County closes five hiking areas due to wildfire threats
By JP Crumrine
Five areas within Riverside County will be closed to public access and suspended open burning because of high potential fire danger. These are two of several steps the Riverside County Fire Department is taking to reduce wildfire threats and prepare residents in case of an emergency, even earthquakes or floods. The potential for large damaging…
This week, we begin a series of interviews with members of Mountain Disaster Preparedness, the local all-volunteer nonprofit organization with the mission of providing education, planning, and training for residents in support of first responders during emergencies in our mountain communities. Membership is free, and ongoing training prepares members to be part of its several…
Hill businesses and institutions that will be closed Monday, Sept. 1, to observe Labor Day are: • Area post offices • BBVA Compass Bank • Fern Creek Medical Center • Fern Valley Water District • Hemet Unified School District • Idyllwild Health Center • Idyllwild Library • Idyllwild Nature Center • Idyllwild Water District •…
The Incident Management Team and fire officials from the San Bernardino National Forest and its San Jacinto Ranger District met Wednesday afternoon, July 24, to arrange the return of authority to the forest the next morning. The IMT was requested on the first day of the Mountain Fire, July 15. When the team handed the…
The turnout for the 2013 Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission election was 37 percent, the lowest since the 2001 election. Registered voters in the district have declined from 1,799 in 2001 to 1,593 this year, which was 44 more than 2011, the nadir. Besides the decline in registered voters, the actual number of votes cast…
As reported last week, Jo’An’s has sold to Idypark LLC, which belongs to Loie and Dave Butterfield. As he said, the restaurant will not reopen. “As the center of town, we envision it to be a peaceful, beautiful location for all to enjoy,” Dave wrote in an email. Their intention is to remove all the…
Future and past financial issues were the focus of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s (IFPD) meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 16. First, the commission agreed that, if Measure G, which authorizes raising the district’s special tax from $65 up to $130 annually, passes, they will set the 2011-12 level at $100. Secondly, the commission heard from Scott…
