SACRAMENTO — Today, the State of California will roll out a first-of-its-kind approach to curbing the state’s catastrophic wildfire problem by providing new protections for prescribed fire and cultural burning practitioners. The $20 million allocated for the “Prescribed Fire Liability Claims Fund Pilot” will cover losses in the rare instance that a prescribed or cultural burn escapes control. California Senator ...

MARIPOSA– After another wet winter and above average snowpack, warming temperatures and winds are quickly drying out the abundant annual grass crop. The increasing fire danger posed by the high volume of dead grass and hotter, drier conditions in the region is prompting CAL FIRE to suspend all burn permits for outdoor residential burning within the State Responsibility Area of ...

OAKHURST — The most popular amateur radio event in the United States and Canada is the American Radio Relay League’s (ARRL) Annual Field Day being held nationally this year in both countries during the fourth weekend in June. Date & Time: From Saturday, June 24, at 11:00 a.m. until noon on Sunday, June 25. This year, the local Mountain Amateur ...

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 ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES — Please join Madera County District 5 Supervisor Bobby Macaulay tomorrow night for an informative online town hall meeting via Zoom. This meeting will include a discussion on insurance and resources available to help you harden your home against wildfire. Supervisor Macaulay will be joined by, among others, Justin Macomb from Cal Fire and Richie M. Sayavong from ...

OAKHURST–In conjunction with California Wildfire Preparedness Week, The First Annual Wildfire Safety Saturday will be taking place this weekend in Oakhurst. Several local agencies and organizations will be present, and participants will have the opportunity to receive information on a variety of issues related to wildfires. WHEN: Saturday, May 6th, 2023 10:00 am to 4:00 pm WHERE: Enterprise Parking Lot ...

SACRAMENTO– The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) has launched a new Online Burn Permit application platform that offers the public a user-friendly way to request a burn permit.     Burn permits that are available on this platform include the following: • Residential Burning (LE-62A) is burning outdoors at a single or two-family dwelling unit or ...

SACRAMENTO—The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is announcing the availability of up to $5.5 million in grant funding for Forest Health Research projects. CAL FIRE is soliciting applications for research in forest health and wildland fire science critical to the State of California that support landowners, resource agencies, fire management organizations, and decision-makers throughout the state. ...

NORTH FORK–A residential structure fire is being reported in North Fork in the 59000 block of Cascadel Road near Hillcrest Road. Firefighters are on scene and reporting the structure is 50% involved. We will update this article when new information is available. This is the Cascadel Incident Update 6:00pm The fire has been knocked down and crews expect to be ...

NORTH FORK—Sierra National Forest (SNF) – Bass Lake Ranger District fire personnel are looking to start burning the piles in the Madera County Roads project around the Bass Lake area, with a total of 567 acres. We are planning to start some test fires on January 30, 2023. If ignition proves to be successful, we will continue lighting the piles. ...