COUNTY — The Madera County Sheriff’s Office just completed their second annual Explorer Academy with 32 Explorers participating, including candidates from the Madera County Fire Explorers, Fresno Sheriff Explorers, Madera Police Department Explorers, and Madera Sheriff Explorers. This four day academy is designed to provide a basic foundation for a career in law enforcement. With these graduates having completed the ...

YOSEMITE — Good news for travelers and others this evening, as the the El Portal Road (continuation of Highway 140) in Yosemite National Park will re-open at 6 p.m. today to all vehicular traffic. The road has been closed since the morning of Thursday,  Jan. 7, due to a rockfall that blocked access to Yosemite Valley via this popular route. ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park road crews have begun clearing debris caused by a rockfall at 5:45 a.m. Thursday morning, Jan., 7, that closed the El Portal Road (Highway 140) in Yosemite National Park. The work to clear the road could take several days. There is no anticipated day or time for the road to reopen. The rockfall triggered several ...

COARSEGOLD — A crash involving four vehicles blocked Highway 41 this morning just south of Yosemite Springs Parkway. At about 8:45 a.m., a 38-year-old Coarsegold woman was northbound on Highway 41 in a 2007 Toyota Prius, and had slowed to a stated speed of about 30 mph and signaled to turn left onto Road 207. According to CHP at the ...

MADERA COUNTY — Motorist have likely seen Caltrans crews out along Highway 41, most recently near Lucky Lane in Coarsegold, and may have experienced short delays due to the repair work. Recent storms have caused potholes to open up in the roadway, and crews are out working to do temporary repairs. According to Gloria Rodriguez, Public Information Officer for Caltrans ...

YOSEMITE – Highway 140 is closed from the Park boundary to the junction of El Portal Road/Big Oak Flat Road with no estimated time for reopening. At approximately 5:45 this morning, Thursday, Jan. 7, a rockfall occurred above the El Portal Road (Highway 140). Due to the rockfall, Highway 140 is closed from the park boundary in El Portal to ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY — Just after 3 a.m. this morning, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Dispatch Center received a 911 call reporting a structure fire in the Greeley Hill Area of Mariposa County. Mariposa County Fire Stations 24, 26 and 31 were dispatched along with Cal Fire to a two-story home, located in the 6700 block of Greeley Hill Road, ...

YOSEMITE — During the evening of Jan. 2, California Highway Patrol Helicopter 40 (H40) was requested by Yosemite National Park search and rescue personnel (YOSAR) to assist with a first-light hoist rescue of an injured person. The victim was 63-year-old Sue Hopley from Palo Alto, Calif., who was hiking the Nevada Falls trail. Due to ice formation on the granite, ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Dec. 27, 2015 through Jan. 3, 2016. Oakhurst runaway juvenile On Sunday, Dec. 27 at 00:19 a.m., a deputy flagged down by a citizen in the 45000 block of CA-41 regarding a runaway juvenile. Investigation concluded the juvenile had possibly left the Oakhurst ...

MADERA COUNTY — Tracy Kennedy, Madera County Treasurer-Tax Collector, reports that over $82 million in property tax payments were collected and posted from the Dec. 10 property tax deadline. “All payments were posted and balanced by Thursday, Dec. 17,” says Kennedy. “That’s amazing given that we had a new electronic posting system that we had to become familiar with, together ...