Emergencies

KPFZ Emergency Information

Hennessey Fire (Morgan Valley and Butts Canyon) Aug 17 - Sep 10, 2020

Submitted by alanf-admin on Tue, 08/18/2020 - 19:12

Updated Thursday  Sep 1, 2010  10:30 am.

The PG&E  PSPS is over ...  though a few areas near Lake Beryessa and in the Sierra foothills are not yet re-energized.   https://pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/outages/map/  -- select Current or Future outages

August Fire -- The Pillsbury Lake Basin is now under mandatory evacuation.

Oak Fire (Mendocino) --  north-west of Willets, also has evacuations. (In the hills west of Rt 101 at Rt 162 Covello road). Rt 101 is open. 

Thanks to a PG&E grant, KPFZ now has a permanent generator at the station, and the county has a generator at the transmitter, so we do not anticipate any major interruption to our broadcasting. 

9/6/20: All Hennesey fire evacuation orders and warnings have been lifted.

The Lake County LNU Lightning Complex Recovery page is at  http://recovery.lakecountyca.gov.  The FEMA asistance information is at http://recovery.lakecountyca.gov/Assets/Recovery/Docs/FEMAapp.pdf A press release summarizing the assistance is at http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/PressReleases/LAC090420.htm

See this County Map showing the current fire areas.
 

KPFZ Fire Schedule.

All talk shows will take fire and other emergency-related calls. 

The big fire in the Mendocino National Forest is the Autumn Complex.

October 2019 PGE Power Shutdown (Updated Saturday Oct 12, 12 pm)

Submitted by alanf-admin on Tue, 10/08/2019 - 11:31

The PG&E outage map is showing that nearly all power has been restored, with only one 10-customer neighborhood on Socrates Mine Road shut down, and another 10 on Grange Rd south of Hidden Valley Lake due to 'damaged equipment on a power pole' (both predicted to be up by 3pm). A few individual houses are reporting outages where the area has been reactivated.

This will be the last update.

Lake County is currently recovering from  a PG&E "Public Safety Power Shutdown"

The studio has power and is in full operation, including streaming.

We have resumed normal programming, except that replays of shows during the power shutfown will not be available, so we will use older shows from the archive.

KPFZ will cover the power shutdown recovery as we receive updated information. 

A few areas still have no power (Bottlerock Rd, Upper Lake, Middletown south of Twins Pines) : PG&E is currently predicting  these will all be restored by 3 pm Saturday.

Lake County News has a report on the recovery status.

COVID-19 Emergency

Submitted by alanf-admin on Sat, 03/14/2020 - 12:13

National, State and Local Emergencies are still in effect.

Updated Sep 5, 2020

The current report shows 5 deaths, 30 active cases and 350 cumulative cases.  The two most recent deaths were part of a cluster in a senior living center. A previous death was a healthy 22 year old woman.

Update on Skilled Nursing Facility Outbreak

4 staff members have now tested positive, and 5 total residents. Tragically, 2 [residents] have passed away. Similar concerning situations have arisen in other counties around the state. The facility is working with local public health and state regulators to ensure everything is being done to protect staff and residents.

Face Coverings (masks) are required "everywhere" where you can't maintain 6 feet of social distance.California Guideline for Face Coverings

Lake County Public Health Officer Press Release 6/12/2020  
California Guidelines

Station policy

The station is operating on limited hours, with only one Board Operator (BO) in the studio, and any hosts calling in.
The full statement is here

Important Official Links

Note : web sites are changing the pages about COVID-19 often, so we are just giving the top-level address.

The NEW central reporting site for Covd19 is now : Lake County Public Health : COVID-19 Data

Lake County
Lake County, California Coronavirus Response Hub.  (This site will be discontinued on Sep 18 -- see above)
Lake County Health Dept -- Coronavirus Public Notices
(The offical Covid-19 information line is 707-263-8174 - Monday-Friday  8am-5pm :  email mhoac@lakecounty.ca.gov)
Lake County Sheriff

The Lake County Superior Courts has also announced closures. Only urgent business will be conducted. Jurors will be re-called later. Restraining orders will be extended automatically.

  • City of Clearlake
    Public access to the City Hall Lobby and the Poilce Department is closed. Call for details.
  • City of Lakeport
    Public access to City Hall and the Police Department is closed.  Call for details.
    Lakeport has opened its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) telephone line at (707) 263-5683. (Mon-Thurs)

California Governor's Office   

CDC (Centers for Disease Control)

WHO (World Health Organization)

US Representative John Garamondi has a page of useful information

From the CA Dep of Public Health (3/13/20) :

How can people protect themselves?

There is currently no vaccine to prevent COVID-19. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person between people who are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet). This occurs through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person breaths, talks, coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the nose and lungs. Older adults and people who have severe underlying chronic medical conditions like heart or lung disease or diabetes seem to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from COVID-19 illness. Every person has a role to play. So much of protecting yourself and your family comes down to common sense: 

  • Washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds.
  • Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces daily. If surfaces are dirty, clean them using detergent or soap and water prior to disinfection.
  • Avoiding touching eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
  • Wear a Face Covering in stores, and when you are closer than 6 feet to another. 
  • Avoiding close contact with people who are sick.
  • Staying away from work, school or other people if you become sick with respiratory symptoms like fever and cough, or a sudden loss of smell.
  • Following guidance from public health officials.

Please consult with your health care provider about additional steps you may be able to take to protect yourself.

How to Protect Yourself    

Unofficial but reputable sites

New York Times: Charts and Maps down to the county level
San Jose Mercury News : Map of cases by county (updated daily)
Washington University : Cases and Hospital Capacity for USA and State (Right now California has the capacity, New York does not)
ncov19.live : Cases worldwide, with USA by state This site was created by Avi Schiffmann, a high schooler in Washington State, USA. (Updated continuously with data from official sources)
For the technically inclined, very good graphs (international and US states)

November 20, 2019 PGE Public Safety Power Shutoff (11/20 10:15 am)

Submitted by alanf-admin on Tue, 11/19/2019 - 20:07

KPFZ Emergency Mode

Lakeport will not be affected, so we will be on-air (and streaming) during our normal broadcast day, 5 am to 2 am the next day. Shows will be hosted by the usual programmers, but we will provide frequent updates and take phone calls.

In the event that we LOSE power at the studio, we will be running on a (borrowed) generator for a limited schedule from 10 am to 6 pm with breaks for re-fuelling as needed. Designated programmers will come into the station : others should not.

PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff, November 20, 2019

According to online reports and PG&E's outage map many areas have already been shut off. 
(Clearlake, Lower Lake, Hidden Valley, Middletown and Cobb).

Most customers should be restored by sunset Thursday although some may take longer.

PG&E plans to open  community resource centers  at the following locations between 8 am and 8 pm:

– Clearlake Senior Community Center, 3245 Bowers Ave., Clearlake;   (8 am - 5 pm)
– Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, Lakeport;
– Twin Pine Casino & Hotel, 22223 Highway 29, Middletown; 
– Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino, 1545 State Highway 20, Nice.
– Red Hills Property, 7130 Red Hills Road, Kelseyville.

(They offer restrooms, device charging, bottled water and information. During the last shutoff some of the centers provided WiFi service).

Links :  PGE Main Page    PGE Outage Map  PGE Predicted Outage Map

Fire Risk and Information

At present there are no major fires affecting Lake County.  However, we are in a Red Flag Warning status : The National Weather Service (NWS) has upgraded Fire Weather Watches to Red Flag Warnings for many areas across central and northern California from 4 AM Wednesday until 7 AM Thursday due to the critical fire conditions and potential for rapidly spreading fires.  

Lake County OES reports : Fire Chief Sapeta from Lake County Fire Protection District has informed us that Lake County has been approved for pre-positioned fire-based resources during the November 20th Red Flag Warning event. The additional fire personnel will be staged in Clearlake.