MOUNTAIN AREA — It’s looking wet and wild for the next couple of days, with a winter storm warning for the high country and flash flood warnings in the lower elevations. A Pacific storm system will make its way over central California on Thursday, Dec. 15 and stay through Friday, Dec. 16., according to the National Weather Service in Hanford. Rain ...

CENTRAL SIERRA — Bird lovers, photographers and anyone interested in the enjoying the variety of bird species in the Central Sierra are invited to join the National Audubon Society’s 117th Christmas Bird Count (CBC). The CBC is an annual international bird census that began on Christmas Day in 1900, and now takes place in more than 1,500 locations throughout the ...

O’NEALS — Over this last weekend the Minarets JV girls soccer team traveled to Riverdale for their pre-season JV tournament. This was the second annual tournament that Riverdale has put on. Last year, the JV Mustangs brought home second place after a devastating Championship game. This year, with a roster full of new talent, they were able to pull out ...

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — Maybe you’ll feel it even if you can’t see it. The third and final supermoon of the year will rise today, while the Geminids meteor shower peaks, tonight. Rain is expected for late Wednesday and overnight through Thursday, with heavy snow anticipated in the high country. Known as the Cold Moon, the December moon is full on ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — For many, this is a season of giving. In the dozen busy days leading up to Christmas on Sunday, Dec. 25, we invite readers to join in celebrating twelve local nonprofits and the people behind them who are making a difference. We start with a locally broadcast and internet streaming source of news and entertainment playing great music ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Monday, Dec. 5 to Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016: Oakhurst narcotics On Monday, Dec. 5 at 10:29 a.m. a deputy was dispatched to the 49000 block of Road 426 regarding a subject wearing a lime green shirt walking towards the college with a knife. The ...

NORTH FORK — An Oakhurst woman escaped serious injury after her vehicle crashed off the roadway this morning near North Fork. At about 11 a.m., the 45-year-old driver was eastbound on Road 223, entering the sharp curve just past Thornberry (Road 420) in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. She told CHP that another driver had encroached into her lane, and she ...

NORTH FORK — For the first time that Scoutmaster Dave Smith can remember, the North Fork Scout Christmas tree lot is sold out before the second weekend. “We sold the last two trees around 4:30 this afternoon,” says Dave. “We have run out of trees before but that was due to snow keeping us from getting our planned number.” Customers ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — The National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) wants to remind everyone that, as you deck the halls this holiday season, be fire smart. A small fire that spreads to a Christmas tree can grow large very quickly, they say. Here are some tips from the NFPA: Picking the tree: Choose a tree with fresh, green needles that do ...

NORTH FORK — A dead pine came down suddenly with a loud “crack!” falling within a fraction of a second, says one man who was close at hand when it happened. The tree landed straight across Road 224 near Road 200 in North Fork on Thursday afternoon, Dec. 8. That’s the bad news. The good news is that within about half-an-hour, the tree ...