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WEDNESDAY AUGUST 22, 2012 www.redbluffdailynews.com See Page 5A Breaking news at: Pining for Pie County Fare RED BLUFF Spartans Preview SPORTS 1B Sunny 97/62 Weather forecast 8B DAILYNEWS TEHAMACOUNTY DAILY 50¢ T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 50 structures lost Thieves swipe card info at pump staff at the gas station, who called Red Bluff Police to report the incident, Sgt. Josiah Ferrin said. The device was found within pump number five, which had not been serviced for about 12 months, but had only stopped printing receipts for about four days prior to discovery of the device, Ferrin said. It is unknown exactly how long the device had been See PUMP, page 7A County confirms cap on Williamson applications By RICH GREENE DN Staff Writer Daily News photo by Rich Greene MANTON (AP) — As a light- ning-sparked wildfire raged near Lynn Rodgers' home of less than a year, the evacuated resident said Tuesday she remained optimistic — in spite of her growing frustration and fear. ''Yeah, but what can you do? Everything is in God's hands — and the firefighters,'' said Rodgers, who lives in Shingletown. fighters were making a stand against the fire, which has destroyed 50 struc- tures and prompted fearful residents to take shelter at a Big League Dreams in Redding. Aided by a shift in winds, fire- grew to more than 21,500 acres. More than 2,100 firefighters were battling the blaze in rugged, densely forested Since igniting Saturday, the fire Tehama County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning they were hoping to reopen some road access and may allow some evacuated residents back to their homes sometime Wednesday. Later Tuesday, further evacuations were ordered, though. They said the decision has been delayed because of the amount of smaller roads in the area and they were worried about the access the public may still have to the fire. Saying they weren't out of the terrain as it threatened hundreds of homes in the towns of Shingletown, Manton and Viola. Top firefighting officials told the the least contained area of the fire. As of Tuesday evening the fire was 40 percent contained. Officials were worried about potential 15 mph wind gusts in the area, similar in scope to Saturday when the fire started with a lightning strike two miles east of Manton. The Air Quality Index in Tehama County had dropped back into the moderate range Tuesday afternoon after surging into the unhealthy for sensitive groups category Monday morning. woods yet, firefighters were opti- mistic they would make strong progress Tuesday afternoon especial- ly in the southwest Battle Creek area, Lassen gala bumped due to area fires The Lassen Park Foundation has postponed its annu- al fundraising event, A Passion for Lassen, in order to reduce the complication of the event occurring inside Lassen Volcanic National Park while fires are being fought in and around the park. The fundraising event, which was planned to be held on Saturday, Aug. 25 at the park's southwest visitor center, has been rescheduled for Nov. 10 at Mercy Oaks in Redding. would have been an unneeded distraction for the national park staff, so we chose to postpone it," said Lassen Park Foundation Chairman John Koeberer. "It's disappointing to reschedule the auction and banquet, as so much work went into organizing it. Fortunately, we have a great team of volunteers. They rallied together and quickly found alternative dates and venues, then set "Continuing to hold the fundraiser inside the park See LASSEN, page 7A Cops nab one in DUI court sting Bluff Police Department conducted an undercover Court Sting operation Tuesday morning at the Tehama County Superior Court targeting suspected DUI drivers whose licenses were suspended/revoked, or who were unlicensed, and drove anyway. Police officers staked Officers from the Red out offenders who had been told by a judge not to drive and or who had been told of their license suspension. They were followed from the courtrooms to their vehicles to ensure that they were not driving. About 10 offenders were followed outside by offi- cers. While some offenders had alternate means of transportation, one individ- ual in court for DUI pro- ceeded to get behind the wheel and drove away from the court house. Charles Lee Ward, 48, of Cottonwood chose to drive and was stopped by waiting officers for driving while suspended or unli- censed then was issued a citation back into court and their vehicle was stored. Ward could face addi- tional jail time, long license suspensions, along with other financial hits includ- ing attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work and the potential loss of job or job prospects. 7 5 8 5 5 1 6 9 0 0 1 9 DUI Court Sting See STING, page 7A The Tehama County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday it will stay the course with its philosophy of not accept- ing new Williamson Act contracts, but it would begin compiling a list of interested landowners should outside funding opportunities become available. An attempt to put an emergency air monitor in the Mineral area was unsuccessful due to a lack of power. Pacific Gas and Electric officials had said they would consider moving See MANTON, page 7A The board was asked to clarify its stance by coun- ty staff after several landowners were either turned away or asked to pay a $1,400 processing fee while being told there was no chance their appli- cation would be approved. The 47-year-old Williamson Act enables counties to contract with agricultural landowners to keep their property taxes lower. In exchange, prop- Supervisor-elect Burt Bundy and Farm Bureau President Sam Mudd said they were working with environmental groups to find funding options. The pair told the board the open space resulting erty owners agree to keep their land out of develop- ment. Since the recession the state has pulled its contributions to the pro- gram, forcing counties to subsidize the program if they wish to keep it going. Tehama County bud- geted in subsidies for existing Williamson Act contracts, but stopped accepting new applica- tions after Nov. 1, 2009. Chief Administrator Bill Goodwin told the board he did not see any change in state level fund- ing in the foreseeable future. See CAP, page 7A Fairground becomes fire camp By JULIE ZEEB vehicles Tuesday filled the Tehama District Fair- ground, where CalFire has set up incident com- mand for the Ponderosa Fire near Manton. DN Staff Writer Firefighters and their Among the group that descended on the fair- ground starting Saturday evening are about 17 pub- lic information officers from CalFire and other fire departments who have come to support local fire units, said Paul Lowenthal of the Santa Rosa Fire Department. Lowenthal, one of the public information offi- cers, took time Tuesday to attend the Tehama District Fairboard meeting to give an update on the fire. While the fire was 35 percent contained at 19,627 acres with seven structures destroyed as of Tuesday morning, it does not mean the danger is over, he said. fire was reported about 11:30 a.m. Saturday and has resulted in the evacua- tion of Manton, Shingle- town and Viola. The lightning-caused very challenging, you can think things look good, but the fire that is creep- ing forward can hit a brush pocket and it's off to the races," Lowenthal said. "Lots of work has been done. Within the first few hours, dozers had set up a perimeter around Manton." Firefighters are con- stantly working to main- tain those lines and build contingency lines, howev- "Because the terrain is A wireless credit card skimmer was found hidden within a fuel pump at the One Stop gas station, 714 Walnut St., in Red Bluff. The device was found about 1:30 p.m. Monday by there, however, it is believed by staff that the device was why the pump stopped printing receipts, according to a Red Bluff Police press release. Daily News photo by Julie Zeeb Paul Lowenthal of the Santa Rosa Fire Department gives an update at Tuesday's Tehama District Fairboard meeting. Lowenthal is one of roughly 17 public information officers assisting at the Ponderosa Fire. er, canyon winds can play havoc with embers blown over the line, causing the fire to jump the line, he said. "This fire is obviously a huge priority with over 3,000 homes threatened CHEST Back to School Specials HOPE Mon. 1-4 • Tue.-Fri. 10-4 1359 Grant St., Red Bluff New Items Daily Daily Sales and additional resources are being added from all over and nearby," Lowen- thal said. "It's not as easy as an open grass field. There are so many natural barriers and different fuels along with up and down canyon winds that are difficult to fight. Just because there's a line doesn't mean it's done." Air support using S2 and Very Large Air Tankers, or VLAT, have See CAMP, page 7A PHYSICIAN REFERRAL A FREE SERVICE PROVIDED FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE 1-888-628-1948