NORTH FORK –Residents and visitors on the Bass Lake Ranger District may see smoke in the coming months as Sierra National Forest fire managers implement their 2018/2019 fall/winter/spring burning program. The projects will consist of two activities: pile burning and understory burning. These burn projects are widely dispersed throughout the Ranger District, with many located at the higher elevations. Some ...

NORTH FORK – Sierra National Forest Officials have announced the temporary seasonal closures for campgrounds and picnic areas along the Merced River, Highway 140 corridor. The locations scheduled for closure will include four picnic areas – McClendon Beach, Indian Flat, Red Bud, and Cranberry Launch – and two campgrounds – Dirt Flat and Dry Gulch. These locations are being closed ...

MARIPOSA – Mariposa County will host two post-Ferguson Fire community meetings over the next week. If you live in Mariposa, El Portal, Yosemite West, Foresta or any of the surrounding communities affected by the Ferguson Fire, you are invited to attend a community meeting to learn about the Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER) and interagency coordination that has taken place ...

VALLEJO — U.S. Forest Service investigators have determined the cause of the Ferguson Fire to be vehicle-related. Specifically, investigators believe superheated pieces of a catalytic converter came into contact with dry, roadside vegetation, igniting the fire. The Ferguson Fire started on the evening of Friday, July 13, along eastbound Highway 140 near Savage Trading Post at 8:30 p.m. (South Fork ...

PRATHER – Residents in Eastern Madera County may see smoke from prescribed burning over the next few months as the High Sierra Ranger District implements their fall/winter prescribed burn program, set to be completed before the end of the year as cooler weather and moisture arrives across the area. Fire activity throughout the state and across the country has moderated, ...

AHWAHNEE – Another successful day on the fireline brings the containment of the Oak Fire to 50 percent. The estimated size is still holding at 390 acres. The fire started on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 3:44 p.m. off Lonesome Oak Road north of Road 620. At 2 p.m. today, evacuation orders were lifted for the communities of Cedarbrook and Timberloft. ...

AHWAHNEE – Firefighters made excellent progress today on the Oak Fire, burning northeast of Ahwahnee above Road 620. The fire was estimated at 390 acres at 1:30 p.m. today, and is holding at that acreage. The fire is 35 percent contained. The mission for the day was to hit the east flank hard with water drops and retardant between Road ...

NORTH FORK – A vehicle fire on Douglas Ranger Station Road spread into the vegetation, forcing the closure of the road this afternoon. At 5 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to reports of a truck on fire on Douglas Ranger Station near Trails End Road. Cal Fire, Sierra National Forest and Madera County Fire resources were dispatched, along with air tankers ...

NORTH FORK – The Redinger Fire, burning along Mammoth Pool Road (Forest Road 4S81) east of North Fork, is now 100 percent contained at 170 acres. Today, the Redinger Fire showed some activity, but no further gains in acreage. Fire crews finished securing the perimeter with handline and dozer line, using Forest Road 4S81 and natural features as as part ...

CLOVIS – Today marks the one-year anniversary of the Railroad Fire that burned last year on the Sierra National Forest (SNF) north of Oakhurst. The Railroad Fire, which began on Aug. 29, 2017, along Highway 41 between Sugar Pine and Fish Camp, threatened the communities in the area, closed down the highway for 11 days, and burned into the Historic ...