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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is caring for several dogs rescued from the Sulphur fire area and looking to reunite them with their families, while it continues to offer many other dogs for adoption.

The dogs taken in from the Sulphur fire are at the top of the featured listings; they will not be up for adoption to the general public until mid-November in order to give their owners the opportunity to reclaim them.

The dogs in the general shelter population available for adoption this week include mixes of American Bulldog, Belgian Malinois, cattle dog, Chihuahua and German Shepherd.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

SULPHUR FIRE DOGS


This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Labrador Retriever-poodle mix

This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.

This young male German Shepherd mix is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

German Shepherd mix

This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.

He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.

This female border collie is in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Border collie mix

This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.

This female boxer mix is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female boxer mix

This female boxer mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.

She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.

She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736.

OTHER DOGS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION

This female Chihuahua is in kennel No. 7a, ID No. 8758. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female Chihuahua

This female Chihuahua has a short brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 7a, ID No. 8758.

This male Chihuahua is in kennel No. 7b, ID No. 8759. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male Chihuahua

This male Chihuahua has a short black and white coat.

He is in kennel No. 7b, ID No. 8759.

“Dave” is a Belgian Malinois in kennel No. 10, ID No. 8745. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Dave’

“Dave” is a Belgian Malinois with a long red and black coat.

He’s in kennel No. 10, ID No. 8745.

This female German Shepherd is in kennel No. 11, ID No. 8783. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female German Shepherd

This female German Shepherd has a medium-length tan coat.

She already has been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 11, ID No. 8783.

This female cattle dog is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 8775. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Female cattle dog

This female cattle dog has a short brown coat.

She is in kennel No. 13, ID No. 8775.

This male shepherd mix is in kennel No. 15, ID No. 8721. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male shepherd mix

This male shepherd mix has a long black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 15, ID No. 8721.

This male American Bulldog is in kennel No. 16, ID No. 8762. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Male American Bulldog

This male American Bulldog has a short black and white coat.

He’s in kennel No. 16, ID No. 8762.

“Pedro” is a male shepherd mix in kennel No. 17, ID No. 8746. Photo courtesy of Lake County Animal Care and Control.

‘Pedro’

“Pedro” is a male shepherd mix.

He has a short tan and white coat.

Shelter staff said he gets along with other dogs.

He’s in kennel No. 17, ID No. 8746.

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

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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

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

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Board of Supervisors and County staff are working alongside Sulphur fire survivors and the entire Lake County community, seeking to ensure that unfair treatment and business practices do not compound the disastrous effects of wildfire.

In the wake of the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires of 2015 and the Clayton fire of 2016, the county received reports of rent gouging; property owners significantly raising rents or even evicting tenants in order to take advantage of reduced housing supply and lucrative insurance reimbursements.

Housing costs increased for many Lake County residents, only some of whom had lost homes to wildfire.

California Penal Code Section 396 provides consumer protections during a declared state of emergency or local emergency.

The law provides that prices of essential goods, including housing, must not be raised to a level greater than 10-percent above the average market price in the period immediately before the disaster, unless those increases are directly related to a business owner’s actual increased costs.

On Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Lake County Board of Supervisors acted strongly on behalf of Lake County residents, unanimously passing Ordinance No. 3067.

The language of this Ordinance builds upon Penal Code Section 396, making it unlawful to evict an existing tenant in order to rent a dwelling unit, in the unincorporated areas of Lake County, for more than the “average retail price.”

The average retail price for housing is the rental price for the dwelling unit during the 31- period immediately preceding the state of emergency.

Violation of Ordinance No. 3067 is a misdemeanor, punishable by fine, up to $20,000.

Violation of California Penal Code Section 396 may also result in up to one year in jail, a fine of $10,000 or both.

Such violations can also lead to civil enforcement action. Unlawful business practices and acts of unfair competition can warrant additional penalties of up to $6,000 per violation.

Reports of violations will be forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for investigation.

"We are a close-knit community,” said County Administrative Officer Carol J. Huchingson. “When one person is impacted, the echoes and consequences are felt by us all. We need to face the Sulphur fire as we have all recent disasters; together, as one Lake County community.”

Added District 5 Supervisor Rob Brown, “As we respond together, landlords have to do their part."
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NASA has authorized a second extension of the Dawn mission at Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

During this extension, the spacecraft will descend to lower altitudes than ever before at the dwarf planet, which it has been orbiting since March 2015.

The spacecraft will continue at Ceres for the remainder of its science investigation and will remain in a stable orbit indefinitely after its hydrazine fuel runs out.

The Dawn flight team is studying ways to maneuver Dawn into a new elliptical orbit, which may take the spacecraft to less than 120 miles (200 kilometers) from the surface of Ceres at closest approach. Previously, Dawn's lowest altitude was 240 miles (385 kilometers).

A priority of the second Ceres mission extension is collecting data with Dawn's gamma ray and neutron spectrometer, which measures the number and energy of gamma rays and neutrons. This information is important for understanding the composition of Ceres' uppermost layer and how much ice it contains.

The spacecraft also will take visible-light images of Ceres' surface geology with its camera, as well as measurements of Ceres’ mineralogy with its visible and infrared mapping spectrometer.

The extended mission at Ceres additionally allows Dawn to be in orbit while the dwarf planet goes through perihelion, its closest approach to the Sun, which will occur in April 2018.

At closer proximity to the Sun, more ice on Ceres' surface may turn to water vapor, which may in turn contribute to the weak transient atmosphere detected by the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory before Dawn's arrival.

Building on Dawn’s findings, the team has hypothesized that water vapor may be produced in part from energetic particles from the Sun interacting with ice in Ceres’ shallow surface.

Scientists will combine data from ground-based observatories with Dawn's observations to further study these phenomena as Ceres approaches perihelion.

The Dawn team is currently refining its plans for this next and final chapter of the mission.

Because of its commitment to protect Ceres from Earthly contamination, Dawn will not land or crash into Ceres.

Instead, it will carry out as much science as it can in its final planned orbit, where it will stay even after it can no longer communicate with Earth.

Mission planners estimate the spacecraft can continue operating until the second half of 2018.

Dawn is the only mission ever to orbit two extraterrestrial targets. It orbited giant asteroid Vesta for 14 months from 2011 to 2012, then continued on to Ceres, where it has been in orbit since March 2015.

The Dawn mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Italian Space Agency and Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team.

For a complete list of mission participants, visit https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.

More information about Dawn is available at https://www.nasa.gov/dawn and https://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Edgewater Resort has been there for Lake County fire victims each of the past three years.

Owner Ken McPherson and Edgewater are stepping up again, offering highly discounted rates for Sulphur fire survivors.

Some who lost docks may particularly appreciate that RV sites and cabins are complete with a boat slip.

Pets are also welcome and stay for free at Edgewater, up to two dogs per RV site or cabin.

“As a dog lover, I am particularly pleased that Edgewater Resort is providing safe harbor at an affordable price for all members of the family,” said Carol Huchingson, county administrative officer and disaster recovery authority. “In each of the disasters since 2015, we have seen how valuable it can be for animals and owners to have the opportunity to recover together.”

RV sites are available for the all-inclusive price of $750 per month, through April 1, 2018. These sites offer water, power (50 amp), sewer, wi-fi and high definition cable television, among many amenities.

Edgewater also has three cabins available through April 1, 2018, priced at $1,000 per month. Each has two primary rooms, one with a queen size bed, and one with two twins; maximum occupancy is four people per cabin.

Additionally, cabins have a standard bathroom and fully equipped kitchen, with everything needed to prepare and serve meals. Water, power, wi-fi and high definition cable television are included in Edgewater’s cabin rentals, as well.

“We welcome the opportunity to help Sulphur Fire Survivors get back on their feet,” shares McPherson, “Edgewater is right on Soda Bay, and offers a peaceful setting that has been restorative and healing to many travelers. We hope our resort can aid the recovery of some of those impacted by wildfire.”

For more information, please call Edgewater Resort today, at 707-279-0208, or visit http://www.edgewaterresort.net/.
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CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Sulphur fire was a federally declared disaster that damaged or destroyed 166 structures within either the City of Clearlake or the unincorporated area north of Clearlake.

Due to the amount of damage and the number of people impacted, the city of Clearlake and the county of Lake partnered with community, state, and national service and relief organizations to provide a one-stop local assistance center, or LAC, to provide information and assistance to the
community.

The LAC was originally scheduled to close on Saturday, Oct. 21, but based on the number of people who are using the LAC on a daily basis, the LAC will remain open until Wednesday, Oct. 25.

The LAC will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Clearlake Community Center (senior center), located at 3245 Bowers Ave.

A wide-ranging array of services and expertise is available, including food, assistance accessing
medical care, or advice regarding temporary and permanent housing.

If you have concerns about your animals or even insurance matters, there will be people on site at the LAC to help. If you need replacement copies of vital records, or a new driver’s license, come to the LAC.

The California Office of Emergency Services, or CalOES, and other state and federal agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration will be available to offer assistance.

Lake County Environmental Health has representatives available to assist those trying to navigate the removal of debris from their property.

“The LAC has been serving over 100 individuals on a nearly daily basis and it appeared that the need was still there to continue serving the community, so in consultation with Lake County, CalOES and FEMA, the decision was made to continue operation of the LAC until next Wednesday,” said Clearlake City Manager Greg Folsom. “Hopefully everyone who has been impacted will be able to at least make some initial contact with the LAC during that time.”
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – While overnight rains gave Northern California a soaking, Friday reports from fire officials noted no major gains in containment because of the rain in the region’s wildland fire areas.

The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office reported Friday that California’s wildfire locations generally saw about half an inch to one inch of rain.

In Lake County, where the Sulphur fire is in the mop up stages, rainfall totals reported by the National Weather Service ranged between just under two tenths of an inch in Lakeport, jtwo-tenthshalf an inch in Kelseyville and up to 0.68 inches in Whispering Pines.

In the Sulphur fire area itself, rainfall amounts appeared to range closer to a third of an inch, based on the observations.

On Friday, Cal Fire’s last full report on the Mendocino Lake Complex, which includes the Sulphur fire in Lake County and the Redwood fire in Mendocino County, put the complex’s overall containment at 95 percent and size at 38,730 acres.

The Sulphur fire, which remains at 2,207 acres, did not grow in containment overnight despite the rains, remaining at 96 percent. However, Cal Fire’s report noted that the 36,523-acre Redwood fire’s containment grew by 5 percent to 95 percent.

Full containment on the complex is still anticipated on Nov. 1, the agency said.

The Central LNU Complex in Napa and Sonoma counties was at 107,366 acres on Friday, a slight rollback on size, with total containment up to 85 percent, Cal Fire said.

Slight containment increases were reported on all of the fires in the complex, including the Tubbs fire, 36,432 acres, 93-percent containment; the Pocket fire, 16,552 acres, 82-percent contained; the Sonoma Nuns fire, 34,398 acres, and the Napa Nuns fire, 19,984 acres, with 85-percent containment on both of those incidents, according to Cal Fire.

Cal Fire expects to fully contain the Central LNU Complex, the most damaging fire incident in the state’s history, by Oct. 24.

The Southern LNU Complex in Napa and Solano counties remains at 51,624 acres, with containment up just slightly overnight to 87 percent, Cal Fire said.

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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Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind, according to new research using data from NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft.

NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft is in orbit around Mars gathering data on how the Red Planet lost much of its atmosphere and water, transforming from a world that could have supported life billions of years ago into a cold and inhospitable place today.

The process that creates the twisted tail could also allow some of Mars’ already thin atmosphere to escape to space, according to the research team.

“We found that Mars’ magnetic tail, or magnetotail, is unique in the solar system,” said Gina DiBraccio of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s not like the magnetotail found at Venus, a planet with no magnetic field of its own, nor is it like Earth’s, which is surrounded by its own internally generated magnetic field. Instead, it is a hybrid between the two.” DiBraccio is project scientist for MAVEN and is presenting this research at a press briefing Thursday, Oct. 19 at 12:15pm MDT during the 49th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society’s Division for Planetary Sciences in Provo, Utah.

The team found that a process called “magnetic reconnection” must have a big role in creating the Martian magnetotail because, if reconnection were occurring, it would put the twist in the tail.

“Our model predicted that magnetic reconnection will cause the Martian magnetotail to twist 45 degrees from what’s expected based on the direction of the magnetic field carried by the solar wind,” said DiBraccio. “When we compared those predictions to MAVEN data on the directions of the Martian and solar wind magnetic fields, they were in very good agreement.”

Mars lost its global magnetic field billions of years ago and now just has remnant “fossil” magnetic fields embedded in certain regions of its surface.

According to the new work, Mars’ magnetotail is formed when magnetic fields carried by the solar wind join with the magnetic fields embedded in the Martian surface in a process called magnetic reconnection.

The solar wind is a stream of electrically conducting gas continuously blowing from the Sun’s surface into space at about one million miles (1.6 million kilometers) per hour.

It carries magnetic fields from the Sun with it. If the solar wind field happens to be oriented in the opposite direction to a field in the Martian surface, the two fields join together in magnetic reconnection.

The magnetic reconnection process also might propel some of Mars’ atmosphere into space. Mars’ upper atmosphere has electrically charged particles (ions). Ions respond to electric and magnetic forces and flow along magnetic field lines.

Since the Martian magnetotail is formed by linking surface magnetic fields to solar wind fields, ions in the Martian upper atmosphere have a pathway to space if they flow down the magnetotail.

Like a stretched rubber band suddenly snapping to a new shape, magnetic reconnection also releases energy, which could actively propel ions in the Martian atmosphere down the magnetotail into space.

Since Mars has a patchwork of surface magnetic fields, scientists had suspected that the Martian magnetotail would be a complex hybrid between that of a planet with no magnetic field at all and that found behind a planet with a global magnetic field.

Extensive MAVEN data on the Martian magnetic field allowed the team to be the first to confirm this. MAVEN’s orbit continually changes its orientation with respect to the Sun, allowing measurements to be made covering all of the regions surrounding Mars and building up a map of the magnetotail and its interaction with the solar wind.

Magnetic fields are invisible but their direction and strength can be measured by the magnetometer instrument on MAVEN, which the team used to make the observations.

They plan to examine data from other instruments on MAVEN to see if escaping particles map to the same regions where they see reconnected magnetic fields to confirm that reconnection is contributing to Martian atmospheric loss and determine how significant it is.

They also will gather more magnetometer data over the next few years to see how the various surface magnetic fields affect the tail as Mars rotates.

This rotation, coupled with an ever-changing solar wind magnetic field, creates an extremely dynamic Martian magnetotail.

“Mars is really complicated but really interesting at the same time,” said DiBraccio.

The research was funded by the MAVEN mission. MAVEN began its primary science mission on November 2014, and is the first spacecraft dedicated to understanding Mars’ upper atmosphere.
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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, Oct. 25.

The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.

The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.

These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.

The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.

Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.

The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.

Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In the wake of the Sulphur fire’s destruction, Lake County Animal Care and Control and Clearlake Animal Control are working to get animals found during the fire back to their homes.

Officials reported this week that they actually have taken in a limited number of animals in this recent incident when compared to rescues needed during the Rocky, Valley or Clayton fires.

During the Sulphur fire, which began on Oct. 9 and burned 168 structures in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks, Lake County Animal Care and Control activated its Lake Evacuation and Animal Protection, or LEAP, volunteers, according to Director Bill Davidson.

“We didn't take in that many animals, nor did we get a lot of calls for service, maybe 55 for the whole week,” Davidson told Lake County News.

That number breaks down to 35 dogs and 20 cats. Davidson said they also helped rescue a cow, a goat, a horse and eight chickens.

He said LEAP teams did daily animal welfare checks on animals throughout the mandatory evacuation area – both in the city and county jurisdiction.

Davidson said almost all of the rescued animals have been returned to their owners, with four dogs and several cats remaining at the shelter. There have been only a handful of injured animals, primarily cats.

He said all strays that came in during the fire will be held 30 days before they are put up for adoption to the public.

Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department, the agency which oversees Clearlake Animal Control, said they took in four dogs and one cat as a result of the fire.

Davidson said the county’s animal shelter was almost full after the third day of the fire – primarily with animals from Clearlake – and they considered having the SPCA of Lake County in Kelseyville open its facility.

However, at that point the city of Clearlake started repopulation and animals started going home, he said.

Davidson said they also transferred a number of animals out to several rescues.

Regarding the fact that the shelter took in fewer animals this time than in previous fires, Davidson said, “I think two things happened here: Most people were home when it happened so they could take their pets with them, and then I would like to think that our message about ‘taking them with you’ over the last few years has sunk in.”

Marcia Taylor of Clearlake Animal Control said they are still looking to reunite dogs with their families, with pictures of the dogs posted on the front windows at Clearlake City Hall, 14050 Olympic Drive. Pictures of the dogs also were provided by Taylor to Lake County News and are shown below.

If you are missing a pet contact Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278 or visit the shelter’s Web site and check out the shelter search at http://publicapps.lakecountyca.gov/publicanimals/shelter/ShelterSearch.

Clearlake Animal Control can be reached at 707-994-8201, Extension 103 or call Extension 118.

Davidson said there are Facebook pages specifically set up to address missing and found pets in the search area; he also suggested dropping off a flier at local veterinarians’ offices.

The animals found in the Sulphur fire area are listed below.

CLEARLAKE ANIMAL CONTROL



This female dog has a short black and white coat.



This female dog has a short tricolor coat.



This female dog has a medium-length black coat.



This male dog has a short brown coat.



This male dog has a short red coat.


LAKE COUNTY ANIMAL CARE AND CONTROL

DOGS



Labrador Retriever-poodle mix

This female cream-colored Labrador Retriever-poodle mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

She is in kennel No. 4, ID No. 8694.



German Shepherd mix

This young male German Shepherd mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 9.

He is unaltered and has a medium-length black and brown coat.

He is in kennel No. 5, ID No. 8693.



Border collie mix

This female border collie was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

She has a medium-length black and white coat and is not spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 8, ID No. 8730.



Female boxer mix

This female boxer mix was found on Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake Park on Oct. 13.

She has a short red and white coat. She is not spayed.

She is in kennel No. 12, ID No. 8736.

CATS



Female domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.

She has green eyes and a brown tabby coat. She is not spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 54a, ID No. 8772.



Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 18.

She has green eyes and a gray and white coat. She has not been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 54b, ID No. 8773.



Female domestic short hair

This adult female domestic short hair was found in Clearlake Oaks on Oct. 13.

She has a brown tabby coat and gold eyes.

She is in kennel No. 88, ID No. 8742.



Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

He has a black coat and gold eyes.

He’s in kennel No. 94, ID No. 8728.



Female domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 13.

She has a torbie coat and gold eyes. She has not been altered.

She’s in kennel No. 99, ID No. 8739.



Female domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

She has a black coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 147a, ID No. 8731.



Female domestic short hair

This young female domestic short hair cat was found in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

She has a gray coat and green eyes. She has not been spayed.

She’s in kennel No. 147b, ID No. 8732.



Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

He has a black coat and gold eyes.

He’s in kennel No. 153, ID No. 8727.



Male domestic short hair

This male domestic short hair cat was found on Mira Vista Lane in Clearlake on Oct. 12.

He has a black and white coat and gold eyes.

He’s in clinic kennel No. 295, ID No. 8729.

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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SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Officials said Friday that several agencies are working together to soon reopen a portion of Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena near Middletown that was closed due to the region’s wildland fires.

The closure, which has variously been implemented at Western Mine Road and more recently Bradford Road, went into effect on Oct. 10 as a result of the Central LNU Complex burning in Napa and Sonoma counties, as Lake County News has reported.

Highway 29 between Middletown and Napa County is a crucial commuter route for many south Lake County residents. Due to the closure, it’s estimated that commuters now have several additional hours to travel to reach jobs in neighboring counties.

The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office was asked by Cal Fire to close the road, said Sgt. Steve Krul.

Krul said Friday that crews have been working to make repairs and remove debris every day on Highway 29 over Mount St. Helena, with the highway expected to reopen within the next few days.

Cal Fire officials told Lake County News that the closure was requested due to the need to mitigate a safety hazard.

In the video above, which shows a drive over Mount St. Helena coming from Napa County on Friday evening, fire and Caltrans crews could be seen working along the highway, with large amounts of prunings from trees and brush lying on the roadside.

While the closure is on the Lake County side of the highway, Phil Frisbie, spokesman for Caltrans District 1 – which covers the Lake County area – said the closure was being controlled by Caltrans District 4, which includes Napa County, and Cal Fire.

Vince Jacala, Caltrans public information officer for Napa and Solano counties, told Lake County News on Friday that Caltrans is working closely with Cal Fire on reopening the highway.

“At this point, I’m told that stretch of SR-29 could be reopened to motorists as early as Saturday, Oct. 21, or as late as Sunday, Oct. 22,” Jacala said.

In response to the fires, which Cal Fire said are nearing full containment, crews also are clearing hundreds of dead trees along Highway 128, a crucial route between Calistoga and Sonoma County, Caltrans reported.

Highway 128 has remained closed to allow that tree removal work to take place, according to Jacala, who is featured in a Caltrans video on that work on that highway that can be seen below.

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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NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – Napa County has developed an interactive online mapping tool that shows the status of local structures impacted by recent fires.

The map can be viewed above or at http://napacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=dbb8b63b15b34e8889fdffbcf663dc53.

The map includes a search feature that details whether a building has been red-tagged or yellow-tagged as a result of the fires.

Here’s what red and yellow tag means:

– Red tag: A red-tagged building has been deemed unsafe and should not be occupied as occupancy poses a threat to life safety. Buildings or structures posted with this placard shall not be entered under any circumstance except as authorized in writing by the Napa County Chief Building Official. This placard is not to be used or considered as a demolition order.

– Yellow tag: A yellow tagged building has been tagged for restrictive use. Damage has occurred and has resulted in some form of restriction for current occupancy. The yellow tag notice will note the type of damage and the restrictions on continued occupancy.

For additional information on red- or yellow-tagged buildings, contact the Napa County Planning, Building and Environmental Services Department at 707-253-4417.

For information on calamity reassessment, property tax deferral and
rebuilding options visit http://www.countyofnapa.org/calamity/.

The Napa Sheriff’s Office has increased patrols in damaged areas.

Napa County has opened a local assistance center for those affected by the
2017 wildfires at 2751 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Building A.

Information on hours of operation and available services can be found at www.napalac.com or by calling 707-299-2190.
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NORTH COAST, Calif. – The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the last of the victims of the Redwood fire to be identified.

The fire, which began early on the morning of Oct. 9, has burned 36,523 acres in Potter and Redwood Valleys and destroyed nearly 300 homes there, according to a Cal Fire damage assessment.

The fire has claimed eight lives, with all of the dead having been Redwood Valley residents, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

The agency on Oct. 13 had released the names of three victims who had been identified and whose families were notified: Kai Logan Shepherd, 14; and married couple Roy Howard Bowman, 87, and Irma Elsie Bowman, 88.

Capt. Greg Van Patten said Shepherd was found near his family residence in the 11300 block of West Road. It appeared he was attempting to evacuate the area on foot when he was overtaken by the fire.

The Bowmans were found in the burned remains of their home in the 4000 block of Fisher Lake Drive in Redwood Valley, Van Patten said.

On Thursday, the sheriff’s office released the five remaining victims’ names.

They are Steve Bruce Stelter, 56; Janet Kay Costanzo, 71; Jane Gardiner, 83; Elizabeth Charlene Foster, 64; and Margaret Stephenson, 86, according to Van Patten’s report.

Van Patten said these latest identifications were made from dental records with the assistance of Dr. Jim Wood, who is the California State Assembly representative for District 2.

Stelter and Costanzo were a couple and lived together in the 11300 block of West Road. Van Patten said Stelter was found near a vehicle outside his home; it appeared he was preparing the vehicle to evacuate the area when he was overtaken by the fire. Costanzo was found in the remains of the home, which was destroyed.

Gardiner was found in the burned remains of her residence, located in the 12500 block of Tomki Road, which she shared with her caregiver, Foster. Van Patten said Foster’s body also was discovered in the home.

Gardiner and Foster had telephoned Gardiner's stepson on Oct. 9 at 1:30 a.m., telling him that there was fire all around the residence and the pair were awaiting evacuation by the fire department, Van Patten said.

Stephenson was found in the burnt remains of her destroyed residence in the 12800 block of Tomki Road. Van Patten said it appeared she was evacuating through the residence's garage when she was overtaken by the fire.

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