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SACRAMENTO – As motorcycle fatalities and injuries have increased in California, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) have stepped up their efforts to promote safety and education, highlighted by Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month in May. In 2013, motorcycle collisions resulted in 475 fatalities and 13,143 injured victims. In 2012, 467 people were killed and 12,617 ...

OAKHURST – The community and all interested stakeholders are invited to a public meeting on the bark beetle infestation in our forests and foothills, on Saturday May 30, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Oakhurst Elementary School Auditorium. This meeting is hosted in partnership with Cal Fire and District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler’s office.

COUNTY – Temperatures are expected to drop later this week as a cold storm system moves into the area, bringing winter-like weather to the higher elevations and the welcome possibility of rain to the foothills. According to the U.S. National Weather Service in Hanford, the weather will turn on Thursday and Friday, May 7 – 8, especially affecting elevations above ...

AHWANHEE – Just as firefighters were mopping up an escaped burn fire in the North Fork area, another one got away just north of Ahwahnee. The Ahwahnee incident was located on Crooks Mountain Road, and though it was stopped at one-eighth of an acre, it serves as yet another crucial reminder of the dangerous fire conditions in the mountain area, ...

NORTH FORK – An escaped burn pile off Road 224 (Bonnie B Road) quickly spread through the dry grass, bolstered by breezy conditions, and destroyed one structure before firefighters got it under control. Just after 1 p.m. on Monday, May 4, dispatch received a report of a vegetation fire, but when firefighters arrived they found one outbuilding fully involved.

CALIFORNIA – As drought conditions continue to significantly elevate California’s fire danger, Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. has declared May 3-9, 2015 as “Wildfire Awareness Week”. During Wildfire Awareness Week, CAL FIRE is reminding all Californians of the role they play in preparing for and preventing wildfires. “With a record dry and warm winter Californian’s fire activity has been nearly ...

MOUNTAIN AREA – The Coarsegold-based motorcycle club Sierra Shadow Casters (SSC) is hosting a “poker run” for critically injured Capt. Pete Dern of the Fresno Fire Department on Saturday, June 6. The 75-mile Sierra Moonshine Poker Run is expected to garner hundreds of riders from the Valley and Mountain Area. Riders will leave the Woodward area in North Fresno and ...

MADERA – The Madera County Tax Collector-Treasurer, Tracy Kennedy Desmond, has announced that her office will be conducting an online tax defaulted property auction using the company Bid4Assets. Starting on Saturday, May 16, Bid4Assets will officially open an online tax defaulted sale for the County of Madera, which will span four days with bidding available 24 hours per day. Potential ...

COUNTY – Great news moving forward in Exchequer Mountain Bike Park’s quest for a $100,000 grant from Bell Helmets to build an extreme downhill mountain bike trail: out of three contenders in their division, Exchequer is officially the West Coast Finalist and will now compete nationally for the grand prize award.