The three local water districts and the Idyllwild Fire Protection District have all taken the necessary steps to prepare for election of directors during the August vote-by-mail election. Last week, both IFPD and the Pine Cove Water District held special meetings authorizing the Riverside County registrar of voters to conduct the election, if needed. Last…
Construction to replace Hurkey Creek Bridge on Highway 74, originally scheduled to begin Monday, April 20, has been delayed for about two weeks. Caltrans Public Information Officer Joy Schneider said resolution of two issues has delayed the project. Contractor for the project, Granite Construction, suggested creating a 12-foot-wide bypass to the north of the existing…
The drought, now in its fourth year, is creating severe and dangerous threats to the Hill’s native trees — pines and oaks. But other dangers also are threatening the local forest. Residents are familiar with the damage bark beetles bring, especially during droughts. The bark beetle is actually a native pest, but during droughts when…
The U.S. forest Service was conducting pile burning along the West Ridge Fuelbreak Thursday, taking advantage of favorable weather conditions. The “Burn Boss” was Brett Pascale of the Vista Grande Hotshots, according to San Jacinto Ranger District Fire Chief Dan Felix.
65 years ago – 1950 Idyllwild residents performing in the Ramona pageant were Flo Wendelken as Margarita, Lee Dutton as Juan Canito and Boy Scout troup members as Indian dancers. 60 years ago – 1955 At the regular meeting of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District, commissioners set a tentative budget of $21,200 for the…
I’ve come to enjoy washing small amounts of dishes by hand because the window over the sink affords lovely views of the flora and fauna on our back deck. I also enjoy pondering issues. So while standing there over the weekend, I considered ways to reduce our water consumption by 25 percent. I remembered our…
Editor: We thought Town Crier readers may be interested in an apparent identification error in the latest edition of the paper (Vol. 70, No. 16). The salamanders in the photo on page 19 are not Tiger Salamanders as captioned, but are actually Large-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi), another species of salamander in a different genus…
Editor: Was reading last week’s edition of your lovely paper and my eye caught an error in biological identification of the pair of salamanders stalking page 19. The caption claims “Two Tiger Salamanders” when, in fact, they are both the spotted subspecies of the Large-blotched Ensatina (Ensatina eschscholtzii subspecies klauberi). Since moving to Blue Oak…
Editor: Two weekends ago, my husband I watched “Wild” about a young lady trying to sort out her life by hiking the Pacific Crest Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada. Part of the trail runs through our mountains so Idyllwild is an ideal place to stop, refresh and replenish. It is now PCT season…
Cal Fire still is not talking about the origin and cause of the 2013 Mountain Fire that burned more than 27,000 acres, destroyed three single-family residences, three mobile homes, 12 outbuildings, two RVs and nine other vehicles, and it resulted in thousands evacuating their homes. It has been more than a year since Cal Fire…
