Idyllwild

Hill water usage relatively constant in 2024 despite diminished rainfall

Rain and snow fell on the Hill last weekend and it was needed regardless of the inconveniences. This is the first significant precipitation since summer. Idyllwild and Pine Cove received between 4 and 5 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Two years ago, more than 24 inches of rain and snow had…

MEMSCOMM canceled

The MEMSCOMM meeting scheduled for Thursday morning, Jan. 19 has been canceled, according to Jerry Hagen, emergency services coordinator for Riverside County. The next regularly scheduled meeting is Thursday, Feb. 16

Body found in Idyllwild

Late Saturday afternoon, officials from the Idyllwild Fire Department were alerted to a body on the Butterfield Commons at Strawberry Creek, the future home of the Idyllwild Community Center, and the Sheriff’s Department confirmed the location where the body was found. Late Sunday, the Riverside County Coroner’s office released the following information. The deceased was…

Power Outage on Hill

About 9 a.m., today, Wednesday, July 27, two Southern California Edison power lines touched inappropriately. A 33-kilovolt line and 12 kilovolt came into contact and caused a substantial outage from the Hill to San Jacinto. The caused is unknown, but possibilities could be wind or lines sagging from the heat. Full power was restored shortly…

Caltrans wins! Boulder loses.

“All lanes on SR 243 are open,” Cal Trans Public Information Officer Terri Kasinga announced Wednesday night about 6:30 p.m. After battling a 48-ton boulder since Monday, Caltrans has chipped enough of the boulder to be able to move it off the highway lane. As a precaution for motorists, cones have been placed around boulder….

Boulder 3; Caltrans 1 Progress on eliminating Highway 243 blockage

While the boulder that has closed Highway 243 between Pine Cove and Idyllwild since Sunday night maintains its position, Caltrans is making progress today. With a new drill for its hydraulic breaker, Caltrans is chipping away at the boulder and there is hope it can be moved late today — but no official announcement yet….

Boulder 1; Caltrans 0

The boulder, which has closed Highway 243 since Sunday night, is strongly resisting Caltran’s efforts to reduce it and remove it. The boulder has broken the special equipment Caltrans rented to break it up. The drill on the equipment 50,000-pound excavator equipped with a hydraulic breaker broke today. Calrans does not have an estimate of…

Highway 243 closed due to boulder

On Tuesday morning, Jan. 12, Highway 243 remained closed between Idyllwild and Pine Cove, and Caltrans had no estimate of when the highway would re-open to traffic. A boulder fell onto the highway late Sunday night at Deadman’s Curve, which resulted in the road’s closure. To remove the boulder, Caltrans rented specially fabricated equipment (a…

A passage between Pine Cove and Idyllwild may be available; but 4-wheel drive needed and some local residents object that non-resident users are trespassers

According to one Lakeview Drive resident who contacted the Town Crier, a bypass between Idyllwild and Pine Cove is available but she strongly encourages users to have 4-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles, since two-wheel drive vehicles have gotten stuck in the snow several times today. But some other Lakeview Drive residents object to the…