Thursday, 28 March 2024

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Chesbro State of the State Reaction from California Assembly Access on Vimeo.




SACRAMENTO – Following Gov. Jerry Brown’s State of the State Address on Wednesday, Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro said he shared Brown’s optimism for California’s future but was disappointed that he didn’t take up the issues facing the state’s rural areas, including the North Coast.


“He needs to pay more attention to how some of his proposals affect rural California,” said Chesbro (D-Arcata). “He didn’t address the new unfair fire fees imposed on rural residents. And he didn’t address the hardship caused by eliminating funding for school buses in rural school districts. These are inequities that need to be resolved.


“I strongly support putting Gov. Brown’s revenue proposal on the ballot because it is what my constituents want,” Chesbro added. “I spent most of this fall traveling throughout the First Assembly District. Everywhere I went constituents told me they want to have a voice. They don’t want cuts just forced on them. These are really tough choices. Voters really want to be involved.”


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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Three people who survived a Saturday night crash in Lower Lake that killed three others remained hospitalized on Monday.


Michael Wright, 50, of Hidden Valley Lake; Steven Beyer, 53, of Clearlake and his wife, 54-year-old Lezley Beyer, were all flown by air ambulances to out-of-county trauma centers following the crash, which occurred just before 8 p.m. Saturday on Highway 29 just south of Spruce Grove Road North.


Wright’s girlfriend Kari Marks, 53, and her 24-year-old daughter Jena Marks, both of Hidden Valley Lake, and Jena Marks’ boyfriend, Santa Rosan Patrick Campbell, 27, all died at the scene, as Lake County News has reported.


Wright was driving a 2001 BMW 740 northbound when his vehicle slid sideways into the path of Steven Beyer’s Ford SUV, according to the California Highway Patrol.


Wright and the Beyers all were initially flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital with major injuries, the CHP said.


The initial CHP report said Wright had pelvic and chest trauma, Steven Beyer had fractures and contusions, and Lezley Beyer had head trauma and fractures.


On Monday, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital spokesperson Katy Hillenmeyer said Wright was in critical condition and Steven Beyer was in serious condition.


Lezley Beyer had been transferred to another facility, and Hillenmeyer was unable to offer further information due to privacy laws.


Lake County News was able to confirm with UC Davis Medical Center that Lezley Beyer was in that hospital’s care on Monday, and that she was in critical condition.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

 

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A beautiful variety of personable cats are in the county’s animal shelter and available for adoption immediately.


Flame point Siamese, a “torbie” and tabbies in a variety of colors are awaiting a chance for a new place to call home.

 

Cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed and 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.


The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption.

 

 

 

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The female domestic long hair mix is in cat room kennel No. 3b, ID No. 31400. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Masked lady


This gold-eyed lady with the partial mask is 2 years old.


She is a domestic long hair mix with calico and white coloring.


She is in cat room kennel No. 3b, ID No. 31400.

 

 

 

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This gray male tabby is in cat room kennel No. 45, ID No. 31398. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Gray lad


This gray male tabby is 3 years old.


He is a domestic long hair with green eyes.


Shelter staff said he is neutered.


Find him in cat room kennel No. 45, ID No. 31398.

 

 

 

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This female domestic short hair is in cat room kennel No. 34, ID No. 31405. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Black and white girl


This female domestic short hair has a black and white coat.


She has brown eyes. Her age was not available.


Find her in cat room kennel No. 34, ID No. 31405.

 

 

 

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This male Siamese mix is in cat room kennel No. 6a, ID No. 31370. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Male flame point Siamese


This male Siamese mix has flame point coloring.


He has a short coat. His age was not available.


He is in cat room kennel No. 6a, ID No. 31370.

 

 

 

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This male flame point Siamese mix is in cat room kennel No. 6b, ID No. 31371. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Flame point male Siamese


Also available is this second male flame point Siamese mix.


He is a domestic short hair mix.


Find him in cat room kennel No. 6b, ID No. 31371.

 

 

 

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This lynx point Siamese male and his black friend are in kennel No. 12 in the cat room, reference No. 31306. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.



Lynx point Siamese and pal


The male lynx point Siamese (at left) and his all-black friend are estimated to be 7 months old.


Both are domestic short hair mixes. The Siamese cat has blue eyes. Neither are neutered.


Shelter staff said the Siamese is very sweet with other cats and dogs.


Look for them in kennel No. 12 in the cat room, reference No. 31306.

 

 

 

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Mittens is a male 7-month-old gray tabby. He is in cat room kennel No. 16, ID No. 31121. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
 



Mittens


Mittens is a 7-month-old gray tabby.


He is a domestic short hair mix with green eyes. He is not neutered.

Shelter staff said Mittens is a surrendered kitty. He is very sweet and playful and would do great in any type of home.


He is in cat room kennel No. 16, ID No. 31121.

 

 

 

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This female domestic short hair

The director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation says the agency isn’t planning to offer special concessions to private businesses in the operation of some of the 70 state parks slated for closure later this year.


State Sen. Noreen Evans, who represents Lake County in the state Senate, has decried a proposal to allow for-profits to seek concession agreements, because she asserted it would hurt the ability of local nonprofits to run parks that might otherwise have been closed.


But in a Jan. 13 letter to park supporters, friends and prospective partners, State Parks Director Ruth Coleman emphasized that isn’t the case.


Coleman said the state parks have three partnership options – donor agreements to help fund parks, operating agreements with nonprofits or concession contracts.


She said her agency is pursuing approval from the State Public Works Board to advertise 11 possible concession contracts.


According to the updated agenda for the State Public Works Board’s Thursday meeting, the parks in question are George J. Hatfield State Recreation Area and McConnell State Recreation Area, Merced County; Turlock Lake State Recreation Area, Stanislaus County; Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area, Tehama County; Brannan Island State Recreation Area, Sacramento County; Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and Austin Creek State Recreation Area, Sonoma County; and Russian Gulch State Park, Hendy Woods State Park, Westport Union Landing State Park and Standish-Hickey State Recreation Area, all in Mendocino County.


In the letter, Coleman said State Parks “absolutely commits itself to continuing to explore all possible partnership options – whether with non-profits, local governments, for-profit companies or hybrids thereof – to ensure the maximum possible benefit for the public from keeping parks open and serving visitors. This mission-driven approach, and nothing else, will drive State Parks’ decision making.”


She also stated that the proposed action by the State Public Works Board at its Thursday meeting would allow State Parks to advertise for concessions, and doesn’t reflect an agency decision to use a concession at the listed parks.


Coleman said the State Parks Department “will continue its ongoing discussions with all parties, including nonprofits, cooperating associations and local agencies, aimed at finding the best possible partnerships to continue the operation of parks which the State can no longer afford to operate on its own.”


She added that the agency has no preference for concessions over operating agreements, and looks forward “to working with all potential partners to best serve California’s citizens and best protect the resources of the State Park System.”


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A local insurance agent convicted last October of theft from an elder is seeking a new trial.


Glenn Neasham of Hidden Valley Lake is asking for the new trial, with the motion set to be heard on Wednesday, Feb. 1.


In 2008 Neasham allegedly sold a $175,000 annuity to a then-83-year-old woman, receiving a commission on the sale. It was alleged that the woman did not have the mental capacity to enter into the contract.


In the motion for a new trial, Neasham’s attorney, Mitchell Hauptman, cites prosecutorial error regarding a recorded interview with the alleged victim and states that he received reports alleging juror misconduct.


Specifically, one of the jurors contacted Hauptman and told him that other jurors considered information from newspaper reports in making up their minds, and failed to disclose having relatives with dementia.


Deputy District Attorney Rachel Abelson said she is planning to have a motion in response to Hauptman’s motion for a new trial completed this week.


Regarding the tape recording, Abelson said the recording was found in a computer file.


“The quality of the recording was so poor that you couldn’t hear what was said,” she explained.


A discussion was held in open court about the recording and she said Judge Richard Martin commented that the sound quality wasn’t good enough to present it.


She said the biggest issue she needs to address in her response is the juror misconduct allegation.


“That gives me my biggest concern,” she said.


Neasham’s sentencing in the case also is scheduled on the court calendar for Feb. 1.


The District Attorney’s Office previously reported that Neasham could receive up to four years in prison, which would be served in the Lake County Jail under state correctional realignment.


Abelson said it’s possible that the motions and responses could delay the Feb. 1 hearing.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .




Forty light years from Earth, a rocky world named "55 Cancri e" circles perilously close to a stellar inferno.


Completing one orbit in only 18 hours, the alien planet is 26 times closer to its parent star than Mercury is to the Sun.


If Earth were in the same position, the soil beneath our feet would heat up to about 3,200 degrees Fahrenheit.


Researchers have long thought that 55 Cancri e must be a wasteland of parched rock.


Now they’re thinking again.


New observations by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that 55 Cancri e may be wetter and weirder than anyone imagined.


Spitzer recently measured the extraordinarily small amount of light 55 Cancri e blocks when it crosses in front of its star.


These transits occur every 18 hours, giving researchers repeated opportunities to gather the data they need to estimate the width, volume and density of the planet.


According to the new observations, 55 Cancri e has a mass 7.8 times and a radius just over twice that of Earth.


Those properties place 55 Cancri e in the "super-Earth" class of exoplanets, a few dozen of which have been found. Only a handful of known super-Earths, however, cross the face of their stars as viewed from our vantage point in the cosmos, so 55 Cancri e is better understood than most.


When 55 Cancri e was discovered in 2004, initial estimates of its size and mass were consistent with a dense planet of solid rock.


Spitzer data suggest otherwise: About a fifth of the planet's mass must be made of light elements and compounds – including water. Given the intense heat and high pressure these materials likely experience, researchers think the compounds likely exist in a "supercritical" fluid state.


A supercritical fluid is a high-pressure, high-temperature state of matter best described as a liquid-like gas, and a marvelous solvent.


Water becomes supercritical in some steam turbines – and it tends to dissolve the tips of the turbine blades.


Supercritical carbon dioxide is used to remove caffeine from coffee beans, and sometimes to dry-clean clothes. Liquid-fueled rocket propellant is also supercritical when it emerges from the tail of a spaceship.


On 55 Cancri e, this stuff may be literally oozing – or is it steaming? – out of the rocks.


With supercritical solvents rising from the planet’s surface, a star of terrifying proportions filling much of the daytime sky, and whole years rushing past in a matter of hours, 55 Cancri e teaches a valuable lesson: Just because a planet is similar in size to Earth does not mean the planet is like Earth.


It’s something to rethink about.


Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The search for an armed robbery suspect outside of the Lakeport city limits continued into the night Tuesday.


The male suspect was chased down Highway 29 to the outskirts of Lakeport by sheriff’s deputies at around noon on Tuesday. Outside of Lakeport he left his vehicle and fled on foot, with K9s deployed to look for him, as Lake County News has reported.


The suspect was described as a black male adult, wearing a red hat and white shirt, and armed, according to a reverse 911 call the Lake County Sheriff’s Office sent to area residents shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday. He was reported to be from out of the area.


Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his agency sent a unit to assist the sheriff’s office in the search.


California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds said the CHP sent a fixed wing aircraft from Napa to assist from the air.


However, as the day wore on, the search didn’t locate the suspect, with the CHP pilot reporting over the radio just before 3:30 p.m. that he had searched unsuccessfully for the man, noting that the area had a lot of outbuildings and trees.


About 20 minutes later, Central Dispatch reported receiving calls that a male subject was seen crawling along a fence line in the 900 block of Keck Road, behind Westside Community Park, in an area where sheriff’s units had previously been stationed.


At around 6:30 p.m. radio traffic indicated that someone in the search area called to say a fence had been knocked down and someone had gone through clothing in a nearby vacant home.


The suspect was reported to have shot off his weapon at one point, according to radio traffic. He also was reportedly being chased by some of the area’s residents.


Two CHP units were reported to have been sent in to assist with the search.


A helicopter was seen circling over the search area later in the evening. Radio traffic indicated a heat signature had been picked up in the area.


Sheriff's booking records showed that two other subjects were booked into the Lake County Jail Tuesday evening after having been arrested on first-degree robbery and conspiracy charges at around 1 p.m. It was not immediately clear if those subjects had a connection with the man being pursued outside of Lakeport.


More information on the search will be posted as it becomes available.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

A plan to allow for-profit organizations to seek agreements to run state parks is coming under fire from a North Coast state senator.

 

Sen. Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), who represents Lake County in the state Senate, isn’t pleased with the Department of Finance, State Public Works Board and State Department of Parks and Recreation’s plans to solicit concession agreements from private organizations, including for-profits that will undermine efforts by local nonprofits to keep parks open.


In a letter dated Jan. 5, the Department of Finance started the clock on a 20-day notification letter outlining a plan by the Department of Parks and Recreation to the State Public Works Board to consider seeking and approving agreements to operate 11 state parks currently slated for closure.


The State Public Works Board is scheduled to hear the matter at a meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in State Capitol Room 3191 in Sacramento. The agenda released for the meeting does not say which 11 state parks it will discuss regarding concessions.


Evans is a non-voting legislative appointee to the Board but received no notification of the plan or agenda.


“It’s like they’re offering our State Parks up for sale to the highest bidder,” said Evans, who has six of the 11 parks in her district.


“To learn that Parks is soliciting bids from for-profit private entities for concessions while they negotiate with local nonprofits to keep parks as a community treasures is horrifying,” Evans said. “Local nonprofits will not be able to manage parks if their largest source of revenue is given away to concessionaires.”


According to the Department of Finance’s 20 Day Notification Letter, concessionaires would pay the state up to 3 percent of their revenues, which Evans called “a pittance.”


She said those revenues should be the best source of revenues to keep all State Parks open.


“If this is all the state would receive, it’s a gift of public resources to private entities,” Evans said.


As a result, Evans said local nonprofits, in many cases, could not compete with well-funded private organizations. Further, some of these agreements would be “bundled” to include multiple parks. The process would size-out locals who could operate one or two parks, but not several, effectively eliminating them from competing for contracts.


Currently, locals would be required to put 100 percent of their revenues back into the parks they operate, Evans said.


“It’s a big step toward privatization of a public resource that has taken California 147 years to build,” said Evans. “Any proposal that would undercut local nonprofits and favor private businesses is not acceptable. What’s the next proposal, the Walmart State Park and Recreation System? How does this plan make our parks self-sustaining?”


Evans has been an ardent critic of the park closures, particularly the lack of a legally defensible process used to create the list of 70 parks due to close July 1, 2012.


Recently, she called upon the governor for stronger park leadership, including park protections, stemming from a December 2011 poll by park managers that found most believed the system lacked leadership to protect parks.


She has announced that she will be introducing legislation to review the current closure criteria and examine opportunities for alternative funding.


Based on the board agenda for this week, Evans has requested the item removed to deter further damage to public confidence in park management.


If the item remains, she will be present at the meeting and invites all interested parties to join her in opposing the concession item.


Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A California Highway Patrol report is offering new details about a Saturday night crash near Lower Lake that killed three people and injured three others.


The crash occurred at 7:58 p.m. on Highway 29 south of Spruce Grove Road North, according to a report from CHP Sgt. Dave Stark.


Stark identified those who lost their lives as 53-year-old Kari Marks of Hidden Valley Lake; her 24-year-old daughter, Jena Marks, also of Hidden Valley Lake; and Jena Marks’ boyfriend, Patrick Campbell, 27, of Santa Rosa.


Kari Marks, Jena Marks and Campbell were riding in a 2001 BMW 740 with Kari Marks’ boyfriend, 50-year-old Michael Wright of Hidden Valley Lake, who was driving northbound on Highway 29 south of Spruce Grove Road North at an unknown speed, according to the report.


Driving southbound in a 2008 Ford Taurus X SUV was 53-year-old Steven Beyer of Clearlake, who also was traveling at an unknown speed, Stark reported. Riding with Beyer was his wife, 54-year-old Lezley Beyer.


Stark’s report said that Wright – for reasons that are still under investigation – lost control of his BMW and started to skid sideways into the oncoming lane of traffic, with the right side of his vehicle hitting the front end of the Beyers’ SUV.


After the collision, Wright’s car came to rest on the west dirt embankment, while the Beyers’ SUV was in the southbound lane, Stark said.


Kari and Jena Marks, and Campbell all were pronounced dead at the scene, according to Stark.


Stark’s report said Wright and the Beyers all suffered major injuries.


Wright sustained pelvic and chest trauma, Steven Beyer had fractures and contusions and Lezley Beyer also had fractures along with head trauma, the report stated.


A landing zone was set up nearby on Spruce Grove Road North so three air ambulances were able to come and pick up the Beyers and Wright after the crash, as Lake County News has reported.


Stark said all three of the surviving crash victims were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment.


All six of the individuals involved in the crash were wearing safety belts, Stark reported.


He said alcohol is not considered to be a factor, and the investigation is continuing.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Law enforcement is searching an area outside of the Lakeport city limits for a suspect who led deputies on a high speed pursuit.


At around noon on Tuesday, radio reports indicated Lake County Sheriff’s deputies were pursuing a Honda Accord on Highway 29, with the subject in the Accord alleged to be armed.


Near Lakeport the subject in the vehicle eventually pulled over and fled on foot in a field, according to radio reports. A sheriff’s K9 was reportedly deployed to assist with the effort.


Sheriff’s office personnel were involved in the search and unavailable to respond to requests for information about the incident or offer confirmation of whether or not the suspect was possibly linked to an early morning home invasion robbery that reportedly occurred in Loch Lomond.


Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said his agency was asked to assist with looking for the suspect in the chase after noon on Tuesday.


He said the information his agency received was that robbery suspects had been the focus of the chase.


Lakeport Police sent one unit to assist in the search, which was taking place west of the city, in the area of Scotts Valley and Riggs Road, Rasmussen said.


The search also was getting assistance from the air.


Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the CHP was bringing in a fixed-wing aircraft from Napa.


Reynolds said CHP had received information that one armed suspect was being sought.

 

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

 

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Firefighters responded to a vegetation fire above Clearlake Oaks, Calif., on Monday, January 16, 2012. Photo by Mandy Worthy.






CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Amidst the winter’s dry conditions a fire broke out on a hillside above Clearlake Oaks late Monday morning.


The fire, first dispatched shortly before noon, occurred near Mountain View Drive, according to Northshore Fire Deputy Chief Pat Brown.


He said firefighters had the fire contained at between three to four acres within 45 minutes of arrival.


Brown said a large contingent of resources were brought in because of the potential threat to four nearby homes.


“It ran the hill pretty fast,” he said, noting the dry conditions.


Northshore Fire sent in four engines and a water tender; Lake County Fire sent a mutual aid engine; and Cal Fire sent a bulldozer, a helicopter, an engine, a hand crew and a battalion chief, Brown said.


Firefighters put down 2,000 feet of hose in order to get the fire contained, according to Brown.


Shortly after 2 p.m. Brown estimated mop up on the hillside would continue for several more hours.


He said the fire’s cause is under investigation, but he was able to pinpoint its origin to an area on the hillside, off of the roadway.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

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Three people died and three others were injured in a head-on collision involving two vehicles outside of Lower Lake, Calif., on Saturday, January 14, 2012. Photo by Gary McAuley.
 

 

 



LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A Saturday evening head-on crash south of Lower Lake claimed three lives and sent three other people to area hospitals.


The collision between a late model SUV and an older model passenger car was reported at 8 p.m. on Highway 29 between Spruce Grove Road and C Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.


CHP, Lake County Fire, South Lake County Fire, Northshore Fire and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office were among the responding agencies, according to radio reports.


Reports from the scene indicated that CHP officers and firefighters arriving at the crash site found the car pushed up a nearby embankment and the SUV sitting in the middle of the roadway.


Three of the four people in the car had died by the time firefighters arrived, with the driver seriously injured, according to reports. The two people in the SUV also had been injured in the crash.


The car’s driver and the SUV’s occupants all reportedly had to be extricated from the badly damaged vehicles.


Radio reports indicated all three survivors were flown to out-of-county to trauma centers.


A landing zone was set up on Spruce Grove Road North. Two REACH air ambulances and one from CalStar landed there, transporting two of the victims to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and the third to Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa. Radio reports indicated the last of the helicopters lifted off shortly before 9:30 p.m.


The highway remained blocked for nearly three and a half hours as rescue personnel worked at the scene, CHP officers investigated the cause and two companies removed the totaled vehicles, the CHP reported.


Incident command at the scene was terminated at 11:17 p.m., with the roadway reopened minutes later, according to radio traffic.


The CHP investigation continued into the night. A full report on the circumstances of the crash with the names of the deceased and injured had not yet been released by 4 a.m.


E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews, on Tumblr at www.lakeconews.tumblr.com, on Google+, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

 

 

 

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California Highway Patrol officers conduct an investigation at the scene of a fatal crash near Lower Lake, Calif., on Saturday, January 14, 2012. Photo by Gary McAuley.
 

 

 

 

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Firefighters wait to begin extrication of three crash victims at the scene of a head-on collision near Lower Lake, Calif., on Saturday, January 14, 2012. Photo by Gary McAuley.
 

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