MARIPOSA – Effective Friday, June 1, at 8 a.m., the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit will suspended all burning below the 4,000 foot elevation in Madera and Mariposa County. Open burning is allowed above the 4,000 elevation with valid permits only. Residents need to contact the burn day information line, in their county, prior ...

SACRAMENTO  – Cal Fire investigators have determined the cause of four wildfires in Northern California last October that destroyed hundreds of homes and charred thousands of acres. “After extensive and thorough investigations, investigators have determined that four wildfires in last year’s October Fire Siege were caused by trees coming into contact with power lines,” said Cal Fire in a statement ...

SACRAMENTO – Despite most of California experiencing mild weather conditions heading into the holiday weekend, this is not the time to let your guard down when it comes to wildfires. Since Jan. 1, Cal Fire has responded to over 1,200 wildfires that have burned nearly 8,000 acres, and crews are still working on the Experimental Fire, that burned nearly 60 ...

O’NEALS – Crews are on scene of a fire reported in the area east of Highway 41 on the San Joaquin Experimental Range south of Road 200. A full wildland dispatch was called up at 2:43 p.m., including Air Attack out of Fresno, and one air tanker, and a helicopter out of Columbia. The fire is located about 3 miles ...

O’NEALS – Crews are at scene of several vegetation fires near the Rocky Cut on Highway 41, south of Road 200. Southbound traffic is being diverted onto Road 200, and northbound is being allowed through but is reduced to one lane (see detour map below). UPDATE: at 9:30 a.m., both directions were open with one-lane traffic control in place, and ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – Crews are on scene of a vegetation fire north of Highway 140 in the Catheys Valley area of Mariposa County. Just after 5 p.m., a small fire was reported in the 3800 block of Highway 49 in the Bootjack area. However, that fire was reportedly put out by locals, and engines en route spotted a smoke off ...

HENSLEY LAKE – Firefighters are on scene of a roadside vegetation fire just south of Hensley Lake on Road 400. Just before 12:30 p.m., reports came in of a fire burning along Road 400 near Road 406. A full wildland dispatch was called out, including aircraft out of Hollister. The first unit at scene reported the fire at about 4 ...

EASTMAN LAKE – Wildland firefighting in an inherently dangerous job. While the risk of injury is apparent, what has not been studied and addressed to any significant degree is the incredible stress to the body, and the exposure to cancer-causing substances in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI). New technology is changing that. “We know that the number one killer of ...

MARIPOSA – Effective Thursday, May 17, at 8 a.m., the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit will suspended all burning below the 2,000 foot elevation in Madera and Mariposa County. Open burning is allowed above the 2,000 elevation with valid permits only. Permits are free of charge and available at any Cal Fire station. Residents ...

MARIPOSA – Smoke will be visible this week as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) conducts a live fire training exercise at Eastman Lake. The training is in cooperation with Madera County Fire and Army Corp of Engineers, and will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 15 and 16. If conditions are conducive, approximately 180 ...