YOSEMITE — A meeting is scheduled for public input as officials in Yosemite National Park announce the opening of public scoping for the Big Oak Flat Visitor Contact Station and Emergency Services Facilities Project. This project will replace an aging contact station and restroom facility located near the Big Oak Flat Entrance to Yosemite National Park. The park is soliciting ...

MARIPOSA – Smoke will be visible this week as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) conducts a live fire training exercise at Eastman Lake. The training is in cooperation with Madera County Fire and Army Corp of Engineers, and will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 15 and 16. If conditions are conducive, approximately 180 ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – Did you know that not only can you obtain your campfire permit at any Forest Service Office, but you can also get a permit online? Campfire Permits are required for open fires, such as campfire, barbecues and portable stoves on federally controlled lands and private lands that are the property of another person. On private lands, ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park has announced that parking reservations will be required for all buses over 20 feet in length, including commercial tour buses, non-commercial buses, and mini-buses, to park and visit the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. The Mariposa Grove will reopen to the public on Friday, June 15, at 9 a.m. Bus reservations will be available beginning ...

NORTH FORK – Crews are on scene of a vegetation fire in Cascadel Woods, dealing with high winds and steep terrain. At about 9 p.m., reports came in of a tree into a house on Cascadel Drive, hitting a power line. As engines were responding to that scene, they saw a fire burning along Cascadel Road, the dirt road that ...

OAKHURST – A single-vehicle rollover crash brought traffic to a standstill on Highway 49 near Harmony Lane on Friday evening. At 10:11 p.m., a 24-year-old Mariposa man was southbound on Highway 49 when he allowed his 2003 Ford F250 to drift onto the right shoulder, causing him to over-correct and roll, according to CHP. The truck came to rest on ...

OAKHURST – Sierra National Forest (SNF) officials continue their spring prescribed burning program within the Bass Lake Ranger District. Using the advantage of favorable weather conditions, extra fire personnel and equipment will be committed to the project until the treatments are extinguished, as burn days permit. Projects will include understory burning in the months of May and early June. According ...

MADERA – Madera County residents will soon see an increase in the work to remove dead trees along county roads and near infrastructure. The Madera County Board of Supervisors has approved an agreement with Blue Ridge Services, Inc. for tree mortality operations management services. This agreement provides for an escalation in the county-wide effort to reduce risk to public infrastructure ...

SACRAMENTO – In effort to reduce the risk and damage from wildfires, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) today announced the availability of local fire prevention grant funding. The program is part of Cal Fire’s California Climate Investments (CCI) which will increase carbon storage and sequestration in forestlands through a variety of objectives including wildfire prevention. ...

MADERA – In celebration of the 125th Anniversary of Madera County, the Board of Supervisors will host their weekly board meeting on Tuesday, May 15, at the historic Madera County Courthouse located at 200 South G Street. In an effort to celebrate the County’s roots and growing future, a commemorative tree will be planted at Madera County Park, 210 W. ...