Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/640287
worktogetherandthecon- sistency makes it easier, Chamblin said. State responsibility area is where Cal Fire has legal and financial responsibil- ity for fire suppression. Te- hama County has 1.2 mil- lion acres that are state re- sponsibility area, while the local responsibility area makes up about 380,000 acres, Chamblin said. Homeowners would be affected in cases such as a new being parcel is created, a building permit for new construction on a property not connected to an exist- ing structure, siting of a manufactured home and road construction. The weight limit of roads went from 45,000 pounds to 75,000 pounds and in- stead of a four-inch com- pacted base roads must now have a six-inch com- pacted base. Chamblin es- timated an 800-foot drive- way would go from about $1,422 in base material to about $2,160, at a $9 per ton average cost. Another major change to driveways is the addi- tion of language that re- quires a horizontal clear- ance of 14 feet and a ver- tical clearance of 15 feet. Turnouts, required on long driveways and single lane roads, go from 10 feet wide to 12 feet wide. Letters and numbers for an address must be four inches tall, previously they were three inches. Cal Fire must approve the need for a buffer zone between rural and urban areas known as a green belt. Changes to the weight limits were made to ensure engines do not get stuck, Chamblin said. In the case of a residence on No Name Road about 15 years ago, an engine got stuck and it took two bull dozers to rescue it after the first bulldozer also got stuck and had to be res- cued. The firefighters had to walk in about two miles and the ambulance had to find an alternate route in to the incident. Supervisor Burt Bundy said he came to the pre- sentation prepared to vote against aligning with state standards out of concerns for certain situations, such as wanting to add mother- in-law quarters and having to move a fence or irriga- tion. However, he said he did see the need for emer- gency personnel to have good access. The department has a history of taking each property brought to it on a case-by-case basis and trying to find a mutually agreeable solution, Cham- blin said. Fire FROMPAGE1 ety, Girl Scouts of North- ern California, the Tehama County Concert Associa- tion, Friends of the Library, Providing Essentials for Tehama Shelter, Red Bluff Kiwanis and Red Bluff and Sunrise Rotary clubs. Community member Betty Smith said she en- joyed all that the expo had to offer. "I thought the event was really great," Smith said. "I learned a lot about what different businesses are available in Red Bluff and in Tehama County. Every- one I talked to was so nice and I was able to ask ques- tions and also received free quotes on a few products." She said, she will defi- nitely be back next year. Melisa Armstrong and Laurel Harsch, with Tupperware, displayed their products for the first time at the expo. "Tupperware has great new products this year," Armstrong said, "includ- ing microwavable cookers and fresh food storage op- tions." Some, like Lindsay Mello from Mary Kay, said these types of events are a great way to get the company and the business name out there. Relay for Life, a non- profit organization rais- ing funds to fight cancer, participated in the event to promote the cause and up- coming events. This year's event will be May 21 and 22 at Vista Preparatory Acad- emy. Gowan said he was grateful to the community for being active and mak- ing this event so successful. For more information on chamber events, visit red- bluffchamber.com. Expo FROM PAGE 1 Simmons:MaryanneAngela Simmons, 73, of Red Bluff died Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2016at Shasta Regional Medical Center in Red- ding. Arrangements are under the direction of Red Bluff Simple Cremations & Burial Service. Published Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016in the Daily New, Red Bluff, California. Deathnoticesmustbe provided by mortuaries to the news department, are published at no charge, and feature only specific basic information about the deceased. Paid obituaries are placed through the Classified advertising department. Paid obituaries may be placed by mortuaries or by families of the deceased and include online publication linked to the newspaper's website. Paid obituaries may be of any length, may run multiple days and offer wide latitude of content, including photos. DEATH NOTICES FollowusonTwitterandFacebookforupdatesandmore. The Associated Press SANTA ANA A deputies union has sued the Orange County Sheriff's Depart- ment alleging that staff re- ductions and unsafe condi- tionshelpedleadtothebra- zen escape of three inmates from a jail in California. The Association of Or- ange County Deputy Sher- iffs filed the lawsuit ahead of anticipated changes at Central Men's jail following the Jan. 22 escape of Hos- sein Nayeri, Bac Duong and Jonathan Tieu, the Orange County Register reported Friday. The inmates have since been rearrested. In the lawsuit, the union saysthedepartmenthadre- duced staffing at the max- imum-security jail and a deputy was no longer as- signed to the roof of the building, which was used for inmate recreation. The roof was critical to the inmates' escape plan. Authorities have said the trio cut through a metal grate and moved behind jail walls to reach the roof, then rappelled down four stories to freedom using a rope made of bed linens. Jailers did not realize the inmatesweremissingfor16 hours. Lt. Mark Stichter, a Sher- iff's Department spokes- man, said staffing is be- ing reviewed after the jail- break. The suit also alleges that contractors working in the jail in the past have acci- dentally left behind saw blades in inmate areas and that radio communication inside the jail is poor. ORANGE COUNTY Union: Staff cuts, conditions led to jail escape By Don Thompson The Associated Press SACRAMENTO California prosecutors announced Friday that they are seek- ing to block Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed ballot initiative to reduce the state's prison population. The California District Attorneys Association and Sacramento County Dis- trict Attorney Anne Marie Schubert say in a lawsuit that the initiative Brown announced last month was improperly amended onto an existing ballot measure. They filed a lawsuit ask- ing a Sacramento County Superior Court judge to bar Attorney General Ka- mala Harris from issuing the title and summary that would let Brown and his supporters begin collect- ing signatures. The original measure would require judges in- stead of prosecutors to de- cide if juveniles should be tried in adult court. In his initiative, the Democratic governor added provisions to in- crease sentencing cred- its for adult inmates who complete rehabilitation programs. It would also allow non-violent felons to seek parole after they have completed their base sen- tences. "The Governor cut in line bypassing the normal initiative process," Ven- tura County District At- torney Greg Totten said in a statement. The associa- tion wants Brown and sup- porters to file a new ini- tiative and go through the normal public review pro- cess instead of amending an existing measure, de- laying when they can be- gin gathering signatures. "It's perplexing why these DAs would deny the people of California their right to vote on this important public safety measure," Brown said in a statement. Harris spokesman Da- vid Beltran said he could not immediately comment. The association opposes the measure Brown is pro- posing for the November ballot. Its lawsuit says the mea- sure "effectively repeals nearly four decades of de- terminate sentencing law, several voter-approved ini- tiatives, and would permit the granting of parole to tens of thousands of cur- rent adult felons serving terms in state prison." CALIFORNIA Prosecutors challenge proposed sentencing changes By Brian Melley The Associated Press LOSANGELES Autilitycom- pany got control of a leak- ing well that spewed natural gas for nearly four months and uprooted thousands of Los Angeles residents. Here's a look at what needs to be done to seal it perma- nently and what happens af- terthestatecertifies thewell is dead. Whatwas the problem? Southern California Gas Co. reported in October that gas was leaking from a stor- age well at its Aliso Canyon facility. The leak occurred in a well drilled in 1953 to pump oil from beneath the Santa Susana Mountains. After wells in the area ran dry, the field was converted in the 1970s to store natural gas. Wells are used to pump gas underground for storage and then withdraw it when demand spikes. The facility, which has 115 wells and is capable of sup- plying gas for all of South- ern California for more than a month, is the largest natu- ral gas storage facility west of the Mississippi River. Why did it take so long to stop the leak? Initial efforts to stop the leak failed because gas was escaping at pressures ex- ceeding 2,600 pounds per square inch, preventing a mix of muddy slurry from being pumped into the leak- ing well. After several failed at- tempts by well control ex- perts from Boots & Coots Services, the company that helped extinguish oil well fires in Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War, workers be- gan drilling a relief well in December to intercept the leaking well. Penetrating the well a mile-and-a-half under- ground took more than two months as drilling was reg- ularly suspended and equip- ment withdrawn from the relief well so a magnetic tool could be fed into the pipe to make sure they were on target to hit the leaking well. Workers intercepted the leaking well Thursday where it enters the gas stor- age reservoir deep under- ground and pumped mud and heavy fluids to block the leak. What are the next steps? The company was to be- gin pumping cement down the relief well as soon as Friday to permanently seal the leak, said Jimmie Cho, a SoCalGas senior vice pres- ident. After the cement dries, which could take several days, a five-part test that in- cludes measuring tempera- ture and pressure down the wellandusingamicrophone to listen for leaks will de- termine if it is sealed. The state will also use air quality monitors and infrared cam- eras to make sure no meth- ane is escaping. Once inspectors with the state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources certify the well is dead, in- vestigators will try to find the cause of the blowout. Howsoonwillresidents begin returning home? When the well is perma- nently sealed, the gas com- pany is required to pay seven more nights of lodg- ing for those living in hotels or reimbursing those stay- ing with family or friends. Residents who relocated to apartments and rental houses will be able to stay through leases as late as April 30. LOS ANGELES DEAN MUSGROVE — LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, FILE Crews work on stopping a gas leak at a relief well at the Aliso Canyon facility above the Porter Ranch area of Los Angeles. Gas leak under co nt ro l, b ut s te ps remain until sealed DAMIAN DOVARGANES — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE An endangered island fox is seen in a National Park Service captive-breeding facility on Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park off the coast of Southern California. By Christine Armario The Associated Press LOS ANGELES Federal wildlife officials recom- mended Friday that three fox subspecies native to California's Channel Is- lands be removed from the endangered species, saying their populations have made an historic re- covery. The foxes on islands lying just off the state's southern coast were once on the brink of extinction. "We've been able to stop impairment and recover a species," said Russell Gal- ipeau, superintendent of Channel Islands National Park, which encompasses five of the archipelago's eight islands. Four fox subspecies that live on San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz and Santa Catalina islands were placed on the endan- gered species list in 2004. Disease and predators had dramatically reduced their populations. Golden eagles that mi- grated to San Miguel and Santa Rosa devoured the foxes, leaving only around 15 on each island by 2000. The number of foxes on Santa Cruz Island dipped to a low of 62 in 2002. The golden eagles were able to spread to the is- lands because the islands' native bald eagles, which didn't prey on foxes, were wiped out there by the dis- charge of the now-banned chemical DDT into coastal waters. Wildlife officials and biologists crafted a plan that included relocating the non-native golden ea- gles from the northern Channel Islands, killing off Santa Cruz's huge pop- ulation of feral pigs that lured golden eagles, re- introduction of bald ea- gles, vaccinating the foxes against canine distemper and breeding the foxes in captivity. Officials said Friday the fox populations have now recovered to self-sustain- ing levels. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is calling their resurgence the fastest successful re- covery of any mammal listed under the Endan- gered Species Act. As of last year, there were 520 native foxes on San Miguel and 874 on Santa Rosa, according to the group Friends of the Island Fox. The number of foxes on Santa Cruz Island had risen to 1,750. "It was a challenge but one of the nice things is we were separated by ocean so we could control a lot of the potential impact," Galipeau said. On Santa Catalina, ca- nine distemper brought over from the mainland reduced the fox popula- tion to 103 in 2000, but last year it was 1,717. Officials are recom- mending native foxes on Santa Catalina island be reclassified from endan- gered to threatened, say- ing the potential for dis- ease outbreak is a remain- ing threat. Two other subspecies on San Nicolas and San Cle- mente aren't endangered. There were 263 foxes on San Nicolas and 1,230 on San Clemente. Tierra Curry, senior sci- entist at the Center for Bi- ological Diversity, credited the Endangered Species Act for saving the island foxes. "Thanks to its remark- able power, we can cele- brate the successful re- covery of the island foxes," Curry said in a statement. Once the home of Na- tive Americans, the Chan- nel Islands were reached by early European explor- ers, fur hunters seeking sea otters, seals and sea lions, and then became a base for fishermen, ac- cording to the National Park Service. WILDLIFE Feds recommend to re mo ve 3 f ox es fr om endangered species list R ed Bluff Simple Cremations and Burial Service FD1931 527-1732 Burials - Monuments - Preneed 722 Oak Street, Red Bluff SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2016 REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM | NEWS | 9 A