Continuing our top stories of 2020 are three stories with a big effect on the environment and wildlife. Several fires west of the Morongo Basin blanketed our area with smoke for days. The Apple Fire started July 31, caused by burning carbon from a diesel truck’s exhaust off of Oak Glen Road in Cherry Valley. The fire burned more than 33,000 acres and threatened evacuations of Morongo Valley and Pioneertown. The Dome Fire in the Mojave Preserve burned 43,000 acres of thick Joshua tree forests; it was started by lightning August 15. Closer to home, lightning sparked a small wildfire in Sunfair Dry Lake in Joshua Tree August 18, and burned 160 acres. The El Dorado fire started September 5 by a gender-reveal smoke-bomb near Yucaipa. It burned almost 23,000 acres. Both the Apple and El Dorado fires were not declared 100 percent contained until November 18.
Continuing our top stories of 2020 are three stories with a big effect on the environment and wildlife. Several fires west of the Morongo Basin blanketed our area with smoke for days. The Apple Fire started July 31, caused by burning carbon from a diesel truck’s exhaust off of Oak Glen Road in Cherry Valley. The fire burned more than 33,000 acres and threatened evacuations of Morongo Valley and Pioneertown. The Dome Fire in the Mojave Preserve burned 43,000 acres of thick Joshua tree forests; it was started by lightning August 15. Closer to home, lightning sparked a small wildfire in Sunfair Dry Lake in Joshua Tree August 18, and burned 160 acres. The El Dorado fire started September 5 by a gender-reveal smoke-bomb near Yucaipa. It burned almost 23,000 acres. Both the Apple and El Dorado fires were not declared 100 percent contained until November 18.
A one-day record 10,048 new coronavirus cases were reported in San Bernardino County Tuesday (January 5) as public health officials brace for the latest post-holiday surge of positive test results.
The adjusted case rate rose to 90.5 new cases per day per 100,000 residents. State data shows a slight week-over-week decrease in test-positivity rate in San Bernardino County. Close to 1 in 4 tested in the week ending December 26 were infected. San Bernardino County health officials reported 1,763 patients were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, January 4, with 346 in intensive care units. The county-run hospital, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, has 5% of its ICU capacity remaining.
Every hospital in the county has now activated surge plans to cope with the crush of patients.
The Sheriff’s Department has received an increased number of calls about illegal marijuana grows in the Morongo Basin. During a recently completed four-month-long investigation that targeted illegal marijuana cultivations in the Morongo Basin, deputies with the Gang/Narcotics Division served 56 search warrants and made 68 arrests. There were 21 warrants served in Twentynine Palms; 17 in Landers; 14 in Wonder Valley; three in Yucca Valley; and one in Morongo Valley. Anyone who has information about illegal marijuana grows can call 909-387-8400, or to remain anonymous, call 800-78-CRIME.
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Turn on the tap now and you’ll have plenty of fresh water, but it wasn’t always that way. Water is what our bodies and our communities need to survive, thrive, and grow. Before 1995, Yucca Valley would face serious water shortages and at some points, Joshua Basin water would have to be brought into Yucca Valley. Reporter Cassidy Taylor picks up the story from here…
The lack of a stable water supply was a problem. Fire departments worried about inadequate water flow, developers wouldn’t invest in an area running out of water, and residents feared their property values dropping. As the future of the Morongo Basin looked unsure, it was time to act.