The California Rangeland Trust works to preserve California’s working rangelands and natural ecosystems for future generations The California Climate Investments provided key funding to support the conservation of the ranch You must be logged in to post a comment (FOX26) — A 22-year-old man was arrested and charged with DUI after he crashed inside aCalifornia High-Speed Rail construction site Friday morning in Madera The California Highway Patrol responded to the crash and determined the man driving a Chevrolet Silverado crashed into a parked vehicle at the construction site CHP says he was found to be three times over the legal limit and was arrested for DUI CHP reminds drivers that the consequences of driving under the influence can be life-changing The end of a two-year legal fight over who should pay to replenish the groundwater beneath Madera County could be in sight A motion to dismiss the lawsuit by a group of farmers against the county is set to be heard June 18 The outcome could determine whether Madera County which acts as the groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) for hundreds of thousands of acres across three water subbasins can finally move forward on a host of projects to improve the water table per the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) the outcome of this case could make or break their farms some that have been in their families for generations all lands in over drafted subbasins have to be administered by a groundwater sustainability agency (GSA) Most GSAs were formed within or among existing agricultural water districts But lands outside water districts had to come under special management zones within GSAs or other government entities the county took on management of those non-districted lands about 215,000 acres across three different groundwater basins Farmers on non-districted lands have never paid land assessment fees to water districts to import water and often rely almost exclusively on groundwater and people’s wells started going dry Madera County suffered a large number of domestic wells going dry during the drought and currently has the highest number of reported dry domestic wells in the state has also been exacerbated by excessive groundwater pumping and wreaked havoc on local infrastructure largely as a result of what happened in the San Joaquin Valley The state’s first-ever attempt at regulating groundwater has been tricky across the board but it set farmers in non-districted lands up for a double whammy – suddenly they had to pay new fees and adhere to restricted pumping allocations The Madera County GSA tried to institute land assessment fees in each of the three subbasins it covers pay to fix domestic wells and compensate farmers to fallow land But the fees frightened and angered numerous growers who felt blindsided by the county’s actions They showed up to protest at a county board of supervisors meeting to certify the results of the Proposition 218 election which is required when new or increased land assessment fees are imposed “You people are putting a gun to our heads” one woman yelled into the podium microphone at the meeting in June 2022 “You can’t pay the chemical bills no more You can’t pay the water bills no more You can’t pay the hired help no more,” the woman continued as the crowd broke into applause the clerk announced that landowners in the Chowchilla subbasin  had voted down the fees But landowners in the Delta-Mendota subbasin had failed to vote down an assessment of $138 per acre And landowners in the Madera subbasin had failed to vote down the $246-per-acre fee now called the California United Water Coalition sued saying the use of a Proposition 218 election was improper Proposition 218 allows government entities to impose property-related fees without a general election landowners needed to submit a majority protest to the County before the deadline The Coalition won an injunction against the fees and have been waiting for a trial But last month the county filed a motion to dismiss the case The group knows that change is necessary to curb overpumping The Coalition says the county did a poor job reaching out to inform landowners what was happening And they object specifically to how tenant farmers unsure if they were eligible to submit protest votes The county says it went “above and beyond” to notify eligible voters of the upcoming election “It’s like ten angry people and some of them have a lot of money,” said Stephanie Anagonson director of water and natural resources for Madera County “They sent mailers that were misleading and bought billboards calling it a tax and telling people to protest So if people missed the memo and didn’t understand Farmer and Coalition leader Ralph Pistoresi sees it differently He helped galvanize opposition to the fees after discovering the county’s notice a flier that was on its way to the trash before his mother brought it to his attention Pistoresi then sent out his own notices urging people to vote the injunction has provided a two year period of reprieve impacting Madera County’s economy as a whole “We’d be out of business,” said Matthew Nonini who leases a little more than 100 acres in the Madera County GSA “There’s not a crop you can grow today to make a return that’s going to be able to pay those fees.” Ninoni said his family has been farming since 1909 Others believe in the inevitability of SGMA but disagree with the County’s approach “The way we’ve been doing things for the last 20 or 30 years – we can’t do that continuing forward,” said Karun Samran Samran was recently elected to serve on the Board of the Chowchilla Water District “SGMA just changed everything.” a manager of the Triangle T Water District “We have to figure out how to make this work then you’re not going to be in business That’s just the economics,” Woolf said “Every GSA is collecting fees.” the injunction has left the groundwater agency without the funds it needs to implement projects “We can’t do the large-scale infrastructure for recharge other than what we have grants to pay for We have a land repurposing program that we don’t have funding for,” Anagnoson said “We got a lot of funding early on and I think it gave people the impression that SGMA was free.” This conflict has slowed SGMA’s already glacial rollout which has left residents in water vulnerable areas just as vulnerable as before The County’s decision to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit comes on the heels of an appellate court decision in the case of a large pistachio grower in Ridgecrest who refused to pay fees of more than $2,000 per acre-foot for groundwater which has a long history of legal precedent The Madera County GSA believes this should apply to the injunction against its fees Anagonson stated that if the injunction is lifted fees will not necessarily apply immediately or retroactively The county is also looking for ways to reduce fees “One purpose of the fees is to ensure that the region has water for farmers long term,” the County’s lawyers wrote in their reply for motion for Judgement These lawsuits are among a handful SGMA-related cases making their way through courts across California Residents of Fairmead, an unincorporated low income community, saw their wells go dry starting around 2014 brought in help from outside organizations to get drinking water to homes Many took out loans and put liens on their houses to drill their wells deeper and a handful of people are still reliant on bottled water and water trucks for basic household functions “If we don’t learn from it and start doing something different then it’s going to happen again,” said Vickie Ortiz long-time resident of Fairmeand and secretary of Fairmead Community and Friends “The drought’s going to happen again.” independent online news publication covering water in the San Joaquin Valley She can be reached at lois.henry@sjvwater.org 2024A vegetation fire that burned through more than 170 acres of dry brush in Madera County is now fully contained.FRESNO (KFSN) -- A vegetation fire that burned through more than 170 acres of dry brush in Madera County is now fully contained CAL FIRE says the flames started just before 5 pm Sunday along Highway 41 and Avenue 11 -- that's near Valley Children's Hospital The flames started on the side of the roadway and were stopped at the San Joaquin River The cause of the fire is under investigation 2024The National Weather Service Hanford confirms a tornado did touch down in Madera County Friday.MADERA COUNTY -- The National Weather Service Hanford confirmed Friday that a tornado did touch down in Madera County Our sister station KFSN-TV in Fresno reported viewers saw the tornado touch down at Berenda Elementary School in the Madera Acres area Video shows the damage it left behind on the campus We're told parents received a text alert to pick up their children while students were taken to the cafeteria for safety and advised to stay away from windows a Tornado Warning was issued in Madera County The National Weather Service says a storm survey will be conducted Saturday for the tornado The tornado comes amid Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings which are in effect for the Sierra Nevada this weekend Click here to view a webcast of the service on 7/10/2021 at 12:50 PM -- The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado touched down in Central California's Madera County on Friday Viewers reported the tornado touched down at Berenda Elementary School in the Madera Acres area Video shows the damage it left behind at the campus was told parents received a text alert to pick up their children A Tornado Warning had been issued in Madera County Mariposa County and Merced County but the warning expired after 4:45 p.m The tornado came amid Blizzard and Winter Storm Warnings Your access to this service has been limited If you think you have been blocked in error contact the owner of this site for assistance If you are a WordPress user with administrative 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Madera Acres, Chowchilla and City of Madera all have improvement projects in the works A new water tower and at least two new surface water tanks will be built this year in Madera County to improve domestic water services. Website content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior written approval from the publisher. the Madera Irrigation District finally found a purpose for it — turning it over for conservancy Madera Irrigation District optioned the 11,000 acres of grassland east of Firebaugh to the Trust for Public Land for $58 million It’s the same scenic expanse of land that the federal government once sank $20 million into for a controversial underground water bank that never materialized Project manager Alex Size with TPL is confident in their ability to raise the funds would close a long chapter for the land once envisioned for underground water storage the 16 square miles of land would be a haven for multiple endangered species and provide space for birdwatchers and researchers alike It also provides critical land for cattle grazing the land has never been used for row crops “You do not see this type of property come up in the Central Valley at large,” Size said “I think in a couple spots you might have that type of acreage This is just such a pristine property from a habitat standpoint It’s just very unique from that perspective.” Dating back to when the Pope family owned the land for grazing “It’s chock full of threatened and endangered species like the kit fox “And so it’s been recognized for a long time as a high priority for conservation.” Ranchers and farmers have been turning to land conservancy more and more as farmers face difficulties growing and younger generations show dwindling interest in family operations it means not needing permission from other landowners to cross private property to get from one parcel to another Non-native grasses have come to the land and often outcompete native grasses Where elk would have normally been able to keep those grasses in check conservationists now need cattle to fill that place “You need a quadruped — either elk in the past to go in there and kind of mow some of those grasses to give the native grasses and species that call that habitat home a fighting chance,” Size said MID has given the trust 24 months to come up with $58 million to buy the land A news release from MID stated that this money would go back into infrastructure throughout MID Multiple attempts to speak with a representative of MID were unsuccessful TPL still needs to fundraise and still needs to do due diligence typical of a real estate purchase The group also will have to do environmental reports on the land as well Size expects the California Wildlife Conservation Board to contribute the lion’s share of the money to purchase the land Madera Ranch isn’t TPL’s biggest purchase — they’ve done projects for $250 million Size said they still have to raise between $15 million and $18 million But if TPL can’t raise the money in time Irrigation District board members could vote to sell it to someone else or someone could see the land’s potential for farming “While no one’s currently knocking on the door to acquire the property right now — I mean we might not have a lot of competition there who knows what it looks like,” Size said And multiple interests have proposed uses for the land Madera Irrigation District purchased Madera Ranch in 2005 for $37.5 million Enron subsidiary and water company Azurix owned the land attempting to create a water bank of their own But Maderans feared the company would export water from the already-overdrafted land, according to a 2008 report on water from Madera County supervisors placed significant rules on exporting water outside the area Enron broke up Azurix in 2001 and sold the company off the Bureau of Reclamation also attempted to create a water bank The ground’s aquifers make it prime land for water storage, according to testimony from Madera Irrigation District board member Carl Janzen in his 2008 testimony to the U.S Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water and Power “Large pools of water literally disappear overnight quickly percolating down to the overdrafted aquifer below,” Janzen said The land would store runoff from the San Joaquin River during wet years Janzen estimated it could store half of Friant Dam The county’s 2008 report stated banked water could be pumped back upstream to reach even eastern Madera County Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) had worked with then Representative George Radanovich (R-Mariposa) to secure federal funds for Madera Irrigation District’s plans to convert Madera Ranch into a water bank Janzen testified before both the House of Representatives and Senate about the proposal Janzen estimated the cost of the project to reach $90 million Radanovich and Feinstein secured $20 million in federal funds to reach that goal Questions as to whether the money had to be returned went unanswered “This was not a decision that was taken lightly,” Janzen said in a 2016 news release following the announcement “The Board believes it is in the District’s best interest to let the permits expire as opposed to investing significant District funds and time in renewing permits for an infeasible project as was contemplated in the permits.” Trump Administration Freezes Future Grants to Harvard 2017 - Temporary arrangements have been made for the fire crews that were using Madera County Fire Station 3 which covers the Madera Acres and Country Club areas north of the City of Madera The old facility was closed due to unsafe conditions after the floor collapsed under a firefighter's bed in the middle of the night it was announced that Fire Station 3 staff will use the Madera County Sheriff’s Department headquarters in Madera during the day and Madera City Firehouse No The trailer that was being used by Fire Station 3 was purchased in the '70s and relocated to its current location in 1986 but was only intended to be temporary housing "These deficiencies within the fire department have existed for decades equipment and facilities were widely publicized during the failed Measure L campaign which was intended to be a mechanism to help restore the fire department quicker," County Administrative Officer Eric Fleming said "In 2016 the Board of Supervisors started a phased plan to replace equipment and increase staffing over time They have also set up an impact fee for new development to fund the construction of new fire stations A Madera County fire station is closed because part of its floor collapsed under a firefighter's bed in the middle of the night The county says the fire station is shut down because of safety concerns It say the building is in terrible shape and is uninhabitable Cal Fire Division Chief Dave Allen says the county is working on a temporary fix until all the problems with the station are solved This fire station is one of seventeen in Madera County A new 1700-acre development called Madera at FM1314 and SH242 claims it will have “no adverse impact” on surrounding areas the authors of the drainage impact analysis used a controversial technique permitted by Montgomery County drainage regulations It’s called “hydrologic timing.” The technique doesn’t take into account drainage from other developments in surrounding areas Nor did it factor in the destruction of wetlands The theory behind hydrologic timing is that if you can get your water to the river before the peak of a flood arrives This might have “no adverse impact” if you were the only development in a watershed …everybody is racing to get their drainage to the river faster instead of slower. That could be shifting the peak for the entire watershed. A nearby 2,200-acre development called Artavia also used hydrologic timing to prove no adverse impact claimed that its drainage plan would get water to the West Fork 35 hours before upstream peaks arrived Madera (literally a few hundred feet away on the other side of SH242) claims it will get its peak to Crystal Creek 28 hours before that stream’s peak arrives Crystal Creek empties into the West Fork just upstream from Artavia’s drainage So you could have potentially one peak on top of another and another Neither development accounts for peak changes induced by the other in analyses Now multiply that times a hundred or a thousand developments and you see the danger Several years ago, residents pleaded with MoCo Commissioners to outlaw such “beat the peak” analyses for this very reason The US Fish & Wildlife Service shows its dotted with wetlands – nature’s detention ponds Even the Montgomery County Appraisal District website shows Madera covered with swamp symbols and ponds the drainage impact analysis supplied by engineers makes no attempt to compare the amount of natural detention to man-made detention Engineers claim they aren’t adding to discharge; they’re just shifting the peak But because of all the development in MoCo in the last 40 years it’s not clear when that peak from outside the development will really happen Madera plans do show a number of detention ponds Madera will still add 16,300 cubic feet per second to the West Fork in a 100-year storm And that’s just for Phase 1 of the development “will not likely have an impact on peak flows…” To put that volume in perspective, during the peak of Harvey, the SJRA says the nearby West Fork carried 115,000 CFS So Madera will contribute 14% of Harvey’s volume at that point on the West Fork And most people consider Harvey far more than a 100-year storm The hydrograph below shows how the peak on Brays Bayou shifted over time with upstream development HCFCD and its partners have spent more than $700 million on flood mitigation in the Brays Bayou watershed The safest strategy is for new developments to “retain their rain” until the peak of a flood has passed and then release it slowly “Retain Your Rain” is the motto of most floodplain managers there would really be “no adverse impact.” it will encounter a steep drop that requires the use of check dams and other measures to slow water down Erosion during Harvey has already cost taxpayers more than $100 million in dredging costs and that total will go higher The hundreds of pages supplied by the Montgomery County Engineer’s Office in response to a FOIA Request show that this development tract consists “…primarily of evergreen and mixed forest and woody/herbaceous wetlands.” [Empasis added.] Yet the drainage analysis never again mentions that when it claims the development will have no adverse impact Harris County Flood Control has long lobbied to eliminate hydrologic timing in drainage analyses for the reasons mentioned above Montgomery County Commissioners have not acted on the proposal The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas SearchRetired farmer warns of huge water problemTyler TakedaOct 3 20218 min readWendy Alexander/Madera Tribune File Photo holds up organic carrots grown on his property in 2015 Willey spoke to The Madera Tribune recently about the state’s water issues retired farmer Tom Willey of T&D Willey Organic Farms pumped water onto his 75 acres of farmland in Madera County Willey didn’t think of much other than growing his crops and living off the land now he realized he was part of the problem and the entire Central Valley could be in for a rude awakening when it comes to water issues “He basically goes around and services a bunch of agriculture wells He has been running cameras down people’s wells at a rate of about three a day People have been calling him frantically of what is going on with their pump with no water or water quality bad He was dropping his camera down wells and has seen a precipitous drop in the water table The white area was almost all rangeland or cattle land or wheat When the nut craze came in and nut irrigation and micro sprinklers came in to irrigate undulating land are being farmed where they don’t have access to canal water They are depleting their well and other people’s wells across the whole district If we don’t wake up as a community and who’s the Jonah on the boat We don’t have a highly diversified economy here It’s a very agriculturally dependent economy If we are just honest and determine that we can’t have people farming on just pumped well water outside of the district Something has to go and it has to be the agriculture in the white area that doesn’t ever have access to canal water The quicker we wake up to that and do something about it the better chance we will have of surviving as a community and having some viable agriculture in the foreseeable future.” Willey moved to Madera from Fresno in 1995 after farming for about 15 years one of the main things I noticed was we didn’t have any recharge basins They are all over in the Fresno Irrigation District,” he said Willey noticed there are two major river systems feeding the Central Valley — the Kings River and the San Joaquin River The Kings River is under local control,” he said “The San Joaquin River is under control by the federal government — Bureau of Reclamation 14 and Road 20 in beautiful downtown Bonita We started growing all sorts of vegetables We found out that even though we were smack dab in the middle of the Madera Irrigation District we couldn’t access the canal water that went through our farm That’s because of a whole lot of bureaucratic regulations the depth to groundwater was about 120 feet Willey was ready to retire and that 80 feet of groundwater lost was a big reason to sell the farm we were delighted we bought a farm,” he said “It took us 15 years just to save enough for a down payment We were able to pay that thing off in 10 years We lined up my three children and asked if they wanted to farm and they didn’t want to we would sit there and watch the weeds grow “This was in 2015 and the craze was going on and people were going crazy buying almond and pistachio orchards and land to grow them on with abandon They were paying huge amounts of money for the acreage they could plant on We were in the depths of the last bitter drought that lasted from 2012-2016 and we were the last state in the Western United States decided to put limits on the extraction of groundwater from the aquifers We were in the middle of a drought and there was no canal water I learned from a couple of people who said that in five years you would have enough to farm two-thirds of your acreage defined by any irrigated land outside of an irrigation district they would be lucky to farm one-third of their acreage Willey and his wife decided to sell the farm and his 75 acres Jackrabbits and sage brushes and my children didn’t want to farm the land We passed the business to folks and they didn’t manage it well We’re not the only people that have been selling properties with the knowledge that the water is diminishing vastly The climate had changed since 1985 and our precipitation has become very erratic —very wet years and super dry years — and we’re in a super dry year We’ve had a couple of weeks of water in the canals More and more people are moving into the land where there are no pumps or canals so the farmers are pumping the ground water now the ground water is getting less and less so the farmers can’t fully irrigate their crops “I have a lot of farming friends in both situations,” Willey said “I have friends in Madera Irrigation District and other districts I also have friends that farm in the white area that don’t have canal water and pump I’m reluctant to stick my neck out there to say that agriculture has to go These guys have an idea it wasn’t the best place to bet on indefinite decades of farming out there The chickens have come home to roost and we have to deal with that as a community I really don’t think there’s a broad appreciation of what is going on in regards to the water both the urban community and agriculture community.” most of the solutions are decades-long solution “Most of the viable dams have been built and most aren’t filled up because the rainfall was so sparse last year,” Willey said “There are talks about building dams and opposition about the dams What we have is have huge wet years and huge dry years there’s not enough dams to put enough water What we have to do is do more groundwater recharge You have to spread the water out and sink it into the ground There are some innovative farmers that have demonstrated how that is done we should be spreading all the water and getting it into the aquifers We either have not enough water or too much water.” environmentalists have also had their say in how water is dispersed “There’s been a lot of disagreement about how to manager our water,” Willey said “The farmer’s interests were on the top of the game 70 years ago We stole it fair and square and had all the water to use for a long time There were 40-year contracts for the water the need to maintain native fisheries were ignored The environmental movement became a reality during those 40 years and were ready when the contracts expired The fisheries were decimated and have to be maintained That’s been a big issue over the last 30 years of how to maintain environmental stability and manage agriculture.” Willey says that in order to keep up with the water supply a lot of acreage of farmland needs to be eliminated “It’s pretty well recognized by everyone that we over-developed agriculture for the amount of resources we have to serve it,” he said “It’s understood in the San Joaquin Valley we’re going to have to eliminate 500,000 to 1,000,000 acres of our 6,000,000 acres in order to get things in balance.” dispersing the water will be a challenge because the water systems “Both the California aqueduct on the west side and the Friant/Kern Canal on the east side have dips in them The canals have sunk a few feet in certain places where groundwater have been pumped out It’s going to cost $1 billion to fix that canal We can’t fully utilize the infrastructure we have the ground sank and the canals have humps and swells in them and they don’t work right.” Willey knows there is no short term answer and he also says there is no one to blame It’s just the way it is and the community needs to be aware about how dire the water situation is “We’re not calling anybody the black hat.” he said I had my 75 acres in the Madera Irrigation District I pumped a lot of water to grow those vegetables Even though we had canal water running below us It wasn’t the best thing for sustainability That’s the difference in doing business with the Bureau of Reclamation versus the Army Corps of Engineers.” “We need some high speed water projects to save what is the most productive unique real estate on the planet with the Central Valley,” Willey said rewritten or redistributed without prior written approval from the publisher This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Update Tuesday Evening: CAL FIRE: 35 Acres with 100% Containment Update Tuesday Morning: CAL FIRE: 35 Acres with 40% ContainmentChange in acreage due to better mapping Update: CAL FIRE: 50 Acres with 20% Containment Update: 9:15 P.M. Madera County Sheriff's Office: The Madera County Sheriff's Office is pleased to announce the all Evacuation Warning and Orders for the Lilly Fire have been lifted emergency equipment and personnel will be in the area overnight and into tomorrow Road 400 between Lilly Mountain Drive and River Road Way is closed to all traffic until tomorrow due to Fire Equipment on the road Update: 7:10 P.M. Madera County Sheriff's Office: The Evacuation Order for Long Hollow Drive between the dead end and Long Hollow Court South has been reduced to a Evacuation Warning Fire Crews are still in the area working and residents need to be prepared to leave at a moments notice if conditions change The Evacuation Warning for the remaining areas of Yosemite Lakes Park have been lifted The only remaining evacuation warnings are those listed above Road 400 between Lilly Mountain Drive and River Road Way remains closed to traffic due fire equipment being in the road Madera County Sheriff's Office: An Evacuation Warning has been issued for Long Hollow Drive between Long Hollow Court North and Yosemite Springs Parkway Acorn and Acorn Way due to wildfire.Update: 6:00 P.M Madera County Sheriff's Office: An Evacuation Warning has been issued for STARLIGHT COURT due to wildfireJune 28 2021 - The Madera County Sheriff's Office reports an Evacuation Order has been issued for Road 400/Lilley Mountain Drive due to wildfire If you’re in need of evacuation assistance An evacuation shelter is to be determined.Source: Madera County Sheriff's Office Forest Service – Sierra National Forest Engine 314 working in the steep terrain of the Whiskey Fire You must be logged in to post a comment SearchMadera’s cemetery district honoredTami Jo NixNov 27 Madera Cemetery District employees gather for a photo in front of the Veterans Memorial at Arbor Vitae Cemetery Madera cemeteries are being honored as runner-up to a very prestigious award “We are so excited at Madera Cemetery District,” said manager Belva Bare “We are one of the three finalists for the American Cemetery of Excellence Award I originally thought this was just the United States but it seems that one of the contenders was in Chile The other two cemeteries in contention for the A.C.E Award were Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans Madera Cemetery District has been named runner-up in the 2019 American Cemetery Excellence Award The story was featured in the American Cemetery and Cremation magazine for November the Madera Cemetery District is one of 258 public cemetery districts in the state The district is comprised of five Madera county cemeteries Governed by an appointed board of trustees the district’s boundaries encompass the majority of Madera county and include two cemeteries in Madera and one each in Oakhurst The present board of trustees is comprised of chairperson Lois Betty vice chair David Nemeth and trustees Jim Harper Initially formed by the vote of local residents and property owners in 1945 two cemeteries were included in the original formation of the district One formed in 1885 by the Ladies Social Aid Society of Madera-Fresno County is now known as the Arbor Vitae Cemetery (1301 Roberts Avenue) The second cemetery formed in 1889 on land deeded to the district in 1946 by the Roman Catholic Monterey-Fresno Diocese It is known as Calvary Cemetery (28447 Avenue 14) eight-month-old Frankie Nichols died in Fresno Flats his father chose a beautiful site on an oak-covered hill and dug the first grave for his infant son Now known as Oakhill Cemetery (40188 State Route 41) in Oakhurst It has been under the umbrella of the district since 1955 The Woodsmen of the World started a pioneer cemetery in Raymond in 1905 It was incorporated into Madera County in 1928 and the Raymond Cemetery on Road 607 in Raymond became part of the district in 1953 Forest Service issued a land-use permit for a 30-acre cemetery site in 1910 In 1957 upon the request of the North Fork community and the U “The history of Madera Cemetery District dates back 75 years,” said Bare along with prior district managers Alan Brown Wanda Kight and Barbara Manfredo’s vision is what has enhanced Madera Cemetery District into what it is today.” The Madera District is one of the largest public cemetery districts in California final resting place for those qualifying district residents and their families Cemetery districts are separate local governments found mostly in rural areas or suburban areas that were once rural “We manage the five cemeteries for Madera County by providing a range of burial options and handle services in a caring compassionate manner with the intent to maintain improve and historically preserve the grounds for the benefit of Madera County residents and their families,” Bare said The Madera Cemetery District is a public cemetery independent special district which is sanctioned under California law to serve a common community of interest The district is funded through its interment fees and a portion of local property tax revenue taxpayers and their families of the district may be buried in one of its cemeteries It is one of the largest public cemetery districts in California providing a beautiful final resting place for those qualifying district residents and their families “There are a lot of rules and regulations that the state requires to keep everything on the straight and narrow,” Bare acknowledged “but we work together as a team to do what is best for the families we serve.” “As a guardian of family and community heritage the Madera Cemetery District provides a beautifully landscaped living memorial quality care and exemplary service in perpetuity where families come to honor and celebrate life,” said Bare each of the cemeteries has its own distinct personality Arbor Vitae Cemetery’s oldest burial record is that of Elizabeth Mace It is also home to a beautiful interment arbor area for use during services Calvary Cemetery is the district’s largest property with 20 acres developed and 30 undeveloped acres it offers families a mausoleum and niche areas for both above ground and in-ground use Oakhill Cemetery may be the most well known of the district’s cemeteries it is a natural stopping place for visitors on their way to Yosemite National Park Its seven developed acres and 11 undeveloped acres feature The Little Church on the Hill the Little Church has its own nine-member foundation board which is raising money to fund a restoration of the building which is used for weddings and christenings North Fork Cemetery features five developed acres and 27 undeveloped acres it offers families ground and niche burials Raymond Cemetery is just five acres and features many family areas The task of keeping the cemeteries running is accomplished with 20 full-time employees two-part time employees and four temporary employees who work during the spring and summer months who has worked for the district for 28 years “Most of our employees have been here for a minimum of 10 years and we have people who have worked here for 25 years and we take care of them as if they are family.” The district’s grounds are regularly recognized in the top five in the state of California for public cemeteries “Our employees take a lot of pride in what they do,” she said “They always want to do the best for the families.” Some of that comes from the open door policy Bare has established “I want our employees to come in and talk about any ideas they may have,” she said “Those ideas are then brought to our board of trustees for evaluation .. Teamwork is an integral part of the fabric of the Madera Cemetery District The district hosts a variety of veterans and other patriotic services throughout the year the staff has been involved in a number of other community projects from building planters for an organization that helps the disabled to building a playhouse and tables for a local mission in Madera to providing food bags and gift cards to families in need Bare said it’s not Madera Cemetery District’s goal to compete against the private cemeteries but instead to offer families a peaceful and relaxing place a place to grieve and to spend time with a loved one offer affordable interment services for county residents,” Bare said Welcome Mickeymickey@disney.comManage MyDisney AccountLog OutClerk found shot to death at 'Tackle Box' gas station near MaderaTuesday 2017A homicide investigation is underway after a man was found shot to death at a gas station.MADERA COUNTY (KFSN) -- A homicide investigation is underway after a store clerk was found shot to death at a gas station The shooting happened just before 11 p.m Monday at the Tackle Box gas station on Road 26 and La Brea Avenue Investigators say someone pulled into the gas station and found a male employee who was shot to death during an apparent robbery Investigators say two suspects stole cash and two boxes of cigarettes before firing several shots One of those shots hit the employee and killed him One of the suspects was wearing a black jacket The other suspect was wearing a black "Reebok" sweatshirt The suspect with the blue bandana was armed with a silver revolver and both suspects wore gloves In a development firefighters are calling "a real milestone," the Creek Fire achieved 6% containment on Thursday after scorching more than 175,000 acres and forcing 45,000 people to evacuate Fresno and Madera counties "I think today was really the first day that we've shifted from being primarily on the defense to now being on the offense That means we're kind of taking the fight back to the fire," Forest Supervisor Dean Gould said during a Thursday night update 4 above Shaver Lake and exploded rapidly over Labor Day weekend stranding hundreds of hikers who were airlifted to safety by National Guard pilots in a harrowing rescue operation The fire is now the 17th-largest in California history California wildfires: Wildfires, smoke and ash cause 'apocalyptic' sky over California While smoke prevented aircraft from dropping retardant over the fire on Thursday officials said the inversion layer is a tradeoff that ultimately benefited firefighters Relatively calmer winds and cooler temperatures slowed the fires' growth to 12,000 additional acres a "pretty dramatic drop in terms of daily growth," Gould remarked.  "I want to make it extremely clear: If on any other day ever 12,000 acres of the Sierra National Forest were consumed that would be an extremely hard day," he said. "I am simply pointing out that in comparison to 45,000 or 35,000 (acres) coming down to 12,000 is certainly a very positive trend that I'll take any day in this instance." roughly 1,300 firefighters dug firelines across the San Joaquin River allowing management teams on the north and south sides of the fire to get a foothold on the massive blaze Officials said Creek Fire is the state's No 1 priority in terms of allocating resources due to the threat posed by the forest and its many dead trees.  Firefighters estimate full containment won't be reached until mid-October and expect the fire to continue to expand in the coming days though not to the extent seen in the early days of the blaze's out-of-control growth Crews are working the fire from the outside and the inside both slowing the fire's growth and fortifying communities — such as Shaver Lake and Cascadel Woods — located near the fire's smoldering heart Video: Creek Fire smoke visible from space A total of 361 structures have been destroyed by Creek Fire Sheriff's officials said people did a good job of obeying road closures and no arrests were made Deputies chased down and arrested two people on Wednesday for illegally entering evacuation zones All evacuation orders and advisories remain in effect Evacuation centers are located at Clovis North High School and the Mariposa County Fairgrounds the Creek Fire reached a cache of explosives that China Peak Mountain Resort uses to control avalanches fire officials were made aware of the explosive materials and were out of the area when they ignited The Fresno County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Explosives will investigate the incident to determine whether the bombs were stored properly The Clovis Rodeo Grounds which has served as an emergency shelter for small and equine animals reported it was at capacity Thursday Displaced animals should be taken to the Fresno Fairgrounds for safety the Producer's Livestock facility will take large animals five record-busting blazes are now burning. The North Complex Fire's death toll rose to 10 as authorities reported seven more deaths across Plumas Butte and Yuba counties on Thursday.  already making 2020 the biggest fire season in recorded history with four months to go.  A Lehigh Acres man pleaded no contest to nine counts of possessing obscene materials Thursday and a judge dismissed his remaining nine counts of the same charge who accepted his plea and sentenced him to 36 months in prison and 60 months probation 'I hope not': Lehigh Acres man facing child porn charges allegedly told police 'I hope not' when asked if he had child pornography files which revealed multiple media storage devices.  An examination of the external hard drives found 18 child pornography files showing pre-pubescent females and adult males in various sexual acts according to a Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrest report He told investigators that he downloads pornography but if he found child pornography he would delete it Files had been downloaded to Madera-Escorbores' computer since 2012 Once Madera-Escorbores is released from prison he must also register as a sex offender.  Mickeymickey@disney.comManage MyDisney AccountLog OutBrush fire in Simi Valley burns at least 10 acres prompts closure of westbound Highway 118ByABC7.com staff Thursday 2021All westbound lanes of Highway 118 in the Simi Valley area were shut down Thursday afternoon due to a brush fire that was pushing toward the roadway.SIMI VALLEY (KABC) -- All westbound lanes of Highway 118 in the Simi Valley area were shut down Thursday afternoon due to a brush fire that was pushing toward the roadway according to the Ventura County Fire Department the blaze had grown to about 10 acres but officials said firefighters were making "good progress" on containment was described as "pushing quickly" toward the highway All westbound lanes are closed from Madera Road to Collins Drive The cause of the fire has not been determined 2015The young boy appeared in court Tuesday with his mother He denied all allegations against him but in the end he was taken into custody.MADERA COUNTY (KFSN) -- The district attorney's office said a minor started the fast-spreading Willow Fire in Madera County The fire burned more than 5,000 acres and injured six firefighters The young boy appeared in court Tuesday with his mother He denied all allegations against him but in the end he was taken into custody Cameras were not allowed inside the Madera County juvenile courtroom prosecutors said they urged the suspect in this summer's Willow Fire to be put in jail confirms the boy is less than 14-years-old "My personal belief is that he needs psychological treatment." The Madera County District Attorney's Office is aggressively pursuing the case charging the boy with felony arson and felony negligently starting a fire The Willow Fire burned 5,700 acres northeast of North Fork Linn said the minor made a full confession to authorities even going up to the site to show them how he started the fire "He had obtained a lighter from I believe a tool kit in his parents car," explained Linn "They were out in the Willow Creek area for a hike Linn said the boy then lit a branch with dry pine needles on fire and even though he said he tried to put them out "It was in a very rugged area of terrain in the mountains." the young boy could face a long-term sentence in custody ideally before his next court date in two weeks.