Tuesday, 26 November 2024

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A solo-vehicle wreck on Highway 20 Monday afternoon killed the male driver and caused a small wildland fire.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred shortly before 2:30 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 west of Bachelor Valley Road near Upper Lake.

The CHP did not release the name of the man who died or his city of residence pending notification of next of kin.

The man, who was driving a 1998 Mercedes-Benz, was reported at 2:21 p.m. as a reckless driver traveling westbound on Highway 20 at a high rate of speed, the CHP report said.

The CHP said numerous individuals had reported the vehicle as reckless and possibly involved in a noninjury hit and run involving another vehicle at Highway 20 just west of the roundabout intersection with Highway 29.

As the Mercedes continued westbound, it ran off the north edge of Highway 20 and hit an oak tree, which caused the vehicle to roll over, according to the report.

When the Mercedes overturned, the driver was ejected. The CHP said the Mercedes continued in a northeasterly direction, hitting a second oak tree.

The CHP said the vehicle caught fire and started a small wildland fire on the north edge of Highway 20.

Northshore Fire Protection District firefighters arriving on scene reported that the fire was one acre, with a slow rate of spread.

Within minutes firefighters had stopped the fire’s progress, with radio reports indicating they needed to stay on scene for a few hours for mop up.

One-way traffic control was established on scene for approximately two hours, the CHP said.

The Mercedes’ driver was transported from the scene but died of his injuries, the CHP said.

The CHP said the crash is still under investigation.

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. — Pacific Gas and Electric said it will move forward with shutting off power to several thousand Northern California beginning early Monday due to an incoming windstorm.

The public safety power shutoff will affect 7,100 customers in small portions of 10 counties, including Lake.

The first wave of targeted safety shutoffs will begin early Monday around 5 a.m.

PG&E said the safety shutoff is due to dynamic weather conditions despite rain activity including a dry offshore wind event that will start Monday morning in portions of its service area.

Due to changing weather conditions Sunday morning, PG&E was able to decrease customer impact, removing 10,000 customers from the PSPS scope.

In Lake County, the original estimate of 756 customers that would be impacted has been reduced to 51 customers, with three of them being Medical Baseline customers.

Other counties to be impacted are as follows:

Colusa County: 568 customers, 36 Medical Baseline customers.
Glenn County: 376 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers.
Kern County: 845 customers, 40 Medical Baseline customers.
Napa County: 1,225 customers, 66 Medical Baseline customers.
Santa Barbara County: 19 customers, one Medical Baseline customer.
Shasta County: 1,848 customers, 149 Medical Baseline customers.
Solano County: 802 customers, 56 Medical Baseline customers.
Tehama County: 1,370 customers, 133 Medical Baseline customers.
Yolo County: 20 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers.

Deenergization is expected to start at 5 a.m. Monday for Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Napa, Shasta, Solano, Tehama and Yolo counties, the Cortina Rancheria Tribe and the Grindstone Rancheria Tribe.

Power is scheduled to be shut off to parts of Kern County at 10 p.m. Monday and in portions of Santa Barbara County at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

PG&E anticipates weather “all clears” will occur as early as Monday in the afternoon with varying times depending on individual locations.

The company will notify customers on Monday when the weather system has passed and will provide continuous updates on when to expect the power to turn back on.

Once conditions are clear, PG&E crews will begin patrolling and check deenergized lines for hazards or damage to make sure it is safe to restore power.

Restoration steps include inspecting for potential weather-related damage to the lines, poles and towers; repairing damaged equipment; restoring power; and notifying customers.

On Monday morning, 15 Community Resource Centers, or CRCs, in 10 counties will open to support customers affected by this event. CRCs open at 8 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. for the remainder of the shutoff.

With the shutoff scope scaled back in Lake County, PG&E does not plan to open a CRC here.

For updates visit the PG&E website.
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“Ivan” is a 1-year-old male Nubian goat in upper pen No. 1, ID No. LCAC-A-1186. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — Lake County Animal Care and Control has two male goats who are looking for a new home to roam.

“Ivan” and “Rocky” are waiting to meet new and loving families.

Ivan is a 1-year-old male Nubian with a brown goat and black markings.

He’s in upper pen No. 1, ID No. LCAC-A-1186.

Rocky, also a 1-year-old Nubian, has a black coat with white markings.

He’s in upper pen No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-1187.

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

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.
“Rocky” is a 1-year-old male Nubian goat in upper pen No. 2, ID No. LCAC-A-1187. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Several dozen Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers in Lake County who were included in a public safety power shutoff had their power restored by Monday evening.

The company took the action due to high winds that came from offshore and impacted the region beginning early Monday.

In Lake County, the 56 impacted customers had power restored by 6 p.m., said PG&E spokeswoman Deanna Contreras.

They were among 7,100 customers in 10 counties who PG&E said were included in this latest proactive shutoff.

At the same time, Contreras said power also had been restored to all impacted North Bay and North Coast customers.

As of Monday night, PG&E had not reported how much damage its crews had encountered during the patrolling phase, which occurs after the all clear is called by company meteorologists but before power is restored.

This is the second public safety power shutoff to impact Lake County this year.

In August, 4,500 customers were impacted in areas in and around Clearlake Oaks, Kelseyville, Cobb, Lower Lake, Riviera, Clearlake Highlands, Morgan Valley, Spring Valley and Hidden Valley Lake, as Lake County News has 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.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — City staff on Thursday gave the Clearlake City Council an update during its regular meeting on the latest developments in the recovery efforts for the Cache fire.

Since the council last met, Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for Lake County in response to the Cache fire, as Lake County News has reported.

City Manager Alan Flora said he was grateful for that proclamation, which the Governor’s Office said will help quicken removal of the resulting hazardous debris and ash, in addition to streamlining other public services for fire victims.

At that point, Flora said the city hadn’t received any word that the Cache fire would be included in a federal disaster declaration.

However, he said the governor’s declaration is freeing up resources at the state level to help with the recovery effort.

He said that over the previous few days, there had been a flurry of information about the cleanup effort, which has been included in a request for proposals for this fire and a number of others across the state.

Proposals to carry out the cleanup are expected to come in during mid-October with cleanup expected to start in early November, Flora said.

Flora said the Cache fire has been prioritized to be one of the first fire cleanups in the state.

In order to protect Cache Creek from hazardous materials in the fire’s ash and debris, Flora said the state Department of Water Resources, the State Water Board and the California Conservation Corps have installed emergency BMPs — shorthand for best management practices — equipment.

Flora said he didn’t think the BMPs installed so far were adequate for a significant rainstorm. If the cleanup happened within the next 30 days, he said they probably wouldn’t need to be strengthened. However, since the cleanup isn’t expected to start in that time frame, the state is planning to come back and install additional equipment.

Flora didn’t expect the cleanup will be delayed until the heart of winter, but he added there are likely to be some significant rainstorms events that could cause problems.

A site meeting is planned for Wednesday in order to decide on the necessary protective measures. Flora said the city engineer has provided some recommendations to the state Office of Emergency Services.

“It’s been a little bit slow but we’re making some progress there,” said Flora, adding that the state is committed to protecting the watershed.

Regarding the residents who lost their homes, Flora said they are currently housing 10 people, less than the 20 to 25 they had expected.

He said North Coast Opportunities, the agency partnering with the city to help Cache fire survivors, is working with a lot of people to find alternatives for those who need housing.

Flora said that, as soon as this week, the city could be receiving another $100,000 for temporary housing which is coming from CalOES, which is working with nonprofits to get the assistance.

The city’s finance director is working with the California Department of Housing the Community Development and some other funders and programs to find housing options, Flora said.

The city also is looking into some other more permanent housing options that might be able to be put up in the short-term on city-owned properties. Flora said there appear to be some cool and innovative opportunities there, and he would keep the council posted as those plans start to be fleshed out more.

Another issue that Flora said needs attention relates to the water systems in the fire area, specifically around the Cache Creek and Creekside mobile home parks.

He said there is a “patchwork of systems” providing water in that area.

Konocti County Water District is providing water to Cache Creek mobile home park on a temporary basis. Flora said the city is asking its state legislators to expedite Konocti’s application for funding for a water system upgrade down through that area.

Flora said Konocti had already been working on that expansion project before the fire, with the project planned and design pretty much completed.

He said Creekside Mobile Home Park, where most of the damage was concentrated, gets its water from the Lower Lake water districts. He said he thinks that property should also tie into Konocti, so that is being looked at as well.

Flora said the city also is working to get right of entry forms put together for the cleanup to start.

Another issue raised by Councilman David Claffey was about landline telephones being reconnected in the fire area. Flora said the city was still following up and he wasn’t aware at that time if the problem had been resolved.

Flora urged anyone who needs housing due to displacement from the Cache Creek to contact North Coast Opportunities.

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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Early morning breezes rustle the Tules. Blue Ribbon Committee subcommittees will propose projects that restore shorelines and provide education about the native plants communities in and around the lake. Photo: A. De Palma-Dow.

Dear Bemused and Confused,

This is a continuation of my column from last Sunday, Sept. 12, titled; “Bemused and Confused about the Blue Ribbon Committee, or BRC, for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake.” I recommend that you read Part 1 first, just so that you are familiar with the background and need for the Blue Ribbon Committee. Today's column continues where Part 1 left off.

To find out information from previous BRC meetings or to learn about upcoming meeting agenda’s, please visit the Natural Resources Agency Blue Ribbon Committee for The rehabilitation of Clear Lake website. 

If you want more details on the process and purpose of the BRC, I would suggest reading Section 3 in the BRC “2020 Report to the Governor and the State Legislature.”

I also want to acknowledge some important behind the scenes contributors. As you can imagine, the BRC does not organize or run itself, but this is a daunting yet very necessary task. The BRC, sub-committees, schedules, meetings, agendas, minutes, material preparation and report writing fall unto the mighty shoulders of the Consensus and Collaboration Program at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) in the College of Continuing Education. The third party facilitators from CSUS are doing a fabulous job of coordinating this huge effort and I fully acknowledge their role in the past and current success of the BRC. As long as the team at CSUS are serving in the facilitator role, the future looks very promising for the BRC and all that will be accomplished for Clear Lake and the communities who depend on her.

Recap

Briefly remember 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). Some parallel California Department of Fish and Wildlife funding was immediately provided to UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) and the UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) to jumpstart some monitoring and research into Clear Lakes ecology and economy, respectively.

The BRC was also allotted about $5 Million in proposition 68 funds to be used for “capital improvement projects” that would lead to the rehabilitation of Clear Lake. In 2019, the BRC decided on a list of improvement items they wanted funded in 2020, but, due to uncertainty associated with COVID, the list of recommendations was not approved for funding by the Governor until 2021. However, the funds were directed straight from the Governor's budget through the “Drought and Resiliency Bill Package”. These funds were the only funds requested by Lake County’s assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. For that we thank you, Assembly member.

Due to the source of 2021 funds being from the State budget and not from the allocated Prop 68 funds, there remains a $5 Million balance that needs to be spent by 2025. Therefore, the BRC needs to identify and select projects that will both use the allocated funds and meet the goals of the BRC and AB 707.

In Part 1, I talked about the importance of current and relevant research-driven management, which is an important concept to remember when we describe and detangle some of these BRC projects. There are many complex systems that interact and influence what is happening in the watershed that determine the water quality conditions of Clear Lake. The research needed to understand that complexity is extensive and expensive.

The list below provinces the project title, the agency or organization funded, and a brief description of the task. The total amount approved in the Governor’s budget revision (from May) for these projects and the continuation of the BRC was about $5.7 million.

2019 Recommendations for Funding in 2021

The prices shown adjacent to each recommendation are the estimated amount provided in the 2020 report and might not align specifically with the line-items awarded in the 2021 budget, as that information is still waiting to be released from the Natural Resources Agency and Department of Finance.

1. Develop a distributed model of the upper watershed — US Geological Survey, $1.6 million over three years

This task will be carried out by the USGS with collaboration and input from UC Davis’s TERC team, local agencies, local tribes, federal agencies like Bureau of Land Management and The Forest Service. Basically any type of activity that occurs within the watershed will be included in this model, with the “upper watershed” meaning the area of land that surrounds that lake that has influence over what eventually flows — or doesn’t flow — into the lake.

The model that will be produced from this task is called Sparrow, which abbreviates SPAtially Referenced Regression on Watershed attributes.

Basically this models takes in all the information about the watershed including climate, weather, slopes, soils, stream flows and adds in sediments and nutrients in the runoff from streams, agriculture, urban areas, other land uses and calculates nutrient load predictions and what we should expect to come down the land into the lake based on different scenarios.

An additional — and very interesting — component of this modelling will include what’s called “sediment fingerprinting.” It’s well-established in the literature, and from other studies and monitoring, that soils in Lake County are rich in phosphorus, which has been identified as a major driving nutrient in the lake for influencing cyanobacteria growth. Therefore, any process that produces a large amount of sediment to flow into the lake, from earth moving, stream erosion or land-use change, has the potential to be contributing significant amounts of nutrient phosphorus — through the sediments.

Sediment fingerprinting will “trace” some of the sources of phosphorus entering the lake, and this can help to guide future BRC management projects. To more effectively manage sediments, it’s necessary to locate, identify, and mitigate sediment sources, deposition and erosion “hot spots”. Contrary to popular belief, vineyards and agriculture fertilizer applications are not the sole source of nuisance nutrients in Clear Lake, and the BRC upper watershed model and sediment fingerprinting component will help to identify what the real sources are and guide more effective management.

If you want to know more about sediment fingerprinting, I recommend this fabulous factsheet About Sediment Source Assessment Using Sediment Fingerprints (USGS 2018-3008).

Cut bank in Middle Creek. Watershed modeling and sediment fingerprinting can help identify the most contributing sources of nutrient-rich sediments, such as streams undergoing extreme erosion. Photo: A. De Palma-Dow.

2. Implement a comprehensive basin-wide monitoring strategy — USGS, $1.9 M over three years

Obviously, any watershed assessment needs appropriate monitoring and data gathering to be complete. This task will incorporate all the current and ongoing monitoring information in the basin, including the current data being collected by UC Davis or other researchers in the lakes and streams, any lake and stream monitoring efforts being conducted by the county, urban runoff monitoring from the County and Cities, monitoring by other tribes, as well as with cyanobacteria monitoring being completed by Big Valley Rancheria and Robinson Rancheria.

This task will also identify data and knowledge gaps, and collect the appropriate data to address those gaps. Lastly, the information gathered together in this task will be used to validate and run the Upper Watershed model mentioned in recommendation #1. The upper watershed model needs to input data from the real system so that it can be set up correctly and be tested and verified that it’s working accurately.

3. Conduct a bathymetric survey of Clear Lake — UC Davis TERC, $400,000

This is a very important task valuable for any lake study. A bathymetric survey, or underwater map, is basically a topological representation of the bottom of the lake. We would need this so that we can get an accurate picture (literally) of what the bottom of the lake looks like, including depth, depth contours, sedimentation, sand bars, and anything else that is at the bottom of the lake that might shape the volume and structure of the lake. This map can also help with calculating the current volume of the lake and where sedimentation might have occurred or shifted since the last bathymetric map.

Bathymetric maps are traditionally used heavily by researchers studying lakes or a specific lake. Many states make bathymetric maps of their public access lakes every 20-50 years so that the boaters know how to safely navigate around the lake and so managers can see how the lakes are physically changing shape or volume over time.

Clear Lake has a bathymetric map that is about 10 years old, but it’s not very detailed and it doesn’t account for any recent accumulation of sediments or soils. A new bathymetric map is very much needed and this project will use the most advanced technology to get a high resolution picture of the lake beneath the surface.

4. Review the implementation of existing Tribal, local, State, and Federal programs, Best Management Practices (BMPs), and other management requirements to limit
sedimentation/nutrient loading in the Clear Lake Basin - Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, $60,000

Many policies and procedures that have been written into Tribal, Federal, State, and local law are aimed at protecting environmental resources, and some here in Lake County to protect Clear Lake and prevent pollution impacts to water quality. However, these existing programs and policies are not evaluated regularly and so it’s unknown how most of them function and if they can be improved upon to increase their effectiveness to protect the resources they were created for.

5. Assess the public’s perceptions, attitudes, and knowledge gaps towards water quality in order to improve education and ultimately human impacts on Clear Lake — Lake County Watershed Protection District, $120,000

The purpose of this project is to identify the public’s current perceptions and attitudes towards water quality, and related impacts, in Clear Lake and to identify any knowledge gaps and research information needs. One of the charges of the Blue Ribbon Committee is to identify “barriers to improved water quality in Clear Lake and contributing factors to poor water quality.”

The proposed project helps to address this charge by identifying what barriers exist from the public’s perspective, or how the public’s attitudes and perceptions may be driving behaviors that can both negatively and positively impact water quality. It’s important for managers, researchers, and policy makers to be able to understand how to clearly communicate sometimes complex scientific information about water quality to the voting public.

Additionally, policy decisions driven by community consensus determine the available resources for managing water resources, such as funding for watershed scale non-point source pollution control. Local and state managers can better focus educational and outreach efforts towards the public if it’s clear what the public understands and doesn’t understand about the causes and impacts of water quality.

Results from this project will allow managers to better communicate how management or policy practices, like those produced by the BRC and other efforts, can be beneficial for Clear Lake water quality and ecology.

6. Continuation of Clear Lake Limnological Sampling for 2021 — Lake County Water Resources Department, $100,000

Since 1968, the California Department of Water Resources has been sampling Clear Lake at least three locations (one site in the deepest spot in each of the Oaks, Lower, and Upper arm). At each of these sites, 10 months out of the year, the CDWR sampled a full suite of physio-chemical water quality parameters like nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous), metals, solids, suspended and dissolved solids, and in-situ (in the water at the field site) measurements like dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, and conductivity.

In 2020, CDWR decided to terminate the Clear Lake monitoring program in its entirety. In 2021, County of Lake Water Resources took over this program, however abbreviated due to cost inhibitions, but with funds from the BRC, this program can continue at least through 2022.

Here Lake County Water Resources Department staff collect a water sample from the Lower arm sample site. BRC funds awarded in 2021 through the governor's budget will allow Lake County Water Resources to continue to monitor water quality on a monthly basis in Clear Lake. Photo: A. De Palma-Dow.


7. Bridge Funding for UC Davis research efforts — UC Davis TERC and CRC, $100,000

This was a short, one-time task that was needed only if other funds did not materialize for the UC Davis TERC team to continue some of their current monitoring occurring in the lake and tributaries. It would have been devastating to the efforts conducted to date if all monitoring devices had to be removed and there was a significant gap in data collected until funds could materialize.

Thankfully, these promised funds and fast approval by the Governor for the suite of recommendations, allowed the vital research to continue with no data gaps and allowed for the information to provide meaningful results.

8. Support for Middle Creek Restoration Project — no funding requested

No funding was associated with this recommendation, but it guaranteed support from the BRC to the Middle Creek Restoration coalition and Committee to maintain progress of this important restoration project in a high-impact area of Clear Lake.

Proposed Projects for 2022 Committee Recommendations

In this section I will share with you the list of proposed projects going before the Blue Ribbon Committee at the next Meeting on September 23rd, 2021 at 1 pm. You can access that meeting via Zoom, and the meeting log in information and agenda is available at this link.

I will not go into detail about each of these projects because they are still being discussed and refined by the applicants, along with the costs. There is a very nice summary for each project, including proposed budgets, timelines, tasks, and description included in the meeting materials online at the BRC webpage.

If you recall from my Part 1, I identified the two sub-committees established to help focus and refine the most relevant projects and topics for the whole BRC to review, discuss, and recommend for funding.

The two sub-committees have been working hard over the summer to identify and plan projects that are very-much needed to study or improve both water quality in Clear Lake and Clear Lake economy. The projects are up for discussion and potential approval during the next meeting, with specific focus on “near-term” projects. These “near-term” projects are defined as projects that have high priority (i.e. satisfy an unmet need), can be initiated immediately, and can be met within a short time frame of less than five years from start.

Members within the two committees will be given time to present their projects and encourage discussion and interest from the large BRC, with the ultimate goal of getting their projects fully or partially funded.

Technical Subcommittee Project Proposals September 2021

Below is a list of the proposed projects and the agencies or organizations bringing them before the BRC. Details on each proposed near-term technical subcommittee project are provided by clicking here.

1. Kelsey Creek Fish Passage — Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians;
2. Tule Replanting / Invasive Vegetation Removal — Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians;
3. Lake County Storm Water Infrastructure and Program Improvement — County of Lake Water Resources Department;
4. Trash Removal - County of Lake Water Resources Department;
5. Derelict Structure Abatement - County of Lake Water Resources Department;
6. Mercury Monitoring - UC Davis TERC and USGS.
7. *Added* Airborne Electromagnetic (AEM) Survey of Scotts Valley Groundwater Basin - Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians and County of Lake Water Resources.

Socioeconomic Subcommittee project proposals September 2021

Below is a list of the proposed projects and agencies or organizations bringing them before the BRC. Details on each proposed near-term socioeconomic project are provided by clicking here.

1. Clear Lake Environmental Education Roundtable (CLEER) — UC Davis Team (Center for Regional Change, TERC, Center for Community and Citizen Science);
2. Research Lab Concept — Jim Steele, former District 3 supervisor;
3. Environmental Education Resources and Program Support for Citizen and Community Science at Clear Lake — UC Davis Team;
4. Citizen Science — Promoting Citizen and Community Science through the Development and Piloting of a Participatory Environmental Monitoring app — UC Davis Center for Community and Citizen Science and TERC;
5. Program Evaluation to Enhance Environmental Programs for Clear Lake — UC Davis Center For Regional Change;
6. Cobb Mountain Clear Lake Watershed Education and Stewardship Program (WEP) for community leaders / volunteers — Cobb Area Council;
7. Scientific Research and Environmental Education Capacity Building in Lake County — Clear Lake Environmental Research Center.

Most of the socioeconomic proposed projects address an important missing link in watershed, lake and land science here in Lake County. Basically, we just can’t only study and manage the lake itself, we have to study the land and space surrounding the lake and how we use that land responsibly. We need to teach ourselves how we can be better caretakers of the beautiful natural world, and we learn that in many different ways, but mostly through our educational tenure, as children to young adults.

The majority of the socioeconomic project proposals address this component; increasing and refining the knowledge base around Clear Lake that will lead to the future generations being responsible lake and land stewards.

What does all this mean for lake management?

A) As a lake manager, the ultimate measure of success when managing any lake simplistically boils down to a few things:
B) An understanding of the system - through monitoring;
C) Identification of any problem(s) - through analysing the monitoring data;
D) Implementation of an appropriate management strategy or tool - if needed, to fix the problem (s).
E) Evaluation to identify if the problem is being corrected — through more monitoring and analysis.
F) Public understanding and support of this entire process.

If an identified “problem” is not improving, we do even more monitoring and analysis, then tweak or adjust our strategy or tool (or sometimes, try something else) and monitor and reevaluate until we can explain what we are observing.

Basically, lake managers, like all scientists, rely heavily on monitoring and evaluation of any imposed strategy to determine if what we are doing is helping or hurting the system or the expected outcome we desire.

This whole process is actually called adaptive management and it's cyclical, continuous, and iterative. The process of Adaptive Management in Clear Lake will probably never end because conditions and influencing factors are constantly changing as are the way we manage. The availability of new technology to improve monitoring through enhanced detection capabilities and the accessibility and availability of management resources and tools to respond to problems also adds loops to this cycle.

Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet — or, to reference my namesake — there is no magic “excalibur” sword for improving Clear Lake. There is not one machine, not one tool, not one policy, or one method that can be done, even with gobs of money, that will easily and quickly “correct” or “fix” Clear Lake. There just isn’t — or else it would be in play right now here, in Lake Erie, in Lake Okeechobee and many others across the country and across the globe.

To solve the problems we observe in Clear Lake it will take many complex and interwoven solutions, tools, strategies, and constant, consistent evaluation and monitoring. Not to mention, this effort will deserve more realistic expectations from the public and it’s funders considering the complexity and how long it might take and how expensive it might be.

The efforts of the BRC, and partners and collaborators, supported approach to study, monitor, manage, and evaluate the systems within and around the lake, combined with community involvement and engagement promoted through environmental education and stewardship will provide for the broad but clear understanding and responsibility we have for this unique aquatic system and the technical and intellectual value that it both requires and provides.

I would encourage the BRC, and the Natural Resources Agency, to commit to a long-term involvement in these approaches and remain integrated with us in Lake County, as we chug through the adaptive management cycle - perhaps several times. Previous temporal and temporary patches of research and management recommendations have largely remained unfulfilled which has resulted in a precarious and sometimes compromised lake water quality, with devastating cumulative impacts more realized right now than ever before.

For example, this last week Lake County saw some of the highest recorded cyanobacterial toxin concentrations ever seen in Clear Lake (160,377 ug/L at Redbud Park ramp). Public health alerts went out notifying the County that about 280 homes with individual, private intakes that their drinking water was unsafe if not dangerous to drink.

Alternate water filling stations were established to provide safe drinking water from state-regulated and monitored treatment plants nearby. Note that this alert did not apply to water distributed from any of the 18 large, public or privatized treatment districts, systems, or operators on Clear Lake. Thanks to the monitoring efforts by Big Valley EPA and the Cal WATCH Program, quick communications and solutions were rapidly established.

This scenario, of course exacerbated by the occurrence of drought, low water levels and high heats, is an extreme burden, put onto a community that is already burdened. Droughts and extreme conditions are only expected to keep occurring, which is going to have an unpredictable but significant impact on Clear Lake and her communities.

When it comes to lake management, it’s known that solutions and results take time to implement, evaluate, and improve upon. I hope the BRC continues their efforts, maybe even indefinitely, to make sure that Clear Lake ecologic and economic systems are given the right opportunity and appropriate resources to improve and enough time to evaluate their success. I think the largest freshwater lake in California deserves that, at least.

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..

Quiet spring morning on Clear Lake, before the sun and before the boats. Photo: A. De Palma-Dow.
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State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday ordered insurance companies to preserve residential insurance coverage for more than 325,000 policyholders who have been affected by devastating Northern California wildfires across 22 counties.

This order protects those living within the perimeter or adjoining zip code of a declared wildfire disaster regardless of whether they suffered a loss, including the Dixie, Caldor, River, Tamarack, Antelope, McFarland, Monument, Fly, and Cache fires.

“Climate change-fueled wildfires continue to devastate homeowners and communities. My moratorium orders help provide short-term relief as we address the root causes of these ever-intensifying natural disasters,” said Commissioner Lara. “This California law empowers my office to help give people the breathing room they desperately need as they recover. I will both continue to enforce this law to protect consumers and continue working to create long-term solutions.”

The commissioner’s ability to issue moratoriums is a result of a California law he authored in 2018 while serving as state senator in order to provide temporary relief from non-renewals to residents living within or adjacent to a declared wildfire disaster.

Monday’s moratorium order follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s six emergency declarations this summer and gives protection from insurance company-initiated non-renewals for one year for residential property insurance policies in zip codes within or adjacent to the fire perimeter.

The declared moratorium includes Gov. Newsom’s July 23, Aug. 5, Aug. 10, Aug. 17, Aug. 30 and Sept. 7 declarations affecting parts of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties.

Consumers’ one year of protection from non-renewal starts on the date of the governor’s emergency declaration that included the fire affecting them.

The order protects 325,000 policyholders and is in addition to 25,000 policyholders who were protected in the Commissioner’s moratorium order following the July 23 wildfire emergency in Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties.

In Lake County, the order protects zip codes impacted by the Cache fire: 95422, 95451, 95423, 95987, 95457, 95424 and 95679.

Consumers can go to the California Department of Insurance website to see if their zip code is included in the moratorium. Consumers should contact the Department of Insurance at 800-927-4357 or via chat or email at insurance.ca.gov if they believe their insurance company is in violation of this law, or have additional claims-related questions.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors is set to consider formally supporting the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument’s proposed expansion, present a proclamation recognizing Native American Days and hear the latest on COVID-19.

The‌ ‌board will meet beginning ‌at‌ ‌9‌ ‌a.m. ‌Tuesday, Sept. 21, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌watched‌ ‌live‌ ‌on‌ ‌Channel‌ ‌8, ‌online‌ ‌at‌ ‌https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx‌‌ and‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌county’s‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌page. ‌ ‌Accompanying‌ ‌board‌ ‌documents, ‌the‌ ‌agenda‌ ‌and‌ ‌archived‌ ‌board‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌videos‌ ‌also‌ ‌are‌ ‌available‌ ‌at‌ ‌that‌ ‌link. ‌ ‌

To‌ ‌participate‌ ‌in‌ ‌real-time, ‌join‌ ‌the‌ ‌Zoom‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌by‌ ‌clicking‌ ‌this‌ ‌link‌. ‌ ‌

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌ID‌ ‌is‌ 927 0750 0539, ‌pass code 006417.‌ ‌The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16699006833,,92707500539#,,,,*006417#.

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.

To‌ ‌submit‌ ‌a‌ ‌written‌ ‌comment‌ ‌on‌ ‌any‌ ‌agenda‌ ‌item‌ ‌visit‌ ‌https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx‌‌ and‌ ‌click‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌eComment‌ ‌feature‌ ‌linked‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌date. ‌If‌ ‌a‌ ‌comment‌ ‌is‌ ‌submitted‌ ‌after‌ ‌the‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌begins, ‌‌it‌ ‌may‌ ‌not‌ ‌be‌ ‌read‌ ‌during‌ ‌the‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌but‌ ‌will‌ ‌become‌ ‌a‌ ‌part‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌record. ‌

At 9:06 a.m., the board will get an update on COVID-19.

In an item scheduled for 9:45 a.m., the board will present a proclamation declaring Sept. 17 and 24 Native American Days in Lake County.

In an untimed discussion, the board will consider a letter of support for federal legislation expanding the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.

Supervisors Eddie Crandell and Bruno Sabatier are asking their fellow board members to approve the letter, which supports adding the 4,000-acre Walker Ridge area, already owned by the Bureau of Land Management, to the 330,000 national monument, created in July 2015 by President Barack Obama.

In their memo, Crandell and Sabatier explain, “Walker Ridge is an important part of the area and adds to the beauty, diversity, and recreational opportunities that the National Monument already features.”

The Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument Expansion Act was created by Congressman John Garamendi with the help of the nonprofit conservation group Tuleyome.

“We bring this letter of support for the Expansion Act for the board's consideration, believing that this expansion will enhance the opportunities that this National Monument brings to our county both for conserving our precious surroundings and for the economic advantages that a National Monument destination brings to local jurisdictions,” Crandell and Sabatier wrote.

The full agenda follows.

CONSENT AGENDA

5.1: Adopt proclamation declaring Sept. 17 and 24 Native American Days in Lake County.

5.2: Appoint plans examiner Jack Smalley to serve as interim chief building official effective Sept. 1, 2021.

5.3: (a) Approve agreement between county of Lake and High Country Security for commercial fire alarm installation as a fixed asset under County Code 62-74 and ongoing Monitoring at 14092 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake for Fiscal Years 2019-20 and 2020-21 for a contract maximum of $11,739.70 and authorize the Behavioral Health Services director to sign the agreement.

5.4: Approve temporary closure of the Department of Child Support Services to the public from noon, Oct. 21, 2021, through the end of the day of Oct. 22, 2021.

5.5: Second reading of ordinance amending Article VII of Chapter 13 of the Lake County Code relating to administrative fines and penalties.

5.6: Approve agreement between the county of Lake and SCS Field Services for landfill gas collection system operations, monitoring, maintenance, and reporting in the not-to-exceed amount of $106,000 from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022; and authorize the chair to sign.

TIMED ITEMS

6.2, 9:06 a.m.: Consideration of update on COVID-19.

6.3, 9:45 a.m.: Presentation of proclamation declaring Sept. 17 and 24 Native American Days in Lake County.

UNTIMED ITEMS

7.2: Consideration of letter of support for federal legislation expanding the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument .

7.3: Consideration of a letter of commitment between the county of Lake and Trane Technologies enabling pursuit of grant funding toward a firemain linked auxiliary supply hydraulic energy storage system project in north Lakeport.

7.4: (a) Consideration to waive 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) consideration of agreement between the county of Lake and Redwood Community Services Inc. for the Lake County WRAP Program, Foster Care Program and Intensive Services Foster Care Program for specialty mental health services for fiscal year 2021-22 for a contract maximum of $900,000 and authorize the board chair to sign the agreement.

7.5: A) Consideration to waive the formal bid process as the unique nature of the goods precludes competitive bidding and would produce no economic benefit to the county; and B) consideration of award for trailer-mounted emergency standby generators.

CLOSED SESSION

8.1: Public employee evaluation: Health Services Director Denise Pomeroy.

8.2: Public employee evaluation: Behavioral Health Director Todd Metcalf.

8.3: Sitting as the Board of Directors of the Lake County IHSS Public Authority: Conference with (a) chief negotiator M. Long, county negotiator C. Markytan, M. Dolby, and A. Schimansky; and (b) employee organization: California United Homecare Workers Union Local 4034.

8.4: Conference with labor negotiator: (a) chief negotiator: M. Long; county negotiators: C. Huchingson and P. Samac; and (b) employee organizations: LCDDAA, LCDSA, LCCOA, LCEA, LCSEA and LCSMA.

8.5: Conference with temporary representatives designated to meet with county department heads regarding salary and benefits and unrepresented management employees.

8.6: Conference with temporary representatives designated to meet with Confidential A and B employees regarding salaries and benefits.

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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A map of a potential public safety power shutoff that could begin on Monday, September 20, 2021. Map courtesy of Pacific Gas and Electric Co.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Due to an offshore weather system that could bring high winds on Monday, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said it may need to shut off power to 14,000 customers in 13 counties across Northern California, including Lake County.

The company said its meteorologists continue to monitor a potential weather system that could bring dry offshore winds to parts of the company’s service area beginning Monday morning.

Due to the wind event, combined with extreme to exceptional drought and extremely dry vegetation, PG&E began sending advance notifications to the customers where it may implement a public safety power shutoff Monday morning in portions of the North Coast and North Bay.

Shutoffs in the Northern Sierra foothills and Kern County could begin Monday afternoon, depending on the timing of the wind event, PG&E said.

PG&E said it activated its Emergency Operations Center on Friday to support this weather event.

PG&E said it notified 756 customers, including 65 Medical Baseline customers, in Lake County of the potential shutoff.

The Lake County customers expected to be impacted are in areas north and east of Clearlake Oaks, east of Lower Lake, and south of Cobb and Middletown, as shown in the map above.

PG&E estimated that power in those areas will be shut off between 4 and 6 a.m., and be restored by 10 p.m. Monday.

Potentially affected customers in other counties are as follows:

Butte County: 2,735 customers, 248 Medical Baseline customers;
Colusa County: 567 customers, 36 Medical Baseline customers;
Glenn County: 376 customers, 21 Medical Baseline customers;
Kern County: 674 customers, 35 Medical Baseline customers;
Mendocino County: 13 customers, 4 Medical Baseline customers;
Napa County: 1,584 customers, 70 Medical Baseline customers;
Santa Barbara County: 19 customers, 1 Medical Baseline customer;
Shasta County: 3,166 customers, 294 Medical Baseline customers;
Solano County: 802 customers, 56 Medical Baseline customers;
Sonoma County: 1,241 customers, 47 Medical Baseline customer;
Tehama County: 2,270 customers, 177 Medical Baseline customers;
Yolo County: 20 customers, 0 Medical Baseline customers.

The impacted customers and the numbers could change as the company adjusts its plans in response to conditions.

Customers can also look up their address online to find out if their location is being monitored for the potential safety shutoff at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.

During a PSPS, PG&E offers support to customers by opening Community Resource Centers with snacks, water and other essential items; partnering with community-based organizations to assist customers with medical and independent living needs; and continuing to update our customers on power restoration status.

Two Community Resource Centers are planned in Lake County, one at the Live Oaks Senior Center, 12502 Foothill Blvd, Clearlake Oaks, and the other at Twin Pine Casino and Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown.

The two centers will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

They will offer blankets, snacks and water, device charging, ADA-accessible restrooms and washing station, seating, small medical device charging and wifi.

Details about customer support programs are available at www.pge.com/pspsupdates.
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The more than $400 billion in two rounds of stimulus payments the government distributed during the pandemic helped lift 11.7 million people out of poverty in 2020, according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, or SPM, released this month.

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes SPM, an alternative to the official poverty measure that incorporates the value of noncash government transfers, taxes and necessary expenses into the resources a family has available to meet its basic needs.

The 2020 SPM Report shows how each element — including stimulus payments — impacted the number of people in poverty.

Stimulus payments were included as resources by the SPM in 2020. The report shows that without stimulus payments, the supplemental poverty rate would have increased by approximately 3.6 percentage points.

In other words, approximately 11.7 million more people would have been considered in poverty if Congress had not authorized the payments and everything remained constant.



Stimulus lifted many out of poverty but not all

Stimulus payments provided benefits to millions of people both above and below the SPM poverty threshold (not just those slightly below 100% of their poverty threshold). This widespread impact can be observed by examining income-to-poverty ratios.

An income-to-poverty ratio represents how much income (both cash and noncash) an individual or family receives in relation to its poverty threshold.

An individual whose income is equal to their poverty threshold has an income-to-poverty ratio of 1.00 (100%). Ratios below 1.00 indicate income below poverty and a ratio of greater than 1.00 indicates income above the poverty level.

For example, a ratio of 0.50 means that income was 50% of the poverty threshold.



The figure below shows the distribution of income-to-poverty ratio categories estimated without stimulus payments (pre-stimulus) and with stimulus payments in the definition of income (post-stimulus).

Stimulus payments significantly reduced the proportion of people in the lowest income-to-poverty ratio category (those with income less than 50% of the poverty threshold) by 1.2 percentage points to 3.3%.

It also reduced the proportion of individuals with resources between 50% to 99% of the poverty threshold by 2.4 percentage points, from 8.2% to 5.9% (differences due to rounding).

When including stimulus payments, the distribution of income-to-poverty ratios shifts to the right and more individuals fall into higher income-to-poverty ratio categories.

For instance, including stimulus in an individual’s resources increases the share of people in the second highest income-to-poverty ratio category (200 to 399% of the poverty threshold) by 2.8 percentage points to 38.4%.

Who was helped by stimulus payments?

The 11.7 million people lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments includes (as shown in the figures and Table 1 below):

— 3.2 million children under 18.
— 6.4 million adults between 18 and 64.
— 2.1 million people over 65.

Stimulus payments significantly decreased the number of children experiencing poverty across several race and Hispanic origin groups (Figure 4).



Stimulus payments reduced the Black child poverty rate by 6.8 percentage points, from 23.7% to 16.9%. Overall, this amounts to 756,000 Black children lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments.

Similarly, stimulus payments reduced the Hispanic child poverty rate by 6.8 percentage points, representing 1.3 million Hispanic children. Additionally, 1 million White, non-Hispanic children and 153,000 Asian children were lifted out of poverty by stimulus payments.

The largest group of individuals lifted out of poverty were those between 18 and 64 years old (6.4 million). This includes 2.6 million White, non-Hispanic individuals and 1.3 million Black individuals.

More details on the impacts of policies and programs on the SPM rate are available in the SPM Report. Details about the methodology behind the calculation of the stimulus payments are available in this working paper. Finally, more information on confidentiality protection, methodology, sampling and nonsampling error, and definitions is available.

Kalee Burns is an economist and Danielle Wilson is an intern in the Census Bureau’s Poverty Statistics Branch. Liana E. Fox is the branch chief.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — The Lakeport City Council this week will discuss a resolution seeking exemption from a state law setting new organic waste collection service requirements.

The council will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The agenda can be found here.

The council chambers will be open to the public for the meeting. In accordance with updated guidelines from the state of California and revised Cal OSHA Emergency Temporary Standards, persons who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 are required to wear a face covering at this meeting.

If you cannot attend in person, and would like to speak on an agenda item, you can access the Zoom meeting remotely at this link or join by phone by calling toll-free 669-900-9128 or 346-248-7799.

The webinar ID is 973 6820 1787, access code is 477973; the audio pin will be shown after joining the webinar. Those phoning in without using the web link will be in “listen mode” only and will not be able to participate or comment.

Comments can be submitted by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To give the City Clerk adequate time to print out comments for consideration at the meeting, please submit written comments before 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 21.

Indicate in the email subject line "for public comment" and list the item number of the agenda item that is the topic of the comment. Comments that are read to the council will be subject to the three minute time limitation (approximately 350 words). Written comments that are only to be provided to the council and not read at the meeting will be distributed to the council before the meeting.

Under council business, staff will ask for council members to adopt a resolution opting to affirm an exemption from the mandatory organics collection requirements of SB 1383.

Compliance Officer Andrew Britton’s report to the council explained that the action is needed to take advantage of the rural jurisdiction exemption offered by CalRecycle to the 2016 law, which seeks to reduce methane emissions reduction targets as part of a statewide effort to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants in various sectors of California's economy.

“As it pertains to solid waste management, SB 1383 establishes aggressive targets to achieve by year 2025 a 75 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level; and establishes an additional target that not less than 20 percent of currently disposed edible food is recovered for human consumption by 2025,” Britton said.

Britton said the proposed resolution is provided for the council’s consideration. “The resolution affirms the city’s desire for an exemption from the organic waste collection service requirements for commercial and residential generators and has been reviewed, edited and approved by CalRecycle’s Local Assistance liaison.”

If approved by CalRecycle, the exemption waiver will be valid until Dec. 31, 2026, Britton said.

On the consent agenda — items usually accepted as a slate on one vote — are ordinances; warrants; minutes of the regular council meeting on Sept. 7; approval of event application 2021-012, amended to request the closures of Second and Third Streets, between Main Street and Park Street, for a car show during the 2021 Pumpkin and Dia de los Muertos Festival on Oct. 2; approval of event application 2021-020, with staff recommendations, for the 2021 Clear Lake High School Homecoming Parade; confirmation of a continuing existence of a local emergency for the COVID-19 public health emergency; adoption of a resolution approving a memorandum of understanding with the Lakeport Employees’ Association for the period of July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2024; approval of corrections to attachments to the Compensation and Benefits Program for the City of Lakeport Unrepresented Employees adopted on Resolution 2825 (2021) on Sept. 7, 2021.

After the open portion of the meeting, the council will meet in closed session to discuss a potential case of litigation.

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. — During Child Passenger Safety Week, Sept. 19 through 25, the California Highway Patrol will educate the public on the importance of ensuring children are riding in a properly fitted and installed child passenger safety seat.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, car crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.

In 2020, 90 children aged 13 and under died as a result of car crashes in California.

The NHTSA reports that while most parents and caregivers are confident they have correctly installed their child’s safety seat, when checked almost half (46%) are found to be installed incorrectly.

California law requires all children under the age of 2, or weighing under 40 pounds and under 40 inches tall, ride in a rear-facing car seat. All children under the age of 8 must ride in the back seat in an age-appropriate safety seat. Safety experts recommend children ride in the back seat until the age of 13.

For more information about child passenger safety, visit https://www.chp.ca.gov/Programs-Services/Programs/Child-Safety-Seats.

“Proper use of child safety seats can mean the difference between life and death,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said. “Our child passenger safety technicians can assist you in ensuring your most precious cargo arrives safely.”

At all CHP child safety seat events throughout the week, child passenger safety technicians will provide free safety seat inspections, education, and hands-on training for parents and caregivers.

These free safety seat inspections are also available year-round, by appointment, at any CHP Area office.

To locate the nearest CHP Area office, please visit https://www.chp.ca.gov/find-an-office.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the NHTSA.

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