Sierra News Online News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

News from the communities in and around Yosemite National Park

MADERA — County health officials on Monday reported three new confirmed local cases of COVID-19 — with all three of those individuals currently in home isolation. Monday’s new cases bring the total number of coronavirus cases in Madera County since the start of the pandemic to 21. The three new cases involve a man in his 70s, a woman in ...

YOSEMITE — Due to the Shelter-in-Place order issued by Governor Newsom, California’s food banks have experienced an increase in demand and a shortage of volunteers. The California Association of Food Banks, which represents 41 food banks, has estimated that food banks across the state will need $116 million for additional emergency food to satisfy the growing need because of the ...

SACRAMENTO –California’s Department of Motor Vehicles announced late Thursday (March 26) it will be temporarily closing all of its field offices across the state today in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. All in-office appointments are being canceled for now, and customers are asked to check the DMV’s website for future appointment availability. The DMV plans to shift their field ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — The U.S. Forest Service is closing campgrounds and “developed recreation facilities” on National Forest lands statewide, according to a press release issued Thursday by Forest Service officials. The move comes in response to the Governor’s recent shelter-in-place order and the state’s efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19. “The Sierra National Forest and California Land Management will ...

OAKHURST — This week the Eastern Madera County Rotary Club, the Mountain Area Youth Organization, The Manna House, the Soroptimist Club, The Elderberry House, Larry Smith and his crew from Custom Design Construction and the Madera County Board of Supervisors partnered with Madera County Food Bank Director Ryan McWheter and his team to have food both available for pickup — ...

MOUNTAIN AREA — The National Weather Service in Hanford has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Southern Sierra Nevada as a fast-moving weather system is poised to bring rain to the foothills and 4 to 8 inches of snow to elevations as low as 4,000 feet. The NWS advisory is in effect from 3 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. ...

OAKHURST — From curbside marketplaces for restaurants to virtual wine tastings, Yosemite’s southern gateway businesses are adapting to meet the changing customer needs in a time when the public is doing its part with social distancing practices. Erna’s Elderberry House Restaurant at the Chateau du Sureau in Oakhurst wants to bring a comforting, nutritious meal to your kitchen. Chef Robert ...

COARSEGOLD — Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino will become an official food distribution center. The effort to temporarily re-purpose operations at the resort is meant “to help Madera County residents who find themselves in need,” resort officials announced Wednesday morning. The food pick-up site is located at the casino’s open-air porte cochere, located at 711 Lucky ...

BASS LAKE — It’s no secret the hospitality industry has been hit extremely hard by the COVID-19 crisis. Direct health concerns as well strict restrictions and directives from health officials, including social distancing, sheltering in place and closing the area’s main attraction – Yosemite National Park — has resulted in a significant drop in all tourism-related business. In just the ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES — Real estate prices in and around eastern Madera County have continued their slow but steady climb over the past decade, according to Ed Bailey of Ed Bailey Realty in Oakhurst. Between 2010 and 2019, the overall gain in the median price of an area home rose 43 percent, Bailey reported this week. The price tag on properties ...