10/14/2026
Public service announcement...
Tomorrow evening, October 14 at 6 PM
October 14, 2026: El Niño Town Hall: How might this El Niño impact Lake County
Virtual online town hall via Zoom; will be recorded
Lake County, CA (September 30, 2026) – The Lake County Community Risk Reduction Authority (RRA)
Joint Powers Authority (JPA) will be hosting an El Niño Town Hall on possible impacts to Lake County this
winter on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 6:00pm via Zoom.
District 3 Supervisor Eddie Crandell, who represents the Lake County Watershed Protection District as one
of the Directors of the RRA, will give the introduction and welcome, then introduce the first speaker, Ryan
Aylward, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service, in Eureka, California,
whose forecast area includes all of Lake County. After giving a brief overview of what an El Niño event is,
Aylward will explain how this El Niño event is still increasing in severity, and how that may impact Lake
County, including Clear Lake, wildfire burn scars, and more.
The next speaker will be Leah Sautelet, Manager, Lake County Office of Emergency Services (OES), who will
give an overview of preparedness actions the public can do, and response activities that OES and other
first responder agencies may take. Sautelet also will review the OES website for official information,
Ready.LakeCountyCA.gov including how to sign up for emergency alerts.
The final speaker for the El Niño Town Hall will be Dr. Pawan Upadhyay, Director of the Lake County
Watershed Protection District and the Water Resources Department. Dr Upadhyay also serves as the
Floodplain Administrator for the County and will speak about the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
as well as mitigation projects including the Clover Creek Diversion and other issues important to residents.
Throughout the Town Hall, John Vandervort, Senior Program Manager for Forest Health for the Lake County
Resource Conservation District, who also provides administration support to the RRA, will moderate and
address questions.
Please Submit Questions for the Panelists Prior to the El Niño Town Hall
• To ensure the speakers can address as many questions from residents as possible during the 60
minute El Niño Town Hall, you can submit questions online at: https://forms.gle/nAPPzitvAxtjB5TE7
To Join the El Niño Town Hall Live
• The El Niño Town Hall will be live via Zoom at:
o https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82662375305
o +1 669 900 6833 US, Meeting ID: 826 6237 5305
• You also can watch the Town Hall in person at the Upper Lake Grange, 9355 Government Street,
Upper Lake, CA 95485 will have the Zoom meeting projected (No presenters will be there live).
• Once the Town Hall is concluded, it will be uploaded to the Lake County Community Risk
Reduction Authority’s YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/
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