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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Firefighters on Friday afternoon extinguished a small fire along Highway 20 caused by a vehicle.

The fire near the Mendocino County line was first reported at 2:10 p.m., according to radio reports.

Radio reports indicated a motorhome on the side of the road had caught fire and spread to vegetation, with people at the scene trying to put out the fire with shoves.

Northshore Fire, Cal Fire, US Forest Service and Lakeport Fire responded to the incident, according to radio reports.

Northshore Fire Chief Jay Beristianos said the fire involved a large motorhome whose driver said the vehicle started sputtering and then she saw what she thought was dust coming from the back of it. It turned out to be the start of the vehicle catching fire.

“It burned all the way down to the ground,” Beristianos said of the vehicle.

The fire spread to the nearby vegetation, burning about a quarter of an acre from the top of the hill down, Beristianos said.

He said the woman had two cats in the vehicle with her. She was able to rescue one but the other perished in the fire.

The driver was reported to be uninjured, according to radio reports.

The motorhome fire began at about the same time as the Ridge fire was reported northeast of Clearlake Oaks. Beristianos said Northshore Fire wasn’t initially able to send any units to the Ridge fire because of the vehicle fire.

Reports from the scene said the fire was contained at about 3 p.m., and by 4 p.m. had been fully extinguished, with firefighters waiting on scene to have the vehicle’s frame removed.

The incident was terminated just before 4:30 p.m., with firefighters clearing the scene, according to scene reports.

At the same time, incident command reported that the highway was reopening.

The California Highway Patrol had reported that the highway had briefly been closed in both directions due to the fire, and that westbound traffic had been diverted around the scene while the firefighting effort was taking place.

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. – Firefighters are working to contain a wildland fire in a remote area northeast of Clearlake Oaks.

The Ridge fire is located in the 18000 block of Bartlett Springs Road, just west of Indian Valley Reservoir, according to Cal Fire.

The fire, first reported just before 2 p.m. Friday, was reported to be 85 acres with zero containment shortly before 5:30 p.m., Cal Fire said.

No structures have been damaged or destroyed, and no evacuations or road closures are in effect, Cal Fire said.

Cal Fire said the fire is burning at a moderate rate of spread in grassy oak woodland and steep terrain with difficult access.

Resources assigned to the incident early Friday evening included 155 personnel, 15 engines, five air tankers, five fire crews, four bulldozers, four helicopters, three water tenders and three overhead personnel, Cal Fire reported.

Cooperating agencies include the Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Indian Valley Fire Department, Northshore Fire, South Lake County Fire, Williams Fire and the US Forest Service, according to Cal Fire’s report.

Cal Fire said the fire’s cause is 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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Pedestrian and bicyclist safety, a priority for the California Highway Patrol, will be enhanced by a federal grant in the coming year.

“Far too many Californians are being killed or injured while walking or bicycling on our roadways,” said CHP Acting Commissioner Warren Stanley. “The grant will promote awareness and respect between all road users; specifically, to impart the importance of safely interacting with each other while sharing the road.”

Bicycle and pedestrian fatalities account for 29 percent of roadway fatalities in the CHP’s jurisdiction in California. Data from the CHP Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System in 2015 showed there were at least 310 bicyclists and pedestrians killed and more than 3,100 injured on California roadways.

The California Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Enforcement and Education Project grant will help CHP officers use pedestrian and bicyclist collision information to conduct enhanced enforcement activities and public education campaigns.

Officials said the funds will be shared amongst various CHP offices throughout the state.

Although grant activities will focus on collision factors associated with the highest number of fatalities and injuries, the enforcement component will include all laws that affect the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

This includes motorists who fail to yield for pedestrians, motorists who illegally pass school buses, and bicyclists who do not stop at stop signs or lights.

Traffic safety rodeos and educational presentations emphasizing children and the elderly will help the CHP promote safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist behavior to protect those who choose to walk or bike.

The grant helps the CHP apply additional resources to bicycle and pedestrian safety and accomplish its mission of saving lives.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Sept. 27, 21 Lake County residents completed the 19th session of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office Citizens’ Academy.

The academy consisted of 14 three-hour classes offering classroom and hands-on instruction by deputy sheriffs, custody staff, supervisors, civilian employees and command staff members whose assignments were specific to the subjects of training.

The next academy is set to begin in the summer of 2018.

Anyone interested in learning about the services provided by the sheriff’s office and becoming a more informed member of the community is encouraged to participate in this worthwhile program.

Those wishing to enroll can do so by visiting the Sheriff’s Office Web site at www.lakesheriff.com.

Applications will be accepted starting in the spring of 2018.

There is no cost to those attending the academy. However, applicants must meet the following minimum qualifications:
  • Resident or employment in Lake County.
  • At least 18 years of age.
  • No felony convictions.
  • No misdemeanor convictions within three years.
  • Able to attend all 14 sessions.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council received an update on work being done with proceeds from the city’s Measure V sales tax at its meeting last Thursday, and the news was good – from more projects on the horizon to higher-than-anticipated revenues.

Voters passed Measure V, a dedicated one-cent sales tax to generate revenue for road repairs and improvement, by a supermajority vote of 68.8 percent in November, as Lake County News has reported.

On Thursday, city Finance Director Chris Becnel and Public Works Director Doug Herren updated the council on the work that’s under way or already has been completed.

The discussion starts at the 4:09:51 mark in the video above.

Becnel said that, so far, 3.2 miles of dirt streets have been graded with 1,200 yards of grinding material used.

He presented the grading logs so far, which showed grading has taken place on 28th Avenue, Highlands Avenue, Victor Street, Marin Street, Oakland Avenue, Alvita Avenue, Utah Street, Hale Avenue, Spruce Avenue, Victor Avenue, Highlands Avenue, Manzanita Avenue, HIll Road and Vallejo Street.

There also has been tree trimming on Lakeshore Drive, Meadowbrook, College Avenue and at Pomo Elementary, pothole patching on San Joaquin, Lakeshore Drive and Golf Avenue, and some sign and street maintenance on College Avenue and at Pomo Elementary School, Becnel said.

He said the work is next set to start in the Avenues, and that work will continue while the weather remains good.

On the financial side, Becnel said the city started collecting the revenue from Measure V on April 1.

After paying some expenses out of that, they had about $320,000 left in fund balance that has not been spent yet. They have some plans to use that for equipment.

He also has next quarter’s estimate for revenues, which he’s projected out for the current fiscal year.

During the campaign for Measure V, the estimate of annual revenue from the tax had been $1.6 million. Becnel later raised that to $1.7 million.

However, at the Sept. 28 meeting Becnel said he needed to revise that number still again, thanks to sales tax revenues being a little better at the end of the 2016-17 fiscal year than originally anticipated.

Now, Becnel said he expects the city’s Measure V sales tax revenues for the coming fiscal year to be just under $2 million. “Which is really good.”

Herren told the council that the city has a pavement management plan developed through the Lake County/City Area Planning Council. Every other year a company comes in and assesses the city’s roads and creates a pavement condition index.

If the city follows that program, in about 10 years it will be in a good spot and they can then start looking at forming assessment districts to pave dirt roads, he said. Measure V sunsets in 20 years.

In this first year’s phase, Herren said they were working on streets including Highlands Harbor, Lakeshore Village, Harbor Village, Pine Street and Country Club.

He said the response from the community has been positive. “We’re getting good reviews,” he said, noting that Curt Giambruno, a former councilman who now heads up Measure V’s citizens' oversight committee, also is getting good feedback.

Herren credited his Public Works superintendent, Mike Baker, with doing a phenomenal job on the road projects.

Councilwoman Joyce Overton said that she felt other roads in areas like Clearlake Park should have been done first because of their very poor conditions. She recalled trying to deliver a meal to a senior’s home and finding a road impassable.

Herren said they are working on a lot of roads, and have met challenges in getting the work done, partly due to economic factors well out of his and the city’s control.

He said with all the money and road construction projects going on all over the state, he’s struggled to get equipment, and had to fight to get the two pieces of equipment he managed to acquire. “Everything is gone.”

As a result, Herren has started looking to purchase out of state, finding that such equipment doesn’t meet California’s emission standards.

It also has been a challenge to find staff, he said. During the discussion with council, it was noted that he had five staff positions and still had one vacancy.

Then there is the demand for concrete. With major repairs under way to the Oroville Dam, which required about one million yards of concrete, Herren said he can’t compete with the big companies that are purchasing large amounts of concrete for jobs.

As a result, he said the cost of concrete has nearly tripled statewide.

He said he was going to hold back some projects for bid but has been told by people in the industry up and down the state that he needs to put them out as soon as possible because prices are going to continue to go up.

Councilman Phil Harris said he’s taken a ride with Herren and noted the great road improvements taking place around the city. He said people are taking notice of the work.

He said the city is showing that it’s sticking to its word and plans to do what it said it would with the roads. It also constitutes “a huge change in direction.”

Herren said Measure V has been a game changer. For so long all his staff heard from him was “no” when asked to pursue projects. Now, because the city has the funding, he says his response is, “Absolutely.”

Vice Mayor Bruno Sabatier said he was concerned that, by that point, the city had only graded 3.2 miles of the 49 miles of dirt roads.

Herren said his staff was getting up to speed on grading. He had not been able to find a contractor who would do the work for $500,000 – he said it was estimated to be up to three times that amount – so his staff is doing it.

They have about $1.5 million in materials at the corporation yard to use for the projects. Processing the materials has taken them time, so they are now hiring a company to process their materials at a cost of $60,000. That will save his staff large amounts of time, as he’s had to dedicate a staffer and a backhoe to going out and breaking up the materials, Herren said.

He said they are still learning and will have a much better push in the next year.

Herren also reported that, at that point, they had likely graded more like 10 to 12 miles of dirt roads, and that some of what they had done wasn’t recorded in the report.

City Manager Greg Folsom said he also had asked Baker if they would be able to grade all 50 miles of dirt roads next summer, and Baker had told him that as long as they had equipment he believed they could.

Sabatier questioned the amount staff had set aside for equipment, totaling about $150,000.

Herren said he and Becnel had met the previous week and that they had about $300,000 set aside, and would have more when Measure V funds along with gas tax funds for that purpose.

He said he’s chosen to buy equipment rather than rent it, and also has borrowed equipment from the city and county of Lakeport when possible, but added those jurisdictions also are busy with projects.

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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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Escorted by parents, teachers, police officers and the Clear Lake High School marching band, hundreds of Lakeport students on Wednesday participated in the “International Walk to School Day.”

The Lakeport Police Department, Lakeport Public Works Department and Lakeport Unified School District partnered to hold the event.

The students made their way to school in groups from a staging area at High Street Village shopping center to the school sites at the nearby Lakeport Unified campus on Lange Street.

In the video above by Lake County News videographer John Jensen, city and school officials and students share their thoughts about the day.
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Powers of attorney allow one as principal to authorize and empower an agent – or attorney-in-fact – to act on their behalf within the scope of authority provided in the power of attorney, and the law.

A person who executes a power of attorney does well to anticipate the foreseeable obstacles which their agent may encounter when the agent later tries to act on the principal’s behalf using the power of attorney.

The relevant obstacles vary depending on the assets and affairs involved. Let us discuss some issues that impact the acceptance of powers of attorney by third parties.

Is the power of attorney properly executed on its own face?

Under California Law to be properly executed a power of attorney must be signed by the principal (person delegating their authority) either before a notary public or before two disinterested adult witnesses – persons with no personal stake in the power of attorney.

How old is the power of attorney?

Banks, title companies, and brokerages often refuse to honor powers of attorney more than five years after execution.

Some title companies even insist on no more than six months. The older a power of attorney is the more likely it is that it is replaced by a more recent power of attorney.

Third parties seek to satisfy themselves that the power of attorney is both genuine and is still in force.

Accordingly, they may require an affidavit by the agent affirming that the agent is unaware of any notice of termination of either the power of attorney or of the agent’s own authority.

Furthermore, a third party, “… may require the attorney-in-fact to provide identification, specimens of the signatures of the principal and the attorney-in-fact, and any other information reasonably necessary or appropriate to identify the principal and the attorney-in-fact and to facilitate the actions of the third person in transacting business with the attorney-in-fact.”

What type of power of attorney is involved?

Banks, brokerages and title companies are known to insist on their own in-house power of attorney forms and can be very reluctant to accept statutory or attorney drafted powers of attorney.

To avoid such difficulties the principal may choose to execute additional in-house powers of attorney at each the financial institutions where they have accounts.

What type of transaction is involved?

Where real property is concerned, title companies require that the power of attorney specifically reference the real property involved, and provide the property’s legal description and assessor’s parcel number, as on a deed of conveyance.

Title companies will also require that the power of attorney expressly provide the agent with the necessary powers relevant to completing the transaction. In fact, title companies are reluctant to accept broadly worded general powers of attorney.

Managing one’s real property, brokerage and bank accounts by transferring title to such assets into one’s living trust can avoid the foregoing and other obstacles associated with a power of attorney. The trustee as legal owner manages the trust assets using the powers and authorities granted under the trust.

Powers of attorney are still often the best approach to allowing another person or entity to manage one’s legal, property and financial affairs that exist outside of the trust.

Retirement accounts, Social Security issues, Medicare and other personal legal affairs simply cannot be transferred into one’s trust.

Lastly, if necessary, an agent can always petition the California Superior Court to compel a third party to honor the power of attorney.

With a uniform statutory power of attorney form, if the court finds that the third party acted unreasonably in refusing to accept such power of attorney then the court may require the third party to pay the agent’s attorney fees.

With all other power of attorney documents, fees are only awarded if the third party’s refusal was not done in “good faith.”

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. His Web site is www.DennisFordhamLaw.com.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors heard this week from a representative of Hoberg’s Resort about the continuing cleanup at the resort, which was destroyed in the September 2015 Valley fire.

Scott Schellinger, on behalf of Hoberg’s Historical Association – the resort’s owner – went before the board on Tuesday morning, along with Environmental Health Director Ray Ruminski.

Schellinger said that they were finishing up the toxic materials cleanup, with 10 cubic yards of lead-contaminated ash and soil set to come off the property by the middle of next week.

He said they were waiting for the state to issue a permit so the toxic materials could be transported to a special facility in Southern California.

Once that is done, and Ruminski signs off, the toxic part of the cleanup will be completed, said Schellinger.

Another aspect of the cleanup relates to wood – including thousands of trees removed after being damaged in the Valley fire – that has been stored and processed at the property.

Schellinger said that wood cleanup is 90-percent complete and continuing.

There also is additional construction debris being processed. Schellinger said they are tearing out concrete and other masonry that they hope to repurpose for road base and other recycled uses in the future.

“So completion is right around the corner?” asked Supervisor Rob Brown.

“Imminent,” said Schellinger.

Brown asked how much more material the resort planned to send to the local landfill. Schellinger said he hoped not a lot.

Brown also asked him about checks that had been returned or were waiting to be cleared that had been paid to the county for the landfill. Schellinger said he thought those checks had been addressed. Brown said one check was covered, one wasn’t and one was waiting to clear.

Schellinger said there is an erosion control plan being developed. They’re still moving concrete debris as much as they can before putting the erosion control measures in place for the winter.

He said they are aware of the erosion issues, especially those caused by water coming onto and crossing the resort property.

In March 2016 stormwater runoff surcharged the resort's septic system, sending runoff into a nearby drainage and then into Big Canyon Creek, which empties into Putah Creek, as Lake County News has reported. That led to an abatement that was finished by a county-hired contractor.

Supervisor Moke Simon asked about an Oct. 15 deadline to have the cleanup completed. Schellinger said they were keeping to that plan.

Simon emphasized that the community wants to see the property cleanup completed, a process that has been continually drawn out.

Schellinger said the speed of the cleanup was a function of staffing and financial availability.

He said he didn’t want to give the board the impression that they could just write a check and make it happen.

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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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – A Hidden Valley Lake man was flown out of county on Wednesday afternoon after he was involved in a motorcycle wreck near Upper Lake.

Randall P. Listman, 64, sustained major injuries in the crash, which occurred just before 1:15 p.m. Wednesday on Highway 29 south of the Highway 20 and 29 intersection, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.

The CHP said Listman was riding his 2013 Honda motorcycle north on Highway 29, south of Tule Lake Road, at an unknown speed when, for reasons not yet determined, he drove off of the east side of the roadway and hit an embankment.

A REACH air ambulance flew Listman to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of his injuries, according to the CHP.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are considered factors in the collision at this time, the CHP said.

The CHP said Listman was wearing his helmet.

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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When it lands on Mars in November of 2018, NASA's InSight lander will be carrying several science instruments – along with hundreds of thousands of names from members of the public.

In 2015, nearly 827,000 people signed up to add their names to a silicon microchip onboard the robotic spacecraft. NASA is now adding a second microchip, giving the public another chance to send their names to Mars.

New submissions will be accepted through Nov. 1, 2017, at https://mars.nasa.gov/syn/insight.

"Mars continues to excite space enthusiasts of all ages," said Bruce Banerdt, the InSight mission's principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. "This opportunity lets them become a part of the spacecraft that will study the inside of the Red Planet."

This fly-your-name opportunity comes with "frequent flier" points reflecting an individual's personal participation in NASA's exploration of Mars.

These points span multiple missions and multiple decades. Participants who sent their names on the previous InSight opportunity in 2015 can download a "boarding pass" and see their "frequent flier" miles.

As part of this frequent flier program, a chip carrying the names of 1.38 million people also flew aboard the first flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft in 2014.

NASA is building Orion to carry astronauts to deep space destinations that will enable future missions to Mars.

After InSight, the next opportunity to earn frequent flier points will be NASA's Exploration Mission-1, the first flight bringing together the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft to travel thousands of miles beyond the Moon in preparation for human missions to Mars and beyond.

InSight will be the first mission to explore Mars' deep interior. The spacecraft will set down a seismometer to detect marsquakes and meteor strikes, using the seismic energy of these phenomena to study material far below the Martian surface.

It also will deploy a self-hammering heat probe that will burrow deeper into the ground than any previous device on the Red Planet.

These and other InSight investigations will improve our understanding about the formation and evolution of all rocky planets, including Earth.

InSight is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, in May of 2018.

For more information on InSight, visit https://nasa.gov/insight.

An example of a "boarding pass" that members of the public can download by participating in NASA's Frequent Fliers program. With each NASA mission that flies their names, individuals can accumulate "miles" on their boarding pass. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Literacy Coalition’s major fundraiser, the Vineyard Run for Literacy, is right around the corner, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14.

For the past 28 years, the coalition, with the help of the literacy volunteers, has conducted the annual fundraising event.

The walk and runs begin at 9 a.m., with on-site registration from 8 to 8:45 a.m. at Steele Wines, 4350 Thomas Drive in Kelseyville.

This event attracts participants from all over the state as well as visitors from other areas.

Many local businesses donate prizes and participants in all age ranges are recognized.

Coalition Board Member Deb Ehrhardt, urges everyone to “support the run on Saturday, October 14, at Steele Wines by participating, donating to Lake County Literacy Coalition or purchasing one of the newly designed T-shirts.”

Register online at Run Sign Up or contact the literacy office for a form.

Since 1986, the coalition has raised money to support the Adult Literacy programs run by the Lake County Library.

The program recruits and trains volunteers from the community to work one-on-one with individuals who need help to improve basic reading, writing and comprehension skills.

“Over the years, the Literacy program has trained well over 1200 tutors who in turn helped more than 2100 learners,” literacy coordinator Ginny DeVries said.

This tutoring is free to all Lake County residents, age 18 and older.

Many college students take advantage of this free tutoring service, especially first-year students.

They learn how to succeed in taking tests and improve note-taking ability.

One client willing to share his story was Jason Martinez. He passionately wanted to be a chef, but his reading and writing skills had been a problem when it came to passing the exams at the Culinary Arts class at Yuba College in Clearlake, now part of the Woodland College system.

He and his tutor met regularly for 17 weeks, and with that help, Martinez received an “A” in his Culinary Arts class and soon became a full-time cook at Running Creek Casino.

Tutors are available to assist learners on an individual basis at the county library branches and other locations.

In addition, if an adult learner has young children, the whole family is eligible for services under the Families for Literacy Program.

Family storytimes are offered at the library branches and children’s educational materials are provided (at no cost to the families) to encourage a love of reading and to break the cycle of illiteracy.

Funds raised by the Literacy Coalition are used for books, training materials and tutor support.

For more information about the literacy program and services, call the library literacy office at 707-263-7633.
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UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has identified the Upper Lake man killed in a motorcycle crash on Highway 20 last week.

Jeffery Allen Smith, 41, was the victim in the crash, according to Capt. Greg Van Patten.

The crash that took Smith’s life occurred just before 10:40 p.m. Friday on Highway 20 west of Old Lake County Road near mile marker 41.43, as Lake County News has reported.

The Ukiah Area office of the California Highway Patrol said Smith was traveling eastbound on Highway 20 at a high rate – believed to be in excess of 100 miles per hour – when he and the motorcycle went off the road and hit a reflector post.

The motorcycle overturned multiple times before the bike and Smith hit a rock pile south of the roadway, according to the CHP report.

The Ukiah Area CHP told Lake County News on Wednesday that the crash remains under investigation, and that there was no new information about what had led to the wreck.

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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