Not all adventures go as planned. You just never know what you will encounter. A smokey hike in the Mono and Parker Pass area, not fishing in Parker Pass Lake, looking for Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, checking out fall color, a reflective little pool of water, busy Clark’s Nutcatchers and a fire all played roles in this week’s adventure. Where: ...

CALIFORNIA – Oct. 2, 2020 – As nearly 17,000 firefighters continue to work towards containment on 23 major wildfires across the state, Red Flag conditions continue throughout the day in parts of California. Yesterday, crews also responded to 29 new wildfires, bringing full containment to all. Since the beginning of the year, there have been over 8,200 wildfires that have ...

OAKHURST — The 35th Elegant Auction benefitting the Oakhurst Community Park will be held online Oct. 4-17.  Due to COVID-19 they were forced to cancel their in-person event, however, the park is still in dire need of the community’s support. The auction will be offering many fabulous items. There will be over 100 items donated by local business and longtime supporters, ...

MADERA COUNTY –  The County of Madera and the Madera County Economic Development Commission (MCEDC) announced they are making significant changes to their Small Business Pandemic Assistance Grant Program to make it easier for more companies to qualify for the grant. The Coronavirus, Relief, Economic Security Act (CARES ACT) directed large sums of money to the Small Businesses Administration (SBA) ...

Op Ed – Written on Aug. 5, 2020 by Brittany Dyer This morning, I woke up in my North Fork home to the smoke alarm wailing. Smoke from our state’s nearly 400 known wildfires had blown in, thick enough to trigger the alarm. I wasn’t even surprised: this is just another symptom of “living with fire,” as is my evacuation ...

OAKHURST – Oct. 1, 2020 – ARTober in Oakhurst is a month-long celebration of the arts.  Visit Yosemite | Madera County will be hiding “Art the Bear” random days throughout Artober in a different business location around Oakhurst.  Go to Artober in Oakhurst’s Facebook (@ArtoberOakhurst) or Instagram (@ArtoberOakhurst) feeds for clues on where to find “Art the Bear”.  “Even though ...

MADERA COUNTY – Oct. 1, 2020 – The fire continues to be active in the north, within the Ansel Adams Wilderness, but is confined by natural barriers. On the northwestern edge crews completed a successful backfiring operation connecting and filling in the containment line yesterday. Fire fighters continue to secure this edge, mopping up and increasing the containment line depth. ...

MADERA COUNTY – A Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team was established by the Sierra National Forest to begin burned area assessment of the Creek Fire. The BAER team is being led by Forest Service Watershed Specialist Todd Ellsworth. The team is coordinating with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Weather Service (NWS), US Geological Survey ...

CALIFORNIA – Oct. 1 , 2020 – Full containment was announced on two of the largest lightning complexes that began in August.  The LNU Complex and the SCU Complex are 100% contained as of this morning.  As crews prepare for another round of Red Flag Warnings, over 17,000 firefighters remain on the lines of 24 major wildfires across the state. ...

Madera, CA – County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Martinez is announcing several early in-person voting opportunities for Madera County voters by utilizing a recently purchased state of the art Mobile Vote Center. The new vehicle offers multiple in-person early voting opportunities. “Voters have the right to vote in person if they want to,” stated Martinez.  “To help keep voters safe ...