Lakeport >> With the destruction of large portions of the communities of Cobb, Middletown and Hidden Valley Lake, and the evacuation of Clear Lake Riviera and Riviera West, more than 10,000 residents have been displaced from their homes and are now scattered throughout the county and elsewhere, waiting for aid and relief from the barely-contained Valley Fire.
Agencies around the county are hard at work, trying to aid in the Valley Fire relief effort in any way they can. Chief among them is the Lake County Office of Emergency Services (OES), which operates the Emergency Operation Center. According to Jill Ruzicka, one of the Public Information Officers for the county, said that while currently the OES only has a monetary donation system in place, they are hard at work creating a coordination system for all the other donations that are flooding into the area.
“The number one priority today (Monday) is to figure out the details,” Ruzicka said. “Donation management is going to be huge. We have a lot of outside agency because a lot of staff has lost their homes… my point is we’re working on it. We have several people in the EOC working on a donation management system.”
The EOS also has a website in place, www.lakecountylac.com, that contains comprehensive lists on donation and aid services, and other resources currently in place.
Lake County Transit adjusts
Because of the evacuations, road closures, and a significant number of their staff being displaced by the fire, Lake County Transit is functioning on a day-to-day basis, with regular service being suspended entirely on Monday. But down does not mean out, according to Lake Transit Authority General Manager Mark Wall, and dispatchers and drivers are on-call in case their services are needed.
“We are receiving a few calls mainly people who need to get to medical services, and we’re qualifying what we’ll do on a case-by-case basis,” said Wall. “We have 16 personnel of a total of 50 that were evacuated; some lost homes and a number are staying with friends and relatives outside the county.”
Wall added that a good portion of their regular clientele were people moving between Cobb, Clearlake, Middletown and Calistoga –all routes that are inaccessible at the time. That, coupled with the loss of staff, pushed them to decide to shift to an as-needed role for the time being. But, he said, they are ready to gear back up to full service as soon as they’re able. They will be publishing service updates to their website: www.laketransit.org.
“When the county’s up and running, we’ll be up and running.”
Mail delivery continues, new locations
The United States Postal Service for Cobb, Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown is also up and running, though likewise in a modified form. According to Postmaster Ben Lovato of the Lower Lake post office, mail destined for Hidden Valley and Middletown is being rerouted to the post office in Clearlake, and mail for Cobb is now heading to Kelseyville.
“The post offices are still standing, but due to road closures we can’t work out of those offices,” he said. “Everything out of Hidden Valley Lake and Middletown has been diverted to Clearlake post office, and all the employees including the postmaster are in Clearlake. Same thing for Cobb in Kelseyville. The mail and employees will remain there until they can open the roads and people can go home.” Lovato also stated that the teams from Middletown and Cobb will be sorting their own mail “as best they can” for their customers.
In order to retrieve your mail, you will need a photo ID, such as a valid driver’s license or passport. The Clearlake post office is located at 14500 Olympic Drive, and window is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Kelseyville post office is located at 5500 Gaddy Lane, and the window is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
