Idyllwild Fire Protection District Chief Mark LaMont told the District’s commissioners at their March 25 meeting that funding has been “paused” for the largest grant IPFD has ever received, last year’s nearly-$940 thousand CalFire Wildfire Prevention Grant. In a phone interview, LaMont clarified that IFPD has received their “release of funds notification” letter for that…
Hector Cardenas is the new proprietor of the Green Thing Nursery. Locals may know him for his spoken word performances and his efforts to provide a platform for poets with the Idyllwild Poetry Society. But he also has experience in the nursery business. His uncle George owned a production nursery in Bonsall, and as a…
The Rotary Club of Idyllwild is all-in on fire prevention with their latest project, “Great Abate.” Designed to enhance fire safety in the community, the initiative targets residents who cannot clear hazardous overgrowth around their properties due to circumstances like age, disability, or financial hardship. Rotarian Ygnacio “Nacho” Garcia, also a field supervisor for the…
Recently retired State Park Ranger Robert Peek visited the Idyllwild Library on Tuesday, April 8, to discuss his memoir, Grandpa Ranger. Peek talked of the process that aspiring rangers must undergo to become law enforcement officers and the challenges he faced as the oldest applicant in his class. He became a ranger at 53. Peek…
Several earthquakes shook Idyllwild on the morning of Monday, April 14. The USGS reported a magnitude 5.2 quake 4km south of Julian at 10:08 a.m. The largest after shock was M3 in the same location at 10:13. Another magnitude 3.5 quake was reported 7km east-southeast of Borrego Springs around the same time. Between the two…
On Saturday, April 12, hikers, trail angels, and friends and family of Robert Budinski filled the main room at Silver Pines Lodge. Robert, who was known by his trail name “Ambassador,” passed away in April of 2024 while hiking on the north flank of San Jacinto peak. Members of Budinski’s family flew out to participate…
Julie Roy is one of Idyllwild’s “super-volunteers,” always finding new ways to contribute to our community through its many nonprofit organizations. At the April meeting of the Idyllwild Garden Club, where she serves as membership coordinator and is the immediate past president, she was gave a talk about gardening in raised beds. At last month’s…
Idyllwild will soon welcome a new artisan bakery: Almost Heaven. Gabrielle and Richard Marcin, who have been supplying stores in Alpine with artisan baked goods for the last year, will begin hosting “pop-up” bake sales in the parking lot and until their new space in Victorian Square starting this Saturday, April 12—a preview of what’s…
Highway 74 between Mountain Center and Hemet was closed for several hours on Friday morning, April 4, due to a head-on collision west of the Strawberry Creek bridge. Johnathon Torres of the CHP provided these details: The crash occurred just after 10 a.m., three miles west of Gaugh Road, MM 53. A westbound 2021 Subaru…
Reba Coulter got a nice surprise when she found out she had been named Riverside County 4th District Woman of the Year. “I didn’t know such a thing existed, I was totally shocked.” Coulter explains that each of the five supervisors nominated a candidate, and she was Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s choice. The awards are…
