During the Mountain Disaster Preparedness community meeting with Caltrans on highway repair, one person asked about how the road closures would possibly affect evacuation if it were needed because of wildfires or other emergencies. Emergency response agencies, including fire and law enforcement, have been preparing for this possibility almost since February, according to Idyllwild Fire…
The Community Service Area 38 (Pine Cove) Advisory Committee held a brief meeting Tuesday, June. 11. In the absence of county staff and financial reports, the committee had little to discuss. At the end of April, the CSA 38 cash balance was slightly more than $400,000. The next meeting will be scheduled after the Riverside…
Sentenced to jail On June 10, Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jerome Brock sentenced Michael McRae Kellner to two years in county jail for his guilty plea of burglary. The judge then suspended one year of the sentence. Kellner was arrested on May 29. He was charged with multiple burglaries, narcotic possession, receiving stolen property…
Cal Fire/Riverside County Here are some of the calls Cal Fire/Riverside County responded to recently. • June 14 — Medical aid, 11:08 a.m. Apple Canyon Rd. • June 17 — Medical aid, 10:24 a.m., Hwy. 74, Mountain Center. Idyllwild Fire Here are some of the calls Idyllwild Fire Department responded to recently. • June 8…
Water production is down Despite the absence of President Robert Hewitt, the Pine Cove Water District directors had an efficient meeting June 12. The board unanimously approved the standby assessment and the budget for fiscal year 2019-20, which starts July 1. “Any discussion?” asked Vice President Diana Luther. In absence of any member of the…
Large increases loom in future years The Riverside County Board of Supervisors held hearings for the fiscal year 2019-20 budget last week. The hearing was left open in order for the board to make some adjustments that would require only a majority approval rather than four-fifths if a preliminary budget had been approved. The overall…
Caltrans is alerting the traveling public that Southern California Edison has announced possible power outages for Public Safety Power Shutoff due to dry, hot and windy weather conditions and the potential for an elevated fire weather threat across the high desert region. The PSPS begins Thursday afternoon, June 20, and continues through Saturday, June 22….
By Jack Clark Co-publisher and General Counsel UPDATE 11:28 a.m. Wednesday, June 19: The U.S. Attorney’s public information office responded to the Town Crier that it plans to file the papers Judge Wright ordered either today or tomorrow. It did not provide a response as to why it did not file the papers before the…
Road closures will not limit access in an emergency The Mountain Area Safety Taskforce met Wednesday, June 12 with attendance remaining slightly less than normal, due to the current road closures from Hemet and Banning. MAST meets about quarterly. Fire officials — federal, state and local — described their winter projects and preparation for the…
On June 1, Idyllwild Fire Chief Mark LaMont imposed restrictions on open fires with the Idyllwild Fire Protection District. “Open burning, use of campfires, fire permits and other uses of open fire of any kind within the geographic jurisdiction of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District are hereby suspended as of the date of this notice.”…
