At last week’s meeting, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District Commission rejected all four recommendations in a recent Riverside County Grand Jury report. The first recommendation was to share Administrative Capt. Mark Lamont’s duties in order to reduce the cost of paid overtime, which exceeded $50,000 in 2012. Fire Chief Patrick Reitz drafted the proposed response,…
On Wednesday, Feb. 12, two events occurred relating to the 2006 triple homicide in Pinyon Pines. The more dramatic event was a press release from Bonnie Garcia, former Assemblywoman and candidate for State Senate District 28. Her son, Javier, was a friend of Becky Friedli, one of the three victims and he allegedly called a…
Idyllwild Fire Protection District’s Finance Committee held its first meeting Monday, Feb. 17. Fire Chief Patrick Reitz introduced the citizen’s committee members to the IFPD budget format, source of revenues and a general description of expenses. They also talked about specific issues for this fiscal year (2013-14) and likely budget questions for the 2014-15 budget…
On Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors decided to renegotiate the county’s current ambulance contract with American Medical Response rather than considering competitive bids for the whole or parts of the county. The current AMR contract expires June 30, 2015. One of the principal reasons was the experience of Alameda, Monterey and…
Wildlife Biologist Tom Paulek and avid birder Rosedith Marx will lead the public on a search of the San Jacinto Wildlife Area for “Birds of Prey,” from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 22. The Friends of the San Jacinto Valley are sponsoring the free event that hopes to spot some of the 22 species…
Saturday morning, during the U.S. Forest Service’s third bald eagle count of the 2013-14 season, the pair of adult bald eagles was again seen at Lake Hemet. During this count, a grand total of 15 eagles (nine adults and six juveniles) were counted at the lake areas in and near the San Bernardino National Forest….
As part of the ongoing Idyllwild Orchard Project, the next Idyllwild Conversation will focus on how the drought is affecting the Hill’s water supply, and how residents can help make up for the shortfall (gray water, rainbarrels, etc.). Representatives from the three local water districts have been invited to share their views. Tuesday Feb 18,…
The Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council is beginning to revise the 2006 Community Wildfire Protection Plan. More than 25 firefighters and land managers met at the FSC’s offices on Franklin Drive Wednesday to begin work on updating the eight-year-old plan. CWPPs were originally authorized by the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. One of the…
The report on the cause of last year’s destructive Mountain Fire is progressing, according to Cal Fire Information Officer Daniel Berlant. In an email last week, he said the investigation has not yet been completed. Ten days after the fire’s start in Mountain Center, on July 25, 2013, Cal Fire Investigators determined the Mountain Fire…
Fire log The Idyllwild Fire Station responded to the following calls, Thursday, Feb. 6 to Monday, Feb. 10: Feb. 6 — Medical aid, Idyllwild. Feb. 6 — Rescue, Idyllwild. Feb. 7 — Carbon dioxide detector activation due to malfunction, Idyllwild. Feb. 7 — Two medical aids, Idyllwild. Feb. 8 — Two medical aids, Idyllwild. Feb….
