Loose ends can otherwise unravel some part of one’s estate plan. Let’s take a look at some common problem areas.

Examine who are the legally designated primary and alternative beneficiaries to your retirement accounts.

Retirement plans are a sizable element of many people’s estates. At the participant’s death, retirement plans transfer without probate according to the participant’s designation of death beneficiary form.

You need to make sure that you designation of beneficiary form names both primary and alternative beneficiaries and is properly executed.

If the retirement plan includes marital earnings, then it is necessary to have your spouse countersign the beneficiary form to transfer 100 percent of the plan benefits.

Customized designation of alternative beneficiary instructions can and should usually be attached to the standard designation of beneficiary form. That way, you can both tailor your designation of alternative beneficiaries beyond what is allowed by the form and not be restricted to accept the boiler-plate contingency planning that the form otherwise imposes.

If your trust is named as beneficiary of a retirement plan then is the trust properly drafted? That is, after you die does your trust meet the IRS regulations to allow maximum income tax deferred growth (i.e., based on the individual beneficiaries’ own ages) with the trust as beneficiary?

Is naming the trust as the beneficiary of the retirement account necessary, or should you simply name the individual beneficiaries directly?

Typically the individual beneficiaries are named, and a carefully tailored trust is only named as beneficiary when necessary, such as in the case of protecting a special needs beneficiary eligibility to receive needs based government benefits or to protect the beneficiary’s inheritance assets from his/her own creditors.

Make sure that you have appropriately transferred title to all assets that should be in your living trust.

Assets held in your name outside of your living trust will otherwise be subject to probate (if the assets’ total gross value exceeds $100,000), unless the assets are non probate assets; such as assets owned in joint tenancy and financial assets that pass to designated beneficiaries.

People sometimes neglect to transfer title to all their real property (including out-of-state property) into their living trust.

Also, if a special needs trust to be established pursuant to your living trust, after you die, then it is doubly important that they be held in your trust.

Pets sometimes get over looked. Have you provided that your pets be taken care of when you are disabled and after you die?

Does your power of attorney authorize your agent to pay for the care and custody of your beloved pet during periods when you are sick and unable to take care of your affairs?

How does your trust or will provide for the care of your pet after you die? Does it ensure that only humane “no kill” shelters can receive your pet?

Have any of your beneficiaries’ circumstances materially changed? That is, does leaving their inheritance outright to them still make sense?

Is a special needs trust now needed to protect a special needs beneficiary’s continued receipt of needs based government benefits? Is a custodial account now necessary for an under aged (minor) beneficiary?

Tying up loose ends prevents unintended negative consequences.

Identifying any loose ends is why you should periodically have your estate plan reviewed.

A general rule of thumb is to examine your estate plan once every five years, and sooner if any changes occur that materially impact your existing plan.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235.

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The group will be honored at the sixth annual Mendocino College Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet, which will be held on Saturday, March 12, at 6 p.m. at Barra of Mendocino in Redwood Valley.

Included in the group are Brian Sallee, a Middletown High School graduate, and Lisa Falleri, who graduated from Kelseyville High School.

For tickets, please contact Anna Daugherty at 707-468-3255.

Bios of the five inductees follow.

Brian Sallee. Courtesy photo.

Brian Sallee

Sallee played football at Mendocino College from 2002 to 2003, and was team captain in 2003.

During his time with the college he recorded 86 tackles and 36 assists, and in 2003 had 12.5 sacks.

He was an All Conference Selection in 2002 and 2003, and was named Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2003.

Sallee went on to accept an athletic scholarship at Duke University in North Carolina.

Lisa Falleri. Courtesy photo.

Lisa Falleri

Falleri played volleyball and basketball for Mendocino College from 1991 to 1992.

She was named Team MVP in volleyball in 1991 and 1992, and Team MVP in basketball in 1992.

In 1991 and 1992 she was named a BVC All Conference Selection for volleyball, taking BVC All Conference honors in 1992 for basketball. In both 1991 and 1991 she was named to the BVC Academic All Conference.

Falleri later accepted an athletic scholarship at California State University, Chico.

TJ Bird

Bird graduated from Cloverdale High School and went on to play baseball for Mendocino College from 1999 to 2000.

Bird was team captain in 2000, the same year he became a BVC All Conference Selection.

In 2000 he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies.

Ben Riley. Courtesy photo

Ben Riley

Riley, who graduated from Grace Davis High School in Modesto, was a basketball standout for Mendocino College from 1997 to 1998.

He was team captain in 1998, becoming the state's No. 1 scorer with a 27-point average. Riley would become the No. 2 all-time scorer in Mendocino College history.

Riley accepted athletic scholarship with the College of Idaho in Caldwell.

Marc Selberg. Courtesy photo.

Marc Selberg

Selberg, a Cloverdale High School, played football from 1999 to 2000 for Mendocino College.

Selberg was an All Conference Selection in 1999 and 2000, and was named Offensive Lineman of the Year for 1999 and 2000.

He accepted a scholarship to Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Community Action Agency Board of Directors met Wednesday, hoping to get a better grasp on the nonprofit's finances in order to put it back on track after recent service closures and employee furloughs.

Last week the nonprofit put its more than two dozen employees on furlough and closed its Transitional Living Center (TLC) House in Lower Lake after its board became aware of a number of financial challenges, according to Board President Tom Jordan.

LCCAA is being audited by the Internal Revenue Service in connection with about $100,000 in unpaid federal payroll tax, is reportedly behind in rent for its offices and facilities – including the TLC House – and is behind in payments to vendors, as Lake County News has reported.

Jordan said that the board met for three hours on Wednesday morning. “We're really trying to pull things together and understand.”

He said the group was identifying small actions that need to be taken so it can get a clearer understanding of the organization's future direction.

In the short-term, there are the issues of paying payroll and bills, which Jordan said board members are taking on because all agency employees – including Executive Director Georgina Lehne – remain on furlough.

“Everyone is taking on some activity or task to do,” he said.

The agency board has normally met on a monthly basis – with the occasional dark month – but Jordan said he expects them to meet more often as they work on putting things back together.

At the Wednesday meeting, “We got rushed at the end and weren't even able to set when our next meeting will be,” he said.

He told Lake County News in an interview earlier this week that it was during a meeting last Thursday that the board realized there were “some very weak internal governance systems” in the organization. The next day, the board convened an emergency meeting, at which time it carried out the furlough and TLC House closure.

LCCAA provides a number of critical services – food pantries, commodities distribution, youth drop-in centers, a youth safe house and transitional homeless shelter – throughout the community.

IRS reporting documents indicate the organization has been running into the red consistently over the last several years. The most recent report available was for calendar year 2008, when both revenues and expenses totaled more than $1 million.

As to the root cause of LCCAA's financial problems, Jordan said the directors are still trying to figure it out, noting, “It's complicated.”

But he went on to add that “the heart of the issue is funding.”

He said LCCAA has sustained reductions in funding sources – both government and private – which has put “a tremendous strain on the organization.”

In the process of looking more closely at LCCAA's operations, “We're discovering that this has existed for awhile and there are bills that haven't been paid,” he said.

They're looking at other expenses and assessing funding amounts, Jordan said.

“The board has been advised that there were budget reductions in the TLC House in terms of the rate that the county was able to pay,” said Jordan. “We're trying to track that back as to when that happened.”

He said, “You just add all that together and it caused the challenge that we're facing.”

Laura Solis, Alcohol and Other Drug Services program administrator for the Lake County Mental Health Department, said the reduction in reimbursements for the TLC House occurred about a year ago.

Solis, who was at LCCAA's Wednesday board meeting, said the county was paying $75 a day per client for the TLC House, which is a sober living environment with treatment offsite at the New Beginnings clinic. It is not a residential treatment facility, which combines all services and also would cost $75 a day.

Following a survey of California clean and sober living environments, Solis said she realized the county was paying nearly twice what other areas paid for the same services.

Because the county itself is facing steep funding cuts – totaling about $625,000 for two different funding sources – the rate for TLC House was cut from $75 a day to $40 a day, Solis said.

The federal government stepped in with a $240,000 grant for 18 months to help cover some costs for AODS services, but that categorical funding – which is “wicked to work with” – runs out March 31, Solis explained.

Solis said the LCCAA Board expressed a high regard for the New Beginnings/TLC House program at its Wednesday meeting, although the group hasn't spoken with Solis about reopening the program. Jordan said earlier this week the board hoped to restore the services.

Losing the contract for the valuable services TLC House has provided is “a very painful, emotional thing for me,” Solis said.

“This is a great loss to this community,” Solis said. “I'm heartsick over it.”

She said all of the women in the TLC House have been admitted into county outpatient services and they're trying to get them counseling and assistance as frequently as possible.

Solis said she was having a finance staffer in her office compile information about the contracts AODS has with LCCAA. She said a spreadsheet was to be delivered to Jordan and Supervisor Jeff Smith, also an LCCAA Board member, by the end of Wednesday, with a view toward helping fill out the nonprofit's financial picture.

As for the rest of the services LCCAA has offered, most remain on hold, Jordan said. The exceptions are a food commodity program and the teen safe house.

Jordan said LCCAA has made an arrangement with the Santa Rosa-based Redwood Empire Food Bank to carry out the twice-a-month food distribution for seniors and for mothers with children who are 6 years of age who are transferring out of the WIC Program.

The teen safe house, also under LCCAA's auspices, has three teens residing there and a volunteer supervisor, Jordan said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

“Not a cent of taxpayer money should be spent on flashlights, ashtrays or other unnecessary items, most of which likely end up in landfills,” said Brown. “Every taxpayer dollar we save by cutting waste is a dollar than can be used to pay for critical public safety and social services.”

A statewide review revealed that from 2007 to 2010 state agencies and departments spent a total of $7.5 million on items including key chains, squeeze toys, pens, hats, trinkets, shirts, cups and other gift items known colloquially as “S.W.A.G,” or “Stuff We All Get.”

These include promotional and marketing items across almost every agency in the state.

Friday’s ban follows Brown’s request earlier this week for the Bureau of State Audits and the Little Hoover Commission to each provide a list of “Top 10 Actions” California can take to cut government waste and increase efficiency.

The governor has also issued executive orders to freeze hiring across state government and cut state cell phones and the passenger vehicle fleet in half.

These actions are part of Brown’s efforts to save money this fiscal year and to cut $363 million in operational costs next fiscal year.

A breakdown of “S.W.A.G” expenditures from 2007 to 2010 is below.

S.W.A.G Expenditures 2007-10

Business, Transportation & Housing Agency: $5,088,037

State and Consumer Services Agency: $1,154,960

Health and Human Services Agency: $778,678

Department of Food & Agriculture: $175,530

Labor and Workforce Development Agency: $129,012

California Volunteers: $77,387

Environmental Protection Agency: $48,317

Emergency Management Agency: $41,810

Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: $12,201

Department of Veterans Affairs: $4,968

Total: $7,510,900

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Computer Lab Aide Elaine Bishop (standing) offers assistance to student Rachel Szczepanski. Courtesy photo.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – Computer access is improving for Mendocino College students at the Lake Center thanks to a donation to the Mendocino College Foundation.

College and foundation staff recently announced that a $1,000 gift is enabling the college to employ aides for additional hours and keep the Lake Center’s computer lab open on Fridays.

“As funding for some of our student support services has declined in recent years, the donation has helped us to provide access to the computer technology that has become so essential for student success,” said Mark Rawitsch, dean of the college centers in Lakeport and Willits.

As a result of budget cuts, the center’s computer lab was closed on Fridays during the fall semester.

Students requested that the lab be open to them on Fridays, said Lake Center Operations Supervisor Arlene Peters.

College students may use the computers in the lab between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and now from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays.

Although the computer lab is not open on Thursdays (closed due to classes scheduled in the lab), the Learning Lab at the Lake Center offers eight to 10 additional computers for student use.

The Learning Lab is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and Fridays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Rawitsch suggested the allocation as the best way to utilize the recent gift from Mary Lou and Wade Koeninger.

The funding allows the college to employ two computer lab aides and keep the lab open extra hours this semester, the dean said.

Elaine Bishop, a 16-year employee of the college, and her husband Trett are the individuals offering assistance to computer users in the lab.

“Since many of our local students do not have easy access to computers at home, we’re pleased to be able to increase our Lakeport computer lab hours for students this semester,” said Rawitsch.

Mendocino College Foundation Executive Director Katie Wojcieszak has assisted the Koeningers in their continuing efforts to help Mendocino College students, both present and future.

For more information about making donations to the foundation or about foundation scholarships and programs, call the foundation office at 707-467-1018 or visit the Web site at http://foundation.mendocino.edu.

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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Winter weather was back in full force on Wednesday, as rain and snow was reported around the county.

On Wednesday the National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook for interior Northern California, including Lake County.

The agency said a strong winter storm was continuing to bring snow to the mountains and foothills with showers and thunderstorms possible in the Central Valley.

Another winter storm is expected to affect Northern California on Thursday and Friday, with the National Weather Service predicting more snow in the mountains, with snow levels falling to about 1,600 feet.

There were reports from county residents on Wednesday afternoon of snow falling in areas from Cobb to Lakeport to areas of the Northshore extending down to Clearlake Oaks. Hail was reported near Middletown.

The California Highway Patrol reported snow on the Glasgow Grade on Highway 29 near Lower Lake Wednesday evening, with Caltrans sanding the area to keep it safe for motorists.

Earlier in the day the county Public Works Department issued an advisory regarding area road closures.

County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said road crews had dealt for a good part of the day with a closure on Scotts Valley Road near English Ditch at mile post marker 3.5. The closure resulted from flooding, with cars detoured onto Hendricks Road.

Crews had opened and closed the road three or four times Wednesday as they responded to water levels going up and down, Stangland said. But by day's end the road was once again open.

Low water crossings, usually closed due to seasonal water flows, also were in place in Kelseyville, where Stangland said Adobe Creek crossing at Merritt Road, Dry Creek Cutoff and Dorn Crossing on Kelsey Creek were closed.

Stangland said the Adobe Creek crossing will reopen as soon as the water levels go down.

Elk Mountain Road was open Wednesday, “But that could change at any time” due to snow levels, Stangland said.

Bartlett Springs Road also remained open but drivers were urged to take chains or four-wheel drive if going into the area due to snow in the higher elevations. Stangland said road crews would work on plowing Bartlett Springs on Thursday.

Crews were working on repairing a landslide that had happened awhile ago on Twin Valley Road, which is about 15 miles out on Bartlett Springs, but Stangland said the weather had halted that work.

Even when the weather eases up, Stangland said the road division still has to stay vigilant.

“We're on watch all the time just because even after the storms are over with, as the ground starts to dry, the rocks start to pop loose,” he said.

In areas like Bartlett Springs, those weather-related road issues are part of a “neverending battle,” he added.

Weather-related issues also were keeping firefighters busier than normal on Wednesday.

Lake County Fire Protection District Battalion Chief said on Wednesday afternoon he'd experienced an extremely busy between responding to public assists and a structure fire.

In one public assist case an elderly woman's back door blew open and rain came pouring in, with firefighters having to respond to help get the door closed, he said.

“It has been crazy,” he said, calling it the “quickest 48 hours ever.”

Stangland, monitoring the weather reports, said six-tenths of an inch of rain is predicted in the county on Thursday, with no significant rain until next Monday.

“When it clears up it's going to freeze over again,” Stangland said, with freezing levels expected to drop next Tuesday to about 2,500 feet before going back to between 3,000 and 3,500 feet.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Pacific Gas & Electric said Friday afternoon that it was continuing to work to restore power to customers in the south county, many of whom were reporting being without power for 36 hours or more.

At around 3 p.m. PG&E was reporting a total of 100 outages that was the cause of 9,700 customers in Hidden Valley Lake, Middletown, Clearlake, Lower Lake and Cobb still being without power, according to company spokesman Paul Moreno.

Shortly after 4 p.m. Moreno reported that the number of affected customers had been reduced to 8,000, with power restored to some areas of Clearlake, Lower Lake and Cobb within the previous hour.

The winter storm Thursday had done “significant” damage to power equipment in Lake County, PG&E had previously reported.

As of noon on Friday, PG&E had identified four failed transformers, 44 damaged utility poles and many wires down, Moreno said.

“We do have crews working on several circuits, including some of the large outage,” said Moreno.

Lake County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon that downed power lines were the cause of several area road closures, including Anderson Springs at Highway 175, and Golf Road and roadways connected to it in Cobb, which are expected to be closed until Saturday morning.

Stangland said Big Canyon Road in Cobb is closed due to downed poles and power lines from Ettawa Springs Road to the Howard Resort at the top of the ridge, with no estimated time of opening. He said that a Cal Fire hand crew was working in the area to clear downed trees.

In addition, Bottle Rock Road is open to Sulphur Creek Road, where Stangland said PG&E was working on the downed pole and lines.

Stangland said it's estimated that the section from Sulphur Creek Road to Highway 175 will be closed for approximately four more days due to downed trees, power poles and power lines.

Moreno said crews were at work “at a number of sites” around Lake County, with more customers expected to have their power on Friday evening.

A major challenge for repair crews remained getting access to damaged equipment due to the weather and terrain, Moreno said.

Moreno said the company has contracted helicopters doing patrols to identify damaged equipment.

“We were able to fly helicopter patrols today throughout Lake County due to a break in the weather, and that has helped us make assessments so we could continue restoration,” he said.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department said PG&E had three helicopters coming and going from a landing zone near the Lake County Fire Protection District on Olympic Drive.

“They've been going in and out of there since yesterday,” he said Friday afternoon.

Moreno said five additional crews, which have between two and four people each, arrived in Lake County on Friday to work on power equipment repairs.

“Dozens of additional line workers have been brought in to support local crews,” he said.

PG&E staff was taking advantage of daylight hours and working 16-hour shifts to get power restored, according to Moreno.

As for county road crews, their work was continuing, too, Stangland said.

On Friday afternoon road crews continued to work to clear the Gifford Springs area, which Stangland estimated would be open by 6 p.m. Friday.

However, he noted late Friday afternoon that snow was falling in Cobb.

He said snow had closed Elk Mountain Road inn Upper Lake from the Middle Creek Campground to Lake Pillsbury, and Bartlett Springs Road at MPM 6.0 also closed because of snowfall.

County road crews are scheduled to start clearing Bartlett Springs Road on Monday before moving on to Elk Mountain Road, Stangland said.

Caltrans reported Friday afternoon that Highway 175 from the junction of Highway 29 to five miles west of Middletown remained closed due to downed trees.

No travel restrictions were listed over Highway 29 – the route over Mount St. Helena had been reopened earlier in the day – and Highway 20 also was reported by Caltrans as open.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Two education centers will be held Tuesday, Feb. 22, one in Lucerne from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center, 3985 Country Club Drive, and another in Clearlake from noon to 5 p.m. at the Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive.

On Wednesday, Feb. 23, two more educational centers will be held at the Middletown Senior Center, 15299 Central Park Road, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and at the Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St., from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Customers with questions about PG&E’s SmartMeter program can come to any of the educational centers.

PG&E will have a SmartMeter expert available for customers to speak with individually. Customers can drop in anytime during the educational center hours to ask questions one-on-one.

The company said its SmartMeter program provides customers with more information about their energy usage and more rate options to help them reduce their energy use and bills.

SmartMeter technology will also help the state meet its renewable energy goals and provide the foundation for a future smart grid which will make the power grid more reliable, efficient and sustainable, according to a PG&E statement.

For more information about PG&E’s SmartMeter program, visit www.pge.com/smartmeter or call PG&E’s 24-hour SmartMeter Hotline at 1-866-743-0263. Information is also available at www.pge.com/smartmeter or call PG&E’s SmartMeter Hotline, 1-866-743-0263.

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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – A home was destroyed in an early morning fire on Wednesday.

The structure, an older cabin, was located at 4397 Old Highway 53 in Clearlake, according to Lake County Fire Battalion Chief Willie Sapeta.

Sapeta said firefighters were dispatched at 7:44 a.m., and he arrived on scene three minutes later.

Radio reports indicated the structure was fully involved when firefighters arrived.

Lake County Fire sent two medic units, an engine, a rescue unit, a battalion chief – Sapeta – and the fire chief, Sapeta said.

Sapeta said firefighters had the fire under control by 7:57 a.m., but overhaul and salvage took much longer, with units clearing the scene shortly after 11 a.m.

“The interior was a complete loss,” said Sapeta, who estimated damages totaled about $70,000.

The fire's cause is still under investigation, Sapeta said.

He said the older cabin – probably built in the 1950s or 1960s – was about 600 square feet in size and had some small remodels done to it. It was one of a few remaining residences in an area now zoned commercial.

Sapeta said no one was in the home at the time of the fire, with the residents in the process of moving out of it.

“Nobody got hurt,” he said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Snow remained on the hills above Clearlake Oaks on Thursday, February 17, 2011, following a snowstorm that occurred overnight and earlier in the day. Photo by Mike Hardy.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following a day of heavy snow and rain, power outages and dangerous road conditions, many area residents were waiting for power to be restored and weather forecasters predicted Lake County could have still more rain and snow to come.

Thursday's snow – much of it falling in the first half of the day – caused school closures in the Kelseyville, Konocti and Middletown school districts, shut down area roadways and contributed to falling tress that in turn knocked down utility lines and poles, as Lake County News has reported.

First responders – law enforcement from various agencies, firefighters and paramedics – spent an exhausting day running to what seemed liked endless calls – health-related assists, fires, crashes and emergencies caused by downed utility and power lines.

The California Highway Patrol's incident logs recorded well over 100 incidents for the day, many times the number of incidents seen on a regular basis, based on Lake County News' daily observations.

One of the major fallouts for Lake County's residents was the loss of power.

Pacific Gas & Electric reported early in the day that the storms knocked out power to a total of 16,000 county customers, a number which early in the afternoon had been reduced to about 12,600 customers, according to PG&E spokesperson Brandi Ehlers.

County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said he received word that PG&E was moving 27 crews in the county to work on repairs.

Late Thursday, PG&E spokesperson Jana Morris said a company report on the storms highlighted that Lake County – like other foothill and mountain areas of the state – “has experienced a significant amount of damage due to the storm.”

Morris said PG&E crews were working through the night to continue repairs.

One of the issues that PG&E was encountering in Lake County and in the Sierra division was the combination of difficult terrain and snow, which was making it a challenge to access some equipment that required repair, Morris said.

In some cases, due to safety concerns, PG&E staff may have to wait until daylight to continue work, said Morris.

Shortly before midnight Thursday an estimated 3,800 customers in Clearlake remained without power, Morris said.

Other areas with continuing outages included Cobb, 1,650 customers; Hidden Valley Lake, 1500; Middletown, 1,000; Lower Lake, 800; Kelseyville, 350; Clearlake Park, 11; and Clearlake Oaks and Lakeport each had two.

Morris said about 250 additional customers in Cobb were expected to have power restored by midnight, and 350 more in Lower Lake by about 2 a.m. Friday.

One transformer on Winchester in Lower Lake that had been under repair Thursday evening blew up once it was reenergized, causing a fire concern, according to radio reports.

Power losses caused issues for the county's sanitation district on Thursday.

Jill Shaul with Lake County Special Districts said they were receiving calls from their alarm company regarding power failures and high water levels in the Southeast Regional Wastewater System, which serves Clearlake and Lower Lake.

Power failures had been reported at pump stations one, two, three, 15 and 17, Shaul said, but those failures hadn't resulted in any effluent discharges.

“We're holding our own,” she said.

Snow fell down to the level of Clear Lake in Lake County, Calif., on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Photo by Brad Hagen.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office also encountered some communications problems Thursday.

Capt. James Bauman said he was the one to discover the problem with the agency's Siegler repeater, which is used for its primary law enforcement channel.

When he left the office and tried to call in, “Nobody was talking back to me.”

Some checking revealed the repeater wasn't functioning correctly, Bauman said.

Other agencies, including CHP and local fire districts, also rely on the repeater, although Bauman said they weren't having issues. “It's just our frequency that's having a problem.”

The agency moved all of its law enforcement traffic over to the Office of Emergency Services frequency. Bauman said the owner of the property where the repeater is located was standing ready to help them access it to make repairs.

Bauman couldn't say definitely that weather was the cause, but noted, it was the “most interesting weather day we've had in a long time.”

The National Weather Service said snow could fall to about 1,600 feet overnight and into Friday morning, although it's not expected to accumulate. Showers are expected to decrease throughout the weekend.

The Western Weather Group said the storm that hit Lake County Thursday was part of a storm system coming from the Gulf of Alaska.

Thursday night the weather broke and the skies cleared for a time, long enough for a bright full moon to be visible. The cold, clear conditions raised concern for nighttime ice.

Caltrans and county road crews plowed state highways and county roads throughout the day, trying to clear the way for drivers, many of whom found themselves stuck in the snow as they tried to make their ways to home, work or school Thursday.

Early Thursday evening, county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road, and all roads in the Clear Lake Riviera and Riviera Heights areas had been reopened.

He said Bottle Rock Road was open to Sulphur Creek Road, where PG&E was working on downed pole and lines. Fallen power lines also had closed Point Lakeview at Bayless Cove near Lower Lake and Anderson Springs at Highway 175.

PG&E was making repairs on Siegler Canyon Road between Perini and Big Canyon Road. Stangland said Siegler Canyon was open with a detour on Perini Road, Stangland said.

Stangland said 12 plow vehicles were to work through the night to open roads in the Cobb Mountain and Middletown areas that were blocked by power lines. He said crews also would remove snow, rocks and downed trees on New Long Valley, Sulphur Bank, North and Lakeshore Boulevard.

On Thursday night, Caltrans reported that some restrictions still remained on state highways.

Highway 175 was closed from the junction of Highway 29 to fives miles west of Middletown due to downed trees.

Chains or snow tire requirements remained in force on two other stretches of Highway 175 – from 5.5 miles east of the junction of Highway 101 in Mendocino County to 1.8 miles west of the Lake/Mendocino County line over the Hopland Grade, and 7 miles west to four miles west of Middletown.

Highway 29 remained closed over Mount St. Helena from 5.5 miles north of Calistoga in Napa County to the junction of Highway 175 in Middletown because of the snowfall, according to Caltrans.

Caltrans said travel restrictions had been lifted on Highway 20.

Drivers can find the latest conditions online at the Caltrans Web site, www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi, or by calling 800-427-7623.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

Snow blanketed Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake, Calif., on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Photo by Brad Hagen.

UPDATED AT 1:40 P.M. WITH INFORMATION FROM PG&E ON OUTAGES.

UPDATED AT 2:40 P.M. WITH INFORMATION REGARDING KELSEYVILLE UNIFIED.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Trees on houses, downed utility lines and power outages, vehicles stuck on roads, and heavy snow and rain dominated Thursday morning in Lake County.

Firefighters, law enforcement, and state and county road crews spent the day's first half responding to the fallout from a more fierce than expected winter storm that pounded the region, dropping snow on half of the county and rain on the rest of it.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning that remains in effect until midnight, warning of more snow.

The agency had predicted snow at the 1,500 foot level and above, noting the possibility that it could stretch down to Clear Lake, about 200 feet lower. Area residents reported that the snow did, in fact, hit lake level.

Due to downed power lines, there were numerous reports of power outages around the county.

In a statement issued just before 1:30 p.m. Pacific Gas & Electric reported that approximately 16,000 customers were out of power due to weather conditions, with a number of outages not yet assessed due to inaccessibility.

The company reported they are deploying more trucks from the south, but with the closure of Highway 29 they weren't expecting them to arrive until 3 p.m.

PG&E said its crews are focusing on highly impacted areas and sensitive customers, including area hospitals, the jail, and city and county buildings.

The California Highway Patrol reported hazardous conditions on area roadways due to loose boulders, closed lanes, downed power lines and trees, and snow.

The early morning snow saw a Lake Transit bus caught stuck in the middle of Highway 29 just south of Diener Drive near Lower Lake, with several other vehicles, including a big rig, also trapped, the CHP reported. The roadway was closed for a time as the vehicles were helped to get out of the snow.

Clearlake and Lower Lake were hit by heavy snow, with county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland reporting up to 6 inches of snow on the stretch of Highway 53 that passes through the Clearlake area.

Late Thursday morning Stangland said snow closed Butts Canyon Road at Highway 29, with all of Bottle Rock Road closed as well.

Lower Lake, Calif., was another area of Lake County that also saw significant snowfall on Thursday, February 17, 2011. Photo by Tom Quinn.

He said snow had closed all Cobb-area roads, and in Anderson Springs there were multiple trees across the road.

Point Lakeview and adjoining roads near Lower Lake were being closed both because of snow and downed trees, with the latter taking down phone and utility lines, he said.

Also closed due to snow were Elk Mountain Road at the Middle Creek Campground and Bartlett Springs Road at mile post marker 6, Stangland said.

Stangland's road crews were reporting 3 or more inches of snow in the Clear Lake Riviera, Buckingham, Riviera West and Riviera Heights, with residents later reporting about 6 inches in those areas.

There was also about 3 inches of snow in Lower Lake and between 4 and 6 inches in Middletown late Thursday morning, Stangland said.

He said a priority was keeping 18^th Avenue open leading to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake.

He said road crews were trying Thursday morning to get to Middletown, but were having difficulties due to accidents and stopped traffic.

County road crews were simultaneously plowing snow on 18^th Avenue in Clearlake, Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road and Highway 281, Siegler Canyon, the Loch Lomond area, Bottle Rock Road, Point Lakeview Road and the Clear Lake Riviera, Stangland said.

As of 1 p.m., Caltrans was reporting chains or snow tires are required on Highway 175 from 5.5 miles east of the junction with US 101 in Mendocino County to 1.8 miles west of the Lake/Mendocino County line on the Hopland Grade.

Also on Highway 175, Caltrans said chains or snow tires were required from seven miles west to four miles west of Middletown.

Highway 175 was closed from the south junction of Highway 29 to Middletown due to downed power lines, with a detour available, Caltrans said.

Highway 20 was closed at the junction with Highway 53 due to a crash, but the rest of the highway remained open but with chain requirements on all vehicles except four-wheel drive with snow tires from the Lake/Colusa County line to E Street in Williams.

Caltrans reported that Highway 29 was closed from 5.5 miles south of the Napa/Lake County line to the junction of Highway 175 in Middletown due to snow. Motorists were advised to use an alternate route.

The agency also issued a chain or snow tires requirement for vehicles traveling along Highway 29 from 7.6 miles north of Middletown to five miles south of the junction with Highway 53.

Radio reports indicated numerous downed power and utility lines crisscrossing the Clearlake area, with the city's Avenues area form 18^th through 40^th mostly accessible by one roadway, Davis Avenue, as firefighters tried to get to emergency calls.

In the Clear Lake Riviera, a blown transformer early in the afternoon reportedly set materials in the backyard of a residence, according to radio reports.

Snow in parts of the county resulted in school closures.

Middletown Unified closed Cobb Elementary first thing in the morning and put all other schools on a minimum day schedule, with the district reporting just after 11 a.m. that most of the students had gone home already due to the snow.

Phone calls to Konocti Unified went unanswered, but parents reported children in that district were home because schools there were closed.

Kelseyville Unified Superintendent Dave McQueen said all district schools were closed because of the weather, which also had knocked out power to the district offices from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. He said he sent everyone home as a result.

Lakeport Unified reported that schools remained open and in session on Thursday.

Lake County News is continuing to follow developments, and is posting updates to its Facebook and Twitter accounts, which are linked to a feed located on the upper lefthand side of the Lake County News homepage.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lake County Vector Control District said it's planning aerial spraying later this month in an effort to reduce the number of biting adult mosquitoes that will emerge this spring.

The district reported Wednesday that it will be making an aerial treatment of the marshlands adjacent to Clear Lake between the Clear Lake State Park and Lakeport some time in the next two weeks.

Vector control's winter mosquito surveillance program has detected a large number of mosquito larvae in the areas near the lake that become flooded as the lake rises in winter.

These mosquito larvae are an early-season floodwater species (Aedes increpitus) that hatch from eggs laid in the mud last year as the lake receded. When winter rains flooded the eggs, the larvae hatched and began developing in the still, shallow water.

As temperatures and day length increase in early spring, the Ae. increpitus mosquito larvae will pupate and then emerge as biting adults. These mosquitoes are the aggressive biters experienced every spring by people living and recreating near this area.

The application will be made by a yellow, biwinged crop duster flying at a low altitude over these marshy areas, the district said. Some of the marshy areas are near homes and people may experience a brief noise nuisance from the plane.

The district said the product applied will be Aquabac 200G, a biological larvicide used to control mosquito larvae in aquatic habitats.

Aquabac is manufactured by Becker Microbial Products Inc. Aquabac is based on the naturally occurring soil bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti).

The district said Aquabac is a “highly effective and economical microbial insecticide” that is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for the control of larval mosquitoes in nearly all aquatic habitats.

Bti is highly selective for the control of mosquito larvae in water and does not affect plants, animals or beneficial insects that live in or drink the water, the district reported.

Aquabac is a formulation is a biodegradable solid corncob granule, similar to large sand particles, which are coated with the Bti, which breaks down rapidly in nature so there is no persistence of the active ingredient. The district said the use of a solid formulation reduces the drift onto adjacent property.

The weather conditions will determine when the district is able to make the application, so a definite date is not available at this time. However, the district will post that information on its Web site (www.lcvcd.org) as soon as a planned application date is set. If the application is canceled or rescheduled, that information will also be posted on the district’s Web site.

The Lake County Vector Control District said it makes every effort to use the safest product available to minimize any health concerns the public may have.

The larvicide label and the Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) are available from the district’s Web site, www.lcvcd.org/, or may be requested by calling 707-263-4770.

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