The Mountain Fire closure area has been modified to allow portions of Bonita Vista Road 5S05 and May Valley Road 5S21 for non-motorized use. San Bernardino National Forest Supervisor Jody Noiron signed the forest order June 24, which is effective through Nov. 14, 2014. “In a nutshell, what we’ve done is open a portion of…
Chad Mills of Idyllwild crashed his Subaru Impreza around 11:45 p.m. Sunday on Highway 243 at Riverside County Playground Road blocking the northbound lane. According to witnesses, Mills and his three passengers left the scene on foot before authorities arrived. The cause of the crash in under investigation.
At about 10 a.m. Monday, Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a child endangerment call in the 31000 block of Pine Street, Garner Valley. The reporting party advised she tried to put her 2-year-old daughter to bed the previous evening but she would not fall asleep. Her daughter was talking rapidly, scratching her skin, could…
CHP Officer Ron Esparza investigates the scene at this afternoon’s fatal crash on Highway 243. Photo by John Pacheco Highway 243’s southbound lane is now open with traffic control following a nearly three-hour closure due to a fatal traffic collision involving a county vehicle and a sedan. At about 2:30 p.m. Monday, a white Honda Civic…
According to CHP Officer Chris Blondon, an unidentified male, aged 34, of Beaumont was riding his 2003 Honda CBR900RR motorcycle east on Highway 74 just below Mountain Center near mile marker 56.6 at about 9:45 a.m. Saturday when he lost control, drifting into the westbound lane. A group leaving church camp from Idyllwild Pines was traveling westbound en route…
About 100 people came out to Town Hall Thursday night to hear Idyllwild Fire Chief Patrick Reitz, Riverside County Fire Chief John Hawkins and U.S. Forest Service Fire Chief Dan Felix talk about preparing for fire season and then answer questions from the audience. Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council sponsored the informative meeting that lasted…
Fern Valley Water District directors approved a 2014-15 budget at last week’s meeting and while next year’s budget is less than this year, the district wants to consider options for increasing its future revenues. Next fiscal year, which begins July 1, expenses are projected to be about $835,000, significantly less than the actual expenses for…
Hemet Unified School District directors adopted a $200 million budget last week that will produce a $16.7-million deficit for fiscal 2014-15, which begins July 1. The current-year budget also has a projected $5.2-million deficit. By fiscal year 2015-16, HUSD believes the two years of losses will be reversed. Next year’s $203.4-million budget is nearly $27.6…
Steven Taylor Rutherford, 48, of Banning, has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to 13 counts of arson. Trial start still is planned for Aug. 4. Charges were filed in February accusing Rutherford of starting 13 fires in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The fires occurred between September 2011 and June…
