Fire damage is visible on property to be developed as part of the Guenoc project along Butts Canyon Road, some seven miles east of Middletown.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed a motion Feb. 1 to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the approval of a major resort in a wildfire-prone area of Lake County.
Becerra seeks to join a lawsuit filed last August by the Center for Biological Diversity and the California Native Plant Society challenging the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Guenoc Valley Mixed Use Planned Development project.
According to a press release from Becerra’s office, the EIR certified by the Lake County Board of Supervisors last July “fails to adequately analyze and mitigate the increased wildfire risk associated with the project, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions and other adverse environmental impacts.
“Lake County residents have borne the brunt of many of the recent wildfires that have ravaged our state,” Becerra said. “They deserve to know that the increased wildfire risks resulting from any new development in their area have been properly considered — and mitigated.”
Located on 16,000 acres in southeast Lake County, the Guenoc project’s first phase includes five hotels with 127 hotel units, 141 resort residential units, 385 residential estate villas, two wineries, and various resort amenities and infrastructure.
According to Becerra’s office, the project site is designated as a “very high fire hazard severity zone,” and was affected by wildfires in 1952, 1953, 1963, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2006, 2014, 2015, 2018 and most recently in 2020 during the LNU Lightning Complex fire.
Becerra raised similar concerns in two comment letters during the environmental review process. Becerra said the project would exacerbate wildfire risk and lacked adequate opportunities for evacuation during a wildfire.
The project would include a new fire and emergency response center, advanced fire detection and notification system, and a floatplane dock and emergency helipads that could be used by firefighting aircraft.
In approving the project, Lake County supervisors said it would transform Lake County and generate a massive economic boost through increased property and hotel taxes.
WATCH NOW: PROTECTING WATER QUALITY AFTER WILDFIRES
Hundreds of homes were destroyed in the historic 2020 California wildfire season. Crews are working to prevent toxic elements from reaching water sources.
NAPA COUNTY’S NEW FIRE REALITY
Napa County's new fire reality
California Wildfires
The Glass Fire burns a hillside above Silverado Trail in St. Helena, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
The LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
Flames from the County fire burn above Cache Creek Casino Resort on Sunday, July 1, 2018, in Capay, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Atlas Fire
Flames on Atlas Peak as seen from the valley floor at 1 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, 2017.
Atlas fire
The charred remains of one of the many destroyed homes near Silverado Resort as a result of the Atlas Fire.
Atlas Fire
The remains of a home continues to burn at Silverado Country Club from the Atlas Fire on Monday. The fire, which began on Sunday night, is one of a number of fires that have already burned more than 50,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Atlas Fire
The smoldering remains of a home destroyed at Silverado Country by the Atlas Fire is seen on Monday. The fire, which began on Sunday night, is one of a number of fires that have already burned more than 50,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties.
Atlas Fire
A home burns at Silverado Country Club on Monday from the Atlas Fire. The fire, which began on Sunday night, is one of a number of fires that have already burned more than 50,000 acres in Napa and Sonoma counties.
California Wildfires
A wildfire burns grasses at a livestock ranch in Guinda, Calif., Sunday July 1, 2018. Evacuations were ordered as dry, hot winds fueled a wildfire burning out of control Sunday in rural Northern California, sending a stream of smoke some 75 miles (120 kilometers) south into the San Francisco Bay Area. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California-Wildfires
A wildfire burns near Lake Berryessa in Napa, Calif., Sunday, July 1, 2018. Smoke from the Yolo County fire was contributing to poor air quality in Napa, Sonoma, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, according to the National Weather Service. (Paul Kitagaki Jr./The Sacramento Bee via AP)
Western Wildfires
Hot Shot crews from Mendocino use backfires to help contain the County Fire along Highway 129 near Lake Berryessa in Yolo County, California, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. (Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee via AP)
Western Wildfires
Fire burns the hillsides as the County Fire continues along Highway 129 near Lake Berryessa in Yolo County, California, Tuesday, July 3, 2018. (Randall Benton/The Sacramento Bee via AP)
California Wildfires
Flames from the Glass Fire consume a vineyard building in St. Helena on Sept. 27, 2020.
California Wildfires
An air tanker drops retardant on the Glass Fire burning above Davis Estates winery in Calistoga, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
A firefighter battles the Glass Fire burning in Calistoga, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
Flames from the Glass Fire consume the Glass Mountain Inn, late Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020, in St. Helena, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
APTOPIX California Wildfires
A flag flies as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires crest a ridge Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020, in Napa County, Calif. The blaze went on to destroy multiple homes near Lake Berryessa. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of blazes sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires burn in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. The blaze went on to destroy multiple homes near Lake Berryessa. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
APTOPIX California Wildfires
An air tanker drops retardant as the LNU Lightning Complex fires tear through the Spanish Flat community in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
California Wildfires
Flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires lick above a fire truck in unincorporated Napa County, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. Fire crews across the region scrambled to contain dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes as a statewide heat wave continues. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
Nuns fire
Volunteer firefighter Noah Barela, 19, and firefighter Brandon Bain, 20, both of Arizona, stand by as Fire Chief Jerry McGraw uses a chainsaw to cut down fire-weakened trees in a fire zone on the 5000 block of Dry Creek Road during the Nuns Fire, October 2017.
Nuns fire
Volunteer firefighter Noah Barela, 19, of Arizona, hoses down hot spots in a fire zone on the 5000 block of Dry Creek Road during the Nuns Fire, Oct. 14, 2017.
Nuns Fire
Fire Chief Jerry McGraw of Arizona’s White Mountain Lake Fire District hoses down some burning trees on the 5000 block of Dry Creek Road during the Nuns Fire, Oct. 14, 2017.
Oakville during the Nuns Fire
A helicopter lowers itself toward an irrigation basin amid the vineyards of Highway 29 in Oakville during firefighting efforts Monday morning against the Nuns Fire, which is straddling Napa and Sonoma counties and was 50 percent contained.
Carneros Fire Damage
Burned hillsides from the Partrick Fire are seen near Artessa Winery on Tuesday morning along Henry Road.
Power shutdown
Homes and businesses on the west side of Calistoga were without power Monday, Oct. 26, 2020 as part of PG&E's pre-emptory shutdown the previosu day, affecting 11,026 Napa County customers. Some businesses brought in generators. Calistoga Dental Group was closed.
Smoke
Smoke from fires across Northern California cast an unearthly orange glow across downtown Napa, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020.
Tourism
A few diners braved increasingly acrid smoke from the North Bay wildfires to sit down to al fresco brunches on Main Street, on Aug. 23, 2020, where Napa has closed a block of roadway to make room for restaurant tables during the coronavirus emergency. One of the eateries, Avow, closed early at 2 p.m. as air quality worsened.
Tubbs Fire
Blackened trees in the distance, and all around Mountain Home Ranch, are a constant reminder of the Tubbs Fire that destroyed the ranch and all of its lodging.
Tubbs Fire
John and Suzanne Fouts point down to an area where a walk-in refrigerator stood, where their son and some of Mountain Home Ranch guests took refuge from the Tubbs Fire. But embers and flaming debris fell down a dumbwaiter shaft, near where John stands, and caught the lower floor on fire.
Upvalley Fire Scenes
Sterling Vineyards, just south of Calistoga, is seen through a haze of smoke on Thursday morning, the result of various wildfires in the area. An evacuation order for the entire town of Calistoga remained in place.
California Wildfire Cause
FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2017 file photo, a firefighter holds a water hose while fighting a wildfire in Santa Rosa, Calif. Investigators say the deadly 2017 wildfire that killed 22 people in California's wine country was caused by a private electrical system, not embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The state's firefighting agency said Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, that the Tubbs Fire started next to a residence. They did not find any violations of state law. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
California Wildfire Cause
FILE - In this Oct. 9, 2017, file photo, a firefighter walks near a flaming house in Santa Rosa, Calif. Investigators say the deadly 2017 wildfire that killed 22 people in California's wine country was caused by a private electrical system, not embattled Pacific Gas & Electric Co. The state's firefighting agency said Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019, that the Tubbs Fire started next to a residence. They did not find any violations of state law. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra
You can reach Jesse Duarte at 967-6803 or jduarte@sthelenastar.com.
