MADERA COUNTY – How important is it to be notified if your home is being threatened by fire, flood, a major winter storm or any other emergency situation? The Madera County Sheriff’s Office has implemented a free service called MC Alert to send you a message no matter where you are – at home, at school, at work or away ...

TUOLUMNE COUNTY – With full containment of the Rim Fire in sight, and fire activity waning, crews and resources are being demobilized every day. As the firefighters head home, another team moves in to start the next phase of the process.

Where can you go to escape the hot weather and smoky, hazy skies? How about a nice hike to clear blue alpine lakes with giant granite slabs surrounding them in the nearby Kaiser Wilderness?

‘Flea Market gardeners’ are always on the lookout for bargains for the garden and that includes plants, too! Most communities have end of the season sales and wisely, we keep an eye on the local paper for these sales..

Testing…both camping and blackberries… I did something today that I’ve wanted to do for years! Picked blackberries at Kerckhoff Lake. So many times we’ve driven by this pretty and serene lake, actually a reservoir, on our way here and there between over the last twenty some years. The reservoir is just south of North Fork, Oakhurst and Fresno and is ...

HUNTINGTON LAKE – With the Aspen Fire now 90% contained at 22,546 acres burned, the number of personnel on the fire has been reduced to just 230, and the focus of their job has shifted from suppression to rehabilitation. While some crews continue with mop up and patrol of the fire’s perimeter, others have taken on the task of suppression ...

On Sunday, June 30, at 11 a.m., the leader of a climbing club staying at Camp 4 in Yosemite Valley contacted the Yosemite Emergency Communications Center, reporting that two members of his club were overdue. The two hiker-climbers, one male and one female, had started their journey on Saturday, June 29, with the intention of hiking, scrambling, and down-climbing through ...

As we have all learned recently, wildfires, tornadoes or floods can strike at any time. Survival can be predicated upon who was prepared in advance of the disaster. So what can you do today to help prepare you and your loved ones? Creating a Family Disaster Plan is the first step in preparing for a disaster, any kind of disaster ...

OAKHURST – Local people behind Rotary International really put the “International” in the name when they met last week to dedicate and donate an ambulance to a town in Mexico that really needs it. Members of the Sierra Sunrise Rotary and Madera Sunrise Rotary gathered on July 1 for a send-off for SAS 46, formerly owned by Sierra Ambulance Service.

NORTH FORK – When wildfire threatens, those who own large animals are faced with decisions that go beyond what they will do to protect their family and their home. Evacuating horses presents a completely unique set of problems. Equine Emergency Evacuation (Triple E) is an all volunteer organization of mountain area residents who have come together to provide emergency evacuation ...