At 11:42 a.m. Monday, California Highway Patrol reported a motor home with smoke coming out of its engine 3 miles east of Highway 371 on the roadside of Highway 74. U.S. Forest Service and Cal Fire engines and personnel were dispatched about noon and arrived on scene to a vegetation fire about a quarter of…
The expected hearing to certify a class-action suit over the legality of the 2012 State Responsibility Area Fire Fee was canceled before it started. On Thursday, Aug. 6, Judge Shelleyanne Chang of the Sacramento Superior Court issued a tentative ruling, both affirming and denying the request for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to certify the…
Cal Fire rescued two people over the weekend, one on Saturday, Aug. 8, on Suicide Rock and another on Black Mountain Truck Trail on Sunday, Aug. 9. Around 6:48 p.m. Saturday, Cal Fire responded to reports of an injured rock climber on Suicide Rock. Cal Fire and American Medical Response arrived at the scene, but…
Highway 243 was the scene of two collisions over the weekend. At 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, Barbara Lynch, 74, of Winnetka, California, was driving her 2012 black VW Jetta south on Highway 243 when she hit something and ran off the road, according to California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Darren Meyer. Lynch sustained…
Monday afternoon air attack on Anza Fire. Photos by Jenny Kirchner
The financial report for the fiscal year that ended June 30, was briefly reviewed at the latest Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission meeting. Based on preliminary reports that Fire Chief Patrick Reitz said the audit team is still reviewing, total revenues were nearly $1.95 million and total expenditures were less than $1.91 million, for a…
By Kathy Keane Local Wildlife Biologist and Ornithologist Special to the Town Crier On July 13 in San Diego, Todd Fasler grabbed a rattlesnake from under a bush and tried to snap a selfie. The snake wasn’t thrilled about the photo, and Fasler received a $153,161.25 hospital bill. Why so much? Venom toxins vary among…
While two local water districts — Idyllwild and Pine Cove — are in the midst of a heated campaign for board seats, two other local special districts — Fern Valley Water and Idyllwild Fire Protection — settled the filling of their board seats without needing the August vote-by-mail election. At the July 21 Board of…
The American Red Cross, with the help of several local agencies, including the Idyllwild Fire Department, offered free installation of smoke alarms and tested the batteries of installed fire alarms throughout Idyllwild and Fern Valley this week. American Red Cross has been offering this program across the country. The goal is to reduce fire deaths…
In a series of odd coincidences, the intersection of highways 74 and 243 was a magnet for collisions last week, with three in close proximity in two days. At 11:25 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, Richard Komorosky, 75, of Poway, was driving north on Highway 243, just north of the intersection with Highway 74 in Mountain…
