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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters continue to make steady gains in containment on the region’s wildland fires.

Cal Fire said the Glass fire grew to 67,420 acres by Wednesday night, up by nearly 400 acres since Tuesday night, with containment up to 62 percent, an increase of eight percentage points over that same 24-hour period.

It has been burning since Sept. 27 in Napa and Sonoma counties.

Assigned resources on Wednesday night included 2,322 personnel, 292 engines, 32 water tenders, 14 helicopters, 39 hand crews, 15 dozers and 15 masticators, Cal Fire said.

The number of structures threatened by the fire was reduced to 13,326 on Wednesday, Cal Fire reported.

Updated damage numbers reported Wednesday showed that 1,536 structures – 914 in Napa, 622 in Sonoma – have been destroyed. Another 280 – 148 in Napa, 132 in Sonoma – have been damaged.

Evacuation warnings for two areas in Lake County, south of Middletown, remained in effect early Thursday morning, and Highway 29 south of Middletown to Tubbs Lane is still closed to traffic.

Cal Fire said activity across the fire is mainly limited to isolated pockets of heat and smoldering heavy fuels that are well inside the control lines.

On the northern portion of the east zone, a higher concentration of smoldering and creeping activity remains, but is not a threat to the control lines, Cal Fire said.

California’s largest wildland fire, the August Complex, is continuing to stretch farther over public lands to the north, in areas including the Mendocino National Forest in northern Lake County and in the Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.

Cal Fire said the complex, started by lightning on Aug. 17, reached 1,014,324 acres on Wednesday, with containment at 60 percent.

There are 4,914 personnel assigned across all four zones on the incident, officials said.

Officials said U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton’s 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force will begin operations on the Northeast Zone, based in Redding, on Thursday.

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.



The August Complex as mapped on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020. Map courtesy of the US Forest Service.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities said distracted driving was the cause of a crash that involved five vehicles and seriously injured three people, two of them children, on Monday evening.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred at 5:55 p.m. Monday on Highway 20, east of Reclamation Road, near Nice.

The CHP said traffic was stopped for a major injury collision involving a semi which had occurred a short time earlier on Highway 20 near Pomo Way.

Joshua Franklin Murray, 39, of Lucerne, was driving his 2002 Dodge Ram pickup eastbound at 55 miles per hour. The CHP said Franklin stated he was eating a hamburger he recently purchased when he suddenly noticed traffic was stopped ahead of him.

Franklin heavily applied the brakes to his Dodge but was unable to avoid a collision with the rear of a Kia Soul driven by Elizabeth Elliot Ambriz, 33, of Redwood Valley, who had two girls, ages 3 and 6, in the vehicle with her, the CHP said.

The CHP said the front of Ambriz’s Kia was propelled into the rear of a 1998 Honda Accord driven by 62-year-old Jacquine Snelson of Upper Lake.

Ambriz’s Kia was then pushed into the westbound lane, directly in the path of a 2015 Ford Explorer driven by 49-year-old Ladina Williams of Lucerne. The CHP said the two vehicles collided head-on.

Snelson's Honda subsequently rolled into the rear of a 2007 Chevrolet HHR driven by 61-year-old Toni Gayle Conley of Upper Lake, the CHP said.

The CHP said the two children in Ambriz’s vehicle suffered major injuries and were flown out of the county – the 6-year-old was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center and the 3-year-old was taken to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Ambriz also had major injuries and was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport.

The older of the two children was determined to have not been properly restrained in a booster seat at the time of the collision, the CHP said. All other parties were properly restrained in the appropriate seat belts and/or child restraints.

Williams suffered a possible hand injury and was transported by Northshore Fire ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. A 1-year-old female child who was with Williams in her vehicle was transported with Williams for precautionary reasons due to her age, the CHP reported.

The CHP said Murray, Snelson and Conley were uninjured.

The collision was determined to be caused by distracted driving, the CHP said, adding that neither alcohol nor drugs were determined to be factors in this 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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MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Area Town Hall this week will hear from the state senator for Lake County on several key issues and take nominations for board seats.

MATH will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, via Zoom. The meeting is open to the public.

To join the Zoom meeting click on this link; the meeting ID is 872 2935 2332. Call in at 888-788-0099.

On the agenda, State Sen. Mike McGuire will speak to the group starting at 7:05 p.m. regarding fire safety and mitigation, concerns for schools and addressing the homeless.

At 7:50 p.m., District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon will give his monthly update.

At 7:55 p.m., the candidates for the Callayomi County Water District Board – Rosemary Córdova, Sandra Harris and Roger Rosenthal – will speak to the group.

At 8:05 p.m., the MATH Board will take nominations for three seats – one at-large and two for Middletown proper – for this coming year.

At 8:10 a.m., the group will discuss a clarification to Article 4, Section 1 in the MATH bylaws, “MATH Board Election Structure, Requirements and Districts.” The draft revised bylaws document can be seen below.

The MATH Board includes Chair Tom Darms, Vice Chair Sally Peterson, Secretary Paul Baker, and at-large members Rosemary Córdova and Lisa Kaplan.

MATH – established by resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors on Dec. 12, 2006 – is a municipal advisory council serving the residents of Anderson Springs, Cobb, Coyote Valley (including Hidden Valley Lake), Long Valley and Middletown.

For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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.



09262020 Draft Revisions ByLaws by LakeCoNews on Scribd

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Lands in the Mendocino National Forest burned by the August Complex of 2020. Photo courtesy of the US Forest Services.

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Burned Area Emergency Response specialists from the U.S. Forest Service recently completed their data gathering and fieldwork of the August Complex fire burn area.

The US Forest Service said the focus of the BAER team was to verify and finalize the soil burn severity map.

Soil burn severity is classified into levels between unburned and high.

Due to the size of the fire, its activity and the team’s inability to visit the northern portion of the fire, the BAER team assessed the southern portion of the fire, an area 521,000 acres in size.

Lands in the Mendocino National Forest burned by the August Complex of 2020. Photo courtesy of the US Forest Services.
The northern portion will be evaluated at a future date once activity drops and the specialists are allowed into the burned area, the Forest Service said.

The total fire area as of late Wednesday was more than 1,014,000 acres, officials reported.

BAER specialists will now use the soil burn severity data to identify if there are areas or features of concern where increased soil erosion, accelerated surface water run-off, and debris flows have the potential to impact human life and safety, property, and critical natural and cultural resources from rain events.

More information about the BAER team can be found here.


The area assessed by the Burned Area Emergency Response team in the Mendocino National Forest. Courtesy map.
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The Glass fire as mapped by Cal Fire on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.


NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Firefighters on Tuesday kept the Glass fire to its smallest one-day acreage gain so far, while the August Complex on public lands to the north added several thousand more acres after passing the one-million-acre mark on Monday.

Cal Fire said Tuesday night that the Glass fire was up to 67,050 acres, a growth of just 210 acres since Monday night, with containment up 13 percent to a total of 54-percent containment.

On Tuesday night, Cal Fire for the first time gave an estimated date of containment – Oct. 20 – for the Glass fire, which began on Sept. 27 in Napa and Sonoma counties.

Resources on the incident are now starting to be reduced. Personnel on Tuesday night totaled 2,522 – down by about 200 over the previous day – with 341 engines, 40 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 34 hand crews, 26 dozers and 15 masticators assigned, Cal Fire said.

Officials said 20,324 structures remain threatened by the fire, and evacuation warnings for two areas in Lake County, south of Middletown, remained in effect as of Tuesday night.

Highway 29 south of Middletown to Tubbs Lane in Napa County also remains closed, officials reported.

Updated damage assessment numbers show that Napa County has had 884 structures destroyed and 146 damaged by the fire, and in Sonoma County, 600 structures have been destroyed and 132 damaged.

Cal Fire said the rugged terrain in the northern portion of the Glass Fire continues to show fire activity, driven by steep slopes and heavy, dry fuels. Interior islands and smoldering, heavy fuels
remain active throughout the remainder of the fire area.

Aggressive mop-up and tactical patrol continue in areas where the fire’s forward progress has stopped. Heavy dead and down fuels continue to threaten the fire line, officials said.

Cal Fire said 16 firefighters on the Glass fire were evaluated Tuesday morning for a possible carbon monoxide exposure that occurred at a location off-site out of the fire area.

The firefighters were evaluated by Santa Rosa City Fire Department in conjunction with the medical staff assigned to the incident. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation and all others were released back to the fire line, officials said.

For road conditions in the fire area, see the following resources:

– Sonoma County: https://roadclosures-sonomacounty.hub.arcgis.com/ ;
– Napa County: www.countyofnapa.org/1032/Roads ;
– City of Santa Rosa: https://srcity.org/3063/Detours-and-Road-Closures ; and
– Caltrans: http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/.

August Complex continues growth

To the north, on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests, the August Complex on Tuesday continued to actively burn.

The fire, which was caused by lightning on Aug. 17, grew to a total of 1,006,140 acres as of Tuesday night, adding just over 2,700 acres over the previous 24 hours. Containment remains at 58 percent, the Forest Service reported.

Officials said approximately 2,376 personnel are assigned to the incident, which is being managed across several zones.

On the South Zone, which includes northern Lake County areas such as Lake Pillsbury, a new incident management team is set to arrive on Wednesday and take over operations.

The Forest Service estimates the August Complex will be fully contained on Nov. 15.

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.
The August Complex as mapped by the US Forest Service on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital is sponsoring the seventh annual Heroes of Health and Safety Fair, providing flu shots, disaster preparedness and oral health giveaways to the community.

The drive-thru event will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the racetrack at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St. in Lakeport.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital and local agency partners are hosting this drive-thru community event at the racetrack so you and your family can safely receive a flu shot while staying in your car. Additional giveaways will be available while supplies last.

This year health officials said we will face a flu season like no other. As influenza and COVID-19 are different viruses, it is possible to contract both, simultaneously.

“Many doctors think that people with the flu may be more vulnerable to getting a severe COVID infection,” says Dr. Gary Pace, Lake County Public Health officer.

Sutter Lakeside will offer flu shots to the first 500 adults who drive-thru on the racetrack.

Additionally, attendees will receive oral health kits and can be trained on how to act fast if they witness someone overdose on narcotics.

Present in many prescription medications, narcotics are powerful pain relievers that a person might take for a legitimate medical reason. Unfortunately if too much is taken someone can overdose, which slows or stops their breathing.

You can save a life by knowing how to administer the antidote to a narcotic overdose. Antidote kits, which include the medication Narcan, will be provided to attendees who have received the training and could potentially witness a narcotic overdose.

Natural disasters like the current pandemic and recent wildfires are reminders that each of us needs to be as ready as we can be to take care of ourselves and our neighbors in an emergency.

This year attendees to the Health & Safety Fair will receive an emergency preparedness go bag while supplies last. Additionally, disaster preparedness education, covering tips to protect yourself, your family and your pets, will be provided.

“Lake County has endured multiple disasters over the last few years, so residents here are well acquainted with the importance of preparedness. Having a go bag ready, keeping your phone charged and gas in your car during fire season, and taking preventative measures can make the difference between keeping safe or having a terrible outcome,” said Dr. Pace.

Masks are required, even if everyone in your vehicle is from the same household.

“The fairground is taking special precautions to keep everyone safe this year,” said Dr. Pace. “Wearing masks, keeping outside, social distancing and preventing groups of people from gathering are all important parts of preventing transmission of the virus. Also, people that have symptoms like a cough or fever should not attend this event.”

If you have questions prior to the event, or to volunteer, call the hospital at 707-262-5121 during normal business hours.
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To help support the California Highway Patrol’s yearlong effort to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety, the department has been awarded the California Pedestrian and Bicyclist Enforcement and Education Project VIII grant.

The CHP will use the grant funds to conduct enhanced-enforcement patrols and public awareness campaigns through Sept. 30, 2021.

“Whether traveling by motor vehicle, bicycle, or on foot, we all share the road. Bicycle and pedestrian safety is everyone’s responsibility,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “This grant provides us additional resources to focus on the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, our most vulnerable roadway users.”

Pedestrian and bicycle fatalities accounted for nearly 33 percent of all traffic-related deaths in California in 2018.

The CHP reminds motorists to always scan each intersection for potential foot and bicycle traffic and to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians whether in marked or unmarked crosswalks.

The CHP also will use the grant funding to educate the public on safe and courteous traffic behavior through public presentations and safety publications, and to provide bicycle and pedestrian safety equipment for distribution including bicycle helmets and reflective gear.

Funding for this program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – This flu season is bringing unique concerns, with the potential for confusion of seasonal flu and COVID-19 symptoms.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, “Influenza (flu) activity often begins to increase in October.”

“We are very concerned about the flu this year, during the time of COVID,” said Lake County’s Public Health Officer, Gary Pace, MD, MPH. “Protecting our most vulnerable citizens during the risky fall and winter months is a priority.”

“All people are strongly encouraged to get the flu vaccine this year,” shared Pace. “They are available through your medical provider, at many pharmacies and at some flu vaccine clinics.”

Cost should not be a barrier. On Oct. 10, there is a free drive-through flu clinic at the Lake County Fairgrounds through the “Heroes of Health” event.

Information for health care workers

“Usually we have a Public Health order for health care workers to get the flu vaccine, or, as an alternative, to wear a mask when performing patient care,” said Pace. “Since all workers providing patient care are required to wear masks this year due to COVID, the order is not needed at this time. I continue to strongly recommend the influenza vaccine to be taken by every healthcare worker in acute care hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient clinics.”

Pace and fellow Public Health officers in small Northern California counties recently issued a statement addressing the importance of healthcare workers getting immunized against the flu.

The statement can be read here.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office reported that Oct. 19 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

New voters, new residents of Lake County and registered voters who have moved to a new address, changed their mailing address within the county, or changed their name need to register or reregister to vote no later than Oct. 19.

If you are a registered voter and your mailing address has changed, official voting materials – sample ballots, vote-by-mail ballots, etc. – cannot be forwarded to another address and will be returned to the Registrar of Voters Office by the postal service.

Residents may personally phone the registrar’s office to verify if their voter registration information is correct and up-to-date.

The Registrar of Voters Office urged those who need to register or reregister to vote not to delay.

A completed voter registration form must be either personally delivered to the Registrar of Voters Office on or before Oct. 19; postmarked on or before Oct. 19 and received by mail by the Registrar of Voters Office; or complete an online voter registration form on or before 11:59 p.m. Oct. 19.

Eligible Lake County residents who miss the voter registration deadline still have the option to vote in this election by conditionally registering to vote and casting a provisional ballot by personally visiting the Registrar of Voters Office located in Room 209 on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport, from Oct. 20 until prior to 8 p.m. on Election Day. They also may personally visit their polling place no later than the close of the polls (prior to 8 p.m.) on Election Day.

Residents may register to vote at the Lake County Registrar of Voters Office; phone staff at 707-263-2372 for a form to be mailed to them; register to vote online at http://registertovote.ca.gov/; or pick up registration forms, which also are available at most local post offices, libraries, city offices and chamber of commerce offices.

Please be aware that pursuant to Section 2101 of the California Elections Code: “A person entitled to register to vote shall be a United States citizen, a resident of California, not imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time of the next election.”
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Registrar of Voters Maria Valadez updated the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday about her department’s work to prepare for the Nov. 3 presidential election, which includes opening her office on some upcoming weekends in order to facilitate voting for county residents.

Valadez went before the board on Tuesday morning. Earlier in the meeting, her predecessor and mentor, Diane Fridley, the retired registrar, received a proclamation of commendation from the board for running the presidential primary in March. Valadez came back to take over the department in the spring, following the primary.

She also offered her thanks to Fridley during the meeting, noting, “I’ve learned a lot from you and I continue to learn.”

For the update to the board, Valadez was joined by her new deputy registrar, Lourdes Pantaleon.

Pantaleon stepped up after Jay Hatfield left the deputy registrar’s post over the summer. In December, Hatfield had arrived in Lake County from the Shawnee County Election Office in Topeka, Kansas, where he was the assistant director of voter services. He returned to Shawnee County in July to take over as its election manager, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Valadez said it’s hard to find someone with dedication and commitment and is grateful to have Pantaleon in the job.

She said people often ask her about election preparations. “They don’t realize that we’ve been preparing for the election since the primary ended.”

There was candidate filing in July, with all the school and special districts candidates signing up to run. By that point, Hatfield had left, and the elections office was down to just three staffers, including Valadez, Pantaleon and one other employee, Valadez said.

Valadez said one retired staffer came back to assist with polling place reservations and preparations, with an extra help employee working on poll worker recruitment.

“We’re on track,” she told the board.

“Our sample ballot booklets and official ballot booklets have been mailed,” Valadez said, explaining that on Monday 35,000 of those booklets were delivered to the San Francisco mail distribution center and so are out for mailing.

She said supplemental mailings for vote by mail – or absentee – ballots and sample ballot mailings will continue being sent out weekly until the last day the elections office can mail ballots, which is Oct. 27.

Valadez said the Registrar of Voters Office – located on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse in Lakeport – is now open for voting through Election Day.

Regular office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday, but Valadez said they will be open on Friday, Oct. 16; Friday, Oct. 30; Saturday, Oct. 31; and Sunday, Nov. 1, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., so that residents can come in and vote. The office also answers the phones during business hours on Friday.

She said voters can return their vote by mail ballots in the postage-paid envelope provided by the county; there’s no need to add postage.

Valadez said the US Postal Service recommends people mail back ballots no later than Oct. 27 to make sure they reach the elections office in a timely manner.

She said voters also can choose to place their ballots in one of five secure ballot dropoff boxes installed last week and opened up on Monday morning.

One of the boxes is located in front of the Lakeport courthouse, with the rest of the boxes located at the county’s four libraries, Valadez said.

She said 22 polling place locations will be available on Election Day around Lake County. “They are completely staffed at this time. And strict COVID guidelines will be followed.”

Valadez reminded voters that, due to space restrictions, there will be a limit to the number of people allowed inside polling sites at one time to allow for social distancing and sanitizing procedures. She asked people to be patient and allow for the extra time needed because there will be delays when entering into polling places.

Regarding absentee ballots, “Voters can be reassured that we verify every signature on those ballots that come back into the office,” she said.

She said it’s a legal requirement that they compare signatures on vote by mail ballots to the voter’s legal signature on file. If election staffers feel that the voter’s signature doesn’t match, they will reach out to them, either to reregister or resign their ballot.

Valadez said voters can sign up for personalized text messages, emails or voicemails to track their ballot at http://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov.

She also reported that the last day to register to vote is Oct. 19. She said voter registration can take place online or at the Registrar of Voters Office, or via paper forms that can be picked up at the post office and county libraries.

Valadez encouraged people to contact the Registrar of Voters Office if they have questions, either by phone at 707-263-2372 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Board members thanked Valadez for her careful work and attention to detail, and for making additional efforts to open her office on the weekend.

Supervisor Bruno Sabatier asked for additional information about how long Valadez’s office has to clear up any questions about signatures on absentee ballots.

Valadez said she has up until two days before she’s required to certify the election on Dec. 3 to handle signature discrepancies on ballots.

Sabatier followed up by asking if ballots from the dropoff boxes are picked up daily and when the boxes can be used.

Valadez said they are available around the clock, seven days a week, up until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3.

She said two election staff members will go twice a week to pick up the ballots from each location. Ten days before the election they will start going three days a week for pickup and will go more often if necessary.

There is a phone number for the Registrar of Voters Office on every dropoff box; Valadez said if voters have issues, such as not being able to place their ballot in a box, they should call her office and she’ll send out staff to check it.

Valadez said the elections office will have staff at each dropbox on Election Day to close off the box at 8 p.m. The boxes will be removed after the election.

Sabatier asked if Valadez will have preliminary voting results available on election night.

She indicated she would, but cautioned that a final, official result will be weeks off as she and her staff work to certify the election, which is a month-long process.

Valadez referred to a new state election law that allows ballots postmarked on Election Day to be received up to 17 days after the election during the pandemic. That rule went into effect when Gov. Gavin Newsom this summer signed AB 860, which also authorized all of the state’s active voters to receive a ballot in the mail.

She said the elections office has been inundated with phone calls about voting, noting that some absentee voters now want to vote at the polls and some who have voted at the polls now want to vote by mail ballots.

More information about voting and tracking your ballot

For voters who want more information about voting, dropoff ballot locations or tracking their ballots, details and resources are below.

Registrar of Voters Office
Room 209, second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport
Telephone: 707-263-2372
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/ROV.htm
Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday
Phone hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
Special office hours for October and November: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 16; Friday, Oct. 30; Saturday, Oct. 31; and Sunday, Nov. 1

Dropoff ballot boxes locations:
The boxes are located at the front of these buildings and are available for dropoff around the clock, seven days a week, until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, Election Day:
– Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
– Lakeport Library, 1425 N. High St.
– Redbud Library, 14785 Burns Valley Road, Clearlake.
– Middletown Library, 21256 Washington St.
– Upper Lake Library, 310 Second St.

Oct. 19 is last day to register to vote for November election:
http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php/news/66905-oct-19-is-last-day-to-register-to-vote-for-november-election

Track your ballot:
Sign up for text messages, emails or voicemails to track your ballot at http://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov

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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The August Complex as mapped on Monday, October 5, 2020. Image courtesy of the US Corest Service.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Fifty days of burning have brought the August Complex to more than one million acres, while to the south the containment on the Glass fire grew, as did the numbers of burned structures revealed by the latest damage assessments.

On Monday evening, the lightning-caused August Complex was at 1,003,387 acres and 58-percent containment, the US Forest Service said.

The complex, which began Aug. 17, is burning across seven counties – Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama and Trinity counties – and on the Mendocino, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests.

In a separate report, Cal Fire said it has so far destroyed a total of 242 structures and damaged six others. There are 1,691 personnel and 30 crews assigned.

It’s the largest fire in California history, and more than twice the size of the fire in second place – the 2018 Mendocino Complex, which also burned in Lake County and totaled 459,123 acres.

The complex accounts for a quarter of the four million acres Cal Fire said have burned in California so far this year.

On Sunday, the Forest Service said overhead teams continued to reassign resources, build strategy, secure communications, and move crews and equipment to strategic positions near the complex’s west and northwest perimeter.

In the South Zone, which includes northern Lake County, crews continued to patrol the fire perimeter, Lake Pillsbury and Rice Fork, officials said.

The Forest Service said a new incident management team is traveling to the forest and will be arriving on Wednesday to manage the complex’s South Zone.

Over the last week, the August South BAER team conducted reconnaissance and assessments of the southeastern side of the fire. The team has narrowed its assessment focus to approximately 521,000 acres, the Forest Service said.

BAER surveys are rapid assessments that evaluate the burned area to identify watersheds having increased potential for post-fire flooding, sediment flows and rock slides. The Forest Service said BAER emergency response efforts are focused on the protection of human life, safety and property, as well as critical cultural and natural resource values such as the water quality of streams and wetlands on National Forest System lands.

Multiple fire engines and water tenders are continuing to patrol containment lines along the long southern perimeter of the fire from Eel River to Paskenta, the Forest Service said.

Glass fire damage assessment numbers rise

To the south, Cal Fire said the Glass fire, burning in Napa and Sonoma counties, grew to a total of 66,840 acres on Monday night, an increase of 1,940 acres over the previous night, with containment growing in that same 24-hour period by 15 percent, to a total of 41-percent containment.

Nearly 2,800 firefighters are assigned to the fire, burning since Sept. 27. Resources on the incident include 409 engines, 48 water tenders, 20 helicopters, 27 hand crews, 48 dozers and 11 masticators, Cal Fire said.

The latest damage assessments put the number of destroyed structures at 1,309 – 768 in Napa County and 541 in Sonoma County. Damaged structures total 249, 121 in Sonoma County and 128 in Napa County.

Cal Fire said the Glass Fire burned actively throughout Monday, especially in higher terrain due to critically dry fuels and rugged topography. Aggressive mop up and tactical patrol continue in areas where the fire’s forward progress has stopped. Crews are working aggressively to construct and reinforce existing control lines.

Due to the fire’s close proximity to the Lake County line, evacuation warnings for two areas in Lake County, south of Middletown, remain in effect, officials reported.

The agency asked that as people start returning home, they be vigilant that emergency crews are still working in the area.

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. – Lake County’s Public Health officer reported on Monday a 12th COVID-19-related death in a county resident, and said the state also has held off on adding more local restrictions due to the virus caseload.

Dr. Gary Pace said that the latest COVID-19-related death occurred over the weekend.

“The person was over 65, and had been ill and hospitalized for a while,” he said.

Pace said this most recent death was not connected to an outbreak that has occurred at Lakeport Post Acute – which had led to several deaths – but he gave no other details about the case.

As of Monday evening, Lake County’s COVID-19 cases totaled 593, an increase of 12 since the last update on Friday, according to Lake County Public Health.

Of those 593 cases, 67 remain active and are under Public Health monitoring and 514 are recovered. Six currently are hospitalized.

In other COVID-19-related matters, Pace said that on Monday afternoon the county learned that the state will not move it into the purple tier, the most restrictive in its Blueprint for a Safer Economy, on Tuesday as had been expected.

“The formula used to determine tier placement for counties with populations less than 100,000 is being altered, and the new calculation will allow us to stay in the red tier, so no changes are required for local businesses or activities,” said Pace.

The state is expected to release more details on its new framework on Tuesday, Pace said.

However, based on information he’s received from the state so far, Pace said that in the new framework, if Lake County has less than an average of six new cases per day – or 42 in a week – it can stay in the red tier. For the week of Sept. 20 to 26, Pace said Lake County had 39 new cases.

He said Lake County’s new case rate peaked a few weeks ago, due in part to the nursing facility outbreak, and also due to some community spread. “The number of new cases has been decreasing since then, but precautions remain essential,” he said.

Pace said Lake County has consistently been near the line dividing the red and purple tiers for a few months now.

“COVID-19 is present in our communities, and Lake County residents must be careful. It is wildfire season, and evacuations requiring sheltering with other families increase the risk of spread,” he said.

He said people working in high-risk settings, first responders, staff in nursing homes, in-home care providers, teachers and childcare workers need to be especially careful when out in the community, adding they should definitely wear masks while at work.

“Small outbreaks can have big consequences,” Pace said. “Keeping businesses open, and maintaining local control, requires that we all continue to do our part.”

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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