OAKHURST — There are still a few spots open for the Reforestation Workshop, available to private forest land owners and foresters on Thursday, Apr. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Oakhurst Community Library. Cal Fire, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and UC Extension, in partnership with Madera County District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler’s office, will be hosting ...

MADERA COUNTY — Sheriff Jay Varney will have the honor of hosting Madera County’s 10th Annual Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony on May 9, at Courthouse Park. Representatives from law enforcement agencies throughout Madera County will attend to honor fallen peace officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. The Madera County Sheriff’s Office invites the citizens ...

CLOVIS – The Sierra National Forest (SNF), Bass Lake Ranger District, Fuels and Fire Management staff are planning to ignite a prescribed burn on the Source Kinsman Fuels Project on Saturday, April 22. Using the advantage of favorable weather conditions, SNF says extra fire personnel and equipment will be committed to the project until the treatment is extinguished as burn ...

CENTRAL SIERRA —  Recent rains have been a welcome sight to drought parched California, but the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) firefighters are not letting their guard down. Cal Fire’s Defensible Space Inspectors (DSI) will be visiting homes within the State Responsibility Area (SRA) to enforce the Defensible Space code, Public Resource Code (PRC) 4291. It requires ...

YOSEMITE – A new National Park Service (NPS) report shows that 5,028,868 visitors to Yosemite National Park in 2016 spent $520,629,100 in communities near the park. That spending supported 7,883 jobs in the local area and had a cumulative benefit to the local economy of $686,339,500. “Yosemite National Park welcomes visitors from across the country and around the world,” said ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — The Mariposa County Fire Safe Council (MCFSC) is excited to offer a new tree mortality assistance program to qualified Mariposa County residents. This program will improve the fire safety of senior citizen, disabled, or financially-disadvantaged households who are unable to afford the costs associated with removing hazardous trees that directly threaten their primary home. The program will ...

BASS LAKE — The first murder trial to take place at the Bass Lake courthouse in several years was delayed today due to a lack of jurors. Jury selection began yesterday in Bass Lake Superior Court in the murder and attempted murder trial of George Taylor-Windsor, 26, who moved to California recently from Wyoming. He faces 30 years to life ...

YOSEMITE — Yosemite National Park reports that progress continues to be made on repairs to the Big Oak Flat Road (Highway 120). In early April, road crews dug down 65 feet to the bottom of an underground spring that caused soils to erode. The slope has been stabilized and soil and rock have been brought into the park to rebuild ...

NORTH FORK – A determined couple and a lot of help from social media helped track down a stolen vehicle and put two suspects behind bars last Friday. When Chad Williams drove over to his shop on Wilcox Drive at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning, Apr. 14, he was just planning to get ready for a trip up to ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Monday, Apr. 10 to Sunday, Apr. 16, 2017: North Fork warrant citation On Monday, Apr. 10 at 9:34 a.m. a deputy contacted a male subject in the 32000 block of Road 222 who was cited and released for an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. Case ...