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 ...

OAKHURST – An Oakhurst woman was arrested for Driving Under the Influence after a head-on collision on Highway 41 yesterday morning in which four people were injured, according to the CHP. Sherry Lynn Abraugh Getchell, 40, crashed head-on into Debra Essary, of Coarsegold, just after 7 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, about two miles south of Oakhurst. She was reportedly ...

COARSEGOLD – A man taken into custody after being pulled over by a CHP officer in Yosemite Lakes Park earlier today is not Jason Derek Brown, according to the CHP. The man was pulled over when his vehicle was spotted in the area, and matched the description of a car that was reportedly being driven by Brown, who is wanted ...

OAKHURST – A CHP officer has taken a man into custody who fits the description of Jason Derek Brown, who is wanted for murder and armed robbery, and is on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list. At 12:09 p.m. an Oakhurst Area CHP officer spotted a vehicle that fit the description of a 1996 Nissan Maxima reported on a “Be ...

OAKHURST – A man reported missing this morning has been found according to the Madera County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff and Madera County Search and Rescue asked for the public’s help earlier today in locating Donald MacAlpine, 83, who was last seen on Friday at his residence off of Road 426. Family members became alarmed when they arrived to check ...

OAKHURST – A head-on collision snarled traffic over Deadwood this morning and sent several people to the hospital, one with serious injuries. Just after 7 a.m., Sherry Lynn Abraugh Getchell, 40, of Oakhurst was southbound on Highway 41 just north of Road 425B near the top of Deadwood in a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer. According to CHP, she was driving in ...

MADERA COUNTY – A man who collided with a cow on Highway 41 last night was subsequently taken into custody for Driving Under the Influence. Just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 27, William Cox, 35, of Fresno, was southbound on Highway 41 just south of Road 207, in a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer, when he struck a black cow that ...

MADERA COUNTY – The two Coarsegold teens charged with starting the Sundance Fire, that burned 13 acres along Road 420 on Sept. 13, appeared in court on Wednesday for a detention hearing. Both boys, ages 13 and 14, were ordered to be placed under strict house arrest with electronic monitoring, are only allowed to go to and from school under ...