Idyllwild News

In last week’s Town Crier on page 14, the spiritual workout was incorrectly attributed. Steven Morrison hosts the event, not Rick Barker. Town Crier regrets the error.

The Mountain Communities Fire Safe Council has received Federal Emergency Management Agency authority to begin its cedar shake shingle roof replacement project, according to Executive Director Edwina Scott. Work will begin over the next few weeks and homeowners may receive 75 percent of the replacement cost. Scott can be reached at 951-659-6208.

In 2013, water production has increased and well water is a much larger portion of Fern Valley Water District’s production. For the first half of 2013, the district’s production was 8 percent greater than the same period in 2012. Firefighters’ need for water during the Mountain Fire contributed to an increase in July, General Manager…

The spate of recent fires dominated the discussion at the recent Idyllwild Fire Protection District commission meeting. IFPD was very busy during each of them, Chief Patrick Reitz reported. Often the department was receiving more than two calls per minute with questions about the fires’ status. While IFPD was a cooperating agency during the Mountain…

To ensure that Idyllwild Fire Protection District ballots reach election officials in time to be counted in Tuesday’s election, voters should not return their ballots by mail after Wednesday, Aug. 21, according to Riverside County Registrar of Voters Kari Verjil. The mail ballot will be conducted completely by mail, so there will be no established…

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a lease agreement between the Idyllwild Water District and the county Regional Park and Open-space District. The agreement allows IWD to construct a 300,000-gallon storage tank on a 150-foot square pad, which will be on park property in Idyllwild west of Delano Road. The tank…

Reaction to the long-term consequences of the recent Mountain and Silver fires has varied. While all were uniformly glad that no lives were lost and the property damage limited, how the burnt areas will affect future fire threats and how those threats can be lessened is still being debated. The Mountain Fire was substantially larger…

Caltrans awarded a $1.2 million Emergency Director’s Order to Griffith Construction Company last week as a result of the recent Silver Fire, which damaged portions of Highway 243 between Interstate 10 near Banning and the Twin Pines community north of Idyllwild. Griffith and the specialized subcontractors worked to repair the damaged guardrail so that the…

The U. S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest working capital federal disaster loans to small businesses economically impacted by the Mountain Fire that occurred July 15 to July 30, 2013, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said today. SBA acted under its own authority to declare a disaster in response to a request SBA received…