LAKE COUNTY — No news is good news when it comes to fires – and the Fourth of July saw no outstanding reports of fire, or at least nothing local responders couldn”t handle. That”s not to say, however, that local fire and law enforcement agencies took the holiday lightly.
“There was lots of staff just waiting for the big one to happen but it never did,” said Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells Thursday morning. Cal Fire and the U.S. Forest Service were standing by, said Wells, but the most action they saw was when a planter full of juniper caught fire in the Bruno”s parking lot in downtown Lakeport.
The lot was one area in Lakeport where it was OK to set off safe and sane fireworks on the holiday. Safe areas included private property with the owner”s permission, any public residential road inside Lakeport city limits and the intersection of Second and Park streets in Lakeport”s Library Park.
Fire and law enforcement agencies in the county noted that setting off fireworks outside of Lakeport”s city limits is prohibited. A search of the county”s Web site, however, produced no verification of that provision in Lake County Code, although several fire responders noted it was established several years ago.
Northshore Fire Protection District Chief Jim Robbins said for the Northshore, the Fourth was equally uneventful. He noted some confusion over where safe and sane fireworks could be discharged, saying the flyer distributed to fireworks purchasers was somewhat vague. Robbins said he hopes to work with Lakeport city staff to make sure the flyer next year states that fireworks may only be discharged inside Lakeport”s city boundaries.
Station 70 in Clearlake reported an average number of calls for any other day in fire season, according to Fire Chief Jim McMurray. Relatively quiet. He said the county fireworks ban outside of the city of Lakeport has had a good effect on fire safety around the holiday, “but some people still don”t get the message that they”re not allowed.”
Captain Sam Hukkanen of the Kelseyville Fire Protection District said it was a quiet Fourth for his staff, as well.
Sheriff Rodney Mitchell reported that dispatch activities were particularly heavy for the city of Lakeport, as well as the county”s unincorporated areas. “The fireworks added to an otherwise busy holiday night,” said Mitchell. “There seemed to be an increase in the number of people using bottle rockets and arial fireworks, which are highly risky,” not to mention illegal, added Mitchell. “I”m grateful we didn”t have more fires as a result of that irresponsible behavior,” he said.
Mitchell noted that this Fourth, for his office, was busy even for a holiday. “The number of calls for service is higher, and our activity level seems to be increasing on a regular basis,” said Mitchell.
“We noticed there was a presence of illegal fireworks,” said Lakeport Chief of Police Kevin Burke. “But the majority were the safe-and-sane fireworks.”
The night was busy for his department as well, with calls ranging from reports of illegal fireworks to disturbances and fights. “It was a fairly busy evening for us,” said Burke. “A lot of outsiders were in town for the evening, and just having that many people here creates additional issues for us,” he said.
Enforcement for Lakeport involved reminders to use fireworks safely, said Burke, adding that for the most part, people exercise the common sense his officers ask that they use.
Adam Garcia, the public information officer for the California Highway Patrol, said the agency met its goal for a “fatal free Fourth.” The maximum number of officers available were on patrol, he said, with a DUI checkpoint in Clearlake Oaks during peak traffic hours from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. “I think it went smoothly,” said Garcia of the holiday, noting that two DUI arrests were made for the duration of the holiday.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
