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…
The U. S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest working capital federal disaster loans to small businesses economically impacted by the Mountain Fire that occurred July 15 to July 30, 2013, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said today. SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster in response to a request SBA received…
Caltrans, in collaboration with the California Highway Patrol, Cal-Fire and the US Forest Service, will reopen State Route 243 to all traffic today, Friday, Aug. 16, at noon. No work will be conducted over the weekend to allow full access to residents and motorists. Beginning on Monday, Aug. 19, traffic control will be in place…
I thought last week’s Idyllwild Fire Protection District candidate forum went well. I thought the moderator explained the process well, the audience behaved itself and the candidates were articulate. Surprise! The following day I learned that the moderator threw softball questions at the candidates rather than reading the tough questions actually written down. (Some of…
5:13 P.M. UPDATE: The fire is 20, 292 acres and 90 percent contained. Beaumont High School Evacuation Center has closed as of 3 p.m. Visit the Riverside Sheriff’s Department website here — http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/admin-firewatch.asp — for concerns about insurance fraud. 1:35 P.M. UPDATE: Silent Valley Club residents and campers who are at the club now are…
Here at the editor’s desk, I receive overwhelming requests for precious space in the Town Crier — space that varies depending on the size of the newspaper. People sometimes think it’s easy to add one page to the paper but it’s not that simple. So, for those who’ve never lived in a world of commercial…
The Riverside County Fire Department – Office of Emergency Service is conducting an Economic Loss Survey to determine the financial impact the Mountain Fire and evacuation order has had, or is having, on Idyllwild businesses. Area businesses are encouraged to complete the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Worksheet by clicking the link below….
Each time our mountain suffers a tragedy in my more than 23 years at the TC, a media blitz hits Idyllwild. And most of the time it arrives at deadline. Though not on deadline while covering the fire during the evacuation, the three of us who remained behind constantly either wrote and/or answered phones. A…
By J.P. Crumrine News Editor The mail-in ballots for the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission election should begin arriving in Idyllwild mail boxes this week. Four candidates — Commission President Jeannine Charles-Stigall, Rhonda Andrewson, Steve Kunkle and Nancy Layton — are vying for three commission seats. The Town Crier has interviewed each candidate and will…
In the July 25 Town Crier on page 25, the photo of an Erickson Aircrane Sikorsky S–64 was misidentified as a Cal Fire helicopter. Town Crier regrets the error.
