It was announced that Susanville would be one of the stops on a proposed extension of the Great Northern Railroad. The new route would connect Butte, Mont. through Boise, Idaho to San Francisco. It was reported many residents had long awaited the decision and coupled with the government’s proposed enlargement of the post office, businesses were anticipating an increase in revenue.

65 years ago

Sparks from a burner lit a four-alarm blaze that swept through the dry lumberyard of the Red River Lumber Company’s Old Cedar Mill. Only a fraction of the destroyed lumber was insured against damages, which hit the six-figure mark. Fire crews from Westwood and Susanville helped fight the fire, which took two days to extinguish.

40 years ago

The biggest tax increase in California’s history took effect under Governor Ronald Reagan’s bill to raise $900 million per year. The increase was targeted to balance the state’s budget by raising the sales tax to five cents per dollar and inflating the cigarette tax.

30 years ago

A Westwood-bound tanker truck overturned and spilled an estimated 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Deer Creek. The tractor’s trailer tipped over while rounding a curve five miles east of Chester.

Department of Fish and Game officials said the spill had immediately caused harmful effects to the creek’s fish and more problems were expected to surface in the future.

25 years ago

The Susanville Little League Majors won its third straight District 48 title by defeating Burney 30-3.

20 years ago

Local rider Patty Reuck emerged from a field of more than 1,100 entries as one of the top winners in the Honey Lake Valley Riders Summer Quarter Horse Show.

Reuck, of Susanville, won classes in showmanship, hunt seat equitation and western horsemanship in the Novice Amateur division.

Her months of preparation with her young horse, I’m A Ramblin’ Dude, brought her great satisfaction from their first local show.

11 years ago

Dry conditions and a 20-mile per hour wind spurred an Antelope Lake lighting strike into a 3,560-acre blaze Thursday, July 26.

As of July 30, costs on the Stream Incident are estimated at $3.7 million.

Also in the news, the nearly $68 million Lassen County budget for 2001-2002 calls for deficit spending of almost $700,000 while it places most assistant department heads in higher salary ranges.

Supervisor Everd McCain said the county should be reducing salaries instead of paying some mid-level managers more to equalize the salaries of those with similar responsibilities.

Six years ago

A dangerous heat wave with record-breaking temperatures in California and other parts of the Western United States continued to tax the electricity system to the limits of capacity for more than two weeks with only a few days relief in sight.

The demand for electricity reached a level the California Independent System Operator had not projected until the year 2011.

On Thursday, July 20 the CISO expected a peak demand of 45,431 megawatts and on Monday, July 24, the system operator expected the demand to reach 52,000 megawatts.

The excess demand has caused a number of localized outages, fires and heat-related casualties.

One year ago

The Treasure Hunters Roadshow, on a worldwide treasure hunt, came through for five days from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2 through Friday, Aug. 5 and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. During this free event, the treasure hunters saw over 1,200 residents bringing in their rare and unusual collectibles. Locals had a chance to talk to world-renowned antique and collectible experts.

Recent finds included a 1960s vintage guitar purchased for $100,000. Four gold coins were purchased from a local resident for over $72,000. Confederate money hidden in the walls of a residence was uncovered during a remodel. An Abraham Lincoln hand-written thank you letter expressing gratitude for a night’s stay while traveling to Chicago was discovered.