During the “Shakeout” on Thursday, Oct. 18, Francoise Frigola (left) and Susan Weisbart inform the community about the Mountain Disaster Preparedness’s website, idyllwildemergency.com, in case of a natural disaster on the Hill.

Wildfires are not unexpected events for Hill residents. Major fires, such as the recent Cranston Fire and the 2013 Mountain and Silver fires, are not annual disasters, but frequent enough to keep residents alert and prepared to react. The Cranston Fire burned more than 13,000 acres and the Mountain Fire burned more than twice that…

The Lake Hemet Municipal Water District (LHMWD) Board of Directors restated its declaration of a water shortage emergency, Ordinance No. 176, last Thursday, an ordinance that was adopted Aug. 20, 2015.The restated Ordinance 176 was passed, 4-1, with Director David Jorgensen voting against.The ordinance “restricts new or additional service connections.” It acknowledges that California continues…

By noon on Friday January 10, electricity had been restored to many local residents left in the dark by the Public Safety Power Shutdown. Fern Valley seemed to be still without power. Southern California Edison Senior Advisor for Corporate Communications Jeff Monford was unable to predict exactly when individual neighborhoods would have service restored, but…