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NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Petaluma on Tuesday.

At noon on Tuesday Petaluma Police responded to a 911 call in the 100 block of Lakeville Circle. The caller stated there was a man making suicidal threats and possibly had a gun, according to a report from Misti D. Harris, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office community engagement liaison.

Harris said police officers arrived and found the suspect standing in front of the apartment. Officers used deescalation techniques to try to calm him down while other officers evacuated nearby apartments. Medical personnel were parked near the scene.

At one point the suspect pulled a handgun from his pants pocket and pointed it at his head. Officers continuously talked to him for approximately an hour and 50 minutes, trying to resolve the situation, Harris said.

At approximately 1:51 p.m., the suspect pointed the gun toward the officers. Fearing for their lives and the lives of others around them, five officers fired their guns at the suspect, according to Harris.

Harris said the officers fired approximately 16 rounds; at least one round hit the suspect in the abdomen.

The officers immediately provided emergency medical treatment and Petaluma Fire Department paramedics joined officers in providing medical aid, Harris said.

The suspect was transported to a local hospital and is still there. Harris said no officers were injured during the incident.

Detectives interviewed a witness from the apartment complex, who stated the suspect raised a gun towards the officers, at which time the officers fired their guns at him, according to Harris.

All five officers had activated their body-worn cameras during the incident; Harris said that footage is being reviewed as part of the investigation.

In addition, Harris said the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has obtained several search warrants to gather evidence as part of the investigation.

Harris said the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is investigating this incident per the County’s Fatal Incident Protocol.

If you have information about this incident, please contact the Sheriff’s Office Investigative Unit at 707-565-2185.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Drivers are using their cell phones less often while driving, but distracted driving remains a serious safety challenge in California.

Observing April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and the first week in April as California Teen Safe Driving Week, traffic safety advocates will focus on education and enforcement efforts statewide as California marks 10 years of the hands-free laws.

In an effort to address the issue, the California Highway Patrol, California Office of Traffic Safety and Impact Teen Drivers have planned events throughout the state during the month of April to educate people on the dangers of distracted driving.

"California’s distracted driving laws have been saving lives for a decade now,” said former State Senator Joe Simitian, who authored the state’s hands-free and no-texting laws. “Every day, somewhere in California, someone is sitting down to dinner with their family who wouldn't have made it through the day without these laws on the books. That’s tremendously gratifying.”

Simitian added, “However, there’s more work to be done. Public education, meaningful penalties, and rigorous enforcement are all essential. Most importantly, all of us who are out on the road have to remember: it can wait.”

Senate Bill 1613, the hands-free cell phone law, and Senate Bill 28, the no-texting law, were enacted in July 2008.

Data collected by the CHP shows decreases in the number of citations issued for distracted driving and in the number of inattention collisions since that time, but the problem persists.

Last year, the CHP issued more than 97,000 citations for violations of the handheld cell phone laws.

In 2009, the first full year of the hands-free law, the CHP issued more than 148,000 comparable citations.

Preliminary 2017 data from the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System indicates nearly 22,000 drivers were involved in distracted driving collisions in California, a decline from the more than 33,000 drivers involved in distracted driving collisions in 2007, before the hands-free law went into effect.

“Cell phones are everywhere in our lives. Tweeting, texting, and posting on social media are hard habits to break,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “However, they have potentially deadly consequences if you are driving. Any use of a cell phone or other distraction while operating a vehicle significantly impairs your driving ability. Changing those dangerous habits will help make our roadways safer for everyone.”

Since 2011, the Office of Traffic Safety has conducted an observational study of handheld cell phone use every year. “This year’s study on the use of handheld cell phones and texting shows a decrease over past years; however, more work needs to be done to target those who were observed to still be breaking the law,” said Office of Traffic Safety Director Rhonda Craft. “The best way to put an end to distracted driving is to educate all Californians about the danger it poses. We will do this through enforcement and education efforts like our new advertising campaign ‘Just Drive,’ reminding drivers to put down their phones and focus on the road.”

In an attempt to drive the message home with the state’s newest motorists, Impact Teen Drivers partners with California’s traffic safety organizations to deliver an educational program that confronts the dangers and consequences of reckless and distracted driving.

“We lose 11 teens every day to preventable car crashes in the U.S. In California alone, we lose the equivalent of eight large yellow school buses each year to this deadly epidemic,” said Dr. Kelly Browning, executive director of Impact Teen Drivers. “It’s time to stop the number one killer of teens in California. It’s time we put two hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road, and most important, keep our minds focused on our driving. It will take a strong combination of education and enforcement to prevent distracted driving.”

Although the traffic safety campaign will continue throughout the month, April 5 and 13 have been designated as statewide enforcement dates. On these two dates, the CHP and other law enforcement agencies throughout California will conduct education and zero-tolerance enforcement efforts to discourage distracted driving.

The California Highway Patrol and Office of Traffic Safety would like to remind drivers in California that the law prohibits them from having a cell phone in their hands while operating a motor vehicle.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake Police Department is encouraging the community’s seniors to take advantage of a program it offers to help keep them safe and connected.

The department’s Volunteers in Police Services offers the “You Are Not Alone,” or YANA, program.

The program provides regular phone calls to seniors who live alone, who have limited family or community contacts, or seniors who just want someone to check in on them on a regular basis.

Seniors also can call the YANA program for help finding specific services and resources.

YANA promotes peace of mind and a sense of security for elderly residents. It’s a great resource for seniors who enjoy independent living, but have no friends or family nearby to check on them regularly, officials said.

If an emergency occurs during a phone call, the VIP/YANA volunteer will arrange for a police officer and/or medical assistance to be sent to the residence right away.

Additionally, if the volunteer is unable to reach the senior citizen after multiple attempts, they may request a police officer conduct a welfare check on the individual.

Seniors can register for the program by calling 707-994-8201, Extension 322.

They should leave a message with their name and call back number and a volunteer will contact them.

Services can also be requested on the Clearlake Police Department Web site at http://clearlake.ca.us/302/YANA-Gold-You-Are-Not-Alone.

Anyone interested in joining the YANA program as a volunteer can also leave a message at the number listed above.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council on Tuesday approved a new weed abatement ordinance, received a report on police activity during the first three months of the year and presented three proclamations.

One of the main items of the evening was the public hearing on a new hazardous weed abatement ordinance, which changes the date by which dry vegetation on private properties must be abated from early July to June 1.

It’s a measure that officials said is being taken to bolster community fire safety.

Community Development Director Kevin Ingram said the city and Lakeport Fire have been working together on a more aggressive approach to vegetation abatement in light of the wildland fires that have hit the county over the last several years. He said the Lakeport area also had major fire incidents in the 1980s and 1990s.

During a brief public hearing only one person spoke – Lakeport Fire Chief Doug Hutchison.

While he had nothing to add about the ordinance itself, Hutchison offered another lesson about fire history, similar to what he gave at the council’s meeting last month when it introduced the ordinance.

He recalled the date Oct. 8, which this past year was the day the devastating Tubbs fire – reported to be the most destructive in California history – started near Calistoga and burned to Santa Rosa, within hours of the beginning of the Sulphur fire, which burned in Clearlake Oaks and Clearlake.

Hutchison said Oct. 8 is an important date in fire history for another destructive incident; it was on that date in 1871 that the Great Chicago Fire began, killing 300 people and leaving more than 300,000 people homeless. He said it’s because of that fire that Fire Prevention Week is marked in October.

On the same day that the Great Chicago Fire began, a fire broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Hutchison said that, to this day, it’s not known how many people actually died in that fire, with estimates ranging between 1,200 and 1,500. He said the whole town was wiped out, and it wasn’t initially known because the telegraph lines burned. It also got little news coverage because of the Chicago fire.

“This isn’t a new problem. It’s an old problem,” said Hutchison. “Any little thing we can do to take on that enemy, we should.”

Councilman Kenny Parlet recalled a calendar that a local bank had used to put out featuring pictures of Lake County’s historic hot springs resorts. “They all burned to the ground,” he said.

Councilman George Spurr moved to approve the ordinance, with Mayor Pro Tem Tim Barnes seconding and the council voting 5-0.

Tuesday’s meeting also featured an update on police activity in the first quarter of this year, presented by Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen, who commended his staff for the good work they’re doing on the streets.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, there were 2,533 total incidents, which Rasmussen said broke down to 1,004 community calls for service and 1,529 incident that were the result of police-initiated activity, including vehicle stops, foot patrols and arrests.

Among the nine crimes that the police department must report as part of the uniform crime report requirements, Rasmussen gave the following statistics for 2018’s first three months: homicides, 0; rapes, 0; robberies, 3; aggravated assaults, 5; simple assaults, 15; burglaries; 5; larcenies, 32; stolen vehicles, 2; and arsons, 0.

He said there were 193 total arrests, with 164 of those being misdemeanors and 29 for felonies.

A significant statistic for Rasmussen is the number of drunk driving arrests, as his department is on a traffic enforcement and safety campaign. He said that in the previous 90 days there had been 45 drunk driving arrests.

In addition, police officers in that time period issued 147 traffic citations, of which 66 were for moving violations that are primary contributing factors to collisions, such as speed, turning and right-of-way violations, and using electronic devices while driving, Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said Lakeport Police’s detective also was assigned or completed 15 serious criminal investigations, including the writing of eight search warrants.

Regarding response times, Rasmussen said that for priority one – or emergency – calls, it was three minutes; for priority two, which is not an emergency but someone needs officer assistance in a timely manner, the response time was 10 minutes; and for priority three, in which there is some kind of cold crime, the response was 20 minutes.

“I plan to try to review these every 90 days and come back with a report, and also release it to the public as well,” Rasmussen said.

Lt. Jason Ferguson, who Rasmussen said has been supervising the night shift until the department hires a new sergeant, was on hand to support the chief in making his report.

Ferguson pointed out that this year’s first quarter statistics are well above last year’s numbers. He attributed that to the work of the city’s police officers, who he said are all dedicated to the community’s safety.

“They definitely deserve to be recognized,” he said, explaining that the increased statistics reflected their proactive efforts. Ferguson said he’s proud of them and pleased to work with them.

Rasmussen said during the first three months of this year his officers also have take at least three firearms off of the street.

In one case, they encountered a man in a vehicle who had a gun in his pocket and was trying to hide it when officers were walking up on the car. That incident “could easily have turned very violent,” but because of the officers’ work and alertness, they were able to take the man into custody, Rasmussen said.

Council members noted they had seen officers at work around the city and were pleased with their efforts.

Also on Tuesday, Mayor Mireya Turner presented proclamations designating April as Sexual Assault Awareness Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month to Lake Family Resource Center staff, and a proclamation designating April 14 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day to the Soroptimist International of Clear Lake.

The council approved the updated Sewer System Management Plan as well as a resolution adopting an email retention policy, and appointed Turner as the Lakeport representative to the Public, Educational and Governmental Channel Board of Directors with a term expiring in January 2020.

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.

040318 Lakeport City Council agenda packet by LakeCoNews on Scribd

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NORTH COAST, Calif. – As a result of felony charges having been filed last month by the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office charging embezzlement of public funds, a former financial analyst at the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office entered guilty pleas at her arraignment Monday morning to six felony counts of grand theft.

Melissa Alcala Alvarez, age 28, now of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, appearing with private defense counsel, was accused to stealing public funds over a 16-month period while she was employed at the sheriff’s office, the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office reported.

Beginning Aug. 29, 2016, and continuing through Nov. 1, 2017, the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office alleged that $35,000 was systematically stolen by Alvarez while she was responsible for and working alone with cash receipts.

After Alvarez left her job at the sheriff’s office, county financial employees were auditing Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office records when fraudulent accounting was discovered that led to a criminal investigation, an effort spearheaded by Sheriff’s Sgt. Andrew Porter, officials said.

“Prior to submitting the gathered evidence to the District Attorney’s Office for review and charging consideration, Sgt. Porter and Chief District Attorney Investigator Kevin Bailey traveled to North Carolina to confront the suspect and give her an opportunity to explain ‘her work’ at the sheriff’s office,” according to a District Attorney’s Office report.

Initially denying all wrongdoing, Alvarez eventually admitted some wrongdoing but refused to confirm all the incriminating evidence, including bank records, which had methodically been compiled as evidence against her, the District Attorney’s Office said.

Authorities said accounting safeguards have subsequently been instituted at the sheriff’s office to prevent similar acts from being perpetrated in the future.

Following Alvarez’s guilty pleas on Monday morning, the court referred the matter to the Adult Probation Department for a social study and sentencing recommendation.

A formal sentencing hearing is now scheduled for 9 a.m. May 22 in Department B of the Mendocino County Superior Court in Ukiah.

Anybody interested in the outcome of this case is welcome to attend the May 22 hearing, the District Attorney’s Office said.

The District Attorney’s Office said the sentence options range from 64 months in county jail to supervised probation with up to a year in county jail. Any sentence will include a requirement that the defendant fully reimburse the Sheriff’s Office for all monies she misappropriated.

The prosecutor handling this matter is District Attorney David Eyster. The agencies involved in gathering the necessary evidence against the defendant were the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, the Mendocino County Auditor-Controller’s Office, the Mendocino County Counsel’s Office, and the District Attorney’s own investigators.

The judge who accepted the defendant’s guilty pleas and who will be the sentencing judge in May is Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Cindee Mayfield.

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NORTH COAST, Calif. – A Hopland woman who formerly served as a volunteer firefighter and was arrested in January for vandalisms at two fire facilities has been found incompetent to stand trial and is undergoing an evaluation before the case proceeds.

Rachael Diane Seivertson, 29, of Hopland, Calif., was arrested Jan. 14, as Lake County News has reported.

She’s facing three felony counts and a misdemeanor in the case, according to Mendocino County Superior Court filings.

However, Mike Geniella, a spokesman for the Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office, said Seivertson was found to be incompetent to stand trial following a hearing by Superior Court Judge John Behnke on Feb. 21.

Authorities linked Seivertson to vandalism incidents at both the Hopland Cal Fire Station and the Hopland Fire Department just days apart during the first half of January.

At the Cal Fire station, the investigation found more than $8,000 in damage to vehicles while an estimated $10,000 in damage was done at the Hopland Fire Department, where windows were broken out on the fire station windows as well as on emergency vehicles, which also had their tires slashed, according to the original Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office report.

At the time of her arrest, authorities said they believed Seivertson’s motive was revenge.

The Mendocino County District Attorney’s Office subsequently charged her with four counts.

The counts include three felonies, all for vandalism in excess of $400, and a misdemeanor for kicking a correctional officer when she was booked in January, according to court records.

The case can’t move forward until her mental status is determined.

“She is undergoing evaluation. Her status is scheduled to be reviewed by Judge Behnke on April 16,” Geniella 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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The National Weather Service has issued a special weather statement due to a forecast calling for heavy rain to return to Northern California this week.

The agency’s special weather statement said a surge of subtropical moisture from Hawaii will bring a return of wet weather to Northern California beginning Thursday and continuing into the weekend.

The storm is the result of another “atmospheric river.”

The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office described atmospheric rivers as “long, narrow corridors in the atmosphere that transport large amounts of water vapor from the tropics.”

Much of California’s rain comes from atmospheric rivers, which are steered by high and low pressure, the agency said.

Forecasters anticipate this storm will bring periods of heavy rain coupled with strong, gusty south winds, are possible Friday night and Saturday.

Estimated rainfall amounts in the mountains range from 2 to 7 inches, and between 1 to 3 inches in lower-lying areas. At the same time, the warm subtropical air is forecast to result in high snow levels, generally above the mountain passes until Sunday.

Rain is expected to decrease on Sunday, with conditions clearing into Monday before chances of showers are again predicted beginning on Tuesday.

Daytime temperatures over the next several days are forecast to range into the low 70s, dropping into the low 50s during the rainy periods. Nighttime lows will range into the high 30s.

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.
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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Forecasted storms expected in the Feather River basin this weekend may require using Lake Oroville’s flood control outlet spillway – also known as the main spillway – this week or next.

After last year’s spillway incident, the Department created the 2017/18 Lake Oroville Winter Operations Plan to ensure public safety in the event of major storm events.

This plan triggers more aggressive outflow from Hyatt Powerplant and potential use of the main spillway should the reservoir’s elevation reach 830 feet during the month of April.

The current forecasts show the potential for inflows to raise the reservoir to near the 830-foot trigger elevation by the middle of next week. Currently, the lake elevation is 794 feet.

In anticipation of the incoming weather, DWR began increasing outflows on Tuesday from Hyatt Powerplant to approximately 10,000 cubic feet per second, or cfs. The total capacity of outflows from Hyatt Powerplant is currently 12,500 cfs. If necessary, DWR also has use of the River Valve Outlet System which has an additional maximum outflow capacity of 4,000 cfs.

DWR’s objective for the year has been to minimize use of the main spillway while it is still under construction.

However, because forecasts are uncertain, DWR is taking proactive steps such as early notification to downstream communities, regulatory agencies and construction crews to prepare for possible use of the main spillway next week in the event the lake level reaches an elevation of 830 feet, even after increasing outflows through Hyatt Powerplant.

Phase one of the reconstruction of the main spillway was completed in November to handle outflows of 100,000 cfs.

The design of the partially reconstructed spillway was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Division of Safety of Dams and an Independent Board of Consultants that has been overseeing reconstruction.

Phase II of construction on the main spillway will begin in May, depending on weather.

Phase I included repair and replacement of the upper chute and end of the chute with structural concrete, and construction of a temporary roller-compacted concrete, or RCC, section in the middle chute.

Since the surface finish of the temporary RCC section is not as smooth as the structural concrete sections, the flow may be more turbulent than in the upper chute. Additional wear may also occur to the surface of the temporary RCC.

Phase I construction included structural concrete cutoff walls at the connections between the structural sections and RCC section as measures to protect against possible wear of the RCC.

If the main spillway is used, inspectors will be closely monitoring the chute and flows.

DWR has notified state and federal regulatory agencies, local and statewide public safety organizations including the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, partner state agencies, as well as local, state and federal elected officials, and community members and stakeholders about the increase in outflows and potential use of the spillway.

Because the forecasts are dynamic, they could change in magnitude and timing. DWR will provide regular communication to the community, stakeholders and the media about forecasts and their impact to Oroville operations over the coming days as the storms approach.
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Christy Jones, Deputy Director of Security and Emergency Services, left, for the California Department of Water Resources; Cindy Messer, Department of Water Resources chief deputy director; and Jeff Payne of Friant Water Authority assist Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, with the fourth snow survey of 2018 at Phillips Station in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The survey site is approximately 90 miles east of Sacramento off Highway 50 in El Dorado County. Photo taken Monday, April 2, 2018, by Dale Kolke/California Department of Water Resources.


NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Following one of the driest Februaries in California history, late winter storms increased the Sierra Nevada snowpack but were not enough to put the state on track for an average year.

Monday’s snow survey by the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program indicates that water content in the statewide mountain snowpack increased from 23 percent of the March 1 average to 52 percent of today’s historical average.

The early-April snow survey is the most important for water supply forecasting because the snowpack is normally at its peak before it begins to melt with rising spring temperatures.

“These snowpack results – while better than they were a few weeks ago – still underscore the need for widespread careful and wise use of our water supplies,” said California Department of Water Resources Director Karla Nemeth. “The only thing predictable about California’s climate is that it’s unpredictable. We need to make our water system more resilient so we’re prepared for the extreme fluctuations in our water system, especially in the face of climate change.”

The snow survey conducted at Phillips Station by Frank Gehrke, chief of the California Cooperative Snow Surveys Program, found a snow water equivalent of 12.4 inches, or 49 percent of average for this time of year as recorded since 1964.

Snow water equivalent is the amount of water contained within the snowpack. The snowpack normally provides about a third of the water for California’s farms and communities as it melts in the spring and summer and fills reservoirs and rivers.

“Despite recent storms, today's snow survey shows that we're still playing catch-up when it comes to our statewide water supplies,” said Gehrke. “While today's snow survey determined that the water content is much higher than February, the state will remain well below average for the year.”
In addition to the manual surveys conducted at Phillips, DWR also logs electronic readings from 103 stations scattered throughout the Sierra. Electronic measurements indicate the snow water equivalent of the northern Sierra snowpack is 11.8 inches, 43 percent of the multi-decade average for today’s date.

The central and southern Sierra readings are 17.6 inches (60 percent of average) and 12.9 inches (50 percent of average) respectively.

Statewide, the snowpack’s snow water equivalent is 14.6 inches, or 52 percent of the April 2 average. Electronic snowpack readings are available on the Internet at: http://bit.ly/2rVa84a.

The Phillips snow course, near the intersection of Highway 50 and Sierra-at-Tahoe Road, is one of approximately 260 that are surveyed manually throughout the winter.

Manual measurements augment the electronic readings from the snow pillows in the Sierra Nevada that provide a current snapshot of the water content in the snowpack.

California’s exceptionally high precipitation last winter and spring resulted in above-average storage in 154 reservoirs tracked by the department.

DWR estimates total storage in these reservoirs at the end of March was 28.2 million acre-feet, or 107 percent of the 26.4 million acre-feet average for this time of year.
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A still from a security camera at the Safeway in Fort Bragg, Calif., appears to show Jennifer Hart, 38, of Woodland, Wash., in the store at 8:05 a.m. Sunday, March 25, 2018. She, her wife and three of their children were found dead at a crash scene in nearby Westport, Calif., on the afternoon of Monday, March 26, 2018. Photo courtesy of the California Highway Patrol.


NORTH COAST, Calif. – On Tuesday the California Highway Patrol and the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office shared new information gained in their parallel investigations into a fatal wreck that killed five Washington family members, with three of the family’s children still listed as missing and search efforts to find them set to continue Wednesday.

Jennifer Jean Hart and Sarah Margaret Hart, both age 38, and three of their children, Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14, all of Woodland, Wash., died when their GMC SUV went off a 100-foot cliff at the edge of a dirt turnout along Highway 1 at County Road 430, just south of Juan Creek in Westport.

On Sunday, the CHP and Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said that they believe that the crash may have been intentional. That’s based primarily on the evidence developed in the crash investigation so far, which has shown that there were not skid marks or signs of braking in the turnout.

While the crash was reported on the afternoon of March 26 – after a passerby spotted the overturned vehicle sitting on a rock in the ocean – but authorities aren’t certain when the wreck actually took place.

Authorities said they believe that the family’s three other children – Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12 – were also on the trip.

However, the children remain missing, and Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office reported Tuesday that it’s still unclear if the missing children were inside the vehicle during the incident.

Van Patten said the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office is focused on search efforts as if they were inside the vehicle while the CHP is focused on search efforts as if they were not inside the vehicle. “At this point there in no obvious information to suggest either possibility.”

On Tuesday, the CHP’s Ukiah Area office said that, based on the investigation to date, it is believed the Hart family was in or around the Newport, Oregon, area around 8:15 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, and that they continued south along US 101 until they reached Highway 1 in Leggett.

From there, authorities said the Harts traveled south along Highway 1 until they reached the Fort Bragg area in Mendocino County around 8 p.m. on March 24.

The CHP said the family remained in the Fort Bragg and Cleone areas until approximately 9 p.m. Sunday, March 25.

They were traveling in a 2003 GMC Yukon LX with black rims, authorities said.

In putting together the timeline, officials were aided by information they received on Monday that Jennifer Hart may have been seen on March 25 in a Fort Bragg business, Van Patten said.

He said sheriff's office investigators obtained video footage from the business and noted it was of a poor quality resolution. The footage was provided to CHP investigators who are working with FBI agents in an attempt to enhance the viewing quality.

Meanwhile, authorities have been conducting ongoing searches by aircraft and watercraft, and on land in the area of the crash site and the shoreline in Mendocino County and Sonoma County. Search and rescue divers have been unable to dive in the area of the crash site due to unsafe ocean conditions, Van Patten said.

He said a large scale search and rescue operation with approximately 71 searchers is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Wednesday during low tide conditions, with the base of the operation being located at MacKerricher State Park in Fort Bragg, according to Van Patten.

The search area will focus from the Noyo Harbor to the MacKerricher State Park based upon ocean current and drift pattern analysis conducted by the US Coast Guard, he said.

Van Patten said a further search will be conducted from the crash site with focus to the south of that location. This search is anticipated to include aircraft, boat and land searchers.

Agencies set to participate in the Wednesday search operation include CAL ESAR, Contra Costa County Search and Rescue, Bay Area Mountain Rescue, Lake County Search and Rescue, Marin County Search and Rescue, Mendocino County Search and Rescue, San Mateo County Search and Rescue and Sonoma County Search and Rescue, Van Patten said.

Anyone with information pertaining to the Hart family’s route of travel or places where they stopped, who may have come into contact with them or who has any other information about them are asked to call the CHP’s Ukiah Area office at 707-467-4000 or the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office at 707-463-4086.

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.
A map showing the Hart family’s route of travel from Newport, Oregon, to Fort Bragg, Calif., from Saturday, March 24, to Sunday, March 25, 2018. Image courtesy of the California Highway Patrol.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Five and a half months after the Sulphur fire broke out, the Board of Supervisors has terminated the ongoing local emergency for the incident.

The Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 8 near Clearlake Oaks, quickly spread to Clearlake, where it did most of its damage. It burned approximately 2,207 acres and more than 160 structures.

Then-Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait issued a proclamation of a local health emergency, which was ratified by the Board of Supervisors and regularly updated until it was finally terminated unanimously last Tuesday by the board, at the request of county Health Services staff.

Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy told the board that the cleanup has been completed and the US Army Corps of Engineers, the agency overseeing Lake County’s cleanup, has been gone for several weeks.

Lake County Environmental Health Director Jesse Kang told the board that all the properties that signed up for debris removal with the Army Corps have been completed, and the Army Corps has given the county a letter saying its work is completed, debris is removed and soil testing is done.

Kang said the owners of 14 properties opted to do private cleanup. Of those, he said all have been cleaned, but at the time of the board meeting eight were pending soil testing results.

Now that the Lake County Environmental Health Division and Army Corps of Engineers have confirmed that the cleanup steps listed on the signs have been completed, and with the board terminating the proclamation of a local health emergency, the county reported that property owners may choose to remove the checklist signs originally posted by the Army Corps of Engineers.

For more information regarding the checklist signs please call Lake County Health Services, Environmental Health Division at 707-263-1164.

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.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – Authorities are continuing their efforts to determine what led to a wreck last Monday that killed a Washington family, are still looking for three of the family’s missing children and believe that the crash off a cliff in a rugged area of the northern Mendocino coast may have been intentional.

In a telephone call with reporters on Sunday evening, acting Assistant Chief Greg Baarts with the California Highway Patrol’s Northern Division and Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office gave updates on the parallel investigations their agencies are conducting into the crash that killed the Hart family of Woodland, Wash.

“It’s a very daunting task to try to put all the pieces of the puzzle together,” Van Patten told reporters.

Despite the vast interest in the case, Van Patten explained, “We as investigators don’t want to rush to conclusions,” adding, “It’s going to take some time.”

Baarts called the crash “very tragic,” and told reporters, “We’ve been working on this 24/7 since the day that it happened.”

Because their initial conclusion is that the crash may have been an intentional act and not a traffic crash, Baarts said they are investigating it as a possible felony case.

They said they are still trying to find Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12.

Last Monday their siblings, Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14, and their parents, Jennifer Jean Hart and Sarah Margaret Hart, both age 38, were confirmed dead following a solo-vehicle wreck, as Lake County News has reported.

The bodies of the five family members were found on the afternoon of March 26 after a passerby spotted their GMC SUV on its top on a large rock in the ocean. Authorities said the vehicle went off a 100-foot cliff at the edge of a dirt turnout along Highway 1 at County Road 430, just south of Juan Creek in Westport.

Van Patten said the Harts’ family and friends have indicated that it had been very rare for the family not to travel or to be together, so investigators are going on the assumption that the three missing children were with the rest of their siblings and parents at the time of the wreck.

While the couple had been belted in, their children were not. Van Patten said two of the children were found in the rocks on the shoreline and the third was in the water.

Van Patten said the three missing children also could have been in the water and searchers just weren’t able to locate them.

He said extensive searches inside the crash area and beyond have continued, including through the Easter holiday weekend.

The area where the crash occurred is difficult to search due to its strong and unpredictable ocean tides and the water’s very murky quality. Van Patten said conditions have been such that they haven’t been able to get divers in the water.

He said Mendocino County Sheriff’s Patrol Division staff, with aerial support from CHP fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, continued the search this weekend along the Mendocino Coast and down into the Sonoma County coast. Based on past drownings, Van Patten said it hasn’t been uncommon for bodies to be found counties away.

Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, who had been at the scene, said last week that the firefighters who first repelled down to the vehicle believed that, by the time of its discovery, it had been there several hours because the engine was cold and water that had pooled in the upturned vehicle was warmer than the ocean, likely because the sun had warmed it.

Since then, authorities had asked people across the region to report seeing the family in the days before the wreck in an effort to track their whereabouts.

Baarts said they have not received any leads in response to that request, but on Sunday they renewed the call to anyone who might have seen the family on their trip from Washington – at restaurants, hotels, gas stations or other locations.

While they so far haven’t gotten leads, Baarts said investigators have talked to witnesses in Oregon and Washington, talked to family members, and have written search warrants for bank and cell phone records, which they’re waiting on now.

They said Sunday they still don’t know why the family was even in Mendocino County.

Both men also acknowledged the many agencies – both inside of California and from other western states – who are assisting as well as the outpouring of resources and assistance.

Vehicle investigation raises possibility of intentional crash

Some of the new information the men shared with reporters on Sunday arose from the CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, investigation so far.

That information has led them to believe that the crash may have been intentional, based on a lack of skid marks, and signs the vehicle accelerated and didn’t brake before going over the sheer cliff, Baarts said.

Baarts explained that the vehicle’s speedometer was “pinned” at 90 miles per hour. However, he said that doesn’t mean that’s how fast the vehicle actually was going, and investigators must look at other reasons that could have caused that speed to be recorded.

For example, he said the speedometer is electronically controlled, and an electronic charge could have caused it to record that 90-mile-per-hour speed, as could an unintentional manipulation during the vehicle’s recovery from the crash scene.

Many other things need to be completed before the speed can be concluded upon, he said.

The reason why investigators believe the wreck may have been intentional is that the vehicle’s computer shows that it came to a stop, most likely in the turnout, before it accelerated and continued to do so over a distance of about 70 feet before going off the cliff and into the ocean, according to Baarts.

He said the lack of physical evidence such as tire friction marks and no burrowing in the gravel pullout and information from the airbag control module suggested that the vehicle went straight off the edge, not off at an angle.

Both Baarts and Van Patten acknowledged during the call that a huge piece of the puzzle lies in the coroner’s investigation.

Regarding that investigation, Van Patten said that on Thursday and Friday autopsies were conducted on the bodies of the five family members located so far.

He said the initial finding and notations were made by a pathologist, and are unofficial findings at this time. Those will be coupled with toxicology testing to be done by an East Coast laboratory as is the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office protocol.

Van Patten said it typically takes four to six weeks to conclude the toxicology testing, and once received he said it will be used to compare against the autopsies’ physical findings.

“This is a very, very complex investigation,” he said, adding that there are numerous agencies and an overwhelming amount of information, and it will take weeks for them to have a clear understanding of whether or not there is a definitive answer as to what occurred.

In response to questions from reporters, Baarts said a search warrant was served at the family’s Washington home and, to the best of his knowledge, no suicide note was found there.

There have been reports in Oregon and Washington media outlets referring to a possible neglect case involving the family that’s being investigated by Child Protective Services.

Van Patten said the local investigators are aware of the case but didn’t have any information about the Washington neglect investigation.

As for the felony aspect of the case, Baarts said the information they have so far is leading them to believe that they could be looking at a variety of felony crimes, such as manslaughter, but said he wasn’t yet in a position to give a final conclusion.

He said the concerns about the felony crime, or crimes, are laid out in the probable cause declaration for a search warrant written for the case.

Baarts said investigators also have come across red flags in speaking with family and friends of the victims, but he declined to be specific.

Anyone who has information about the family is asked to call the CHP’s Ukiah Area Office at 707-467-4000 or the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office 24-hour tipline at 707-234-2100.

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.

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