LAKE COUNTY >> The county has declared a local emergency in response to the severe weather storm that is currently active in Lake County. The official title for this storm event is “Winter Storms December 2014.” The city of Lakeport has also declared an emergency. The county, and the cities of Lakeport and Clearlake have all activated their Emergency Operations Centers.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services participated in a regional conference call with the California Governor”s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and other central region counties at 11 a.m. Thursday, according to Jill Ruzicka, Lake County public information officer. There were situation updates from state and local jurisdictions, as well as law enforcement and public utilities. A representative from CalOES is on-site at the Lake County Emergency Operation Center.
Flooding is extreme in Lake County, particularly in the Clearlake area. There are numerous road closures, power outages and localized flooding throughout the county.
Red Cross has set up a shelter at Lower Lake High School, located at 9430 Lake St. in Lower Lake. This is the only shelter open in Lake County at this time. There is no phone number to call for specific information, but people can find more information about Red Cross shelters at www.redcross.org.
Power outages
At about 1:30 p.m., PG&E reported power outages to approximately 1,500 customers. The outages are located in the following places in the Kelseyville area: Adam Springs; Cobb; Whispering Pines; Loch Lomond; along Highway 175, north to Siegler Springs Road, south to Harbin Springs Road, west to Cobb Mountain and east to Big Canyon Road.
In Clearlake, there is an outage on Lakeshore Drive and Palmer Avenue at Emory Avenue. The customer service number for PG&E is 1(800) 743-5000.
The road conditions are changing quickly. According to Mike Stone, Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid Coordinator, “It”s hard to predict what will happen with the roads until we have sustained dry weather.”
Roads updates
The Lake County Department of Public Works is providing updates on road conditions on an hourly basis. That information will be posted on the website at: www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Public_Works/Roads.htm . Click on the PDF entitled “Road Conditions” in the left hand column.
Other websites that include information on road conditions include the Caltrans website and the CHP website:
• http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov is an interactive map from Caltrans.
• This website will take you to Caltrans road conditions: http://www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi
• http://cad.chp.ca.gov/Traffic.aspx will get you to the CHP site. Look for information in the “Ukiah” area. You have the option to click in on the left hand side of the page.
All school districts in Lake County were closed Thursday. The only exception was Lucerne Elementary School.
Lakeside Transit has suspended its service until further notice.
The department of public health was also closed Thursday due to flooding.
“Given the road conditions, the safest thing to do is stay put. f you must drive, please do so with extreme caution,” Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Maris Chilafoe said.
Call 263-2360 for updated recorded information or check the Lake County Facebook page for current information.
Remember the following
If you see downed power lines, stay away from it and call 911 immediately. You can then call PG&E at 743-5002 to report the downed line.
Only use the 911 number for emergencies. If you are unsure about whether it is an emergency or not, call the 911 operator to assist you.
If you have a non-emergency law enforcement matter, you can call central dispatch at 263-2690.
Residents can call 263-2360 for a recording of updated information.
Sand bags are available at hardware stores or lumber yards. They may be running low on stock, so it is best ahead to call ahead to check on supplies.
