Caltrans will have escort vehicles available Caltrans announced Monday evening that Highway 74 will be opened, with an escort pilot vehicle, for several hours each day within four to six weeks. Several hundred people attended the community meeting, which the Mountain Disaster Preparedness group organized, while several hundred watched it as a live stream or later…
The closures of Highway 74 from Mountain Center to Hemet and Highway 243 north to Banning have created burdens for Idyllwild residents. Local high school students and school personnel have shuttles to and from Hemet available, but these leave at 5 a.m. Local businesses have multiple problems. First, much fewer visitors and tourists are coming…
Work to repair, restore, and make Highway 74 safer between Valle Vista and Mountain Center continued Wednesday, March 12. Nearly a month after the devastating rain in February, the portion of Hwy. 74 that was washed out (near mile post 51) is being repaired. As shown below, most of the excavation has ended at this…
Nearly one month after torrential rainfall caused major flooding and mud flow to areas of Lake Hemet Campground, RV campground site renters face uncertain futures. Additional rains could cause further flooding and campground renters’ rights may be limited. Lake Hemet and the campground are owned by the Lake Hemet Municipal Water District headquartered in Hemet….
Spring, according to the calendar, is still a week away. But the rain and snow in the past five weeks have sprung the local springs. Runoff continues to flow down many streets, often through yards and under or into homes. Last week, less than an inch of rain was recorded at the Forest Service’s Keenwild…
As the Idyllwild Fire Protection District moves forward with its plan to offer a ballot measure to increase its parcel (unit) fee, several readers have asked questions about how the mutual aid revenue is generated. “Mutual aid” is the reimbursement that goes to departments that respond to dispatch calls to send crews to fires outside…
Cal Fire/Riverside County Here are some of the calls Cal Fire/Riverside County responded to recently. • March 11 — Medical aid, 9:55 a.m. Lake Hemet Campground. Idyllwild Fire Here are some of the calls Idyllwild Fire responded to recently. • March 8 — Medical aid, 7:22 a.m. 25000 block of Hwy. 243. • March 8…
The Fern Valley Water District has canceled its scheduled March 15 board meeting. A quorum of the board would not be available to take any action. The next scheduled board meeting is April 19. The February meeting was canceled due to the weather and road conditions following the Valentine’s Day rainstorm.
Late Tuesday afternoon, March 12, another sink hole on Highway 243 was revealed. This damage was near mile post 10.75 and occurred after many trips of large trucks transporting dirt for repair of the highway at Bay Tree Springs. But the hole was filled with dirt. On Wednesday, the trucks could continue to travel north…
The damage to highways 74 and 243 is more extensive than originally thought. Engineers have done a more thorough assessment of the damage and the current estimate for full repair and opening of the roads is four months, according to Terri Kasinga, chief, Public and Media Affairs, Caltrans District 8. Ames Construction, the Caltrans contractor,…
