CALIFORNIA – The USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, and the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) have coordinated with the Department of Defense for the deployment of approximately 200 soldiers plus command staff to help with wildfire suppression efforts in Northern California. The soldiers are due to arrive early this week from the 14th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Stryker Brigade ...

CALIFORNIA – Over 16,000 firefighters continue to battle 18 major fires and lightning complexes across California. Firefighters continue to make good progress with increased containment figures on all of the fires, and even full containment on two of the large wildfires. As progress is made, many of the evacuation orders have been lifted or downgraded. However, nearly 40,000 people remain ...

MADERA – Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is reporting 109 new cases for the week ending Aug. 31, 2020 bringing the total cases to 3,783. According to the MCDPH dashboard there are 533 active cases including 22 Madera County residents hospitalized in Madera County, with 3,196 recovered and 54 deceased to date. Reporting area D which includes the ...

North Fork, CA – The California Supreme Court has ruled that former Governor Jerry Brown acted within his authority when he concurred in a pair of federal decisions in 2011 that led to the approval of two so-called “off-reservation” tribal gaming projects in Madera and Yuba counties. In United Auburn Indian Community v. Newsom, the Court determined that the Governor ...

OAKHURST – Previously known as Yosemite Gateway Gallery Row, this summer, a group of artists and visionaries have rechristened the collection of galleries as Yosemite Gateway Art Center. The galleries, located along the Southern Yosemite Highway in the mountain town of Oakhurst, have been a prominent destination for decades. Now, Yosemite National Park visitors, Bass Lake revilers and residents alike, have a new cultural ...

I am sure that by now, you know how much I love hiking the Tioga Pass area with my fishing pole. I headed up Yosemite’s Mono Pass Trail, a historic Native American trail, where there are also many lakes along and off this trail. Some lakes have names such as Sardine, Spillway, Helen, Kuna, Bingaman and Parker Pass Lakes and ...

CALIFORNIA – More than 15,800 firefighters are continuing to work towards containment on over two dozen major fires and lightning complexes, all while responding to hundreds of new emergencies and wildfires each day. In the past 24-hours there were over 10 lightning strikes in California, yet only one small fire was reported. A warming trend is likely over the next ...

SACRAMENTO –  Governor Newsom unveiled a new blueprint that allows a more gradual progression for loosening restrictions on activities. This new color coded, 4-tier system replaces the monitoring list and is for now, still based upon two key criteria: new cases and positivity rate. Counties such as Madera that are on the monitoring list begin in purple. Even at the ...

MADERA – Madera County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) is reporting 190 new cases for the week ending Aug. 28, 2020 bringing the total cases to 3,674. According to the MCDPH dashboard there are 362 active cases including 18 Madera County residents hospitalized in Madera County, with 2,994 recovered and 54 deceased to date. Reporting area D which includes the ...

CALIFORNIA – Cooler weather conditions continue to aid firefighters in their efforts towards containment, however, above 2,000 feet elevation, firefighters are still seeing low humidity throughout the night, which allows for increased fire activity  and creates additional challenges with containment efforts. More than 14,600 firefighters are battling over two dozen major fires and lightning complexes across California. In the past ...