SACRAMENTO – Being Ready for Wildfire has never been easier with Cal Fire’s new Ready for Wildfire app. This new tool puts a whole library of step-by-step checklists in the palm of the user’s hand. It allows homeowners to track their progress while creating Defensible Space, hardening their homes with fire-resistant construction, assembling an emergency supply kit and creating a ...

COARSEGOLD — A Coarsegold resident was found deceased inside his vehicle last night, after being reported missing by his family the day before. Dr. Bradley Wayne Hufft, 59, was last seen on Wednesday afternoon, Apr 12. On Thursday, his family filed a missing persons report with the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. Shortly after 10 p.m. last night, first responders were ...

OAKHURST/MARIPOSA — When thousands of people were suddenly unable to connect to the internet this past week, phones began ringing at Sierra Tel — the local internet provider hit with a malicious hack of one brand of modems. The service interruptions reportedly began as early as last Friday evening for some, and Sierra Tel became aware of the problem on ...

NORTH FORK — The Sierra National Forest (SNF) is proposing to replace an existing toilet building located in the Granite Creek Campground on the Bass Lake Ranger District (BLRD). The existing toilet building is currently not functioning to standard due to deterioration, and is the only toilet facility available for the upper and lower level of the campground. In recognition ...

COARSEGOLD — For nearly a month now, one local man has been concerned about conditions in Coarsegold Creek. Knowing that heavy rains this winter and spring may have caused some septic systems to be overwhelmed, he wants to spread the word that the creek may be contaminated, and people nearby may want to check their septic systems and possibly avoid the creek ...

AHWAHNEE — Highway 49 was temporarily closed again today, after a collision resulted in downed lines blocking both sides of the road. This is the third closure of Highway 49 in the last week due to truck accidents. At approximately 12:20 today, CHP received a report of unknown types of lines blocking both lanes of the roadway following a solo-vehicle accident in ...

OAKHURST — Sierra Tel has announced that malicious hacking appears to have been at the root of problems experienced by internet customers over the last two days. “We are aware of a malicious hacking event that started yesterday, Apr. 10, which has affected and in many cases temporarily disabled modems in many Sierra Tel customers’ homes,” say company officials. “We ...

BASS LAKE — Last week, the County of Madera hosted its two-day Management Workshop in Bass Lake, Calif., which was titled, “United into the Future.” The annual workshop, held this year on Apr. 5 and 6, gives County staff a chance to share the challenges and successes of the past year, and plan the way forward in providing better service ...

OAKHURST — Sierra Tel is offering up pizza and cookies as part of their customer service plan today, after more than 30 hours of interrupted internet for some customers. Many residents began to experience technical problems with internet connections on Monday morning, Apr. 10, and the number of people having difficulties grew throughout the day. “We are currently experiencing an issue that could ...

AHWAHNEE — At approximately 9:30 on Monday, Apr. 10, authorities responded to reports of a logging truck accident in the Ahwahnee area, according to CHP. One-way traffic control remains in place on Tuesday morning as the situation involves clean-up of hazardous materials. Upon arrival yesterday, first responders on scene found an open-top logging truck weighing between 50,000-60,000 pounds had left the roadway ...