Caltrans awarded a $1.2 million Emergency Director’s Order to Griffith Construction Company last week as a result of the recent Silver Fire, which damaged portions of Highway 243 between Interstate 10 near Banning and the Twin Pines community north of Idyllwild. Griffith and the specialized subcontractors worked to repair the damaged guardrail so that the…

Neil Cooper, 41, of Idyllwild, has a felony settlement conference scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 9, following an off-Hill arrest in Riverside County and charges on Jan. 6. He is released on bail. He was arrested for making criminal threats and subsequently charged with burglary and criminal threats, both felonies, and enhancements, including use of a…

The Mountain Fire is the second largest fire in California this year, only the Powerhouse Fire in the Angeles National Forest measuring 30,200 acres was bigger, by about 10 percent. The third largest was the Chariot Fire in the Cleveland National Forest at 7,000 acres. Monday, July 15, began sunny and hot with clear skies….