YOSEMITE – The Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that residents of Old El Portal will be able to begin re-entering their homes at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, July 29. Residents will need to check in at the Community Hall prior to returning to their homes. Residents in the Foresta area are still under an active evacuation order.

EL PORTAL – Residents in the area of the El Portal fire are encouraged to attend a community briefing at 6 p.m. tonight – Monday, July 28 – at El Portal Elementary School. The current fire conditions will be presented. As of this morning, the fire is over 2,600 acres with 5% containment. Evacuations are still in effect. Over 700 ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – A fire near Rock Creek on the Sierra National Forest is now over 1,000 acres and is quickly burning through the steep and rough terrain on the west side of the San Joaquin River Canyon. The “French Fire” is on the Bass Lake Ranger District on the east side of Forest Service Road 81 between Rock ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – A fire near Rock Creek campground in the Sierra National Forest is limiting access to the Minarets/Mammoth Pool Road and displacing campers. About 100 acres have burned since the fire was reported about 6 a.m. this morning by the lookout at Shuteye Peak. The Incident Commander is reporting via radio that there is a potential for ...

YOSEMITE – The El Portal Fire has now grown to 2,632 acres as it continues to char forests in Yosemite National Park (YNP) and the Stanislaus National Forest. As of 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 27, there is still 0% containment, and 585 personnel from around the region continue to battle the blaze, along with air tankers and helicopters.

YOSEMITE – A wildfire burning near El Portal is threatening homes in the Foresta area, and has promted evacuations and road closures along Highway 140. The fire was reported at 3:19 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. It started just above Old El Portal near Foresta and burned very rapidly up Merced Canyon, consuming approximately 2,100 acres as of 9 p.m., ...

FISH CAMP – Create defensible space around your home with some help from the Mariposa Fire Safe Council. They are offering free chipping of brush, limbs and small trees that you have cleared from your property in creating 100 ft. of space around your home. Chipping dates for Fish Camp are Monday and Tuesday, July 7 and 8. The piles ...

MADERA COUNTY — Oakhurst and Coarsegold Firefighters Cal Fire Local 2881 will hold a “Fill-the-Boot” to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Central California Chapter. Firefighters will Fill the Boot Saturday, May 24, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Highway 41 & 49 intersection in Oakhurst, and and Highway 41 & Road 415 intersection in Coarsegold. ...

Recent Rain Not Enough to Combat Drought Conditions SACRAMENTO – Despite recent rain, California has not received enough rainfall to make up for this winter’s dry weather pattern and the third dry year in a row. As a result, continued drought conditions and wildfires have required Cal Fire to hire several dozen seasonal firefighters earlier than normal across the Central ...

Sally and I had headed over to the east side of the Sierras for a few days, spending some of that at Rock Creek, experiencing fall with chilly temperatures, some rain and those leaves were turning color. And we caught some fish!