Category Archives: Wildlife

Wildlife

Heat wipes out California Poppy Bloom In Antelope Valley

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

Whew!  It’s sure been hot!  And that heat has cooked the color right out of an early bloom of California poppies.

From 89.3 KPCC’s website:

The weekend’s unseasonable record heat has prematurely “cooked” the color right out of the annual bloom of California poppies in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, which is normally covered in orange blossoms right about now.

“We’re astonished to find that our big bloom of desert-adapted, ruggedly persistent poppies has been all but cooked away by the unseasonable heat we’ve had over the last week,” the reserve posted in a Bloom Status dated March 15.

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Wildlife

CDFW Resumes Trout Planting in Kern and Tulare County Waterways

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has started planting catchable rainbow trout in Kern and Tulare County rivers and lakes last month after water temperatures cooled enough to ensure success.

The first fish from the Kern River Hatchery were put into the Kern River above Kernville and more fish will be planted from the hatchery as water temperatures continue to drop. Ming, River Walk, Truxton and other lakes around Bakersfield have also been stocked with catchable-sized rainbow trout, with others to follow. Continue reading →

News, Wildlife

Brown signs bill to fix fire fee provisions

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

From Capital Press:

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that reduces penalties for late payments of rural fire prevention fees and waives the fees for landowners who’ve lost their residences to fire.

SACRAMENTO — The more than 800,000 rural California residents charged $150 per structure for fire prevention will get some relief in certain cases.

Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed legislation that reduces the penalty for late payments from 20 percent to 10 percent per month and waives the fee for homeowners who lose their residence to a wildfire or other natural disaster.

Assembly Bill 2042 was authored by Assemblyman Brian Dahle, R-Bieber, and passed unanimously in both legislative chambers.

“Like most north state residents, I’d rather see the fee simply repealed,” Dahle said in a statement. “In the meantime, this bill reforms some of the worst aspects of the fee. In particular, it was egregious that the law taxed homeowners who’d lost their homes to fire.”

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National Parks, Wildlife

Meadow Fire grows to 700 acres

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

ABC News is reporting that the week old Meadow Fire has grown to 700 acres.

From a smaller 100-acre blaze, the fire has suddenly flared up, jumping to 300 acres yesterday and igniting an additional 400 acres overnight.

From their website:

A wildfire in Yosemite National Park grew to 700 acres Sunday, with about 100 visitors rescued by helicopter, park officials said.

Sunday’s strong winds and high temperatures fueled the fire, park spokeswoman Kari Cobb told ABC News.

Hikers were airlifted from Half Dome peak, a popular rock formation, as well as nearby campgrounds and hiking trails, Cobb said.

“We actually had a number of helicopters here in the park that were able to airlift these individuals back to Yosemite Valley so that they could be out of the way of the fire,” Cobb said.

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National Parks, Wildlife

Yosemite – El Portal Fire expands to 2,100 acres

Posted on by Shawn E. Bell

The El Portal fire started on the afternoon of Saturday, July 26th in the Old El Portal area of Yosemite National Park. As of 6:00am on Sunday, July 27th, the fire has grown to an estimated 2,100 acres with 5% containment.

Multiple structures are threatened, one structure is reported as lost.

The Old El Portal and Foresta communities, along with the Crane Flat campground, have been evacuated.

Highway 120 (Big Oak Flat Road) is currently closed from the Highway 140 (El Portal Road) junction to Tioga Road at Crane Flat (Tioga Road is open only from Highway 120 in Groveland and Lee Vining.

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