MADERA — What can a mountain area property owner do when a neighbor’s grass grows head high or a rusty old junker has been parked out front since the 1990s? Call the Madera County code enforcement department — or better yet, file a complaint online. Madera County receives hundreds of citizen-generated complaints a year, according to Joe Trujillo, the County’s ...

OAKHURST — The Mt. Bullion Fire Crew is conducting a weed abatement and fire-safety operation this week around the Oakhurst Community Center and Oakhurst Little League fields. The two-day (June 25-26) operation is being supervised by Captain Gordon Dulcich. During Tuesday’s cleanup at the OCC, the fire crew was called away twice. “They had to drop all of their weed ...

MADERA COUNTY — Cal Fire conducted a relatively rare live-fire training course Saturday and Sunday in Chowchilla. Participants in the weekend class — called State Fire Marshal Fire Control 3A — came from the Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU) and included individuals from Madera County Fire, Madera City Fire, Mariposa County Fire, Merced County Fire, Atwater City Fire, California Department ...

NORTH FORK — Several fires in the last few years, including the Courtney Fire (2014), Railroad Fire (2017), and Mission Fire (2017), posed significant risks to public health and safety and destroyed homes and infrastructure. In many cases, defensible space and thinned areas made the difference in preventing further high severity fire and economic loss. The Madera Strategic Wildfire Mitigation ...

OAKHURST — “We have a lot of people working in this area and really want to be involved in the community,” says Chriso Lee, director of operations for ArborWorks Inc., a tree care company that in just the past few years has become one of the area’s largest employers. Every day, the company sends dozens of crews out around the ...

OAKHURST — Area residents looking for ways to “harden” their homes and prepare for fire season got some tips on Saturday, June 15 at Oakhurst Elementary when Madera County officials, in partnership with other area public safety agencies, hosted a wildland fire safety workshop. “Go home and put on your firefighter hat and take a good look around your home ...

MADERA — The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU) has announced effective 8 a.m. Friday, May 31, hazard reduction burning in Eastern Madera County is restricted below 2,000 feet in elevation. Hazard reduction burning above 2,000 feet is allowed with a valid permit from San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Burn permits may ...

SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) meteorologists are forecasting that spring storms will impact its service area today and Thursday. PG&E meteorologists forecast a late spring storm moving into the service area beginning this afternoon, and they urge customers to take the necessary steps to be prepared and stay safe. Moderate to heavy rain is forecast to ...

“A pattern can be called a pattern only if it has been applied to a real world solution at least three times,” according to the rule of three. The power of three is universal, representing body, mind and soul. From three piece suits to tricycles and BLTs, wonderful things come in threes. And, as it turns out, if you try something three times ...

COARSEGOLD — For the third time in 18 months, traveling on Highway 41 in Madera County, Jennifer Christensen desperately needed a fire extinguisher. Coming home from Community Regional Medical Center, where she’s a registered nurse in the Emergency Department, Jennifer spotted black smoke pouring from a vehicle parked at Black Hawk Lodge. She saw flames coming from the hood. Immediately, ...