MADERA COUNTY — Madera County Sheriff’s Deputy Valerie Breedlove is going above and beyond in providing aid to victims of the Detwiler Fire that destroyed 60 homes in Mariposa County. This morning, Deputy Breedlove put out the word to her fellow deputies and emergency personnel that she is working overtime in her agency’s cooperation with the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, ...

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA — Smoke from the Detwiler Fire in Mariposa County is expected to affect air quality in the central and southern San Joaquin Valley and the foothills throughout the weekend. High pressure will be building over the region this weekend with lighter winds and deteriorating dispersion conditions, and temperatures are forecast to reach about 106 degrees by Sunday Under ...

MADERA COUNTY — After less than three years behind bars, Kenneth Jackson, who was convicted in 2014 of setting dozens of fires in the Yosemite Lakes Park area, has been referred to the Board of Parole Hearings for a parole review. Jackson, now 44, of Coarsegold, was convicted on May 1, 2014, of 21 counts of arson and 1 count ...

MADERA COUNTY — When you buy a piece of property and plan to build a home, you may want to first put up a shop or storage building. Until now, that has been illegal in Madera County. On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 to amend Ordinance 18.04.015 to allow for the construction of one accessory structure on a ...

BASS LAKE — The woman accused in the death of North Fork resident Bonnie Hale was back in Bass Lake Superior Court today; her attorney asking for yet another continuance. Mary O’Keefe, 63, of North Fork, was arrested on Dec. 18, 2016, and charged with first degree murder after Hale was found deceased on the patio of her own home. ...

BASS LAKE — The man found guilty of murder and attempted murder in the stabbing of two people in Oakhurst last year was sentenced today in Bass Lake Superior Court. George Taylor-Windsor was sentenced to 25 years to life for first degree murder, and 14 years for attempted murder, to be served consecutively. Taylor-Windsor, 26, was found guilty on May ...

MADERA COUNTY — As technology makes it easier for private homeowners to advertise their properties as short-term rentals on such websites as Airbnb and Homeaway, some residents have raised concerns about having vacation rentals in their neighborhood. The County has therefore been addressing the language in the ordinance governing such activities in private homes, though County staff makes it clear ...

CENTRAL SIERRA – In light of the disastrous tree mortality, the profusion of vegetation (fuel!) after the winter rains, and the large number of fires already this season, it is imperative for all people who live or work in Madera and Mariposa Counties – especially those in the foothills – to register or update their information for emergency contact. Madera ...

MARIPOSA – After a wet winter, warming temperatures are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting Cal Fire to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of Madera, Mariposa and Merced Counties. ...

MADERA COUNTY — After the floor of the sleeping quarters at Madera County Fire Station 3 collapsed under the bed of a firefighter last Saturday night, officials have closed down the building, and are exploring options to build a new station. The deplorable state of the trailer used to house the firefighters who man Station 3 is nothing new, and ...