BASS LAKE – Keep Our Mountains Beautiful (KOMB) organizers plan to tidy up a long section of Bass Lake Road on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 8 a.m. to noon. The clean-up will take place from the intersection of Road 222 and Highway 41, all the way to the Pines Resort and possibly more, depending on the number of people who ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park and Ansel Adams Gallery announce the fifth annual Gateway Expressions Student Art and Poetry Contest. The Gateway Expressions Student Art and Poetry Contest celebrates the creativity of youth in Yosemite’s gateway communities, and is open to all students, grades K-12, who attend school or youth programs within the gateway community school districts of Yosemite National ...

YOSEMITE – The Tenaya Fire is now estimated at 455 acres with 25 percent containment. The fire began on the afternoon of Monday, Sept. 7, and is being suppressed. It is located along the Lehamite Creek Trail from the north rim of the Valley to the Tioga Road. The Incident Commander notes that fire activity has moderated today, as it ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST  – The Rough Fire has now grown to 110, 134 acres and remains the largest active fire in California. Containment has fallen from 31 to 29 percent as the fire perimeter grows. Heavy concentrations of smoke were present near the fire today, with increased impacts in the San Joaquin Valley foothills northwest of the fire. Unhealthy to ...

MADERA COUNTY – Madera County Master Gardeners will be hosting a Meet-and-Greet evening for anyone interested in becoming a Cooperative Extension Master Gardener. The program has annual training classes that provide participants instruction about important garden ing topics. After completing the training, Master Gardener volunteers perform 25 hours of community volunteer work and complete 12 hours of continuing education each ...

YOSEMITE – The Tenaya Fire, which is burning within the designated wilderness area of Yosemite National Park is now estimated at 431 acres with 10 percent containment. This wildfire began on Monday, Sept. 7, and was reported at approximately 9:30 p.m. The fire is being suppressed, and is very visible from all locations within the park. The fire spread rapidly ...

William Neill Sierra Art Trails 2015 Catalog #74 William Neill, an American photographer and resident of the Yosemite National Park area since 1977, is a renowned nature and landscape photographer. Neill’s award-winning photography has been widely published in books, magazines, calendars, posters, and his limited-edition prints have been collected and exhibited in museums and galleries nationally, including the Museum of ...

MADERA COUNTY – Following are details from the Madera County Sheriff’s Office of reports taken locally during the week of Monday, Aug. 31 through Sunday, Sept. 6, 2015. Oakhurst theft On Monday, Aug. 31 at 7:51 a.m. a deputy was dispatched to the 49000 block of Road 426 in Oakhurst regarding the theft of a bicycle. An investigation was conducted ...

By Scott Lange — This week we’ll depart San Francisco on a journey to capture the nighttime sky along the 211 mile John Muir Trail, which begins in Yosemite and terminates atop Mt. Whitney. Leaving just after Labor Day will hopefully make for a quieter, less traveled trail, as well as some great late-summertime weather. Range of Light: Night & ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST – The Rough Fire has grown to 85,894 acres with 31 percent containment and remains the largest active fire in California. Heavy concentrations of smoke are expected near the fire today. Smoke will be slow to lift, and light and variable transport winds are expected primarily from the south, with increased impacts expected in San Joaquin Valley ...