LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting this week to discuss the process for moving forward into the recovery phase of the Rocky fire.
The special meeting will be held beginning at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the board chambers on the first floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport.
The Rocky fire is one of the largest wildland fires in Lake County's recorded history.
It has burned approximately 69,636 acres since it broke out on the afternoon of July 29 east of Lower Lake, eventually burning north of Highway 20 and east of Clearlake Oaks, and crossing into Colusa and Yolo counties.
At its height, the fire threatened nearly 7,000 structures, triggered evacuations near Lower Lake and Clearlake Oaks, and advisory evacuations in parts of Clearlake, and ultimately destroyed 43 homes and 53 outbuildings, damaging eight other structures as well, according to Cal Fire.
Cal Fire – which assembled a massive firefighting force on the incident that included personnel from across the nation – expects to fully contain the fire on Thursday.
Lake County Office of Emergency Services Manager Marisa Chilafoe told Lake County News in an interview late last week there are a number of high level policy decisions moving forward that ultimately will rest with the Board of Supervisor due to issues including liability.
As such, the Board of Supervisors will discuss and consider county policies in relation to the Rocky fire recovery process, including debris removal and environmental remediation in burn areas, building permit waivers and any other policies to assist fire victims, and temporary shelters for fire victims.
The board also will consider a resolution amending the county's recommended 2015-16 budget to appropriate funds for fire response and recovery.
For its part, the county already is moving to transition into the recovery, with a local assistance center – the LakeLAC – opening at 14092 Lakeshore Drive in Clearlake.
The LakeLAC will be open Monday, Aug. 10, through Wednesday, Aug. 12, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Additional hours will be evaluated based on need, officials said.
A virtual local assistance center also is available online at www.lakecountyLAC.com .
In addition, the around-the-clock Lake County Public Assistance Hotline is available at 1-800-325-9604 to help people get information about services including food pantries and shelters, counseling, damage assessment, disaster response and more.
The county also is partnering with North Coast Opportunities and Mendo Lake Credit Union on a Rocky fire relief fund. More information about the fund can be found at www.ncoinc.org/ and www.mlcu.org .
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.
Supervisors to discuss Rocky fire recovery in special meeting
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On