FRESNO— Residents of the Central Valley are facing an above-normal wildfire season as the climate crisis threatens to upend more communities. The best defense during an emergency is to be prepared. The American Red Cross Central Valley Chapter advises everyone to get ready now. The number of billion-dollar disasters in the U.S. has increased by 85% in just the last ...

MOUNTAIN COMMUNITIES–The Eastern Madera Fire Safe Council (EMCFSC) is building plans for regional high-impact fuel reduction measures. Although projects are developed in close collaboration and council with agency experts, they need to have citizen voices accounted for. They need to hear from residents. The most effective plans to develop a more fire-adapted community and fire-resistant landscape are going to include ...

MARIPOSA COUNTY – The Yosemite/Sequoia Resource Conservation and Development Council (Y/S RC&DC) is thrilled to unveil the latest initiative in our ongoing commitment to wildfire prevention and community safety: the Mariposa Strategic Wildfire Mitigation Project. Spanning an area of approximately 70 acres or 1.5 miles along Boyer and Homestead Road. This project involves the a comprehensive approach to wildfire mitigation, aiming to ...

MARIPOSA – Spring is a great time for pile burning! Pile burning is a safe, effective, and legal way to reduce your wildfire risk when equipped with the tools and knowledge to do so. Yosemite Gateway Prescribed Burn Cooperative (YGPBC) and University of California Cooperative Extension are organizing a Learn & Burn workshop. This will be about residential pile burning ...

MARIPOSA–The Yosemite Gateway Prescribed Burn Cooperative and University of California Cooperative Extension are organizing the following free monthly webinar series. These are to help arm residents with the knowledge and tools necessary to mitigate the effects of wildfires. Wednesday March 6 4 to 5 pm This webinar will include two insurance brokers from Mariposa and Madera counties to inform us ...

OAKHURST—As part of his Town Hall series, District 5 Supervisor Robert Macaulay held a meeting at the Oakhurst Elementary School Multipurpose Room on January 22nd. He and other Madera County officials laid out plans for a potential evacuation route to serve the John West/Jean Road area of Oakhurst. The area is one of several in the eastern Madera County area ...

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 ...

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK-The Pika Fire currently burning behind North Dome in Yosemite National Park (YNP) is now 818 acres in size. As previously reported here, park officials use a confined and contained strategy that allows the fire to move naturally across the landscape, providing ecological benefits to plants and wildlife while meeting protection objectives to minimize risk to people and ...

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–Monday, July 3rd, 2023, air and ground firefighters responded to a vegetation fire in the 59000 block of Road 225 in North Fork. Initial reports put the fire at 5 acres with a moderate rate of spread. The fire was burning in grass and oak woodland. Within a half-hour of the fire starting, it had burned 20 acres, and ...