MADERA COUNTY – The last in a trio of men convicted of kidnapping 26 school children and their bus driver near Chowchilla in 1976 will appear before the California Parole Board on Nov. 19. Frederick Woods, along with his two conspirators Richard and James Schoenfield, pleaded guilty to the crime in Alameda County Superior Court in 1977, and were all ...

CENTRAL CALIFORNIA – The Sierra National Forest, Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument, and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are announcing today the 100 percent containment of the Rough Fire. For nearly three months the Rough Fire has burned in some of the most rugged terrain in North America. Started by a lightning strike on July 31, ...

CLOVIS – The Bass Lake Ranger District, Sierra National Forest, is preparing to implement the fall/winter burning program, says Acting District Ranger Denise Tolmie. Projects will consist of two activities: pile burning and broadcast burning. “The objective of burning is to reintroduce low intensity fire to the ecosystem,” said Tolmie. “Prior to European settlement, lightning and Native Americans provided ignition ...

COARSEGOLD – The victim of a single-vehicle accident that occurred just after 1 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 2, has been identified as 40-year-old Ramon Castillo, of Fresno. Castillo was driving a Rockstar delivery truck southbound on Highway 41 just south of Road 416, when he drove off the right side of the road, rolling several times down a steep embankment. ...

COARSEGOLD – Emergency personnel and investigators responded to the scene of a fatal accident on Highway 41 just south of Road 416, near the bottom of the passing lane, just after 1 p.m. this afternoon. A 2011 Kenworth commercial vehicle was southbound on Highway 41 when, for unknown reasons, the truck left the roadway on the west side of the ...

CLOVIS – The U.S. Forest Service will waive fees at some of its day-use recreation sites on Wednesday, Nov. 11, in honor of Veteran’s Day. The fee waiver program is in cooperation with other federal land management agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Fees are waived generally for day-use areas, such as picnic grounds, developed trailheads and destination ...

MADERA – The woman who caused a wreck in which four people were injured, and that blocked Highway 41 over Deadwood on Sept. 28, has been charged with felony DUI. Today in Madera Superior Court, charges were filed against Sherry Lynn Abraugh-Getchell, 40, of Oakhurst. Abraugh-Getchell was charged with one felony count of Vehicle Code Section 23153(a), one felony count ...

COARSEGOLD – A single-vehicle rollover accident on Highway 41 slowed the afternoon commute south of Coarsegold today, at about 2:40 p.m. Aaron Hall, 27, of Fresno was southbound just past Fast Tire, about two miles north of Road 417 when, for unknown reasons, he allowed his 2006 PT Cruiser to drift off the right side of the road and up ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park has lifted the fire restrictions in the park. The onset of cooler temperatures and the recent rainfall have reduced fire danger. Campfires are once again permitted in the Yosemite Wilderness below 6,000 feet in elevation. The fire restrictions were implemented in July after continued hot and dry weather conditions resulted in very high fire danger. ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – The Bass Lake Ranger District welcomes Denise Tolmie, Forest Fuels Officer /Fire Planner as their new acting District Ranger. Tolmie has worked for the US Forest Service since 1985 and has worked on the Sierra National Forest since 2001. Her qualifications include an Associate of Science Degree in Forestry, Technical Fire Management, and upper division Natural ...