SACRAMENTO—The Cal Fire Office of the State Fire Marshall is excited to announce the appointment of Frank Bigelow to Deputy Director of Community Wildfire Preparedness & Mitigation with the Office of the State Fire Marshal. 20 Years of Experience 2004 Chief Bigelow began his CAL FIRE career as a Fire Fighter I at the Ahwahnee Station in the Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU), ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES—The end of fire season will be declared, in the CAL FIRE Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU), on Monday, December 18th at 8 a.m. Burning is allowed, but burn permit requirements vary between counties. Burn permit information in Mariposa County: CAL FIRE burn permits are not required in Mariposa County until May 1st. Residents must contact the Mariposa County burn day ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES–The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit (MMU) has announced effective at 8 a.m. Wednesday, November 15th, hazard reduction burning will be allowed, with a valid CAL FIRE burn permit, in Madera, Mariposa, and Merced Counties. Burn permits can be obtained online by visiting Burnpermit.fire.ca.gov or by visiting your local CAL FIRE station. Burn ...

AHWAHNEE–The Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit will be conducting a vegetation management burn on Wednesday, November 1st, 2023. The burn will take place of Road 619 in Ahwahnee and will consist of annual grass, oak woodland, and heavy brush totaling about 601 acres. Smoke will be visible throughout the day. The management fire will be used to reduce noxious weeds and ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY–With the lightning that rolled through the area this morning, Sierra National Forest and CalFire fire crews are responding to and chasing lightning fires and smoke reports by ground and air today. We are monitoring these incidents but will not be posting articles for each individual fire unless an incident is growing and/or threatening life or property. Be prepared ...

SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST — Air and ground firefighting resources are in the Miami Creek Off Highway Vehicle Trails area responding to a vegetation fire. The fire is currently approximately 2 acres. The Incident Commander reports that the fire has a hose lay around 50% and they are making good progress.  This is the Bridge Fire. Cal Fire and Sierra National Forest ...

MARIPOSA – CAL FIRE Law Enforcement Officers arrested 61-year-old Michael Eric Alexander on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Mariposa County. Through an extensive investigation, Alexander, a local resident, was identified as the suspect responsible for igniting five vegetation fires between Paddy Hill Road and Corey Pines Road off of East Whitlock Road since May 31, 2023. The East Whitlock fires ...

MARIPOSA—California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Law Enforcement Officers arrested 31-year-old Gino Galileo Luciani on Wednesday, July 12th, 2023, in Mariposa County. Through an extensive investigation, Luciani was identified as the suspect responsible for igniting a vegetation fire on July 12th, 2023. The Ashworth Fire occurred in the Bootjack area in Mariposa County. The fire burned approximately ...

NORTH FORK—The Madera County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) is reporting that a 65 year old Whittier man has died as a result of the ongoing Whiskey Fire. MCSO states that at approximately 1:30pm on July 3, the man was driving a tractor on his property in the 59000 block of Road 225 in North Fork, when it is believed a brake ...

MARIPOSA—CAL FIRE Law Enforcement Officers arrested 71-year-old Edward Fredrick Wackerman on Friday, June 16, 2023, in Mariposa County. Through an extensive investigation, Wackerman, a local Mariposa resident, has been identified as the suspect responsible for igniting the Oak fire in July 2022. The Oak fire occurred in the Midpines area in Mariposa County. The Oak fire burned 19,244 acres of ...