Month: July 2013

The National Weather Service issued a flash floodwarning today for the area where a more than 27,000-acre brush fire has beenburning for a week. The warning, which will remain in effect until 2:30 p.m., covers centralRiverside County, including Mount San Jacinto and the Idyllwild area. Heavyrainfall and thunderstorms were developing in the area, according to

The wildfire that has blackened more than 27,000 acresof the San Bernardino National Forest since breaking out a week ago today isexpected to be contained on Wednesday, authorities said. As of mid-morning Monday, the Mountain Fire was 68 percent contained andhad scorched 27,265 acres — numbers virtually unchanged since Sunday night,according to the U.S. Forest

Police arrested three members of the Vago Outlaw Motorcycle Gang in Apple Valley Monday morning following a nearly two-month investigation into an assault and robbery. The assault and robbery took place June 2nd, when a traffic collision between a pickup truck and a motorcycle being ridden by a Vago member led to fellow Vago members

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Longtime city clerk for Cathedral City, Pat Hammers, 73, diedearly Sunday from natural causes at her home, according to a city spokeswoman Leisa Lukes. Cathedral City Mayor Kathy DeRosa says Hammers was a resident of Cathedral City for 20 years and city clerk almost 10 years, having been re-elected last Nov. 2012. DeRosa went on

A 58-year-old Palm Springs resident suspected ofrobbing a man at gunpoint in Palm Springs was behind bars today. Fennin Clay Walton was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the 2400 blockof North Palm Canyon Drive, 10 minutes after the robbery was reported onNorth Palm Canyon and Gateway Drive, according to police and jail records. A

Jury deliberations will resume Monday in the trial of a man accused of killing a Los Angeles County man during a scuffle at a Desert Hot Springs apartment building. La Von Albert Myers, 37, of Desert Hot Springs, is charged with murder in the June 26, 2012, shooting death of Ronald Locke of Whittier at

Heavy rain pummeled parts of the Coachella Valley and theMountain Fire burn area before dawn Sunday, causing flash flooding in themountains and resulted in the closure of a Palm Springs street. And more storms moved in, prompting the National WeatherService to issue a flash flood warning for the Mecca, Coachella and Indio areato remain in

As previously evacuated residents of Idyllwild and Fern Valley began the week back at home, a whittled-down firefighting force waited today to see if Mother Nature would finish off the wildfire that has blackened more than 27,000 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest. There was an additional threat of thunderstorms and flash floods through

27 year-old La Quinta man is in custody after crashing his vehicle at the intersection of Monterey Avenue and Country Club Drive. Police say Joshua Lacroix was driving a white Volkswagon Jettanorth on Monterey at about 2:06 a.m., when he passed out behind the wheel, hitting a traffic sign. Investigators say Lacroix was under the

The repaving of Highway 111 in Palm Desert will begin Monday and is expected to continue for about two months, a city spokesman said. All of Highway 111, a major thoroughfare, will be resurfaced in Palm Desert, along with part of Portola Avenue from Fred Waring Drive to Magnesia Falls Drive. Work will start on

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, in cooperation with the CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department/OES and Idyllwild Fire Protection District, is lifting the Evacuation Order for the communities of Idyllwild and Fern Valley, and rescinding the Evacuation Warning for Pine Cove as of 11:00 AM today. Only local residents and business owners in these effected areas

Captain Scot Collins from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department says arson is not suspected as the cause of the fire. Authorities still say the fire was human caused. The Mountain Fire is now 68% contained. There are 53 crews, 77 engines, 13 helicopters, and two dozers.

Karen Sundsten says she’s made the trip up the mountain a million times, but not like this one. “It was surreal seeing Mountain Center burned where it started. How much burned,” Sundsten said. With the evacuation orders lifted, Karen and her family return home to Fern Valley. Home – a word she’s never appreciated more.

All evacuations for the Mountain Fire were lifted Sunday at 11 a.m. Residents of Idyllwild and Fern Valley are allowed to return to their homes and businesses. Rain and higher humidity assisted the fire fighting efforts early Sunday morning, knocking down most of the flames. The fire is 68 percent contained and has burned 27,279

As Congressman Raul Ruiz toured the ruin from the Mountain Fire, his eyes gave away a personal connection to the charred land. “Driving up (Highway) 74, I remembered my father bringing me up here every once in a while to escape the heat for picnics. Those were great memories. He passed, so I cherish those

A PROCLAMATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCYWHEREAS a wildfire started on July 15, 2013, and continues to burn in Riverside County; andWHEREAS the fire has burned over 24,000 acres, destroyed homes and commercial properties, and is threatening thousands of other residences and scores of other commercial properties, necessitating the evacuation of residents, and the opening

With the Mountain Fire moving in the direction of Idyllwild, campers and counselors obeyed a Wednesday night evacuation order and were transported to an American Red Cross evacuation center at Hemet High School. Some of those campers could be seen Friday morning walking to breakfast after spending the night at a Rancho Mirage motel. They

Most news stories about large wildfires report some level of “containment” reached by firefighters. What does it mean to contain a fire, how is the percentage calculated, and when is a fire “controlled”? To prevent a blaze from spreading, firefighters dig a “fire line” around its circumference. If three miles of fire line have been

Representantes de tres agrupaciones de inmigrantes trados ilegalmente a Estados Unidos durante su niez coincidieron el viernes en decir que ningn legislador republicano los consult para redactar un proyecto de ley que busca permitirles la naturalizacin. La comisin judicial de la cmara baja realizar el martes una audiencia para debatir el proyecto de ley que