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Registered Nurse Diane Derenia became the first person in Lake County, California, to receive the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration, on Friday, December 18, 2020, at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, California. Photo courtesy of Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – A week after the Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the first doses were administered to health care workers in Lake County.

The first local vaccinations on Friday also coincided with the FDA’s approval of a second vaccine, this one produced by Moderna Inc., doses of which already have been ordered by the Lake County Public Health Department.

On Friday, nurses, doctors, respiratory therapists and other health care workers at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport received the first, small batches of the Pfizer vaccine, which officials said marked a critical moment in the fight against the pandemic and offered a “shot of hope.”

Nurse Diane Derenia became the first person in Lake County to be immunized against the coronavirus, receiving the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

In 21 days, Derenia will receive the second dose, at which point she will have 95 percent protection against developing COVID infection and symptoms, should she be exposed to the virus, Sutter Health reported.

“As more people receive the vaccine we’ll see a decrease in the number of new infections, which in turn will lower the number of hospitalizations and deaths,” said Tammy Carter, LVN, Sutter Lakeside’s infection control and employee health coordinator.

Sutter Lakeside’s staff celebrated the arrival of the vaccine, calling it a glimmer of hope in what has been a difficult year.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to be the first person in our community to receive this lifesaving vaccine,” said Derenia. “Today wouldn’t have been possible for a rural hospital like ours without the support of Sutter Health, we are stronger together and the speed and organization with which we’ve received the vaccine are a testament to that.”

"These heroes have poured everything they have into this fight," said Scott Knight, chief administrative officer for Sutter Lakeside. "To all of our health care workers, we say thank you. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your commitment in serving your community over the past ten months."

Lake County received its first shipment of 975 vaccine doses on Thursday, as Lake County News has reported.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace told Lake County News that Public Health will be placing weekly orders for new doses, with 100 doses of the newly approved Moderna vaccine already ordered earlier this week.

He said the county doesn’t yet have enough vaccine to cover all hospital staff, “but it depends on how many decide to take it.”

Pace added, “This is very much a moving target.”

Matthew Karp, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, California, was among the first staff to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, December 18, 2020. Photo courtesy of Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

Based on state and federal guidelines, the first tier of vaccinations is limited to frontline health care workers, first responders and nursing home residents and staffers can receive a dose of the vaccine.

The California Department of Public Health’s allocation guidelines categorizes those groups as Phase 1a.

Once those groups are vaccinated, those next in line to receive the vaccine are essential workers and members of the general public with underlying health conditions that make them more likely to have severe illness and die from COVID-19 if they contract the virus.

As for when teachers might have access to the vaccine, “We began preliminary conversations two weeks ago,” Lake County Superintendent of Schools Brock Falkenberg said.

Falkenberg said the focus right now is really on Phase 1a of the vaccination plan.

“School staff are Phase 1b, so we anticipate February before we get to that phase. Once Phase 1a starts rolling smoothly, I think there will be ample time to build out preliminary plans for phase 1b,” Falkenberg said.

Pace said it’s “reasonable to assume” that teachers and seniors will be able to receive the vaccine within the next few months. “They are both a priority.”

Vaccines for the general public may be available by early summer, officials said.

“Widespread vaccination is the final piece of the puzzle,” said Pace. “The distribution of rigorously tested, effective vaccines just one year after this virus first emerged is a testament to science, our guide throughout this pandemic.”

While Pace told local leaders in updates earlier this week that the vaccine is the path to eventually being able to return to some level of normalcy, he also has warned that the winter could be particularly tough as COVID-19 cases continue to surge nationwide and statewide.

He and other health officials both locally and across the state remind the public to continue wearing face coverings, avoid gathering, stay home whenever possible, avoid travel for the holidays and participate in contact tracing and quarantining as needed.

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.
Mia Kim, pharmacy director at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, California, with doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, December 18, 2020. Photo courtesy of Sutter Lakeside Hospital.
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Saturn, top, and Jupiter, below, are seen after sunset from Shenandoah National Park, Sunday, Dec. 13, 2020, in Luray, Virginia. The two planets are drawing closer to each other in the sky as they head towards a “great conjunction” on Monday, December 21, 2020, where the two giant planets will appear a tenth of a degree apart. Credits: NASA/ Bill Ingalls.

Skywatchers are in for an end-of-year treat.

What has become known popularly as the “Christmas Star” is an especially vibrant planetary conjunction easily visible in the evening sky over the next two weeks as the bright planets Jupiter and Saturn come together, culminating on the night of Monday, Dec. 21.

In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei pointed his telescope to the night sky, discovering the four moons of Jupiter – Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. In that same year, Galileo also discovered a strange oval surrounding Saturn, which later observations determined to be its rings. These discoveries changed how people understood the far reaches of our solar system.

Thirteen years later, in 1623, the solar system’s two giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, traveled together across the sky. Jupiter caught up to and passed Saturn, in an astronomical event known as a “Great Conjunction.”

“You can imagine the solar system to be a racetrack, with each of the planets as a runner in their own lane and the Earth toward the center of the stadium,” said Henry Throop, astronomer in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “From our vantage point, we’ll be able to be to see Jupiter on the inside lane, approaching Saturn all month and finally overtaking it on Dec. 21.”

The planets regularly appear to pass each other in the solar system, with the positions of Jupiter and Saturn being aligned in the sky about once every 20 years.

What makes this year’s spectacle so rare, then? It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”

The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset.

From our vantage point on Earth the huge gas giants will appear very close together, but they will remain hundreds of millions of miles apart in space. And while the conjunction is happening on the same day as the winter solstice, the timing is merely a coincidence, based on the orbits of the planets and the tilt of the Earth.

“Conjunctions like this could happen on any day of the year, depending on where the planets are in their orbits,” said Throop. “The date of the conjunction is determined by the positions of Jupiter, Saturn and the Earth in their paths around the Sun, while the date of the solstice is determined by the tilt of Earth’s axis. The solstice is the longest night of the year, so this rare coincidence will give people a great chance to go outside and see the solar system.”

Each night, the two planets will appear closer low in the southwest in the hour after sunset as illustrated in the graphic. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

For those who would like to see this phenomenon for themselves, here’s what to do:

– Find a spot with an unobstructed view of the sky, such as a field or park. Jupiter and Saturn are bright, so they can be seen even from most cities.
– An hour after sunset, look to the southwestern sky. Jupiter will look like a bright star and be easily visible. Saturn will be slightly fainter and will appear slightly above and to the left of Jupiter until Dec. 21, when Jupiter will overtake it and they will reverse positions in the sky.
– The planets can be seen with the unaided eye, but if you have binoculars or a small telescope, you may be able to see Jupiter’s four large moons orbiting the giant planet.

Learn these tips and trick on how to photograph planets:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1615/how-to-photograph-the-conjunction-of-saturn-and-jupiter/ 

Night Sky Network:
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/ 

Visitors to Both Jupiter and Saturn:
https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=931 

Want to learn more about planetary conjunctions? Take a look at some of these resources:
https://blogs.nasa.gov/Watch_the_Skies/2015/06/30/jupiter-and-venus-conjunction/ 
https://youtu.be/sofRYcfaqy0

Read these skywatching Tips from NASA:
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/whats-up-skywatching-tips-from-nasa/
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Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking water standard.

Our testing has now confirmed a source of these chemicals, and it’s clear that wildfires aren’t the only blazes that put drinking water systems at risk.

In a new study, we heated plastic water pipes commonly used in buildings and water systems to test how they would respond to nearby fires.

The results, released Dec. 14, show how easily wildfires could trigger widespread drinking water contamination. They also show the risks when only part of a building catches fire and the rest remains in use. In some of our tests, heat exposure caused more than 100 chemicals to leach from the damaged plastics.

As environmental engineers, we advise communities on drinking water safety and disaster recovery. The western U.S.’s extreme wildfire seasons are putting more communities at risk in ways they might not realize. Just this year, more than 52,000 fires destroyed more than 17,000 structures – many of them homes connected to water systems. Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time, and ridding a water system of the contamination can take months and millions of dollars.

A baffling source of contamination

The cause of drinking water contamination after wildfires has baffled authorities since it was discovered in 2017.

After the 2017 Tubbs Fire and 2018 Camp Fire, chemicals were found in buried water distribution networks, some at levels comparable to hazardous waste. Contamination was not in the water treatment plants or drinking water sources. Some homeowners found drinking water contamination in their plumbing.

Tests revealed volatile organic compounds had reached levels that posed immediate health risks in some areas, including benzene levels that exceeded the EPA hazardous waste threshold of 500 parts per billion. Benzene was found at a level 8,000 times the federal drinking water limit and 200 times the level that causes immediate health effects. Those effects can include dizziness, headaches, skin and throat irritation and even unconsciousness, among other risks.

Pipes stacked up after a fire.
Plastic water pipes don’t have to burn to be a problem. Andrew Whelton/Purdue University, CC BY-ND


This year, wildfires triggered drinking water contamination in at least two more California drinking water systems, and testing is still underway in other communities.

The problem with plastics

Plastics are ubiquitous in drinking water systems. They are often less expensive to install than metal alternatives, which hold up against high heat but are vulnerable to corrosion.

Today, water pipes under the street and those that deliver water to customers’ water meters are increasingly made of plastic. Pipes that transport the drinking water from the meter to the building are often plastic. Water meters also sometimes contain plastics. Private wells can have plastic well casings as well as buried plastic pipes that deliver well water to plastic storage tanks and buildings.

Pipes inside buildings that carry hot and cold water to faucets can also be plastic, as can faucet connectors, water heater dip tubes, refrigerator and ice maker tubing.

Some common types of drinking water pipes: Black plastic is HDPE; white is PVC; yellow is CPVC; red, maroon, orange, and blue are PEX; green is PP; and gray is polybutylene. The metal pipes are lead, iron and copper. Andrew Whelton/Purdue University, CC BY-ND

To determine if plastic pipes could be responsible for drinking water contamination after wildfires, we exposed commonly available plastic pipes to heat. The temperatures were similar to the heat from a wildfire that radiates toward buildings but isn’t enough to cause the pipes to catch fire.

We tested several popular plastic drinking water pipes, including high-density polyethylene (HDPE), crosslinked polyethylene (PEX), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and chlorinated polyvinylchloride (CPVC).

Benzene and other chemicals were generated inside the plastic pipes just by heating. After the plastics cooled, these chemicals then leached into the water. It happened at temperatures as low as 392 degrees Fahrenheit. Fires can exceed 1,400 degrees.

While researchers previously discovered that plastics could release benzene and other chemicals into the air during heating, this new study shows heat-damaged plastics can directly leach dozens of toxic chemicals into water.

[You’re too busy to read everything. We get it. That’s why we’ve got a weekly newsletter. Sign up for good Sunday reading. ]

What to do about contamination

A community can stop water contamination from spreading if damaged pipes can be quickly isolated. Without isolation, the contaminated water may move to other parts of the water system, across town or within a building, causing further contamination.

During the CZU Lightning Complex Fire near Santa Cruz, one water utility had water distribution system valves that seemed to have contained the benzene-contaminated water.

Rinsing heat-damaged pipes won’t always remove the contamination. While helping Paradise, California, recover from the 2018 Camp Fire disaster, we and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated that some plastic pipes would have required more than 100 days of nonstop water rinsing to be safe for use. Instead, officials decided to replace the pipes.

Melted plastic pipes alongside metal pipes.
Different types of pipes respond to heating in different ways. Andrew Whelton/Purdue University, CC BY-ND


Even if a home is undamaged, we recommend testing the water in private wells and service lines if fire was on the property. If contamination is found, we recommend finding and removing the heat-damaged plastic contamination sources. Some plastics can slowly leach chemicals like benzene over time, and this could go on for months to years, depending on the scale of contamination and water use. Boiling the water doesn’t help and can release benzene into the air.

Avoiding widespread contamination

Communities can take steps to avoid contaminated drinking water in the event of a fire. Water companies can install network isolation valves and backflow prevention devices, to prevent contaminated water moving from a damaged building into the utility pipe network.

Insurance companies can use pricing to encourage property owners and cities to install fire-resistant metal pipes instead of plastic. Rules for keeping vegetation away from meter boxes and buildings can also lessen the chance heat reaches plastic water system components.

Homeowners and communities rebuilding after fires now have more information about the risks as they consider whether to use plastic pipes. Some, like the town of Paradise, have chosen to rebuild with plastic and accept the risks. In 2020, the city had another wildfire scare and residents were forced to evacuate again.The Conversation

Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Purdue University; Amisha Shah, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, and Kristofer P. Isaacson, Ph.D. Student, Purdue University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Clearlake man died on Thursday evening when his vehicle collided with a flatbed trailer being towed by a semi.

Lt. Corey Paulich of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the man who died as 41-year-old Michael Brandon Jaco.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash that claimed Jaco’s life occurred at 5:52 p.m. Thursday on Highway 29 at C Street in Lower Lake.

The CHP said Jaco was driving a 1999 Toyota Corolla northbound on Highway 29, approaching the intersection of C Street.

Brian Case, 48, of Clearlake was driving a 2001 Peterbilt 300 series truck, towing a Trailermax flatbed trailer northbound on Highway 29, preparing to make a left turn onto C Street, in front of Jaco, the CHP said.

For reasons still under investigation, Jaco’s Toyota Corolla collided with the rear of Case's Trailermax flatbed trailer, according to the report.

The CHP said Jaco succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Neither Case nor an 11-year-old boy from Clearlake riding with him in his truck were injured, the CHP said.

The CHP said that neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to be factors in the collision.

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. – A truck carrying the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Lake County on Thursday, with the first doses anticipated to be given to frontline health care workers on Friday.

Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace confirmed to Lake County News that the vaccine truck arrived at the Public Health Department in Lakeport.

He said the first doses will be given at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport on Friday.

Pace said Lake County received 975 doses, “which is really great for us.”

The vaccine offers hope for a way out of the pandemic and back to a more normal life starting in the spring and summer, Pace said, but he advises community members that they must continue for the foreseeable future to follow protocols including social distancing, masking and forgoing holiday travel.

The vaccine comes as the state and the nation are seeing surging caseloads and death rates.

“We’re in this very challenging time. I think the next couple of months are going to be something like we’re not used to seeing,” Pace told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, explaining that his department is planning for major disruptions for the hospital and life in general. “I think this winter is going to be tough.”

The two-dose Pfizer vaccine arrived in Lake County less than a week after it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 11.

The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee met Thursday to discuss emergency use authorization for a second COVID-19 vaccine, this one from Moderna Inc., which the committee ultimately endorsed.

In a Thursday statement, FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D., and Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said that the FDA has informed Moderna “that it will rapidly work toward finalization and issuance of an emergency use authorization.”

As the vaccines are getting rolled out, federal officials said this week that investigations are underway regarding health care workers who had allergic reactions to the vaccine, specifically, two cases in the United Kingdom and two in Alaska.

While the Moderna vaccine is still awaiting final approval, Pace said that his department has already ordered 100 doses of it and hopes to have it by next week.

That means that 1,075 people in Lake County will have received the first course of the vaccination regimen by the end of next week, Pace said.

Pace said Public Health plans to order more doses of the vaccine weekly.

In reports Pace made to the Board of Supervisors and the Lakeport City Council on Tuesday, he said the first tier of vaccinations would go to health care workers at Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital and Sutter Lakeside Hospital, along with emergency medical services providers, which includes firefighters and paramedics.

Once all of those individuals are covered, the distribution will move to the second tier, which he said is expected to include outpatient workers, law enforcement and essential workers before moving on to those with chronic medical illness.

“The supply and demand don’t match very well in the beginning,” Pace told the council Tuesday.

He told Lake County News earlier this week that the county’s skilled nursing facilities will source the vaccine separately through pharmacies they’ve partnered with, and Lake County Tribal Health will receive a supply through the federal Indian Health Service.

Case and death rates continue to surge statewide

Pace told the supervisors that cases “continue to rise without any sign of slowing down” and that it was important for county leadership and community members to understand “what’s lying in front of us right now.”

California’s 58 Public Health departments reported a total of more than 50,000 cases on Wednesday and again on Thursday, nearly 400 deaths on Wednesday and almost 300 on Thursday.

Statewide, deaths have topped, 22,100 and total cases are at nearly 1.75 million.

Rural counties like Lake have seen climbing case numbers over the past month.

In Lake County, cases on Thursday totaled 1,375 with deaths at 21; an additional death in an out-of-county resident was incorrectly counted in Lake, Public Health said.

On Thursday, Public Health said 12 Lake County residents were hospitalized due to the virus.

Pace said that by Christmas, it’s estimated there will be no more intensive care beds available in California.

Sarah Marikos, Lake County Public Health’s epidemiologist, told the Board of Supervisors in a video report on Tuesday that Lake County’s daily case rate went from 6 per 100,000 in early October to 26 per 100,000 for the week ending Dec. 5, just a week after Thanksgiving, with the county’s positivity rate up to 11.5 percent at that point.

“Our numbers have never been this high,” she said.

In the previous three weeks, 400 new COVID-19 cases have come in, which account for one third of Lake County’s total caseload, Marikos said.

Hope for the new vaccine

Dr. Mollie Charon, who is contracting with Lake County Public Health to assist with infection prevention and public messaging, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that there have been numerous meetings to go over the technical details, safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Based on her study, she said she’s impressed by the vaccine’s safety record.

“It’s our job to worry so that the rest of the community doesn’t have to about these safety concerns,” Charon said, referring to the responsibilities she and Pace carry.

Charon said she has poured over information about vulnerable populations, and that she’s “so heartened and impressed” by the vaccine’s safety.

The quicker everyone can be immunized, the better it will be for businesses and families, Charon said.

She added that the vaccine offers a better chance that each person we want to spend the holidays with but can’t this year will be alive to spend the holidays with next year.

Charon said she’s very hopeful for a quick local rollout of the vaccine.

Pace told the Lakeport City Council that by spring and summer, people should be able to move back toward a normal life due to the vaccine and continued safety measures such as masking.

“This is going to be the potential way out,” he said of the vaccine, noting that safety concerns seem to be “pretty minimal,” while the risk of the illness that COVID-19 brings can be devastating.

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. – Authorities are continuing their investigation into the cause of a late Tuesday night fire at a Clearlake apartment complex that left one person dead.

The fire occurred at Olympic Villa Apartments, located at 14580 Olympic Drive, according to radio traffic during the incident.

Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White told Lake County News that the person who died is believed to be a female in her late 60s.

The Clearlake Police said its officers and firefighters with the Lake County Fire Protection District responded to the fire at 10:44 p.m. Tuesday.

The initial reports said there was a possible occupant trapped by the fire inside of the building.

The first firefighters on scene reported heavy fire showing from the building, with dispatch requesting additional help from other fire districts around the lake, including Cal Fire, Kelseyville Fire and Lakeport Fire, based on radio reports.

Police said one of the apartments was engulfed in fire, which was beginning to spread to adjacent areas.

The reporting party advised responding officers that he could hear a female yelling from inside of the residence, but the yelling had stopped. Entry into the apartment was attempted, but due to the extreme heat and spreading fire limited entry by personnel was achieved, police said.

While conducting fire suppression to the apartment, police said fire personnel discovered the deceased woman inside.

A fire investigator from the Lake County Fire Protection District was requested to respond to the scene. Along with the fire investigator, officers from the Clearlake Police Department have begun conducting an investigation regarding the death of the unidentified person and the cause of the fire.

Lake County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division personnel responded to the scene to recover the body of the fire victim, the police department said.

Scanner traffic indicated that firefighters remained on the scene working the fire until after 2 a.m. Wednesday.

As of Wednesday night, police said the cause of the fire had not been determined.

Additionally, the cause of death and identification of the deceased person has not been determined pending an autopsy to be scheduled at a later time, police said.

This investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Officer Jesus Loera at 707-994-8251, Extension 537.

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 Northern California Region continues to be the only one in California not under a regional stay home order due to COVID-19, but health officials are urging community members to continue to use caution to protect against the virus’ winter surge.

The Northern California Region includes Lake and Mendocino counties and others going North to the Oregon border, an area with unique needs and resources.

In a joint statement from the Rural Association of Northern California Health Officers, or RANCHO, about the current situation, the group called COVID-19 “a North State wildfire by another name.”

The RANCHO statement explained, “The North State is in a state of emergency. COVID-19 cases are rising, hospitalizations are reaching record highs and new deaths are reported daily. We need to respond quickly to protect our community from this growing, devastating threat.

“Our beautiful region is no stranger to emergency situations. In years past, the resilient people of Northern California have worked together to survive disasters as a strong, united community.

“When wildfires plagued us, we became all too familiar with prevention and response practices, including defensible space, sheltering safely, mitigating poor air quality and using resources wisely.

RANCHO said the following terms, familiar during times of wildland fire, apply during the COVID-19 emergency:

· Defensible space: Remaining 6 feet away from others and limiting mixing with crowds.

· Air quality: Wearing a face covering when outside the home, for ourselves and for others, and maximizing ventilation.

· Sheltering safely: Sticking close to home and limiting contact to household members only. Coupled with the above two strategies, this could result in an 80 percent decrease in COVID-19 cases in three weeks.

· Using resources wisely: The Northern California region still has adequate ICU capacity, but projections show this could change by Christmas.

“Unlike what we experienced with the wildfires, our entire nation is on fire at the same time, so accessing mutual aid is increasingly challenging. Social gatherings, travel, not masking and going out when you’re sick are like fuel for this fire. Risk is higher than its been at any point in the pandemic.

“Even as a region, we only have about 120 ICU beds, and 15 percent capacity leaves fewer than 20 beds – that’s for people with heart attacks, strokes, trauma, and COVID-19. We, the Rural Association of Northern California Health Officers, are gravely concerned that this cushion of beds could be easily overwhelmed, and many facilities in our region are already stretched to staff hospital beds for patients requiring a higher level of health care,” the group said.

The association reported that the critical care capacity in the RANCHO region has declined from 30 percent on Dec. 14 to 21 percent on Dec. 17.

Critical care capacity also is declining in the Bay Area and Greater Sacramento regions to 13 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

“This is worrisome because in Lake County we rely on hospitals in both the greater Sacramento region and the Bay Area,” RANCHO said.

“As your Public Health Officers, we are asking our communities to do what they’ve done during times of disaster so many times before, which is to band together and do everything we can to stop this firestorm.

“Please adhere to the guidelines that we know slows this disease down and will keep us out of the Regional Stay at Home Order. Availability of an effective and safe vaccine is hope on the horizon, like a caravan of CAL FIRE trucks. But we will need to equip ourselves with all these tools until we have manageable spot fires.

“Like a fire hose, a vaccine has minimal impact during a firestorm, but is effective at putting out a smoldering fire. Eventually, we will be in a ‘fire recovery state’ when enough people have been vaccinated, likely in late summer or early fall. Until then, we implore you to do your part to slow the spread.

“As local and regional communities, we have survived many disasters. Together, we can extinguish the COVID-19 wildfire,” the RANCHO statement concluded.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Clearlake Animal Control has many new dogs waiting to be adopted for Christmas.

The following dogs are ready for adoption or foster.

“Bella.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Bella’

“Bella” is a female Siberian Husky mix.

She has a long red and white coat.

She is dog No. 4428.

“Bruce.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Bruce’

“Bruce” is a male American Staffordshire Terrier mix puppy.

He has a short smooth yellow coat.

He is dog No. 4383.

“Cindy Lou.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Cindy Lou’

“Cindy Lou” is a female German Shepherd mix.

She has a medium-length tan and black coat.

She is dog No. 4448.

“Jack.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Jack’

“Jack” is a male Labrador Retriever mix with a short yellow coat.

He is dog No. 4155.

“Rudolph.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Rudolph’

“Rudolph” is a male shepherd mix.

He has a short tan and black coat.

He is dog No. 4436.

“Sugarplum.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Sugarplum’

‘Sugarplum’ is a female German Shepherd mix.

She has a medium-length black coat.

She is dog No. 4447.

“Tinsley.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Tinsley’

“Tinsley” is a female American Pit Bull Terrier mix puppy.

She has a short brindle and brown coat.

She is dog No. 4433.

“Toby.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Toby’

“Toby” is a male boxer mix.

He has a short tan and white coat.

He is dog No. 4389.

“Yule.” Photo courtesy of Clearlake Animal Control.

‘Yule’

“Yule” is a husky of undetermined gender with a black and white coat.

Yule is dog No. 4432.

Call the Clearlake Animal Control shelter at 707-273-9440, or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to inquire about adoptions and schedule a visit to the shelter.

Visit Clearlake Animal Control on Facebook or on the city’s website.

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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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council will hold a special meeting to discuss proposals from two developers for a subdivision property and additionally will consider extending negotiations with a firm regarding a portion of the city’s former airport.

The council will meet beginning at 2 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17.

Because of the county’s shelter in place order, Clearlake City Hall remains closed to the public, however, the virtual meeting will be broadcast live on the city's YouTube channel or the Lake County PEG TV YouTube Channel. Community members also can participate via Zoom.

The agenda can be found here.

Comments and questions can be submitted in writing for City Council consideration by sending them to Administrative Services Director/City Clerk Melissa Swanson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You can also visit the city’s town hall site and submit written comments at https://www.opentownhall.com/portals/327/forum_home. Identify the subject you wish to comment on in your email’s subject line or in your town hall submission.

To give the council adequate time to review your questions and comments, please submit your written comments prior to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17.

Each public comment emailed to the city clerk will be read aloud by the mayor or a member of staff for up to three minutes or will be displayed on a screen. Public comment emails and town hall public comment submissions that are received after the beginning of the meeting will not be included in the record.

On the agenda is a discussion regarding an exclusive negotiation agreement for the sale of property at 2890 Old Highway 53.

City Manager Alan Flora’s report to the council explains that a subdivision was started at the 29-acre property several years ago but the project fell apart due to the Great Recession.

The city now has interest from two parties, one of them the previous developer, in restarting the project.

The council will consider an 180-day exclusive negotiation agreement with one of the two parties, both of which are proposing a 20-lot development.

Proposals have been submitted by Robert Adelman and Mark Flamer, who are offering $100,000 and a five-year option to purchase; and TJG/Summitt Development Corp., whose president is developer Barry Johnson, with a proposed purchase price of $150,000 and an agreement to close escrow within 30 days of the approval of the tentative subdivision map.

In other property-related business, the council will discuss extending the proposed letter of intent with King Management LLC, which is interested in purchasing a portion of the city’s Pearce Field airport property at 6356 Armijo Ave. and 6393 James St. to develop for a hotel.

Flora’s report said the council signed the letter of intent with King Management for the property on July 16 and recently signed another letter of intent with the firm, which wants to develop another hotel on a portion of Redbud Park.

“King Management would like to develop the Redbud project first and then focus on the Airport site,” Flora noted, adding that due to the city’s current efforts at the airport property, “the timing seems to make sense for this phased approach.”

He said the current letter of intent will expire on Jan. 12, 2021, with King Management requesting an extension of the letter for an additional 180-day period to July 11, 2021.

Also on Thursday, consulting city engineer David Swartz will update the council on the improvement project on Pearl, Emory and Mullen streets.

On the meeting's consent agenda – items that are not considered controversial and are usually adopted on a single vote – are warrant registers; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on Oct. 9, 2017, and ratified by council action Oct. 12, 2017; continuation of declaration of local emergency issued on March 14, 2020, and ratified by council action March 19, 2020; adoption of the 2020 Conflict of Interest Code, Resolution No. 2020-61; disposal of surplus vehicles, Resolution No. 2020-63; approval of the reimbursement agreement with the Lake County Watershed Protection District for total maximum daily load and storm water permit compliance approve reimbursement agreement; and adoption of design review standards, a resolution of the Clearlake City Council rescinding Resolution No. 2020-50 and adopting the city’s design standards.

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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Dennis Fordham. Courtesy photo.

California is a community property state. Ownership interests of married persons are categorized as either the couple’s joint community property or as either spouse’s own separate property.

Assets acquired while married and living together in California are presumed to be community property assets and assets acquired prior to marriage and as gifts during marriage are separate property, unless commingled or transmuted.

Let us discuss the liability of a married person for their spouse’s debts while both are alive and then after when one spouse dies.

While both spouses are living, community property assets are generally liable for the debts of either spouse incurred before or during marriage (Family Code sections 900 et. seq.).

This is true even if only one spouse is a party to the debt or to the judgment (Family Code section 910(a)).

Two important exceptions exist: First, if a married person puts his or her earnings earned during marriage (i.e., community property) into a separate bank account that their spouse cannot access then these deposited earnings are not liable for the spouse’s debts incurred prior to marriage; and second, the debts of a deceased spouse’s last illness and funeral are chargeable against the deceased spouse’s own estate, i.e., the deceased spouse’s separate property and one-half of the community property estate.

Conversely, a married person’s separate property is not answerable for their spouse’s own premarital debts or for any marital debts allocated by court order, either at divorce or at death, to their spouse.

Thus, a married person who does not commingle their own separate property can protect it from their spouse’s own creditors.

Next, when one spouse dies the surviving spouse is generally liable for the deceased spouse’s debts.

The surviving spouse’s liability, however, is limited to the total fair market value, at date of death, of the couple’s community property assets (less any encumbrances – i.e., secured debts) plus any of decedent’s separate property assets (less encumbrances) that are received by the surviving spouse outside of probate.

The fair market value of any joint tenancy assets received by the surviving spouse are also included.

However, a surviving spouse may avoid such liability for their deceased spouse’s debts by placing both halves of the couple’s community property and all of the decedent’s separate property into probate for the decedent’s creditors to file their claims.

Whether the surviving spouse does so depends on circumstances. That is, consider a surviving spouse who is the sole surviving owner on the couple’s valuable joint tenancy home.

Nonetheless, the surviving spouse may not be the sole beneficiary of the decedent’s probate estate and may have to share the probate assets with the decedent’s children. Accordingly, probating the joint tenancy assets may not work so well for the surviving spouse.

Nonetheless, a surviving spouse is more likely to probate all community property assets and the decedent’s separate property if the decedent’s debts exceed the current value of all such assets.

In a probate court proceeding, as in divorce court proceedings, debts can be allocated between the surviving spouse and the estate of the deceased spouse. That means categorizing debts as community property debts or as separate property debts of either spouse.

Debt acquired in pursuit of community goals (such as employment) are community property debts chargeable first against the couple’s community property assets and secondarily, if necessary, against the couple’s separate properties.

Debts of either spouse from before marriage or in pursuit of either spouse’s separate goals (e.g., gambling debts) are separate property debts. Separate debts are chargeable first against that spouse’s own separate property assets and secondarily, if necessary, against the community property assets.

In sum, planning opportunities and pitfalls exist when entering into a marriage, when inheriting property (either before or while married) and at the death of a spouse. Anyone needing legal guidance on any issues discussed above should consult an attorney.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and 707-263-3235.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Quagga/Zebra Sticker is required, in addition to a State DMV sticker, for all vessels launched in Lake County water bodies.

County officials said the new sticker for 2021 is now available.

Remember to check in with a participating screener when you return from any out-of-county trips with your boat – it’s the law.

Program screeners have current information on counties and water bodies in the western United States infested with invasive mussels.

Rescreening and inspections, when needed, are free. Resident and visitor stickers are $20.

Clean, drained and dry boats are safe boats. Display your sticker, protect your lake.

A few facts about invasive quagga/ zebra, or Q/Z, mussels:

– Q/Z mussels are voracious feeders, and decimate phytoplankton (beneficial green algae), destabilizing aquatic food chains and threatening valuable sport and game fisheries.
– Q/Z mussels are filter feeders, and drastically alter the chemistry and biology of the water ecosystem, exacerbating disease and increasing concentrations of cyanobacteria (blue green algae) and associated toxins.
– A single quagga mussel can produce 20,000-plus offspring in one season.
– Beaches on Q/Z-infested waterbodies can become littered with piles of sharp shells of dead mussels, causing injury and hindering recreation.
– Introduced in 2005, mussel densities in Lake Mead, Nevada, exceed 10,000m2. Quagga mussels now comprise 40 percent of Lake Mead’s animal population.
– Q/Z mussels can colonize on hard and soft surfaces, mud, plants, docks, boat engine cooling systems and water pipes.
– In other lakes, infestations have caused millions of dollars in maintenance, cleaning, and filtering needs in drinking water infrastructure – costs that are passed down to the consumer in higher drinking water bills.

For the latest list and map of boat screeners and sticker sellers, please visit www.nomussels.com or call Lake County Water Resources Department at 707-263-2344.

Code sections regarding Lake County’s Water Vessel Inspection Program: https://library.municode.com/ca/lake_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH15RE_ARTIXWAVEINPR_S15-58SCINST.
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A map of the Lakeport Fire Protection District’s Christmas light parade on Friday, December 18, 2020. Courtesy image.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport Fire Protection District’s firefighters are planning to bring some Christmas spirit to the city this Friday.

At 6:30 p.m., the firefighters will begin a lighted parade throughout the city, as shown in the map above.

The fire department will host Santa Claus in the parade.

The firefighters wish to end this year on a positive and uplifting note.

Recognizing that so much of 2020 has brought us a very different world, Lakeport Fire’s volunteers are holding the parade to help spread the Christmas spirit.

Anyone wishing to view the parade is asked to please observe COVID-19 guidelines.

For more information about the parade, visit the Lakeport Fire Department’s Facebook page.

Any businesses who would like to enter the parade are asked to call Brandon Morin at 707-972-1904 for details.

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