OAKHURST – The 42nd annual Cedar Valley Volunteer Fire Department Deep Pit BBQ is Saturday, Aug. 30, from 4:30 to 7:30. This is an important fundraiser for Cedar Valley’s Station 18. While their local area covers north to the Park, and south to Oakhurst, these firefighters and their equipment can be seen on incidents all over the mountains, wherever they ...

When I am hiking in the Tioga Pass area, I always look for those unique peaks that serve as landmarks and Mount Conness is one of those, but I have never been to its top. When a hiking buddy mentioned backpacking to it via Young Lakes, I jumped at the chance.

BASS LAKE – Save the date, as the Bass Lake Lions Club and Bass Lake Realty invite the community to join in on the 9th annual Bass Lake Home Tour, to benefit the Eastern Madera County SPCA. Several gracious families in the beautiful area have opened their homes for public viewing on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 ...

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act and the 30th Anniversary of the California Wilderness Act on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Special events will take place throughout the day in Yosemite Valley and are designed to honor and celebrate the signing of these two acts, engage the public to better understand and appreciate wilderness, ...

OAKHURST – On Aug. 14, the Board of Directors of destination marketing organization Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau named current Director of Marketing Rhonda Salisbury as the bureau’s Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Dan Cunning in that position. The change becomes official on Sept. 1. A longtime travel marketing expert, Salisbury has been with Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau since 2011, but her ...

MADERA COUNTY – The Courtney Fire, Junction Fire, and the French Fire serve as critical reminders to everyone to be prepared before disaster strikes. Sheriff John Anderson reminds all residents to register for MCAlert and to be aware that disaster can strike within seconds. Be it natural or man-made, everyone should always keep a to-do and what-to-take list at hand. ...

OAKHURST – Firefighters continued to make good progress on the Junction Fire today, improving containment lines and doing aggressive mop-up on interior hot spots. The number of damaged and destroyed structures has been updated and increased, as a damage inspection team surveyed the burn area to assess the property loss.

OAKHURST – The Junction Fire, which started along Highway 49 in Oakhurst at 1:50 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 18, has now burned some 1,200 acres and crews made good progress on the lines overnight. Nearly 500 personnel are battling the blaze that swept through Oakhurst yesterday afternoon, after it was reported as a small vegetation fire near Capitol Pipe.

YOSEMITE – Yosemite National Park is one of 39 national parks selected to receive a 2014 America’s Best Idea grant from the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks. Inspired by Ken Burns’ critically acclaimed documentary “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” this program builds partnerships between national parks and community, state, and other public organizations, and ...

YOSEMITE – Starting Monday morning, Aug. 18, the contractor crews are moving back to daytime delays on the Tioga Road Rehabilitation Project. Crews plan to have time delays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.