NORTH FORK – Fire engines, squads, water tenders, ambulances and patrol units lined Road 222 yesterday as Battalion Chiefs, CHP officers, Sheriff’s deputies, Citizens of Patrol, Auxiliary members and firefighters from as far away as Chowchilla turned out to pay their respects to 43-year veteran of Madera County Fire Department Station 11, Frank Verduzco. The main street of North Fork ...

AHWAHNEE – Just as things were winding down at the North Fork Town Hall, where firefighters were honoring one of their own who passed away last week, they were called out to a vegetation fire on Road 600 near Road 810. At about 3:50 p.m., reports came in of a smoke southwest of Ahwahnee. First engine on scene reported the ...

NORTH FORK – A single vehicle accident on Road 222 just north of Manzanita Lake Drive ended with a medical airlift by SkyLife from the North Fork School for one of the involved parties. Just after 5 p.m., Martin Collazos was headed in to the North Fork Supermarket when he came upon a white Dodge pickup crashed into the bank ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office says the deputy shot during a traffic stop yesterday morning just south of Mariposa is listed in critical but stable condition at this hour. They report that he is able to respond to voice commands and make eye contact with visitors. Many Sheriff’s Office staff and family members have been with him ...

MADERA COUNTY – At 1:30 p.m today in Department 21 of the Madera County Superior Court, Michael Lee Lapschies was arraigned on eight felony counts of arson and one felony count of making criminal threats. Lapschies was arrested on Wednesday, Sept. 30, after a series of eight fires in the Bass Lake area. The first was reported just before 3 ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – Sheriff Doug Binnewies says the suspect who shot a Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputy this morning after a chase through town apparently wanted to be pulled over. In an interview with ABC30’s Gene Haagenson this evening, Sheriff Binnewies said it appears that Brian Ballasch was intentionally driving in an erratic manner and dangerously passed a marked deputy’s patrol ...

MADERA COUNTY – A suspect has been arrested in connection with a rash of fires in the Bass Lake area yesterday. According to Cal Fire, there were eight separate ignitions, with the first reported just before 3 p.m. on Road 222 near Pettitt Road. Crews responded to a second fire about 30 minutes later on Road 222 near Miller’s Landing, ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – A Mariposa County Sheriff’s deputy was shot this morning during a traffic stop, and has been airlifted to a Valley hospital. At approximately 6 a.m., sheriff deputies initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle due to erratic driving. A pursuit ensued on Highway 49 just south of the town of Mariposa. The suspect, Brian Ballasch, a 35-year-old ...

OAKHURST – Cal Fire has detained an unidentified individual for questioning in connection with a series of fires in the Bass Lake area today. Just before 3 p.m., firefighters responded to reports of a vegetation fire on Road 222 between the Mountain House and Bass Lake. Witnesses didn’t see the fire start, but report that several people were stopping and ...

MADERA COUNTY – With a lot of misinformation being bandied about concerning whether or not the Madera County Board of Supervisors voted to give themselves a raise, we contacted Chief Administrative Officer Eric Fleming and Director of Human Resources Adrienne Calip for clarification. On Jan. 13 of this year, CAO Fleming appeared before the Board to address the fact that ...