SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – Due to favorable weather conditions the Sierra National Forest has terminated Forest Order No 05-15-06, dated June 30, 2015 which eliminated campfires. Visitors are now permitted to have campfires using wood and charcoal in all campgrounds in the Sierra National Forest. They will be permitted to have a campfire outside of designated campgrounds when they are ...

NORTH FORK – A medical emergency on Road 221 on Saturday morning resulted in a bicyclist being airlifted to St. Agnes hospital, but ended with what has been described by the family as a miracle. Mike Nolen, 61, of North Fork was riding his bike about a half-mile north of the Bass Fork Minit Market when he lost consciousness. Passerby ...

OAKHURST – At about 4 a.m. on Sunday morning, Oct. 18, Madera County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the Grocery Outlet in Oakhurst for reports of a burglary. Upon arrival, deputies discovered that the front door had been forced open, the alarm system and video surveillance system had been disabled, and that two safes had been removed from the office. ...

NORTH FORK – Emergency personnel responded to reports of bicyclist struck by a vehicle on Road 221 this morning near Bass Fork Minit Market. The call came in at 8:45 a.m., and upon arriving at scene, Cal Fire Engine 4255 and Madera County Station 11 firefighters found a man who had apparently suffered some sort of medical episode while riding ...

OAKHURST – An Oakhurst man was arrested last night when he reportedly tried to make off with a backhoe that was part of a Cal Trans project on Highway 41. At 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 15, a concerned citizen reported to 911 that someone was driving away on a piece of equipment from a Cal Trans work site just ...

OAKHURST – Motorists are experiencing delays just south of Oakhurst over Deadwood as Cal Trans conducts repair work on Highway 41. According to Cal Trans, after several years of much needed road work, they will be conducting repair operations today (Thursday, Oct. 15), tomorrow, Monday and possibly Tuesday, if needed, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  One-way ...

NORTH FORK – A single-vehicle rollover on Road 200 blocked traffic for over two hours last night near the Fine Gold Creek bridge west of North Fork. Just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13, a Ford pickup pulling a trailer was traveling westbound on Road 200 just west of the bridge, at what was described by CHP as “an ...

MADERA COUNTY – Sheriff Varney today announced a reorganization of administrative duties within the Madera County Sheriff’s Office command staff. The formation of a Professional Standards Division is one of the significant changes in the reorganization. This unit will be overseen by Lieutenant Darin McMechan and will be responsible for departmental training, the personnel selection process, and Internal Affairs investigations. ...

NORTH FORK  – Fresno County is hosting a public workshop to discuss the Italian Bar Road Bridge Replacement Project. The bridge connects Madera and Fresno Counties over the San Joaquin River just north of Redinger Lake. An Open House is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 22, at the North Fork Elementary School cafeteria, from 6 to 8 p.m. There will be ...

CLOVIS – The Fresno County and Madera County Resource Advisory Committees (RAC) are seeking applications from interested citizens who would like to join a committee to provide guidance for federal dollars to be used in each of the two counties. President Clinton signed into law the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000. This Act was designed ...