LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – In an effort to secure the Clayton fire area while residents are evacuated, law enforcement has significantly bulked up patrols, which has resulted in a number of arrests.
Last year, when thousands of residents were evacuated from the Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fire areas, there had been numerous reports of looting and people being in the fire areas in violation of the mandatory evacuation orders. Ultimately, very few of those reports turned into arrests and prosecutions.
However, with those same concerns in mind, Sheriff Brian Martin, who declared a local emergency on Sunday due to the Clayton fire, made a mutual aid request to agencies around the region for 14 additional officers and deputies for each 12-hour shift this week to help his deputies patrol the fire area.
Martin said those saturation patrols quickly got in place, and have been working to keep people out of the fire area who don't belong there.
Likewise, in the city of Clearlake, it has been all hands on deck, according to Lt. Tim Celli, the acting chief.
With all officers called in to work, Celli said resources had been exhausted. As a result, the Clearlake Police Department made a mutual aid request to the Office of Emergency Services. Local agencies responded to assist.
He said the Lakeport Police Department, California Highway Patrol, the sheriff's office, State Parks and Lake County District Attorney's Office investigators had sent personnel to help with the around-the-clock patrols in the portion of the Avenues section of the city that had been ordered evacuated.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said they sent five units to assist on Sunday. He was among the officers who helped with the patrols in the city, noting that his agency has since gone back to its normal operations due to more agencies coming on board to assist.
As of early Wednesday morning, authorities had arrested 13 individuals for entering an evacuated area, based on a review of arrest reports.
Among those individuals was a parolee found in possession of burglary tools, Celli said. The man claimed to live in the Avenues but couldn't provide police with an address.
Celli said there were additional arrests during that time for issues such as outstanding warrants.
Those additional fire-related calls are on top of the estimated 500 calls that Celli said the Clearlake Police Department handles weekly.
Lt. Steve Brooks said the sheriff's office hasn't made any looting arrests so far, but people have been taken into custody for other issues.
In one case, a State Parks officer pulled up to check a man slumped over at the wheel of a cable television vehicle that was parked off of Dam Road, Brooks said.
Brooks said the officer pounded on the window several times trying to get the driver's attention. As the officer watched the man, he thought his breathing had stopped.
“The officer was able to get the door open and the fight was on for no reason,” said Brooks.
The State Parks officer suffered numerous abrasions during the fight but eventually took the man into custody. It was believed that the man who was arrested was under the influence of some kind of substance.
Celli, who since the fire started has been throughout the portion of the Avenues that had been evacuated – which included St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake, Woodland Community College's Lake County Campus, Walmart and the Cache Creek Apartments – said no structures were damaged in the city.
On Tuesday afternoon the mandatory evacuation order for the Avenues – from Highway 53 from Polk Avenue south to Cache Creek – was lifted and people were allowed to return home there. At that point, Lake Street remained closed.
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Law enforcement patrols saturating Clayton fire area; arrests made
- Elizabeth Larson
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