This year, permits will be available for purchase from area vendors, as well as either in person or by mail from Mendocino National Forest offices. Vendors are listed below with contact information for the Forest Service.

Permits are $10 per tree and will be sold through Friday, Dec. 18. The permits are good through Dec. 24, and trees may be cut and removed any day of the week in any authorized area of the Mendocino National Forest.

There is a limit of one permit per household and each permit using a valid name and address. Up to four additional permits may be purchased for additional households using separate names and addresses. Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase a permit.

The Mendocino National Forest only accepts cash or check as payment for Christmas tree permits and sales are final, with no refunds. Permittees will receive a tree tag and map of the forest.

To purchase a permit by mail, send a printed name and mailing address, a printed name and address for each permit purchased, a daytime telephone number, and a check or money order made out to “USDA Forest Service” for $10 for each permit to either the Willows, Upper Lake or Covelo offices with “Christmas Tree Permit” written on the outside of the envelope. Mail-in requests received after December 14 will not be filled.

A form can be found online at www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino/passespermits/christmas/ .

If you are planning on cutting a Christmas tree for someone else who isn’t present, a Third Party Authorization must be in possession of the cutter. This form is also available on the forest Web site.

Permit holders should be aware that federal and state quarantines to prevent the spread of sudden oak death (SOD) are in effect for Lake and Mendocino Counties.

Any Douglas fir Christmas tree cut in these counties can only be transported into other SOD quarantine counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Humboldt, Marin, San Francisco, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.

All Mendocino National Forest offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 26, in observance of Thanksgiving.

Christmas tree permits can be purchased from the following offices and vendors:

Mendocino National Forest Supervisor’s Office/Grindstone Ranger District Office

825 N. Humboldt Ave., Willows, CA 95988

530-934-3316

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Stonyford Work Center

5171 Stonyford-Elk Creek Road, Stonyford, CA, 95979

530-963-3128

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 1- 4:30 p.m.

Covelo Ranger Station

78150 Covelo Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-6118

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 a.m.-2 p.m.; weekends, Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Upper Lake Ranger Station

10025 Elk Mountain Road, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2361

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-4:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 28, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-4:30 p.m.; weekends, Dec. 5, 6, 12, 13, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Black Butte Store

34985 Etsel Ridge Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-9438

Hours: Seven days a week, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

M&M Feed and Supply

74540 Hill Road, Covelo, CA 95428

707-983-6273

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Nancy’s Elkhorn Family Lodge

2745 County Road 306, Elk Creek, CA 95939

530-968-5312

Hours: Seven days a week, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Flournoy Country Store

16140 Paskenta Road, Flournoy, CA 96029

530-833-5305

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 6 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 6 a.m.-7 p.m.

Sacramento River Discovery Center

1000 Sale Lane, Red Bluff, CA 96080

530-527-1196

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Squaw Creek Inn & Resort

4425 Sites Ladoga Road, Stonyford, CA 95979

530-963-3483

Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Timberline Bar & Grill

279 Market St., Stonyford, CA 95979

530-963-3074

Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Thursday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Hi-way Grocery

160 E. Hwy 20, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2380

Hours: Seven days a week, 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Woody’s Gas and Mini Mart

220 E. Hwy 20, Upper Lake, CA 95485

707-275-2045

Hours: Monday-Saturday, 5:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

Cutting a Christmas tree on the national forest is a great holiday tradition for many families and also helps with hazardous fuels reduction by removing smaller trees from the Forest. Following are some tips to make your experience more enjoyable.

• Plan your trip – check the weather, bring plenty of warm clothes, water, emergency food, tire chains, shovel, a saw or axe to cut your tree, and a tarp and rope to bring it home. Make sure you have a full tank of gas when you leave and are prepared for changing conditions in the mountains! Also, let someone know where you are going and when you plan to be back.

• Keep vehicles on designated roads and be aware of changing weather and road conditions. Wet dirt roads can quickly turn to mud, making it possible to get stuck and causing damage to road, soil and water resources. If there are puddles in the road, mud flipping off the tires or you can see your ruts in the rearview mirror, consider pulling over and taking a hike to look for a tree, or turning around and finding a different area to cut your tree.

• Cut your tree early in the season before favorite cutting areas can’t be reached because of snow.

• Make sure you are cutting a tree on the Mendocino National Forest and not from other federal, state or private lands.

• Cut the tree as close as possible to the ground and leave as little of a stump as possible.

• Attach the permit on the tree where it will be easily visible with the tree packed or tied on your vehicle for transport home.

• To help keep your tree fresh, cut at least one inch off the base when you get home and stand the tree in a container of water in a cool, shaded area, checking the water level daily.

For more information, please contact the Mendocino National Forest or visit www.fs.fed.us/r5/mendocino .

CLEARLAKE – The city of Clearlake, Clear Lake Chamber of Commerce and Lake County Hospice have collaborated to host the Clearlake Christmas Light Parade on Dec. 5 at 6 p.m.

Join the community downtown for this family-friendly event featuring a parade of lights.

This year's theme is “Christmas in Paradise.” Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus, Lakeshore Lions and Lioness providing cocoa and cookies, and a very special Christmas tree lighting by Lake County Hospice.

This year's event is going to be taped by TV8 and Carle High School so you can enjoy this event for the month of December.

Many businesses will have holiday open houses and invite you to shop and dine downtown to enjoy the festivities.

For more information about these and other events, please call the Clear Lake Chamber at 707-994-3600.

The seventh annual Dickens' Christmas Market will take place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, running from First to Fourth streets in downtown Lakeport.

There will be more than 60 vendors, entertainment all day on the stage at Second and Main, and a treasure hunt which has become a tradition for many who attend the Market and is being coordinated by the Lakeport Main Street Association.

This year there will be separate hunts for children and adults (children up to age 14 years).

In addition, there will be free carriage rides by Eleven Roses Ranch, Santa’s Workshop sponsored by Sutter Lakeside Hospital, the seventh annual Lighted Holiday Parade sponsored by Savings Bank of Mendocino and the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting, sponsored this year by Hospice Services Lake County and their “Light Up A Life” program.

A costume contest for everyone, including merchants and vendors, will take place, with judging at 2 p.m. at the Dickens Stage at the corner of Second and Main streets.

With the cooperation of downtown merchants, this event has become successful in drawing several hundred holiday shoppers to experience shopping in downtown, kicking off the holiday shopping in Lakeport and Lake County.

Unique and exciting gifts are available at our Lakeport merchants, enhanced by a variety of vendors. Local organizations and nonprofits are encouraged to participate in the market along with school groups.

The seventh annual Lighted Holiday Parade is at 6 p.m., followed by Christmas caroling at Museum Square, followed by the Hospice Tree Lighting Ceremony. There will be caroling prior to the tree lighting, so watch for the Gift Guide & Song Book special section published by the Lake County Record-Bee on Wednesday, Nov. 25.

Please note that applications for vendors for the market and parade participants are available by contacting the Lake County Chamber at 707-263-5092 or visiting the chamber's Web site at www.lakecochamber.com .

They are accepting vendor applications until Nov. 20. Parade applications closed Nov. 18.

In addition, they still have openings for entertainers for the Dickens Stage, and they also are seeking groups who wish to dress in period costumes and carol as they stroll downtown.

Dickens’ costumes and costume ideas are available at C&G Enterprises in Lakeport on Third Street.

The Stone House, built in 1853-54, is located just inside the old main gate of Hidden Valley Lake and, because it is on private property, is available to visitors only by special appointment or at semi-annual open house activities.

Originally headquarters for the Mexican land grant know as Rancho Guenoc, the diminutive house was named State Historic Landmark No. 450 by the California Centennial Commission in 1950.

The Stone House has been restored by the Stone House Historical Society and furnished with donations to reflect the lifestyles of past generations.

On Saturday, Dec. 5, between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., guests may tour its five small rooms, which will be decorated for the holidays in appropriately old-fashioned style, and enjoy coffee, wine, soft drinks and homemade treats in the adjacent activity center.

Visitors from outside Hidden Valley Lake will be admitted at the Hartmann Road gate.

As one of its ongoing fundraisers to support continuing maintenance, the society will be raffling a gift basket filled with California wines, related accessories and munchies, and a movie filmed in the Napa Valley.

Tickets at $1 each may be purchased in advance (winner need not be present) from members or by calling 707-987-7370, 707-987-3535 or 707-987-4998.

Further information at www.lakecountystonehouse.com .

Enjoy a dinner of linguine-filled pasta bowls topped with Alfredo sauce and shrimp served family style with green salad, French bread then topped off with yummy cake for dessert.

The bar is open for socializing at 5 p.m. then dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

Enjoy dancing to music of John Zimmerman right after the meal.

All tickets cost $15 at the door. Everyone is welcome.

For information about this event or renting the hall for your own, call 707-274-9952.

The group asks community members to please bring food donations for its food baskets for seniors and families in need.