NORTH COAST, Calif. — The containment on a fire burning in Mendocino County since Sunday afternoon doubled on Tuesday.
Cal Fire said Tuesday night that the Hopkins fire near Calpella remained at 257 acres, with containment at 60%.
Two hundred structures remain threatened. Cal Fire reported the Damage Inspection Team has started evaluating the fire area to determine how many structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Mandatory evacuations are still in effect on Eastside Calpella Road from the 4800 block north to Cortina Place, Moore Street east of North State Street, Marina Drive, Black Oak Drive, Rubicon Court and the north end of Lake Ridge Road, north of the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road.
Cal Fire said firefighters on Tuesday continued to make progress, despite the higher temperatures and moderate wind conditions.
Resources assigned on Tuesday began to be rolled back, with 16 engines, six water tenders, one helicopter, seven hand crews and 223 personnel committed to the incident.
Fire resources will continue to support utility partners as they repair damaged infrastructure, Cal Fire 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.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday welcomed President Joseph Biden as he arrived in California to survey damage from the Caldor fire – now the 15th largest and the 16th most destructive wildfire in state history – and discuss his Administration’s response to recent devastating wildfires in the western U.S.
Following the state’s request Friday, the White House approved a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for El Dorado County to assist state, tribal and local governments with Caldor Fire emergency response and recovery costs.
This follows the Presidential Emergency Declaration California secured earlier this month to support the Caldor fire response, and a previous Presidential Major Disaster Declaration to support counties impacted by the Dixie and River fires.
“I thank President Biden for traveling to California today to see firsthand the devastating impacts of climate-driven catastrophic wildfires we’re facing across the West,” said Gov. Newsom. “California is leading the nation with bold solutions to protect people and the environment, and the Biden-Harris Administration is proposing transformative investments to take on this existential crisis. With their dedicated partnership, we will continue to scale up our forest health and wildfire resilience efforts, and ensure our communities recovering from wildfire have the support they need.”
Following a tarmac greet at Mather Airport, the Governor and President Biden traveled to the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, headquarters, where they received a briefing on the Caldor fire response led by CAL OES Director Mark Ghilarducci, Cal Fire Director Thom Porter and U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester for the Pacific Southwest Region Jennifer Eberlien. They also greeted staff at the State Operations Center supporting statewide emergency response efforts.
Gov. Newsom and President Biden later surveyed damage from the Caldor fire in an aerial tour of impacted areas in El Dorado County, where the community of Grizzly Flats was devastated by the fire.
After returning from the aerial survey, the governor and president met briefly with elected officials and delivered remarks at a Mather Airport hangar.
Gov. Newsom thanked President Biden for his commitment to tackling climate change and supporting states on the front lines, and highlighted the strong state-federal partnership on wildfire response and recovery efforts.
President Biden discussed how the proposed investments in the bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and Build Back Better Agenda will increase our resilience to climate change and extreme weather events, including catastrophic wildfires.
President Biden’s visit Monday follows recent White House wildfire briefings with Western state governors, in which the governor called for federal investments to support additional firefighting personnel, aerial firefighting equipment and long-term access to satellite technology for early fire detection, as well as Gov. Newsom’s meetings with EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Forest Service Fire Chief Randy Moore.
Following the White House briefings, the Department of Defense provided additional aircraft support to the region, including three additional C-130s with Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems, or MAFFs, and necessary support crews, bringing the total to eight MAFF equipped C-130s available for wildland firefighting.
The Biden Administration’s budget proposal includes robust investments for high-priority hazardous-fuels treatments, and the Build Back Better Agenda includes additional funding to support efforts by states, tribes and communities to promote resilience to wildfire and ecosystem restoration improvements.
Katelyn Jetelina, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
I’m an epidemiologist and an internationally recognized science communicator, and I’ve often found myself running between COVID-19 meetings asking “how did we get here?”
Figuring out the “how” is essential to preparing for the future. In trying to make sense of these past 18 months, I’ve found it helpful to broadly categorize the U.S. pandemic journey thus far into five phases: Scramble, Learn, Respond, Test and Hope.
Scramble: What’s going on?
In early 2020, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, hit the United States. The first documented case was a traveler who landed in Seattle from Wuhan, China on Jan. 15. Only later did public health officials find that SARS-CoV-2 was already spreading throughout the community.
It wasn’t until March that Americans were forced to take the pandemic seriously, as states began to implement stay-at-home orders. While civilians were struggling to figure out child care, working from home and Immunology 101, epidemiologists started to react.
But maybe a better word is “scramble.” The U.S. did not have the public health infrastructure in place to effectively respond. A chronically underfunded and politicized public health system hampered the nation’s real-time response.
Epidemiologists were scrambling, left to rely on volunteers to report national level public health data because there was no centralized public health data system in the U.S. Public health officials were scrambling to enact safety recommendations and contact trace because of limited resources. Data scientists, like those at Johns Hopkins University, were scrambling to share accessible data for decision-making. Scientists were scrambling to develop COVID-19 tests. And everyone was scrambling to figure out how to communicate the evolving threat of the virus to American lives. From the beginning, the seeds were sown for a reactive, rather than proactive, approach.
Learn: Are we doing anything right?
Once the Northeast started to get under control, June 2020 was fairly quiet across the nation. Is this done? Maybe the decrease is due to weather? People started relaxing.
Then July hit. In one month, cases in the South were as high as they had been in the Northeast months earlier. The West started creeping up, too. The game of whack-a-mole began as there still wasn’t a coordinated, national response.
While the flood of evidence provided scientists and clinicians with critical information, a wave of retractions pulling papers with erroneous or unreliable data began to appear. This, coupled with lack of accurate scientific communication from unbiased sources, fueled a concurrent infodemic – an epidemic of misinformation and public health threats that researchers, social media companies and public health officials are still learning how to identify, mitigate and treat.
But then the delta variant knocked on the door. Significantly more transmissible and severe than the original strain of the coronavirus, it first created a tsunami of cases in the South that then spread to every corner of the United States.
The U.S. will also need to self-reflect as a nation. In order to deal effectively with the next infectious disease crisis, the U.S. will need to create centralized public health systems and expand genomic surveillance, hospital networks and testing capabilities. Scientists need to revamp how they accessibly communicate science and research so the CDC can build public trust again. And by removing politics from public health, science might be able to infiltrate echo chambers instead of feeding them.
Americans need to prepare so when the next pandemic hits, everyone will be ready to mount a proactive, effective fight against a common enemy: the virus.
LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lakeport Police Department said it is staffing a full-time school resource police officer on the campuses of the Lakeport Unified School District.
The new school resource officer, Aaron Hodges, began his assignment on Monday, the department said.
Hodges attended Lakeport schools and is a graduate of Clear Lake High School.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said the school resource officer program is made possible by a funding partnership between the Lakeport Unified School Board and the Lakeport City Council.
“We appreciate the support and commitment of this program from the city and school district administrations and the school board and council members,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen said all of the officials involved believe that placement of a police officer on the school grounds will greatly enhance the safety of all students, staff and visitors on the campuses.
“Additionally, as past experience has shown, we can assist students and have a positive impact on their learning environment and their lives,” Rasmussen said.
He encouraged anyone with questions about the program to contact the police or school district administrations.
Officer Hodges can be reached through the Clear Lake High School office at 707-262-3010.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — National Recovery Month is observed each September to support and promote evidence-based treatment and recovery practices, and express gratitude to the people involved in making recovery in all forms possible.
National Recovery Month is also a celebration of the gains made by people in recovery.
Most of us are accustomed to cheering the important gains made by loved ones that are managing physical health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension; National Recovery Month highlights the critical role behavioral health plays in our overall well-being.
Preventive measures and treatment can be highly successful. People can and do recover from behavioral health challenges with the right treatment, and go on to live healthy and rewarding lives. That’s worth celebrating!
Millions of lives have been changed through recovery. For those experiencing alcohol and/or drug addiction, there are recovery programs that can help. Prevention is also crucial, and we celebrate groups that work to keep youth from developing patterns of substance abuse through education and early intervention.
“We all need to work together to increase awareness and improve understanding about diseases and the negative effects of substance abuse,” said Todd Metcalf, director of Lake County Behavioral Health Services.
This year’s National Recovery Month theme is “Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community.”
The goal is to remind people in the recovery process, and family members and friends supporting them: you are not alone in your journey through recovery. While each individual’s journey is unique, we are all in this together.
Join Lake County Behavioral Health Services in celebrating National Recovery Month! This September, and throughout the year, remember effective recovery services are available, and help us spread the word, and change lives for the better.
For more information, please contact Lake County Behavioral Health Services at 707-274-9101 or 707-994-7090.
This 6-year-old female domestic longhair has a brown tabby coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 54, ID No. LCAC-A-1477.
Domestic medium hair cat
This 3-year-old female domestic medium hair cat has a brown tabby coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 58, ID No. LCAC-A-1029.
‘Marmalade’
“Marmalade” is a 5-year-old female domestic short hair cat with a calico and white coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 68, ID No. LCAC-A-1444.
Female domestic short hair kitten
This female domestic short hair kitten has a black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 101, ID No. LCAC-A-1504.
Domestic short hair kitten
This male domestic short hair kitten has all-black coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 101, ID No. LCAC-A-1502.
Domestic short hair kitten
This male domestic short hair kitten has an all-black coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 125B, ID No. LCAC-A-1139.
Female domestic short hair
This 1-year-old female domestic short hair cat has a black coat.
She is in cat room kennel No. 135, ID No. LCAC-A-1133.
‘Goldie’
“Goldie” is a male domestic short hair kitten with a yellow tabby and white coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 142, ID No. LCAC-A-1442.
‘Ophir’
“Ophir” is a male domestic short hair kitten with a red and white coat.
He is in cat room kennel No. 142, ID No. LCAC-A-1443.
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.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A new community event is set to be introduced next month.
The new Northshore Fall Festival will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23, on Main Street in Upper Lake.
The festival was the brainchild of Katie DeVries and Ben Guenther, the new owners of Upper Lake Grocery.
The event’s proceeds will benefit the newly formed Northshore Fire Fund, created to raise funds to assist the Northshore Fire Protection District.
There will be barbecue, a beer booth, live music, raffle items, vendor booths, a costume contest, and free arts and crafts fun for children.
To participate in this event or for more information, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 707-275-4018, or visit www.upperlake.org.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Exploration on Mount Konocti, the final 2021-22 fiscal year budget and the latest COVID-19 update are on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for this week.
The meeting is being conducted via Zoom this week because the board chambers will be used for voting activities on Election Day, which the board approved during a special virtual meeting on Thursday.
The meeting ID is 958 6394 8038, pass code 845932. The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,95863948038#,,,,*845932# US.
All interested members of the public that do not have internet access or a Mediacom cable subscription are encouraged to call 669-900-6833, and enter the Zoom meeting ID and pass code information above.
At 9:15 a.m., the board will hear a presentation on the Konocti Project and consider granting permission for excavating and exploring the Mount Konocti summit vents, and for the United States Geological Survey to do more research.
A report to the board from Supervisors Jessica Pyska explains that the Konocti Project’s specific purpose “is to promote and sponsor the scientific exploration and study of the geology, archeology and other natural and cultural aspects of Mt. Konocti and surrounding areas of Lake County, for the benefit of the public.”
She said the project would like to resume efforts in the summit vents “to either prove or disprove the existence of a large cavern and lake inside the mountain. If the science and research is right, and our local Indian legends are true, then Lake County will have uncovered one of the wonders of the world.”
Pyska said the project would like to gain permission to further excavate and explore the summit vents, and possibly put up a perimeter fence for public safety.
At 9:30 a.m., the board will hold a public hearing to consider the final recommended budget for fiscal year 2021/2022 for the county of Lake and Special Districts governed by the Board of Supervisors.
The final recommended budget totals $319,386,115, up from the initial budget accepted in June, which totaled $307,498,431.
Accounting for that increase is larger-than-anticipated property tax, sales tax and transient occupancy tax proceeds, as well as the first half of the $12.5 million the county is receiving through the American Rescue Plan Act.
At 10:40 a.m., the board will get an update on COVID-19 from Public Health officials.
In untimed items, the board will consider approving video content encouraging COVID-19 vaccination, and will discuss an amendment to the personnel policy for evaluation of the performance of the county administrative officer, appointed department heads and the Public Health officer.
The full agenda follows.
CONSENT AGENDA
5.1: Approve amendment to the county of Lake COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Worksite Protocol.
5.2: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 21-0277-023-SF with California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the Sudden Oak Death Quarantine program for period July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, in the amount of $4,335.31.
5.3: Adopt resolution approving Agreement No. 21-0391-000-SG with California Department of Food and Agriculture for compliance with the High Risk Pest Exclusion Program for period July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, in the amount of $11,047.94.
5.4: Adopt resolution approving a MOU between county of Lake and Lake County Resource Conservation District for management of goat’s rue in Lake County for FY 2021-2023 in the amount of $21,041.12.
5.5: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, authorize the district to sign and submit an application for Carl Moyer Program Year 23 funding and sign all other program documents.
5.6: Sitting as the Lake County Air Quality Management District Board of Directors, appoint Lowell Grant as the engineer/scientist member to the LCAQMD Hearing Board pursuant to Health and Safety Code.
5.7: Adopt resolution fixing tax rates for local agencies, general obligation bonds and other voter approved indebtedness for fiscal year 2021/2022.
5.8: Approve agreement between county of Lake and Behavioral Health Services as lead agency of the Lake County Continuum of Care and North Coast Opportunities for fiscal year 2021-25 in an amount not to exceed $207,585 and authorize the chair to sign.
5.9: Adopt proclamation designating the month of September 2021 as National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month.
5.10: Adopt proclamation designating Sept. 5 through 11 as National Suicide Prevention Week.
5.11: Approve late travel claim for mental health case manager in the amount of $200.07 and authorize the auditor-controller to process payment.
5.12: Approve Board of Supervisors minutes for Aug. 10 and 31 meetings.
5.13: Approve the continuation of a local health emergency related to the 2019 Coronavirus (COVID-19) as proclaimed by the Lake County Public Health officer.
5.14: Approve the continuation of a local health emergency and order prohibiting the endangerment of the community through the unsafe removal, transport, and disposal of fire debris for the LNU Complex wildfire.
5.15: Approve the Continuation of a local emergency due to the Mendocino Complex fire incident (River and Ranch fires).
5.16: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to COVID-19.
5.17: Approve the continuation of an emergency declaration for drought conditions.
5.18: Approve the continuation of a local emergency In Lake County in Response to the LNU Lightning Complex wildfire event.
5.19: Approve the continuation of a local emergency due to the Pawnee fire incident.
5.20: Approve Continuation of a local health emergency by the Lake County health officer for the Cache fire.
5.21: Approve continuation of a local emergency by the Lake County sheriff/OES director for the Cache fire.
5.22: Approve purchase of seven 2022 Ford Explorer police pursuit vehicles from Napa Ford Lincoln in the amount of $285,465 from the Sheriff/Pursuit Replacement Budget Unit 2217, Object Code 62.72 and (b) authorize the sheriff/coroner or his designee to sign the purchase order.
5.23: Approve leave of absence request for sheriff's department employee Kellie Beck from Oct. 15, 2021, through April 15, 2022, and authorize the chairman to sign.
5.24: Approve contract between county of Lake and Chabot-Las Positas Community College District for Title IV-E training in the amount of $1,000,000 per fiscal year from July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2024, and authorize the chair to sign.
TIMED ITEMS
6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating Sept. 5 through 11 as National Suicide Prevention Week.
6.3, 9:08 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation designating the month of September 2021 as National Alcohol and Drug Recovery Month.
6.4, 9:15 a.m.: (a) Presentation on the Konocti Project; and (b) consideration of permission to proceed with excavating and exploring the Mount Konocti summit vents.
6.5, 9:25 a.m.: Review of and recommendation for cannabis tax usage and expenditure policies and procedures.
6.6, 9:30 a.m.: Public hearing, consideration of the final recommended budget for fiscal year 2021/2022 for the county of Lake and Special Districts governed by the Board of Supervisors.
6.7, 10:30 a.m.: Hearing on account and proposed assessment for the property located at 6814 Hammond Ave., Nice, CA; APN #031-071-46; Property Owner: Steve M. DeFilippis.
6.8, 10:40 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.
6.9, 11:15 a.m.: Discussion and consideration of an ordinance amending Article VII of Chapter 13 of the Lake County Code relating to administrative fines and penalties.
UNTIMED ITEMS
7.2: Consideration of video content encouraging vaccination in Lake County, and approval for distribution via our county website and social media channels, and any other available media outlets.
7.3: (a) Consideration of Amendment to Personnel Amended Policy Rule 1100 “Performance Reports,” creating Rule 1102.3 For Evaluation of the Performance of the County Administrative Officer, Appointed Department Heads, and the Public Health officer; and (b) consideration of special meeting dates to added to the Board of Supervisors annual calendar for 2021, at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30, Oct. 7, Oct. 21 and Nov. 4, 2021.
7.4: Consideration of (a) waiving the formal bidding process, pursuant to Lake County Code Section 38.2, as it is not in the public interest due to the unique nature of goods or services; and (b) approval of the agreement between the county of Lake and Ford Street Project for adult substance use disorder residential treatment services including medication assisted treatment and detoxification services for fiscal year 2021-22 for a contract maximum of $199,250.00 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.
7.5: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and Sutter Center for psychiatry for fiscal year 2021-22 for 2020-21 services in the amount of $39,160.00 for acute psychiatric inpatient psychiatric hospitalization services.
7.6: Consideration of agreement between county of Lake and North Valley Behavioral Health LLC for fiscal year 2021-22 for 2020-21 services in the amount of $329,360.00 for acute psychiatric inpatient psychiatric hospitalization services.
7.7: Consideration of presentation on Lake County Behavioral Health Services' Mental Health Services Act Program annual update and program recommendations for fiscal year 2021-22.
7.8: Consideration of the following advisory board appointments: Spring Valley CSA#2 Advisory Board and Glenbrook Cemetery District.
CLOSED SESSION
8.1: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County IHSS Public Authority: Conference with (a) Chief Negotiator M. Long and County Negotiator C. Markytan; and (b) employee organization: California United Homecare Workers Union Local 4034.
8.2: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) Chief Negotiator: M. Long; County Negotiators: C. Huchingson and P. Samac; and (b) Employee Organization: LCSMA.
8.3: Public employee evaluation: Scott De Leon, director of the Department of Public Works, Water Resources and Community Development (the latter until June 13).
8.4: Public employee evaluation: Behavioral Health Director Todd Metcalf.
8.5: Conference with legal counsel: Significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Gov. Code sec. 54956.9(d)(2),(e)(3) — Claim of Dano.
8.6: Conference with (a) temporary representatives designated to meet with county department heads regarding salary and benefits and (b) unrepresented management employees.
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.
The lake is really gross in some places right now. What happened to the “Blue Ribbon Committee” that was formed a few years ago? Wasn’t that supposed to “fix the lake?” This lake is the livelihood of Lake County and I am wondering what that committee has been doing to help solve some of the lake issues.
— Bemused and Confused about the Blue Ribbon Committee
Dear Bemused and Confused,
This is a great and timely question! In fact, the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake, or BRC, has a meeting scheduled on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
That meeting will include a review of significant funding decisions that would have a large impact on Clear Lake quality, economy, and tributary health and habitat.
If you want to attend that meeting, all the BRC meetings and sub committee meetings are publicly accessible online and the meetings agendas and minutes are also always available and accessible at the Natural Resources Agency Blue Ribbon for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake website.
But let’s back up and start from the beginning.
Where to find Blue Ribbon Committee formation and history information
While some of the history is complicated, there is quite a bit of BRC information. If you want more details then I provide in the column today, please visit the Natural Resources Agency Blue Ribbon for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake website linked above.
Likewise, Lake County News has also covered milestones with the BRC over the years and you can find links to all those articles here.
The BRC is not just focused on the ecology of Clear Lake, but also on the rehabilitation of the lake-dependent socio-economy of the area around the lake. The idea is that if the economy around the lake can improve, this would create more tax-driven resources for lake quality improvements, and likewise, if the lake quality improved, this would result in more economic improvements and socio economic opportunities.
The BRC committee also supports two subcommittees — the technical subcommittee and the socioeconomic committee.
Sub committees are charged with providing an avenue for stakeholders, experts, researchers, and managers to have in-depth conversations on the issues impacting Clear Lake and potential solutions.
These subcommittees provide the narrow focus that helps to address and answer specific questions and concerns that arise by the whole BRC. The members on the sub committees do include some BRC voting members, but are mostly local experts, agency staff, concerned citizens, researchers, business owners, and more.
For example, the technical subcommittee might view presentations on new technologies in lake management that might be of interest and value to pass along to the whole BRC for consideration. The socioeconomic subcommittee might review BRC proposals that could impact local communities and businesses — such as the development of an education center or water lab, for example.
There is a real need for the Blue Ribbon Committee
In general you should know that in 2017 the BRC was approved by the State Legislature in Assembly Bill 707 (Ch. 842, Statutes of 2017) thanks to Assemblymember Cecilia M. Aguiar-Curry (Fourth District).
When approved, the BRC (in parallel with CDFW) included $2 million for immediate research by UC Davis for both ecologic and economic investigations and allocated $5 million in Proposition 68 bond funds to be used for capital projects to improve lake water quality.
However, the Assembly member didn’t work alone on the idea and need for the BRC. Letters and pressure from county officials (like former District 3 Supervisor Jim Steele), local tribes, Lake County Water Resources Staff and Managers, conversations with the Water Board, and others within the community really pushed to get some help for the lake. The Natural Resources Agency is credited with continuing this effort having picked up the administration and financing of this committee in 2020.
The concept behind the BRC is that it will help direct some much needed resources into the county to address lake quality issues that are able to be addressed in any other way. This effort is very much appreciated by lake managers and stewards, especially after several attempts to impose a County tax and fee for water quality improvements between 2012 to 2014 all failed.
The BRC is really well-positioned to provide a lasting, positive impact for Clear Lake and Lake County. Figuring out how that money is spent, based on the most credible and recent science, and in a way that will truly result in a positive improvement, is the role of the 15-member BRC and subcommittees. And that role is taken very seriously.
BRC research accomplishments
The key to the success of the BRC is credible, recent, relevant, and comprehensive science and evidence. Without the most recent knowledge of what is going on in the system, any management “fixes” would be addressing the wrong thing, and expensive outcomes would not result in water quality improvements. How would we feel if $5 million was spent on some management technique that didn’t result in better water quality? Or conditions got worse? Science is necessary to guide us through what really needs to be addressed.
To date, through Assembly Bill 707 direct and indirect funds (initially administered by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, and now administered through the Natural Resources Agency), the BRC has dedicated and allocated significant research-specific funding for both lake and stream monitoring to produce comprehensive lake and watershed models.
The total cost contracted to be spent on these scientific endeavors is about $5.4 million with research expected to be completed by 2023.
This is not all the amount of money being funded through the BRC (see my next column), but because the success of large management projects depend heavily on sound scientific research, this massive scientific undertaking is very much needed.
The in-lake model (i.e. within the lake) is being produced by UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center, or TERC, led by Dr. Geoff Schladow and his lab.
The watershed model (i.e. the landscape around the lake that all drains into it) is being produced by the United State Geological Survey, or USGS, and being led by Dr. Charlie Alpers and his team. TERC and USGS are working together to make sure their models fit together and complement each other.
The information these models can provide will be very important for identifying very specific, relevant and effective management actions. Funds allocated to UC Davis TERC to conduct the in-lake monitoring needed to create these sophisticated mathematical models, will revolutionize the way we understand the processes occurring in Clear Lake, from understanding and predicting daily temperature and dissolved oxygen patterns to demonstrating how different management strategies would impact these processes and impact the lake — for good or worse.
During 2020 during the start of COVID, funding for this research had an uncertain future, but thankfully in April in 2021, the Governor and California Department of Finance did agree to fully fund continuation of the in-lake and landscape / watershed monitoring and models, in addition to some other research and management to be conducted by local agencies and tribes.
This would not have been possible without the dedication and hard work of the BRC and the ability to get support for these projects to be funded.
Now, you are probably thinking that $5.4 million is an incredibly large amount of money and are surprised why some sampling costs so much. But there is some really sophisticated research going on in the lake and on the landscape that costs quite a bit, both in equipment, installation, maintenance, operations, staffing, software, training, and of course to support the team conducting this research — including skilled investigators, students, graduate students, post docs, and specialists.
If you want to learn more about the team doing the research and the current products, TERC has created a website specifically for the Clear Lake study. You can find it here at “TERC Clear Lake Research.”
To get an idea of the type of research being conducted, and the sophistication of some of the tools and techniques being used, I would suggest checking out the Blog post shared by one of TERC’s lead researchers, Dr. Alicia Cortes. The post called “What Controls Water Quality in Clear Lake” (July 2020) describes some of the monitoring and sampling the TERC team is conducting and some of their results, including stream turbidity monitoring, time-depth oxygen profiling in the lake, and how satellite can be used for predicting and observing cyanobacteria blooms in the Lake.
Why do we need new research?
Now you might be thinking, “Don’t we have enough research on Clear Lake? Isn’t this just a huge waste of money?”
In reality, there hasn’t been much research conducted on Clear Lake in the last 20 to 25 years.
The last big plethora of Clear Lake research was during the 1980s to 1990s, when there was a UC Davis Field station located at Carnegie Library at Library Park in Lakeport. That field station was shut down due to budget cutbacks in 2001, and research in and on Clear Lake basically halted.
Most of the research coming out at that time was focused on water quality trends and mercury impacts from the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Site (Don’t worry, I will talk about this Superfund Site in a future column, as I have received questions from many citizens!).
Since that time, there have been a lot of changes in Clear Lake and Lake County. We have had fires, two of our worst droughts, large and frequent floods, climate change has increased air and water temperatures, and we have increased the development footprint around the basin.
However, some good things have happened too; we have a stormwater management program (some control over external sources of nutrients), we installed grading ordinances, and we have implemented more protections for shoreline development and construction.
The way that land managers have improved environmental protections in Lake County is not insignificant and people are more aware of the issues impacting the lake. Yet lake quality is still an issue, caused by things we yet don’t know or don’t understand — hence a need for the BRC.
Sure, there have been some very important monitoring programs that have started, most notably the Clear Lake Cyanotoxin Monitoring Project led by the Big Valley EPA and Sarah Ryan (Follow them on Facebook @Clear Lake Water Quality).
In 2010 UC Davis completed a data compilations study, to identify major trends in the physical, chemical, and biological data collected over time in Clear Lake. Clear Lake drinking water purveyors are also some of the best in the world for monitoring and treating cyanobacteria in drinking water systems.
The California Department of Water Resources, and now the County Water Resources Department, have conducted monthly water and sediment samples. But most of this research and monitoring is isolated, and not combined together to determine large-scale trends and patterns about what is going on in the lake under local conditions and global climate and weather conditions.
Part of BRC-funded research from UC Davis TERC team, includes a suite of work conducted on understanding the contribution of sediments in the lake to the nutrient dynamics in the water column. Remember from my column “Concerned about Cyanobacteria” (July 11, 2021) that nutrient phosphorus in the water column drives the horrible algae and cyanobacteria blooms that we see in the lake. So it’s very logical that to get to the bottom of the blooms, UC Davis is focusing on studying this particular nutrient.
If you ever followed historical work conducted on Clear Lake, you might recognize or remember a publication called “The Causes and Control of Algal Blooms in Clear Lake.” This publication was written way back in 1994 by Richerson, Suchanek, and Why and produced by UC Davis. This document demonstrated the relationship between phosphorus, blooms, and Clear Lake water quality.
Basically the study determined that most of the conditions in the lake were driven or resulted from poor land management that allowed external phosphorus to flow into the lake. While that is indeed true, the report also indicated that lake sediment is a source of nutrients driving the blooms observed in the lake during summer and fall, and that drought conditions cause these observations (or increases in phosphorus in the water column to increase blooms) to be more severe.
Basically, when less water comes into the lake in winter, we are seeing more phosphorus in the water column, but the source of that phosphorus is from the sediment. What remains unknown is what conditions in the lake cause what amount of phosphorus to escape from the sediments and be available in the water column for algae and cyanobacteria.
In case you are wondering, the tumultuous TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) requirements the Lake is under because of her 303(d) Impaired Water-Body Listed status by the US EPA, also concluded that little is known about the contribution of “internal” loading of phosphorus on the overall condition of the lake. In fact, the TMDL model and report did not even include considerations of internal sources, making real, effective management very difficult.
Thankfully, the BRC-funded TERC team is able to address these unknowns. UC Davis graduate student Nick Framsead, conducted his graduate work on answering the question: What is the contribution of “internal” loading of phosphorus to water quality conditions in Clear Lake?
He summarizes his work nicely in this blog post titled “Getting to the Bottom of what Fuels Algal Blooms in Clear Lake” (N. Farmstead 2020). Farmstead collected sediment core samples from Clear Lake and manipulated them in the laboratory to identify what exactly the contribution of Phosphorus is to the water column under different scenarios (i.e. like high / low oxygen and cool / warm temperature).
Farmstead discovered that 40% phosphorus is sourced from inside the lake’s sediments, while 60% comes from external sources. And this relationship was more pronounced under low oxygen and warmer temperatures -something that is becoming more and more common during our long, warm summer and fall seasons especially compared to 20-25 years ago!
This finding means that successful management has to consider in-lake strategies and methods, and not just reduce external phosphorus inputs — which really changes traditional management strategies used for water quality management in Clear Lake. This is the type of relevant and current information needed to help better manage the lake, and what the BRC is well-suited to providing.
Fixing the lake
Also, I hate to break it to you, but “fixing the lake” is not something that will happen, at least not in the way you expect. Clear Lake is very, very old (580,000 years!), much older than most if not all the other “natural” lakes in the entire United States.
Clear lake will never look or function like a reservoir, especially considering that most California reservoirs are 60 to 80 years old — mere babies in lake years! Additionally, Clear Lake never fully drains, and some of the water and sediment in this lake has been here for thousands of years.
Reservoirs are constantly drained and refilled with fresh rain water. Case in point, look at all the current water levels of reservoirs around the State, they are all really low. When the next storm season is upon us and water fills up the reservoirs, those reservoirs will have completely brand-new, fresh water. What will Clear Lake have? Some fresh water of course, but also a lot of the same water -and sediments, nutrients, algae — that is there now.
Clear Lake also has a very rich sediment bottom (see sediment core research from UC Davis mentioned above), from the half a million years of accumulation of inputs (from the nearby slopes and hills) and no full cycle of emptying and draining. No amount of management or activity will ever change the shape, size, and physics of this lake and how it fills and flows with water.
So, part of our “lake fixing” needs to include more informed and current research, more targeted and effective management, and a shift in our perceptions about what a healthy and “fixed” Clear Lake would really actually look like. The Blue Ribbon Committee is dedicated to achieving all these things, but they want to accomplish them in the right way — which does take time.
How can you be involved and learn more?
If you want to receive emails from the BRC, sign up for the BRC Listserv here.
I also highly encourage you to attend BRC meetings or subcommittee meetings. They always leave time for public comment. Likewise, it’s a great way to see how many people can come together, collaboratively, and discuss complex, yet important topics that will impact Clear Lake — and how to solve them!
Stay tuned for the next “Lady of the Lake” column for part two about the Blue Ribbon Committee.
In that column we will breakdown the currently funded BRC projects from the governor's 2021 approved budget, and the upcoming proposed projects being reviewed for funding at the next BRC meeting on Sept 23.
Sincerely, Lady of the Lake
Angela De Palma-Dow is a limnologist (limnology = study of fresh inland waters) who lives and works in Lake County. Born in Northern California, she has a Master of Science from Michigan State University. She is a Certified Lake Manager from the North American Lake Management Society, or NALMS, and she is the current president/chair of the California chapter of the Society for Freshwater Science. She can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
NORTH COAST, Calif. — Firefighters gained more ground on the Hopkins fire burning in Mendocino County on Monday.
The fire began Sunday afternoon at East Hopkins and North State streets in Calpella.
Cal Fire on Monday adjusted the size estimate down to 257 acres, with containment at 30%.
Resources that remain assigned to the incident include 26 engines, six water tenders, three helicopters, six hand crews, seven dozers and 309 personnel.
On Monday, firefighters continued to hold and improve control lines throughout the day. Cal Fire said the potential still existed for spots to become established outside of the control line due to wind and dry conditions.
The agency said firefighters are remaining at the scene to strengthen the depth on the containment lines, extinguish any interior hot spots and mitigate hazard trees.
On Monday, Cal Fire said 200 structures remained threatened, but so far there are no reports of any being destroyed or damaged.
Mandatory evacuations remained in effect on Monday night for Eastside Calpella Road from the 4800 block north to Cortina Place, Moore Street east of North State Street, Marina Drive, Black Oak Drive, Rubicon Court and the north end of Lake Ridge Road, north of the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road.
An evacuation center remains open at the Mendocino County Office of Education, 2240 Old River Road in Ukiah.
Authorities asked that all evacuation orders and warnings that remain in place be heeded for the safety of both the public and first responders’ safety.
Closures remain in effect on Lake Ridge Road, near the gate at 5780 Lake Ridge Road; 4801 East Side Calpella Road; Moore Street at North State Street; East Side Calpella Road at Cortina Place; and Highway 20 at Marina Drive.
Visit www.MendoReady.org for additional information to include the updated map for evacuation orders and warnings.
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 fast-moving fire in Mendocino County has scorched hundreds of acres of land and is threatening many homes.
Cal Fire said the Hopkins fire began at 2:15 p.m. Sunday at East Hopkins and North State Street in Calpella.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Cal Fire said.
As of Sunday night, Cal Fire said it had burned 275 acres and was 10% contained, with 200 structures threatened but none so far destroyed or damaged.
The agency said 22 engines, six water tenders, two helicopters, six hand crews, seven dozers and 262 personnel are assigned to the incident.
Cal Fire said the fire is burning in a mix of grass, brush, oak and pine trees, with firefighters working in extreme conditions — including high heat, low humidity, steep terrain and the potential for erratic winds.
The fire appeared to be the source of smoke that poured into Lake County’s air basin on Sunday afternoon.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents in the area of Road 144 to 50000 block of eastside of Calpella.
An evacuation center has been set up at the Mendocino County Office of Education, 2240 Old River Road in Ukiah.
Two sites are available in Ukiah to shelter large animals: the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds, 1055 State St., and the Mendocino County Animal Shelter on Plant Road.
Road closures are in effect at the bridge at Lake Mendocino Drive, Eastside Calpella and East Road, Marina Drive exit off Highway 20 and the Calpella exit off Highway 101, officials 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.
An initiative that paired paid visitors with racially diverse older adults, many of whom lived alone and struggled with taking care of their basic needs, resulted in reduced loneliness and plunging rates of depression.
In a study led by UC San Francisco, researchers matched the visitors with 74 participants, ages 59 to 96, from the Tenderloin, a low-income neighborhood in downtown San Francisco.
The participants had “histories of isolation,” some had faced periods of homelessness, and all were consumers of the city’s public mental health services.
The eight peers, who were also older adults, had undergone two weeks of training with ongoing instruction, had had similar life experiences, and were paired according to shared interests and commonalities like native language and sexual orientation.
At the start of the study, 38% of the participants met criteria for depression and approximately two-thirds experienced a high degree of loneliness.
But by the end of the two-year intervention, fewer felt very lonely and just 13% were depressed, the researchers reported in their study, which was published recently in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Treatment for depression may not be enough
First author Ashwin Kotwal, MD, of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics, said that the results of the study suggest that interventions like this are a “promising non-pharmacologic approach to addressing depression,” especially when loneliness or isolation is identified.
And while social disconnection and depression often travel together, the two are not interchangeable, said senior author Carla Perissinotto, MD, also of the UCSF Division of Geriatrics.
“If we think about treating depression and there is co-existing loneliness, we may not be treating the whole picture,” she said.
Researchers recruited participants through the nonprofit Curry Senior Center, affiliated with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Initially, they reached out with flyers that referenced “loneliness” and “social isolation,” but after recognizing these terms were stigmatizing, they alluded to “a friendly visitor program,” with peers who would check in with them in their own homes, and offer company on errands or to medical appointments.
The average age of the participants was 71, 58 percent were male, 15 percent identified as LGBT and 88 percent lived alone. Approximately one in three had difficulties with activities of daily living, like bathing and grooming, dressing, toileting and transferring from a chair to an upright position.
In the first year of the program, an average 43 contact visits were made between peers and participants. As rapport grew, participant and peer might share meals, go for walks, or participate in an art program or other group activity.
In the second year, COVID-19 resulted in shelter-in-place orders that meant visits were substituted with twice-weekly phone calls. While most participants were eager to continue the relationship with their peers, 19 percent dropped out of the program, due to “lack of phones, discomfort with phones or lack of interest,” the researchers noted.
Less loneliness, barriers to connection
Nonetheless, results after two years showed that not only did fewer participants meet criteria for depression, loneliness scores decreased by an average 0.8 points out of a maximum of six points, and social support increased from nine points to 12 points, out of a maximum of 20 points.
Additionally, there was a drop of 1.5 points in “barriers to socializing,” out of a maximum of 10 points. These barriers included language and culture, mood, safety concerns, physical restrictions and incontinence. Participants felt that their own more positive mood and the willingness of the peers to visit them in their homes eased these barriers.
The initiative coincides with a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences that partnerships should be developed between health care systems and community-based programs that support “practical, real-world interventions leveraging local resources and expertise.”
The success of this initiative may be attributed to peers working independently of medical providers and offering the participants a social experience, rather than a treatment, the researchers stated.
“We should really look overall at what gets ‘covered’ by insurance and health care,” said Perissinotto. “It’s an interesting social commentary that we are willing to pay for an incredibly costly medication, but we aren’t willing to invest in lower-cost workarounds that may have significantly important benefits to patients’ mental health and social wellbeing.”
For Kotwal, medical treatments fail to address the social determinants of health. “Many of our participants have complex and intersecting social and medical needs, including multiple medical and psychiatric conditions, histories of homelessness, poverty, and many years when they lacked meaningful social connection,” he said. “We cannot expect a pill to address these complex needs, and certainly shouldn’t rely on medications alone.”
Coauthors are Shannon Fuller, Janet J. Myers, PhD, Soe Han Tha and Alexander K. Smith, MD, all of UCSF; and Daniel Hill of the Curry Senior Center, San Francisco.
Research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), NIA Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, National Palliative Care Research Center Kornfield Scholar’s Award, and the Hellman Foundation Award for Early-Career Faculty.
Suzanne Leigh writes for the University of California, San Francisco.