SAN FRANCISCO — With soaring temperatures in the next few days, California’s grid operator has called a statewide Flex Alert this week. PG&E is urging customers to conserve energy as triple-digit heat will impact much of the company’s service area. The California Independent System Operator (ISO) issued a Flex Alert, a call for voluntary electricity conservation, from 5 p.m. to ...

LEE VINING – **UPDATE 8:36 p.m. the highway has been reopened. Motorists are advised to watch for debris in the roadway.** Original post: As if travelers wishing to visit Yosemite National Park didn’t have enough to deal with, word has come in that Highway 120 – the Tioga Pass Road from the east entrance to five miles west of Lee ...

MARIPOSA  — The American Red Cross of the Central Valley has opened an evacuation center to further accommodate those affected by the Ferguson Fire, located at Yosemite Valley Elementary School, 9009 Lost Arrow, in Yosemite Valley. Evacuations have been ordered for Old El Portal, Yosemite View Lodge, Rancheria and Foresta communities. The following Red Cross locations are open to assist ...

When I look out my window and see poor air quality, the smoky haze is made more disheartening by bits of gray ash floating in the air before coming to rest on the ground. The oppressive heat adds insult to already injured lungs and makes moving through my day challenging. The stress of fire, drought and ashy-air is showing in ...

YOSEMITE — All visitors, employees and residents are invited to enjoy a morning in Yosemite National Park at an apple picking party. This is an annual event that was started as part of efforts to help reduce bear-human contact in the park, and to help keep Yosemite bears wild. The historic apple orchard near Curry Village produces apples which attract ...

OAKHURST — As part of his commitment to making communities safer, Madera County Vector Control District assistant biologist Trinidad Reyes will present a workshop at the Oakhurst Branch Library. The workshop is scheduled for Saturday, July 28 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Reyes will lead the workshop, with a presentation about the lifestyle and habitats of mosquitoes. The workshop will take place in ...

Submitted by Tony Misner — OAKHURST — Want to work hard, get dirty, and travel across the country in an exhilerating position that’s a meaningful career and not just a job? Here’s an opportunity to become a wildland firefighter — and the classes are free. Yosemite Adult School, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, will be offering two Wildland ...

MADERA COUNTY — Good news for those who were concerned about anticipated delays on Highway 41 and Highway 49 for the next several weeks — especially with the extended closure of Highway 140 near the El Portal entrance to Yosemite National Park, due to the Ferguson Fire. Caltrans has decided to postpone the previously scheduled paving project. Caltrans, in cooperation ...

I love to hike up the Mono Pass Trail. There is something about those views of Mono Pass, up Parker Pass and Kuna Crest that make me feel like I am on top of the world. But clouds make it extra special, casting shadows on those multi-colored mountains, changing the colors with every cloud. Where: Yosemite National Park Distance: 10.22 ...

YOSEMITE – Three Yosemite National Park employees were honored on July 4th by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke at the 73rd Honor Award Convocation Ceremony in Washington, D.C. Park Ranger Jesse McGahey, Park Ranger Philip N. Johnson, and Firefighter/Paramedic Nick Bliss received the Valor Award of the Department of the Interior for heroic actions, courage, and professionalism exhibited in ...