

Semi truck loses brakes on Hwy. 243
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According to California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Murawski, Freddie Meza, 30, of Murrieta was driving north on Highway 243 near mile marker 19 at 4:35 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, when he lost the breaks in his semi truck carrying concrete from a demolished building in Pine Cove. Meza plowed the truck into an embankment to stop the vehicle. Neither Meza nor his passenger, Hernan Orozco, 26, of San Bernardino, were injured in the solo traffic collision. Photo by Jenny Kirchner

While the first three months of 2024 have not been as wet as in 2023,precipitation has covered the Hill. This past weekend was a combinationof snow, between 8 and 10 inches, and another inch of rain. No precipitation records were set during the weekend, but one weatherrecord did occur. The National Weather Service (NWS) reported…
Leak detection was discussed thoroughly during last week’s Fern Valley Water District meeting. Following up on President Robert Krieger’s suggestion during the February meeting, General Manager Steve Erler said he had contacted American Leak Detection about the possibility of surveying the district’s entire pipeline system. A decision was not made during the meeting, but Erler…
Fire log The Idyllwild Fire Station did not report its responses for last week. Sheriff’s log The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Hemet Station responded to the following calls, Sunday to Saturday, April 19 to April 25. Idyllwild • April 19 — Check the welfare, River Dr. Handled by deputy. • April 20 —…
Late last week, the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014 (H.R. 3304), which included language that Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) submitted transferring 22 military aircraft to the Forest Service to battle major wildfires. Under the defense bill passed Thursday night, seven surplus HC-130H Hercules aircraft…
The Riverside County Fire Chiefs Association has organized a major fire exercise on the Hill for Thursday, May 22. “It will offer several challenges to participant agencies,” said Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins. “It will be a rapid response requiring unified command and a communication center, along with resource allocations.” Residents should neither be…
Welcome Kayanna Warren to the Hill. She is the new forester for the San Jacinto Ranger District. Warren is a 2013 graduate of Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She has been an ecology and biology geek since grade school, she said proudly. “We [she and her parents] lived 25 miles from Portland…