BASS LAKE — Motorists on Road 274 could experience 20-30 minute delays for the next several months as crews conduct the largest tree mortality mitigation operation in the county’s history. Beginning Monday, June 3 and continuing through Aug. 1, some 5,600 dead or dying trees will be cut down and removed along Road 274, which borders Bass Lake’s scenic north ...

MADERA COUNTY — Sheriff Jay Varney and the Madera County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) hosted a swearing-in ceremony on Thursday, May 30, to formally recognize recent new hires within the department. Sheriff Varney welcomed communications dispatcher Kayla Boyd and deputies David Ochoa, Andre Pena, Michael Lewis and Johnathan Rodriguez. Communications Dispatcher Kayla Boyd was most recently employed by California Department of ...

BASS LAKE — Starting Monday, June 3, drivers on a popular lakeside road will need extra time in their travel schedules as crews work to keep the roadside safe from the hazard of falling trees along the north shore of Bass Lake. Using State Disaster Funding, the Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Service (Sheriff’s OES) and United States Forest Service (USFS) ...

MADERA — County officials provided updates this week on two pending, major road construction projects — replacement of the Fine Gold Bridge near North Fork and construction of the new Oakhurst ‘connector’ road between Yosemite High School and Highway 41. Fine Gold Creek Bridge The plan to replace the aging Fine Gold Creek bridge on Road 200 near North Fork ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – Caltrans has announced the completion of a project that created more than 35 miles of center and shoulder rumble strips on Highway 49 in Mariposa and Tuolumne counties. Rumble strips are used to increase the safety of the roadway and reduce the likelihood of offroad collisions, head-on collisions and other incidents, according to Caltrans. Rumble strips alert ...

MADERA COUNTY – Cal Fire crews are working along Highway 41 to prepare for a prescribed burn aimed at lowering the number of wildfires along the corridor. The prescribed burn will span approximately 11 miles along the east side of Highway 41 from the Friant canal (Mile Marker 6.95) just north of Avenue 15, to Road 200 (mile marker 17.91) ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – It has been over three weeks since Caltrans closed both lanes of Highway 49 in northern Mariposa County for repairs. The closure added up to one hour of additional travel time for some motorists wishing to reach the communities of Bear Valley, Coulterville, Greeley Hill and Mariposa. Today, Caltrans announced that it has completed repairs and opened ...

MADERA — Supervisors on Tuesday OK’d spending $1.86 million to purchase an office building in Oakhurst earmarked to become the County’s new satellite government center. If the deal stays on track, residents of Eastern Madera County’s mountain communities could be breezing in and out of the new facility as soon as this fall to pull permits, pay bills or drop ...

MADERA — A new master planned community an L.A. developer wants to build along Highway 41 took its first official step forward last week. On Tuesday, May 14, the Madera County Board of Supervisors OK’d an agreement that will allow a consultant working for the county to do an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the proposed 281-acre mixed-use project just ...

MADERA – The Madera County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously today to close two county fire stations and consolidate staff and equipment with others nearby. Madera County Fire Station 16 in Ahwahnee will be closed, as will Station 17 in O’Neals. Madera County Assistant Fire Chief Matt Watson told the board this morning that while “the concept of consolidation may ...