LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – “This US Department of Agriculture office and campgrounds are currently closed due to the lapse in federal government funding.”
That's the phone message that callers receive when dialing in this week to the Mendocino National Forest's Upper Lake Ranger District office.
The message goes on to note that the office and campgrounds will reopen once Congress restores funding.
At the forest's main office in Willows, there is no answer on the main line, and forest spokesperson Tamara Schmidt's phone message also notes she has been furloughed because of the government shutdown.
The Forest Service closure is one of the local results of Congress' inability this week to agree on legislation that would prevent a shutdown of federal services.
Congressman John Garamendi's office reported that the USDA California headquarters in Davis is closed, with more than 200 of its employees furloughed. Also closed are USDA service centers in Woodland, Yuba City, Dixon, Colusa and Willows.
At the Veterans Affairs clinic in Clearlake, veterans are still being served this week, as the government guaranteed that all VA medical facilities and clinics would remain fully functional.
The Lake County Veterans Service Office confirmed that the local clinic was continuing to help local vets, but there are concerns about service interruptions should the shutdown continue into late October.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives failed to pass House Joint Resolution 72, the Veterans Benefits Continuing Appropriations Resolution 2014, which would have continued the agency's ability to pay veterans' pension and other benefits.
Congress has attempted to pass other piecemeal funding measures, which Congressman Mike Thompson said are “nothing more than cynical political ploys designed to lessen the outrage the House Majority is facing for shutting down the government.”
He added, “The right thing to do for our nation would be to pass the Senate’s compromise government funding legislation that protects health care reform and reduces spending.”
Other agencies experiencing the results of the shutdown – and having some local impacts – are the US Geological Survey, whose Earthquake Hazards Program has suspended most of its operations.
The agency is continuing to monitor and report earthquake activity – it reported on a 3.1-magnitude quake near Cobb on Wednesday – but in a posting on its Web site the US Geological Survey said “the accuracy or timeliness of some earthquake information products, as well as the availability or functionality of some web pages, could be affected by our reduced level of operation.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also reported that many of its associated Web sites are offline due to the shutdown, although it is continuing weather alerts through the National Weather Service.
County Social Services Director Carol Huchingson said the federal shutdown is not having much impact on her agency's programs at this point.
Section 8 Housing is the one program funded solely with federal dollars. She said federal officials advised that program funding may be delayed, “but assuming the federal budget is approved in the not-too-distant future, there should be no impact at all on our Section 8 tenants,” Huchingson said.
Lake County Administrative Officer Matt Perry said that the county departments most significantly funded by federal monies – such as Public Health, Behavioral Health and Social Services – have sufficient state and local money to fund operations for two to four weeks.
“If the 'shutdown' continues beyond a month, those departments may begin to feel an impact,” he said.
Other county departments that receive federal grants will not be receiving those funds until the federal government resumes operation, but they also have sufficient local monies to adequately continue operations, he said.
“The most impact will be felt by federal employees,” Perry 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.