NORTHERN HEMISPHERE — Here we go! Summer officially kicks off at precisely at 3:07 a.m. PDT on Thursday, June 21, with solstice, marking the point during the year when the sun takes its most northerly path across the sky. Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, with the shortest night, and at noon your shadow will also be the shortest of ...

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, ...

NORTH FORK – Firefighters made quick work of a fire on Road 225 this morning, working around the dangerous power lines that reportedly sparked the blaze. Just before 10 a.m. reports came in of a fire in the 59000 block of Road 225. There was at least one structure immediately threatened. The first unit at scene was Sierra National Forest ...

MADERA COUNTY– Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally from Monday, June 4 to Sunday, June 10, 2018. Oakhurst missing juvenile On Monday, June 4 at 12:37 a.m. a deputy responded in regards to a runaway juvenile report. A report was written for documentation purposes and the juvenile was entered into the missing persons ...

NORTH FORK – Residents in the community of Cascadel Woods and Cascadel Heights are taking fire preparedness very seriously. Having been evacuated three times in the last three years when wildfire threatened, and with only one viable route leading down from mountain homes, more than a dozen residents armed themselves with weed whackers over the weekend and removed the fuel ...

NORTH FORK – An SUV parked in a driveway in the Teaford Lakes Meadow neighborhood was completely destroyed by fire in the early morning hours. Shortly after midnight, firefighters were called out to reports of a vehicle fire on Moic Drive. Ron Brix was just arriving home when the warning lights in his 2015 Subaru Forester came on and the ...

BASS LAKE – Two men charged in the robbery and beating of a 77-year-old woman and her disabled adult son in the Bass Lake Annex in November 2017 pleaded “no contest” today in Bass Lake Superior Court. Ray Coleman, 24, and Alvin McDonald III, 19, both of North Fork, accepted plea deals for their crimes, which took place on Nov. ...

OAKHURST — This is your chance to clean out that garage or shed, get rid of that broken TV, or dispose of paint and dangerous chemicals. Madera County is sponsoring a one-day hazardous waste disposal event on Saturday, June 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Yosemite High School, 50200 Road 427 in Oakhurst. None of the items listed below for ...

Riley’s pick for the Animal Compassion Team (ACT) foster and adoption Dog of the Week for SNO is a young Aussie named Mowgli. “Hi, my name is Mowgli and my foster mom says I’m an adorable boy. Good in the car and on leash, I love cuddles and to go for walks. I’m a gorgeous Australian Shepherd, about 60 pounds and ...

MADERA COUNTY – One hundred percent of the precincts have reported in Madera County and the votes have been counted. Here are the results: MADERA COUNTY OFFICIALS District Attorney David Linn                              22.29%     3,744 Paul Hornick                          33.29%     5,592 Sally Moreno                          44.34%     7,449 District 5 Supervisor H. Nokomis Hernandez           3.55%          257 Marc Sobel                             45.69%      3,308 ...