LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Firefighters are working to control a wildland fire that broke out in a remote part of Lake County on Sunday.

The Reservoir fire was first spotted by the volunteers in the Mount Konocti lookout tower late Sunday afternoon, according to radio reports.

Cal Fire said the incident is located near Indian Valley Reservoir, seven miles southwest of Leesville. It is reported to be located on state and federal lands.

Ground crews have had to access the fire from Bartlett Springs Road while a large number of air resources also were dispatched from bases in Ukiah and Vina, radio reports indicated.

Just before 8 p.m. the fire was reported to have burned 30 acres, and by 10 p.m. had burned a total of 250 acres, with no containment, Cal Fire said.

As of 11 p.m., incident command reported that the fire was up to 325 acres and continuing to advance.

Incident command requested an air attack, two tankers, two fixed wing planes, three copters – two with crews – as well as 25 engines and crews, four water tenders and a fuel tender, a total of six dozers, 14 crews and three chief officers to join the resources at scene on Monday, according to radio reports.

Sunday saw numerous reports of others fires in Lake County and around the region.

Firefighters in Lake County contained a small roadside fire near the Blue Lakes Lodge west of Upper Lake and a quarter-acre fire near the Lakeport Cinema early Sunday evening.

In neighboring Yolo County, the Creek fire was reported on Sunday near the Cache Creek Casino, four miles south of Brooks off of Highway 16.

As of the last report on Sunday night, the Creek fire had burned 300 acres and was 50-percent contained, Cal Fire said.

There also was a report of a small wildland fire – the “Calpine” fire – on Big Geysers Road in Cloverdale reported Sunday evening, according to radio reports.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Clear Lake, long a favorite of bass fisherman, has been ranked as the best bass fishing lake in the Western United States and the third-best nationwide in the latest Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings.

Clear Lake “continues to produce trophy largemouth, which makes it a premier destination,” Bassmaster Magazine Editor James Hall told Lake County News.

Other California water bodies on the top 10 list included the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, ranked No. 5, and Lake Berryessa, No. 7.

Toledo Bend Reservoir, which straddles the Texas and Louisiana border, ranked No. 1 nationwide and is the only lake to earn the title more than once, according to the Bassmaster Magazine ranking.

Based on the list, Texas earned bragging rights for the state with the most ranked lakes, boasting eight fisheries on the list. Florida and California tied for the second most with seven ranked lakes, while New York and Michigan each have six lakes in the Top 100.

There is one big difference in the rankings this year. The Top 10 lakes in the nation are ranked regardless of location, but instead of ranking the remaining lakes through 100, as has been done in the past, Bassmaster reported that it divided the nation into four regions: Northeast, Southeast, Central and Western.

Hall said more than three months of research went into this year’s rankings, which will be published in full in the Bassmaster Magazine July/August issue. It also can be found online at http://www.bassmaster.com/best-bass-lakes .

The majority of the data comes from January through May, but can go back as far as May 2015, Hall said.

“We start off every year by sending out a survey to the fisheries departments for every state in the nation,” Hall said.

Those agencies are simply asked to rank the top 15 to 20 lakes in their region for superior bass fisheries, he said.

The initial pool of top fisheries also is developed with input from B.A.S.S. Nation members across the country, the 3,500-member B.A.S.S. Council and some of the 650,000 Facebook fans of B.A.S.S., the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport which has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing for more than 45 years.

“After we do those surveys, we kind of squeeze them all together and see what kind of cream rises to the top,” Hall said.

Once they identify all the lakes that should be considered, the supporting research begins. Hall said they scoured the Internet for current catch-rate data, using the results of more than two dozen tournament organizations and several state “lunker” programs to narrow the field to 100.

“It’s a brutal process, but the results give bass anglers the ultimate bucket list of lakes for 2016,” Hall said.

One of the statistics they look at is the average winning weight in fishing tournaments and how deep that goes in the big field events. Hall explained that means not just the winners are catching big fish, but other fishermen further down in the rankings.

Clear Lake has been a standout for the last several years based on the number of really big fish being recorded in those tournaments, he said.

“They're catching fish in the 7- to 10-pound range with incredible frequency,” he said.

“Just the sheer numbers of big fish in that lake make it a dream destination for an angler,” Hall said, adding that anglers who go out to fish on Clear Lake have the opportunity to catch the biggest bass of their lives.

Lakes also are prioritized based on the number of fish caught, Hall said.

Some fisheries this past year have been hit with algae blooms, fish kills or drought, and in the case of some southern lakes, flooding has impacted them particularly hard, according to Hall.

Despite having had its own issues in recent years with drought and algae blooms, Clear Lake nonetheless came out with a top ranking thanks to the list parameters.

“Clear Lake seems to be in a very good spot right now,” Hall said. “The water quality and clarity has been very good.”

The bass population also is thriving and the lake is kept at a very consistent level, which Hall said is always a very good thing for bass recruitment or spawning.

“All of those things are lining up very, very well for Clear Lake right now,” he added.

Aesthetics of the fishery also is important, said Hall.

He said he fished Clear Lake a few years ago, noting the lake's launch ramps are fantastic and the lake is “really easy on the eyes.”

Plus, he said it doesn't hurt to be able to go do some wine tasting to celebrate a good catch.

As for the impact of the rankings on the communities where the top lakes are located, Hall said Toledo Bend – also ranked No. 1 last year – reported a 23-percent increase in tourism.

Other top lake areas reported high visitor numbers. In some cases, he said there were even complaints about too many visitors.

“It evidently really drives a lot of tourism, which is our ultimate goal,” he said.

Hall said the communities that maintain healthy lakes and fisheries should be rewarded for their efforts.

That reward in this case comes through tourism dollars, with Hall noting that fisherman spend a lot of money to pursue their passion.

“I think it's kind of a neat way to give back to the communities,” he said.

The top 10 list of nation's lakes and the lists of regional lakes that were ranked are printed below.

The Top 10 In The Nation

1. Toledo Bend, Texas/Louisiana [185,000 acres]
2. Santee Cooper lakes, Marion and Moultrie, South Carolina [110,000 acres and 60,000 acres, respectively]
3. Clear Lake, California [43,785 acres]
4. Lake Erie, New York [30-mile radius from Buffalo]
5. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California [1,100 square miles]
6. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota [132,000 acres]
7. Lake Berryessa, California [20,700 acres]
8. Rodman Reservoir, Florida [13,000 acres]
9. Falcon Lake, Texas [83,654 acres]
10. Lake St. Clair, Michigan [430 square miles]
 
Central Division

1. Toledo Bend, Texas/Louisiana
2. Mille Lacs Lake, Minnesota
3. Falcon Lake, Texas
4. Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas [114,000 acres]
5. Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin [from Little Sturgeon Bay to Fish Creek]
6. Lake Palestine, Texas [25,560 acres]
7. Caddo Lake, Louisiana [25,400 acres]
8. Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma [46,500 acres]
9. Lake Ray Roberts, Texas [29,350 acres]
10. Newton Lake, Illinois [1,775 acres]
11. Rainy Lake, Minnesota [360 square miles]
12. Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri [54,000 acres]
13. Green Bay, Wisconsin [up to Little Sturgeon Bay]
14. Lake Fork, Texas [27,690 acres]
15. Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota [14,528 acres]
16. Lake Bistineau, Louisiana [15,500 acres]
17. Minocqua Chain of lakes, Wisconsin [six small lakes up to 3,600 acres]
18. Squaw Creek Reservoir, Texas [3,275 acres]
19. Mississippi River, Pools 4-8, Minnesota/Wisconsin [from Lake City past La Crosse]
20. Lake Hudson, Oklahoma [12,000 acres]
21. Leech Lake, Minnesota [103,000 acres]
22. Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas [40,000 acres]
23. Lake Texoma, Texas/Oklahoma [89,000 acres]
24. Table Rock Lake, Missouri [43,100 acres]
25. Brushy Creek Lake, Iowa [690 acres]
 
Northeastern Division

1. Lake Erie, New York
2. Lake St. Clair, Michigan
3. Lake Erie, Ohio [30-mile radius from Sandusky]
4. Thousand Islands (St. Lawrence River), New York [50-mile stretch]
5. Saginaw Bay, Michigan [1,143 square miles]
6. Lake Charlevoix, Michigan [17,200 acres]
7. Bays de Noc, Michigan [Escanaba to Little Summer Island]
8. Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont [490 square miles]
9. Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan [32 miles long, 10 miles wide]
10. Presque Isle Bay, Pennsylvania [5.8 square miles]
11. Oneida Lake, New York [79.8 square miles]
12. Cayuga Lake, New York [43,000 acres]
13. Burt/Mullett lakes, Michigan [17,120 acres and 16,630 acres, respectively]
14. Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire [20 miles long, 9 miles wide]
15. Cobbosseecontee Lake, Maine [5,540 acres]
16. Candlewood Lake, Connecticut [5,420 acres]
17. Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia [20,600 acres
18. China Lake, Maine [3,845 acres]
19. Lake Cumberland, Kentucky [65,530 acres]
20. Chautauqua Lake, New York [13,156 acres]
21. Upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland [The entire bay is more than 64,000 square miles, but the best fishing is in the top one-third.]
22. Pymatuning Reservoir, Pennsylvania/Ohio [17,088 acres]
23. Stonewall Jackson Lake, West Virginia [2,630 acres]
24. Squam Lake, New Hampshire [6,791 acres]
25. Kezar Lake, Maine [2,510 acres]
 
Southeast Division

1. Santee Cooper lakes, Marion and Moultrie, South Carolina
2. Rodman Reservoir, Florida
3. Chickamauga Lake, Tennessee [36,240 acres]
4. Kentucky/Barkley lakes, Tennessee/Kentucky [160,309 and 58,000, acres respectively]
5. Lake Guntersville, Alabama [70,000 acres]
6. Lake Istokpoga, Florida [26,762 acres]
7. Pickwick Lake, Alabama/Mississippi/Tennessee [43,100 acres]
8. Falls of the Neuse Reservoir (Falls Lake), North Carolina [12,410 acres]
9. Ross Barnett Reservoir, Mississippi [33,000 acres]
10. Lake Murray, South Carolina [50,000 acres]
11. Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida [22,700 acres]
12. Dale Hollow Reservoir, Tennessee/Kentucky [27,700 acres]
13. St. Johns River, Florida [310 miles long]
14. Randleman Lake, North Carolina [3,007 acres]
15. Watauga Lake, Tennessee [6,430 acres]
16. Okatibbee Lake, Mississippi [4,000 acres]
17. Lake Okeechobee, Florida [730 square miles]
18. South Holston Lake, Tennessee/Virginia [7,580 acres]
19. Clarks Hill Lake (Lake Strom Thurmond), Georgia [71,000 acres]
20. Lake Rousseau, Florida [3,700 acres]
21. Lake Eufaula (Walter F. George Reservoir), Alabama/Georgia [46,000 acres]
22. Lake Hartwell, Georgia/South Carolina [56,000 acres]
23. Smith Lake, Alabama [21,000 acres]
24. Lake Seminole, Georgia/Florida [37,500 acres]
25. Lay Lake, Alabama [12,000 acres]
 
Western Region

1. Clear Lake, California
2. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
3. Lake Berryessa, California
4. Lake Havasu, Arizona/California [19,300 acres]
5. Dworshak Reservoir, Idaho [17,090 acres]
6. Lake Casitas, California [1,100 acres]
7. Tenmile Lake, Oregon [1,626 acres]
8. Lake Washington, Washington [21,747 acres]
9. Don Pedro Reservoir, California [13,000 acres]
10. Saguaro Lake, Arizona [1,267 acres]
11. Snake River, Idaho/Oregon [100 mile Hells Canyon Wilderness reach]
12. Potholes Reservoir, Washington [14,281 acres]
13. Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho [25,000 acres]
14. Roosevelt Lake, Arizona [21,493 acres]
15. C.J. Strike Reservoir, Idaho [7,500 acres]
16. Lake Mohave, Nevada/Arizona [26,500 acres]
17. Banks Lake, Washington [26,886 acres]
18. Columbia River, Oregon/Washington [191 miles from Portland to McNary Dam]
19. Brownlee Reservoir, Idaho/Oregon [15,000 acres]
20. Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona [158,080 acres]
21. Lake Powell, Utah/Arizona [108,335 acres]
22. Shasta Lake, California [30,000 acres]
23. Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Utah/Wyoming [42,020 acres]
24. Apache Lake, Arizona [2,568 acres]
25. Sand Hollow Reservoir, Utah [1,300 acres]

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.

An ancient space rock discovered in a Swedish quarry is a type of meteorite never before found on Earth, scientists reported June 14 in the journal Nature Communications.

“In our entire civilization, we have collected over 50,000 meteorites, and no one has seen anything like this one before,” said study co-author Qing-zhu Yin, professor of geochemistry and planetary sciences at the University of California, Davis. “Discovering a new type of meteorite is very, very exciting.”

The new meteorite, called Ost 65, appears to be from the missing partner in a massive asteroid collision 470 million years ago.

The collision sent debris falling to Earth over about a million years and may have influenced a great diversification of life in the Ordovician Period.

One of the objects involved in this collision is well-known: It was the source of L-chondrites, still the most common type of meteorite. But the identity of the object that hit it has been a mystery.

Ost 65 was discovered in Sweden’s Thorsberg quarry, source of more than 100 fossil meteorites. Measuring just under 4 inches wide, it looks like a gray cow patty plopped into a pristine layer of fossil-rich pink limestone.

The Ost 65 rock is called a fossil meteorite because the original rock is almost completely altered except for a few hardy minerals – spinels and chromite.

Analyses of chromium and oxygen isotopes in the surviving minerals allowed the researchers to conclude the Ost 65 meteorite is chemically distinct from all known meteorite types.

By measuring how long Ost 65 was exposed to cosmic rays, the team established that it traveled in space for about a million years before it fell to Earth 470 million years ago.

This timeline matches up with L-chondrite meteorites found in the quarry, leading the study authors to suggest the rock is a fragment of the other object from the Ordovician collision.

The original object may have been destroyed during the collision, but it’s also possible that the remains are still out in space.

Meteorites may have influenced evolution

Researchers think that about 100 times as many meteorites slammed into Earth during the Ordovician compared with today, thanks to the massive collision in the asteroid belt.

This rain of meteorites may have opened new environmental niches for organisms, thus boosting both the diversity and complexity of life on Earth.

"I think this shows the interconnectedness of the entire solar system in space and time, that a random collision 470 million years ago in the asteroid belt could dictate the evolutionary path of species here on Earth," Yin said.

The study was led by Birger Schmitz, of Lund University in Sweden. Yin, of UC Davis, together with his postdoctoral fellow Matthew Sanborn, made the very precise measurement of chromium in tiny mineral grains within the meteorite. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa analyzed its oxygen isotopes.

The new findings strengthen suspicions that more recent meteorite falls on Earth do not represent the full range of rocks drifting through the solar system.

Yin said there is potential to better understand the history of our solar system by collecting meteorite fragments preserved in Earth’s ancient rocks.

“If we can go back even further in time, we may eventually be able to find some of the true building blocks of Earth,” Yin said.

The research was funded by NASA, the UC Office of the President and a European Research Council Advanced Grant.

Becky Oskin write for UC Davis.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – Some people dream about living big, full lives, and others actually manage to do it.

That’s how those who knew and loved Clifford Hellgren think of his 81 years of life.

Hellgren is a man who is remembered as having a big heart, a big voice and a big smile.

Talented and charismatic, he was, his daughter Audrey Atkins recalls, both a renaissance man and a bit of a rascal, with a great sense of humor and a devoted sense of fun.

Expert with a chainsaw or whipping up something fantastic in the kitchen, “He could just do anything,” she said.

“I don't know anybody that disliked him. Everybody loved him,” said his best friend and life partner, Dennis Pluth, who recounted what a thoughtful and generous gentleman Hellgren was.

The full details of the crash that took his life on May 18 still aren't exactly clear to his family, who said they've been told by the California Highway Patrol that the investigation is still under way.

Hellgren had been crossing Sulphur Bank Road in a 2013 Kubota RTV 900, a small utility vehicle, while feeding livestock that morning when he was hit by a driver later arrested for driving under the influence, as Lake County News has reported.

However, the abrupt end to his life, as devastating as it has been for those who loved him, isn't the measure of the life he led. At his May 24 memorial service, hundreds of friends came out to share stories of his big, expressive life, and its impact on them, his family said.

Almost always in motion, Hellgren worked hard his whole life, but he balanced that work with a fair amount of play and adventure.

Pluth recalled Hellgren's warmth, his kindness and the way he would greet people with a smile, hug or handshake.

Hellgren was the grandson of Swedish immigrants. His parents, Hugo and Edith Hellgren, came west to California, where he was born Oct. 24, 1934, in Nevada City. The Hellgrens had a big family, with five sons and four daughters.

When he was still a child, his family moved to Lake County. Pluth said Hugo Hellgren worked in the Sulphur Bank Mine.

“We've known them forever,” Pluth said of his family and the Hellgren clan, who he had met when he was still a child.

“They were a very musical family,” Pluth recalled, noting that Edith Hellgren played the piano and Hugo Hellgren played the fiddle at local dances that Pluth's parents attended.

He said the Hellgrens lived in Burns Valley and Cliff Hellgren went to Burns Valley Elementary School and Lower Lake High School. Pluth went to East Lake School, but all of the children would meet up while going to the movies in Lower Lake and stopping by the candy store that used to sit on the town's corner.

As they grew up, Pluth said they drifted apart. Hellgren married Dorothy Joan McHenry, with whom he had daughters D'Anna, Audrey and Roxann.

Hellgren spent four years in the Navy, most of it stationed in Hawaii, Pluth said. Later, Hellgren worked with his brother in heavy construction.

“We met up again probably in 1960 or sometime around then when we both got back into Lake County,” Pluth said.

During their time together, Pluth said Hellgren worked for 26 years for Brassfield Enterprises as ranch manager, cook and horse wrangler at High Serenity Ranch, before it became a winery.

When hosting people at the ranch, Hellgren was known for making tall and tasty banana cream pies and filling the table with delicious, down-home cooking. When they visited friends' homes, Pluth said the hostesses often wrangled Hellgren into coming into the kitchen to make his fantastic gravy.

Hellgren cooked like his mother – without measuring anything, just eyeballing it – and had a highly developed ability for identifying the ingredients in things he didn't cook, according to Pluth.

He loved the outdoors, horses and riding, and enjoyed hunting and fishing. Hellgren and Pluth would travel all around Northern California and even up to Alaska for fishing. Hellgren also was an abalone diver and known for his abalone dinners, Pluth said.

Hellgren also spent many happy times with his longtime girlfriend, Toni Cochran of Clearlake Oaks. Atkins said her father and Cochran also fished and traveled together, and shared “a lot of good quality time” over some 30 years.

He was active in many local groups such as Lake County Horsemans Association and Lake County Sheriff's Posse, and had twice been president of the Clearlake Oaks Lions Club.

He also was extremely patriotic, and loved his country, Pluth recalled.

And, then, of course, there was the music.

Among Hellgren's many talents, the one that for many will be how they remember him most is for his musical ability, and it was a big part of his life.

Hellgren was an outstanding singer who had a huge fan club. Pluth said he was a “Marty Robbins clone” who knew and admired the famed country singer.

Pluth recalled going to Sparks, Nev., where Robbins was playing at the Nugget, and hitting a $75 payout on a dime machine. Hellgren had been fretting about getting a good seat to see Robbins, but Pluth made sure to tip well and got them down front. When Robbins came out, he saw Hellgren and greeted him from the stage.

Hellgren also would open for Hank Williams Jr., who was so impressed with him that he invited him back out to play with his band, Pluth said.

He would go on to receive the Top Country Music Award for Northern California Top Male Artist in 1977, a key achievement in his musical career.

Pluth recalled Hellgren's amazing energy. After working all day in construction, he would bartend at a saloon in Lower Lake. He became known as the “singing bartender,” and would have people packed three or four deep to hear him. “He never had time to bartend.”

For another decade and a half, Hellgren enjoyed a huge following of fans who came to hear him play on Friday and Saturday nights at the Oaks Corral, a venue that stood where Nylander Park is now, Pluth said. He also played for the local firemen’s dances.

With his big following and talent, Hellgren could have pursued a professional music career. But he chose not to, despite people wanting to back him, Pluth remembered.

Pluth said it may have been a fear of failure in attempting to enter the tough music industry. Hellgren often said he would do an album one day, but another year would pass, and his album hadn't become a reality.

Or, maybe, it was that life in Lake County with Pluth on the Homestead Ranch was really where he was happiest – the place where he was most at home, and where he often was off riding around after the cows with one of his dogs.

“He always named his dogs after presidents,” Pluth said.

There was Herbert Hoover, who died. Most recently there was Abraham – named, of course, for Lincoln – a devoted border collie who went everywhere with Hellgren.

As he got older, Hellgren would still sing a bit – mostly while up working out in the weight room – and if people pleaded with him, Pluth said.

Once he retired, Hellgren still stayed in almost constant motion. “The ranch pretty much took up all his time,” Atkins said.

Until the end of his life, he had been in great physical shape, working out daily and planning to live to 100, joking with his children that he would outlive them, Atkins said.

He would be up early in the morning to feed, with Abraham at his side. Atkins recalled how much her father and his dog loved each other.

Abraham was with Hellgren on the day of the crash. “He was going across to do the morning feeding like he always did,” said Atkins.

Hellgren often told people to be careful when crossing Sulphur Bank Road because of the way people speed through the area, both Atkins and Pluth said.

“I know he was very careful about crossing that road,” Atkins said.

She added, recalling the day of the crash, “It was one of those phone calls you hope to never get.”

Abraham, who was thrown from the vehicle and injured during the collision, is recovering, Pluth said. Atkins had wanted to bring Abraham to the memorial service but ultimately he stayed home. Pluth said the dog hardly moved for the first 10 days after the crash, and remained by the side of the bed where Hellgren had slept.

Abraham is doing better these days, Pluth said. However, he continues to look for his friend, and whenever a car drives up, Abraham goes to look, expecting that maybe Hellgren has finally come home. “He's still looking for him.”

In the month since his death, those who remember Hellgren have shared their reminiscences and favorite memories with his family.

Pluth estimated he must have received 80 sympathy cards in Hellgren's memory.

As for how he is doing, Pluth said he's managing and is doing OK. He and Hellgren's nephew recently placed a memorial cross for Hellgren at the roadside near where the crash took place, played Marty Robbins' “El Paso” and had a few drinks of whiskey in a little spontaneous ceremony.

Hellgren was predeceased by his former wife, Dorothy McHenry, as well as by most of his siblings, with the exception of Blossom Wade, his youngest sister, who lives in Upper Lake.

In addition to Wade and Pluth, Hellgren's survivors include his three daughters, D'Anna Langhorne and her husband Brian of Clearlake, Audrey Atkins of Lakeport and Roxann Weiper and husband Tom of Clearlake. Survivors also include seven grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and his innumerable friends, including Toni Cochran.

Those who wish to donate in his memory are encouraged by the family to make a contribution to a favorite organization in Hellgren's name.

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.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control has a new group of primarily big dogs needing homes this week.

This week's dogs include mixes of American Staffordshire Terrier, Corgi, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, pit bull and terrier.

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.

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .

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”).

Pit bull terrier mix

This male pit bull terrier mix is now listed as urgent, having been available for adoption since May 11.

He has a short brown coat.

Shelter staff said he does not jump and is very friendly, walking well on a leash, showing no food aggression, and allowing handling of his mouth, ears, paws and tail with no problems. He also enjoys a good tummy rub.

He would do great in a home with no cats.

He's in kennel No. 28, ID No. 4850.

Male terrier mix

This male terrier mix has a short blond coat.

He's in kennel No. 4, ID No. 5155.

'Max'

“Max” is a male Labrador Retriever mix.

He has a short black coat with white markings.

He's in kennel No. 7, ID No. 5176.

Female German Shepherd mix

This female German Shepherd mix has a classic short black and tan coat.

She's in kennel No. 10, ID No. 5065.

'Lil Mama'

“Lil Mama” is a female pit bull mix has a short black and white coat.

She's in kennel No. 13, ID No. 5083.

American Staffordshire Terrier

This male American Staffordshire Terrier has a short dark coat with white markings.

He's in kennel No. 14, ID No. 5194.

Shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix

This male shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix has a black coat with tan and white markings.

He's in kennel No. 19, ID No. 5215.

'Sammy'

'Sammy' is a female pit bull terrier mix.

She has a short brown coat with white markings.

She's in kennel No. 30, ID No. 5214.

Male Corgi-shepherd mix

This male Corgi-shepherd mix has a short tan coat with white and black markings.

He's in kennel No. 31, ID No. 5166.

Labrador Retriever mix

This male Labrador Retriever mix has a short all-black coat.

He's in kennel No. 32, ID No. 5158.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

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.

Save

Save

“Plants are thought to be alive, their juice is their blood, and they grow. The same is true of trees. All things die, therefore all things have life. Because all things have life, gifts have to be given to all things.” – William Ralganal Benson, Pomo

“Nature is not a place to visit, it is home.” – Gary Snyder

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Indians who resided in Lake County hundreds and thousands of years ago – the Pomo, Miwok, Wappo, Yuki and Patwin groups – all employed multifaceted political and social structures.

According to the book, “Before the Wilderness – Environmental Management by Native Californians,” compiled and edited by Thomas C. Blackburn and Kat Anderson, research has shown that, today there is a better understanding “of the subtle, complex, and efficient manner in which native people managed, maintained and effectively transformed various habitats and their constituent resources.”

The most obvious way the land was controlled for their use was by fire – specifically, controlled burns.

This was a way for new plants to spring forth, certain animals in the ecosystems could be enticed to the regenerated burn areas, insects could be controlled and the undergrowth was considerably lessened.

This time-honored method aided in hunting. Another benefit of control burns was a reduction in wildfires.

All of these groups had complex reasons to manipulate their surroundings, which was woven into successive generation's customs and mythologies. There was always a protocol for the taking of plants and animals in the environment, be they used for shelter, food or medicine.

The blue elderberry, sometimes called a tree, but actually a shrub that is 6 to 25 feet tall, was an important plant in times past. Then, specialists in each group or tribe knew how and when to prepare foods and medicines.

It is very important to know how and when to prepare wild foods, as there have been many instances of illness due to modern-day foragers' consumption of plants found in the wild.

The leaves of the elderberry shrub grow in leaflets containing five to nine saw-toothed leaves.

Elderberry's prolific flowers show up during the months of May and June, and they are off-white, flat clusters about 8 inches wide.

The berries are dark blue with a powdery “blush” covering them, and grow in thick clusters. Once, the roots were used as a poultice for cuts and the flowers were dried for a medicinal tea. Elderberries were once consumed as a fresh fruit, late in summer months.

The buckeye tree or horse chestnut tree can be seen growing on slopes and canyons. This deciduous tree can reach a height of almost 40 feet. Buckeye trees have been determined to have a long lifespan- some, up to 300 years!

When it is flowering, the tree is fragrant with off-white to pink-tinted inflorescences standing out from the tree like so many bananas. The seeds are unmistakable, mahogany brown, around two inches in diameter, and smooth.

Characteristically they hang from the trees in late summer or on into early winter. The fruit is poisonous unless prepared with the greatest of care.

The Coast Miwok called it “ree ah'- te” and used its toxins to stun fish. The Pomo and other tribes collected buckeye seeds when their staple, acorns was low. Then they had to boil and leach the seed meats for days before it was ready for consumption.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.