He said construction is expected to be done by the winter of 2019, which was the original estimated time for completion.
The project’s total $12.5 million price tag includes $10 million for construction and $2.5 million for right-of-way acquisition and mitigation, Matteoli said.
Addressing the issue of trees, Matteoli said Caltrans’ certified arborists identified hazard trees that had been damaged by the Valley fire in the project area, removing 93 of them. Of those, he said 53 would have had to have been cut anyway due to the project.
Another 218 trees will need to be cut to achieve the project’s safety benefit, Matteoli said.
Matteoli said Caltrans’ new District 1 Director Matt Brady recently came into his office to talk to him about how to mitigate the loss of trees from the project. “He's committed that we do our part to mitigate for the loss of these trees.”
As a result, Caltrans is partnering with the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department to help fund tree planting at Middletown Trailside Park or other locations impacted by the Valley fire Matteoli said.
That tree mitigation is expected to cost between $50,000 and $100,000, Matteoli said.
Matteoli said there are 28 property parcels in the right-of-way, and the project’s alignment was shifted to the south in the area of Napa Avenue to reduce impacts on residences.
Caltrans continues to offer an incentive to property owners, giving an additional 10-percent of the property’s appraised value – for a minimum of $1,000 and a maximum of $100,000 per parcel – when sales contracts are signed within 60 days of the first written offer, Matteoli said.
During the question-and-answer period, the issue of increased speeds was raised by community member Marlene Elder, who pointed out that speeds already are high on that stretch of road.
Matteoli said Caltrans acknowledges there will be an increase in speed, but that's a tradeoff for the increased safety. He said that that speed increase is built into the project.
“The safety benefits are tremendous,” he said, adding that changes to the project are unlikely at this point due to the expense and work already done.
Another community member, Kimberly Haynie, suggested a radar speed sign to show people how fast they’re going. Matteoli said it was a good suggestion.
MATH Vice Chair Linda Diehl-Darms asked if Caltrans will monitor the area to see if it does improve safety. Matteoli said yes.
When the speed issue again came up, community member Joan Clay pointed out, “Faster or not, there's going to be a posted speed limit. You can't expect Caltrans to take care of that kind of stuff.”
Matteoli agreed, saying it was an issue of enforcement.
MATH Board Member Gregg Van Oss asked about alternative routes and closures during the project. Matteoli said there should be one-lane traffic control and delays of up to 10 minutes, which he said is still an estimate as the staging plan is still being developed.
In other business, Jeff Lucas updated MATH on the $7.5 million in fire recovery funding allocated to Lake County through the Community Development Block Grant Program.
MATH also unanimously approved bylaw revisions, decided to place the discussion of a Valley fire memorial and projects for this year on the May agenda, and agreed to move forward on developing a “person of the year” award.
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. – George Henry Ryder (1928-2017), a longtime resident of Lake County for 54 years, passed way April 6, 2017, at his home in Lower Lake.
He was born in San Jose, Calif., in 1928, the son of Irving and Mary Ryder. He grew up in Santa Clara County on their Rancho Escadendo with his two sisters, Nellie and Patricia.
He attended a one-room schoolhouse in Llagas Canyon and graduated from Lincoln High School Class of 1948.
George joined the US Navy 1946 at the age of 17 and served on board the USS Los Angeles in the Pacific until the end of the war in December 1947.
In 1950 he married Mary Elizabeth Twiss and had two children, Steven and Jane Ryder. Since 1948, George made a career with California Division of Forestry for over 37 years. In 1962 he took a position to build and open the Konocti Conservation Camp in Lake County until retirement in 1984.
George loved the great outdoor including hunting, fishing and backpacking in God’s creation and never sat a minute still. He was a kind and loving man who always had a kind word and light-hearted joke.
After retirement, George and Mary enjoyed travel in the fifth-wheel trailer as far as Alaska to Mexico to Washington, DC.
Over the years he served in the Masonic Lodge for over 50 years, Shrine, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, Konocti School Board for 39 years, Lake County School Board, president of Little League for 10 years and Lower Lake Volunteer Fire Department.
He received numerous awards and recognition for his community service including Congressional Record 2015 from the California House of Representatives for service at the Konocti School Board, Kiwanian of the Year 1970, Lions Club Citizen of the Year 1975, E.P.O. Elks Citizen of the Year 1973, Grand Lodge of Order of Elks Distinguished Citizenship Award 1972-1973, High Twelve International President 1989-90, L.C. Shrine Club President 1992, High Twelve International Recognition for Outstanding Service in 1995.
George knew how he wanted to live his life and he did so to the fullest. His favorite poem was “If” by Rudyard Kipling. It speaks volumes for how he lived his life. I know we will all truly miss him but are better off for having known him.
George is survived by his wife, Mary; sister, Nellie; brother-in law, Robert Twiss; son, Steven; son-in-law, John Bonner; four grandchildren, Mikael, Amanda, Suzanne and Kathleen; and six great-grandchildren, Jayke, Jayse and Mayci Ryder, and Gracie, Conner and Jai Campbell.
In honor of George Henry Ryder there will be a memorial service held at 11 a.m., Friday, April 21, at the Masonic Lodge, 7100 S Center Drive, Clearlake, with full military and masonic honors followed by a luncheon for all family and friends. Any donations may be made to American Legion Konocti Post 437, 14770 Austin Road, Clearlake, CA 95422.
Thank you to all those who helped him through his health challenges the last years of his life. Per his request, he will be cremated and family will gather in celebration this summer and scatter his ashes in God creation, the forest, he loved so much.
Arrangements under the care of Jones & Lewis Clear Lake Memorial Chapel. Please share your loving memories of George by signing his online guestbook at www.jonesandlewis.com and www.legacy.com .
NORTH COAST, Calif. – Caltrans reports that the following road projects will be taking place around Lake County and the North Coast during the coming week.
Included are Mendocino County projects that may impact Lake County commuters.
LAKE COUNTY
Highway 20
– Curb and sidewalk repairs from the Morrison Creek Bridge to Ogden Road will continue. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
– Emergency highway repairs at various locations from Ogden Road to Bruner Drive will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
Highway 29
– Emergency culvert repairs from Spruce Grove Road to Hofacker Lane will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
Highway 175
– Emergency highway repairs from Grouss Springs Road to Emerford Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
– Emergency highway repairs from east of Arroyo Vista Road will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
– Utility surveys from Anderson Springs Road to the Dry Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
MENDOCINO COUNTY
Highway 1
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs from Haven Neck Drive to Old Stageroad Drive on Wednesday, April 19. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
– Emergency slide removal near Leggett will continue. A full road closure is in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should seek an alternate route.
Highway 20
– PG&E has been granted a Caltrans Encroachment Permit for utility repairs about 0.7 mile east of Wildwood Campground through Friday, April 14. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
– Bridge deck repairs at the East Fork Russian River Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect overnight from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 25-minute delays.
Highway 101
– Routine maintenance near Frog Woman Rock will continue. Northbound traffic will be restricted to one lane 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
– Emergency slide repairs on the westbound Route 20 to southbound Route 101 connector ramp will continue. Intermittent ramp closures will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
– Emergency slide removal near Hermitage Vista Point will continue. Northbound traffic will be reduced to one lane 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
– Emergency slide removal near the Dora Creek Bridge will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 20-minute delays.
– Emergency slide removal near Piercy will continue. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in both directions 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate minor traffic slowdowns.
Highway 128
– Roadway repairs from Fish Rock Road to Yorkville will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
Highway 162
– Emergency storm damage repairs near The Middle Way will continue. One-way traffic control with temporary stop signs will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate five-minute delays.
Highway 175
– Emergency storm damage repairs 2.0 miles and 5.0 east of Buckman Drive will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays at each location.
Highway 253
– Emergency roadway repairs from Booneville to Ukiah will continue. One-way traffic control will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Motorists should anticipate 10-minute delays.
The Caltrans Traffic Operations Office has reviewed each project and determined that individual project delays are expected to be less than the statewide policy maximum of 30 minutes, unless noted otherwise above.
For information pertaining to emergency roadwork or for updates to scheduled roadwork, please contact the California Highway Information Network (CHIN) at 1-800-GAS-ROAD (1-800-427-7623).
When an emergency strikes, the public turns to the 9-1-1 system as the lifeline to ensure police, fire and medical personnel are able to respond quickly.
Often 9-1-1 operators go unnoticed and Cal Fire is taking the opportunity during National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week to highlight the critical role that our department’s dispatchers play during an emergency.
In recognition of all their hard work, Cal Fire is sharing individual profiles of communication operators across the state on social media.
“Our Emergency Command personal are the frontline of any emergency and bring the calm to an otherwise chaotic and stressful situation,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, director of Cal Fire. “They are the one’s working weekends, holidays, and spending time away from loved ones just like our fire fighters. Their dedication to public service is what makes this week truly worth celebrating.”
Cal Fire operates 21 Emergency Command Centers throughout California that answer over 470,000 calls for help and dispatch over a thousand different pieces of emergency equipment including fire engines, helicopters, airtankers and rescue vehicles.
Approximately 100 local fire departments contract with Cal Fire to provide dispatching services.
National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week was started by Congress back in 1991 to help highlight the thousands of individuals who respond to emergency calls.
These men and woman are available 24/7 to aid and dispatch emergency professionals and resources during a crisis.