Sacto 9-1-1

The 2012 "fire season" will officially begin at 8 a.m. Monday, and fire officials urge residents, especially those living or recreating in rural areas, to use caution as the state enters a period of increased risk for wildfires.

The state's final snow survey May 1 found the statewide snowpack water content is only 40 percent of normal. From January though April, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection crews responded to more than 800 wildfires, nearly two and a half times the approximately 300 the agency responded to during the same period in 2011. This year's number also exceeds the five-year average of more than 600 wildfires for January through April, said Terri Mizuhara, spokeswoman for Cal Fire's Amador-El Dorado Unit.

So far this this month, she said, Cal Fire crews have responded to numerous small fires. Several in Amador and El Dorado counties have been escaped debris fires, Mizuhara said.

The number of drivers cited for using their cell phones while driving in April was up over a year earlier.

The California Highway Patrol and 265 local police agencies last month handed out more than 57,000 tickets to drivers who were using a hand-held cell phone or texting. The compares to 52,000 tickets issued in April 2011.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing that the problem of cell phone use for talking and texting while driving is not going away anytime soon," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the state Office of Traffic Safety.

His office has conducted an advertising campaign that has included the "Don't Be a Distracted Driving Zombie" television commercials that emphasize how up to 37 percent of brain power needed for driving gets switched to cell phone talking.

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and law enforcement agencies throughout the Sacramento region urge drivers to look twice for motorcyclists so all motorists can safely share the road.

California is home to more than 1 million licensed motorcycle riders, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

"Whether a driver is at an intersection or changing lanes, they should always keep an eye out for motorcyclists," CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said in a written statement. "Because motorcycles have a much smaller profile than other vehicles, it can be difficult for drivers to judge the distance and speed of an approaching motorcycle."

In 2010, the most recent year for which data is available from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, 361 people died in California and nearly 11,000 others were injured as a result of a crash involving a motorcycle.

In addition to using safety equipment and riding gear, motorcyclists are encouraged to seek professional training before beginning to ride.

The CHP-administered California Motorcyclist Safety Program offers rider courses for beginning motorcyclists and for riders interested in improving their skills. The program operates more than 120 training sites statewide and expects to train 65,000 motorcyclists this year. For course information and locations, see the the website at http://www.ca-msp.org/.

Law enforcement's job was made easy when a Galt police officer received an unexpected text message from an unsuspecting source.

About 10 a.m. today, an officer was alerted by the sound of his cell phone. Thinking it might be a call from dispatch or a fellow officer, he stopped what he was doing and grabbed the phone.

It turned out that he had received a text message from a person who wanted to sell some drugs and mistakenly contacted the officer instead of the potential buyer, according to a Galt Police Department news release.

Carlos Alcala

calcala@sacbee.com

A bicyclist riding on Highway 70 at Lake Oroville was killed Monday when he was hit by a pickup truck, California Highway Patrol officials reported.

The 22-year-old cyclist, who has not been identified, was crossing the West Branch Bridge over an arm of the lake in darkness at about 7:25 p.m.

According to witnesses, he was in a lane of traffic and not equipped with lights or reflectors.

The cyclist was struck by a 2012 Ford F350 driven by a motorist from Grants Pass, Ore.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

One person was arrested and nine others received notices to appear in court during a recent Contractors State License Board sting operation in Amador County.

The undercover operation was conducted Friday at a Pine Grove home by the board's Statewide Investigative Fraud Team and investigators from the Amador County District Attorney's Office.

Investigators, posing as homeowners, sought bids for general construction and painting projects at a multievel house on 7 acres. The 10 people who bid more than the legal threshold of $500 for labor and materials will be required to appear in court for contracting without a license, according to a Contractors State License Board news release. They also face an additional misdemeanor charge for illegal advertising.

Fire officials are reminding people with medical conditions requiring oxygen therapy to steer clear of fire, whether in the form of burning cigarettes, or open flame from gas stove tops, lighters, matches, candles or wood stoves.

"The oxygen molecules from an oxygen tank literally cling to clothing, hair, bedding, furniture, etc. and can cause a fire to burn faster, hotter and at lower temperatures," Unit Chief Kelly Keenan, of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit, said in a written statement.

The warning comes following a recent fatal fire in Pollock Pines that officials say may have been started by a individual smoking while on oxygen therapy. One person died and another was injured.

A young prisoner who was driven away from a work project by accomplices on Tuesday was taken back into custody early this morning in Sacramento.

Angel Iniquez, 19, was driven from a roadside clean-up project about 11 a.m. Tuesday in Sutter Creek, Amador County, by two men. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officers were distracted at the time by another prisoner who needed medical attention.

Law enforcement immediately began looking for Iniquez. At about 2 a.m. today he was found in a home in the 2400 block of Connie Drive in Sacramento.

The California Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to buckle up before taking to the road.

The CHP will be paying particular attention to drivers and passengers who aren't wearing seat belts during a Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign beginning Friday and continuing through the Thanksgiving weekend.

The minimum cost of an adult seat belt violation in California is $142, and up to $445 for not properly restraining a child younger than 16 years old. If the parent is not in the car, the driver is issued a ticket.

The names of five men arrested last week in connection with the shooting death of 45-year-old He Ting Fu in Amador County have been released by the Amador County Sheriff's Department.

All were arraigned Friday in Amador Superior Court, and Judge David Richmond ordered them held in Amador County Jail without bail, according to a Sheriff's Department news release.

The men were identified as Andrew Minh Manisap , 18 (photo, top row, left), Michael Saechao, 20 (top center), David Van Tai, 22 (top right), and Vu Xuan Tran, 23(bottom left), all of Sacramaento, and Son Thai Nguyen, 19 (bottom right), of Elk Grove.

By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com

California Highway Patrol officials say they believe their two-year motorcycle safety campaign, now ending, has helped reduce injury and fatality rates. The federally funded campaign, "Look Twice, Save a Life," was designed to increase drivers' awareness of motorcyclists on the road.

Preliminary 2010 CHP statistics show the number of people killed in motorcycle-involved collisions was down 9 percent from the previous year. The number of injuries was down 8.5 percent.

"Although this campaign is coming to a close, we're pleased with the encouraging results," said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. "There is still more work to be done, and our efforts to raise awareness through education and enforcement will continue."

One man is dead and five others are under arrest following a Tuesday night shootout at the site of a commercial marijuana growing operation in rural Amador County.

The Amador County Sheriff's Office received a call at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday from a resident on Carbondale Road who reported hearing several gunshots. At 9:18, a second caller reported hearing 15 to 20 gunshots. One of the callers reported seeing a white full-sized extra cab truck and dark-colored sport utility vehicle leaving the property where the gunshots originated.

Deputies spotted the two vehicles traveling southwest on Carbondale Road. The vehicles took off at high speeds when occupants spotted patrol cars. Deputies lost sight of the white truck as it turned onto Michigan Lone Bar Road but overtook the second vehicle, a green Expedition.

An autopsy of a man shot by sheriff's deputies Saturday in Pine Grove revealed that he had numerous self-inflicted stab wounds, including one that would have been fatal, according to the Amador County Sheriff's Department.

The man, who appeared at a neighbor's house shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday covered with blood, was identified as Gaylord Neil Story, 59.

Story was shot by deputies after he tried to attack them with a large knife, officials said. The forensic examination of Story was conducted by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office.

Automobile travel is expected to be up slightly this Labor Day weekend -- and the California Highway Patrol will be ready to pull over any drunken drivers.

The American Automobile Association estimates that 27.3 million people plan to travel on the nation's roadways, a 0.5 percent increase from last year. Overall, travel is expected to dip due in part to higher air fare costs.

A well-maintained vehicle can help prevent wildfires, according to state fire officials.

The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Amador-El Dorado Unit reports that several recent fires have been caused by vehicles, citing areas along Highway 50, Bass Lake Road, Gold Hill Road and Cameron Park Drive in El Dorado County. In Amador County, recent fire scars can be seen along highways 49 and 88 and Ridge Road, where vehicles caused strings of wildland fires.

"When a vehicle's engine is not well maintained, the exhaust system can become overtaxed, thereby allowing fuel to enter the exhaust system, which in turn overheats the catalytic convertor that melts and disintegrates," Scott Hogan, fire equipment manager for the Amador-El Dorado Unit said in a written statement. "Pieces of the catalytic converter exit the muffler at about 1,200 degrees F and can bounce onto the dried grass along the edge of road and start fires."

By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com

California prison officials expect to fall just short of a court-ordered reduction in inmate populations by December, but say they will be in compliance by next June and do not expect to have to ask federal courts for more time to achieve a lower inmate population.

Papers filed today with a panel of three federal judges who have ordered the state to improve medical and mental health conditions inside California prisons say moves by Gov. Jerry Brown will substantially meet the court's requirements.

The state's inmate population is required to be at 167 percent of capacity by December, and prison officials said they expect to reduce populations by 9,200 inmates, or about 169 percent of capacity.

By Kim Minugh
kminugh@sacbee.com

The California Highway Patrol is urging residents to sign up for a service that sends Amber Alerts to cell phones via text message - one more way residents can help authorities find missing children fast.

The service, which is free regardless of your wireless plan, sends alerts tailored to your area based on the zip code that you provide. You can provide up to five zip codes, and authorities recommend you at least add the zip codes in which you live and work.

To sign up, visit www.wirelessamberalerts.org. Alerts can also be sent in Spanish.