May 11, 2013 (Potrero) – A motorcyclist was airlifted to Sharp Memorial Hospital with a broken leg after sideswiping a fire truck near Potrero this morning. According to California Highway Patrol spokesman Brian Pennings, the motorcyclist was speeding when the 49-year-old driver lost control and sideswiped a Cal-Fire truck on state route 94.

By Miriam Raftery

April 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) yesterday announced it has signed five new renewable power purchase agreements including two in San Diego County.  But oddly, a local planner and a news editor in these rural communities have told ECM they were unaware of these projects.

SDG&E’s release did not state where in San Diego County the projects would be located. Jennifer Ramp with SDG&E has informed ECM that the two local projects are Silverado Power, LLC’s Zodiac Solar (20 Megawatts) in Potrero and Northlight Power’s C908 Solar project (7 MW) in Valley Center.  Both projects are newly executed and have not yet been approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, Ramp said.

By Miriam Raftery

April 10, 2013 (Potrero) – Jerry Fowler, who suffered serious injuries after falling into a well in Potrero on March 13, is now out of the intensive care unit at Sharps memorial Hospital but is still on “some life support” according to his parents, Thell and Normal Fowler.

“As of now, he is awake a lot of the time and sees us with his eyes and moves his head when we talk to him.  He can move his arms and legs, squeezes our hands and rubs his thumb on the back of our hands to let us know he knows it is us,” his parents wrote in an e-mail to concerned community members. “His doctor says he is not out of the woods yet, but he has a long way to go.  At first the doctors said that from the damage of the fall he may not ever wake up, but he has proven them wrong.”

By Nadin Abbott

March 13, 2013 (Potrero)—Community members in Potrero are rallying to raise funds to help pay for the medical expenses of Gerry Fowler, who was critically injured on Sunday March 10 when he fell into the family's well, as ECM reported. Fowler, an independent truck driver, does not have medical insurance. 

Walena Arnold, owner of the Potrero General Store told ECM that the community is very close knit and that a fund has been created to help defray the medical costs.  Blood donations are also needed and can be made in Gerry Fowler’s name at the San Diego Blood Bank.

January 9, 2013 (Anza Borrego) – Daren Sefcik photographed these spectacular images in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park.  This endangered Peninsular Bighorn Sheep ram was spotted in a canyon between Potrero and Squaw canyons near Agua Caliente campground. “We were out backpacking for four days through there, “Sefcik says.  He also captured this beautiful sunrise over Whale Peak, photographed from Fish Creek.

By Miriam Raftery

July 22, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – Revelations that six wildfires in the past six weeks have been caused by recreational shooting in East County has caused a firestorm of controversy.  

Cal-Fire, joined by residents of  Dulzura, Potrero and other areas bordering the Otay Wilderness area have asked the federal Bureau of Land Management to ban shooting on its properties within San Diego County for the duration of this year’s expected severe fire season.  

Update 5:30 p.m.  This fire was contained at 8 acres, Cal Fire reports.

June 17, 2012 (Potrero) - Cal-Fire is on the scene of a 6-acre brush fire on Potrero Valley Road in Potrero, Incident Page Network reports. The fire is reportedly spreading at a slow rate of speed. Watch for update soon.

March 8, 2012 (Potrero) – The SNAP (Spay Neuter Action Project) Mobile Veterinarian staffed bus will be at the Potrero Library, 24883 Potrero Valley Road, in Potrero on March 16th and 17th. The project provides spay and neutering services for low income pet owners as well as good Samaritans with feral cats in traps.

By Miriam Raftery

March 7, 2012 (Potrero) – Richard Fox has been arrested after a  homemade cannon that he fired killed his girlfriend, Jeanette Ogara, 38, at her Potrero residence.

According to Sgt. David Martinez with the San Diego Sheriff’s Homicide Detail, rural deputies from the Campo/Tecate substation responded to an assault with a deadly weapons report at a residence in the 2400 block of Potrero Valley Road yesterday shortly after midnight. They found the victim fatally wounded from shrapnel fired by the cannon.

History comes to life in upcoming December events

August 24, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – A brush fire that started south of Highway 94 along the Bell Valley Truck Trail near Potrero this morning charred approximately 20 acres, Cal Fire reports.

A quick response that included 7 engines, 5 fire crews, 3 helicopters, 4 air tankers and 125 firefighters swiftly contained the blaze.

By Miriam Raftery

May 15, 2011 (Potrero) – Local elected officials have reacted with outrage to news that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has sent a letter demanding money back from victims of the Harris Fire. ECM reported on May 12 that Donald and Veronica Lytle of Potrero are among 5,500 disaster survivors nationwide who have been ordered to repay disaster payments.

A FEMA representative who declined to be named admits to ECM that none of these requests involve fraud, but rather errors that FEMA says its representatives made.

 Now, Supervisor Dianne Jacob has pledged to contact FEMA and federal officials on behalf of the victims. In addition, Jan Hedlun, an elected member of the Potrero Planning Group, has sent a letter to FEMA urging that the demand be dropped--and providing an eye witness account of horrific conditions during the firestorm.

Harris Fire survivors among thousands nationwide ordered to return money to FEMA

By Miriam Raftery

May 12, 2011 (Potrero) – Donald and Veronica Lytle are stunned after receiving a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) demanding that they return all of the $1,647.43 that FEMA paid them in 2007 for cleanup and temporary lodging after their home on Potrero Valley Road was damaged in the Harris wildfire. FEMA has offered no explanation for the demand, other than stating that the entire amount was an “overpayment.”

The Lytles say FEMA insists their home did not suffer fire damage--despite mounds of ashes blown inside and a hole knocked in the roof by a tree felled during a firestorm so extreme that it fueled its own weather system.

ECM editor Miriam Raftery visited Potrero during that firestorm and concidentally, interviewed the Lytles’ next-door neighbor—witnessing firsthand the devastation clearly caused by the horrific wildfire.

By Billie Jo Jannen

Firefighters shoot back at border fire

September 29, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) -- A Mexican fire that threatened the border area between Castle Rock and Bell Valley over the weekend was turned back handily at the border fence Sunday night by a line of firefighters armed with a variety of ignition devices.

That’s right—I said ignition devices.

September 2, 2010 (Campo) – A strike team of firefighters is staging at Star Ranch for structure protection, aiming to halt the 200-acre Cowboy fire at the outskirts of the Ranch before it can reach the Campo Hills housing development. The fire is burning in a northeast direction.

“A large water bomber just flew overhead,” Christy Scott, editor of the Alpine Sun, informed East County Magazine. Lake Morena provides an accessible source of water for water-dropping aircraft, she added.

Story and photos by Miriam Raftery

August 29, 2010 (Jamul) – “This is the most unusual ribbon-cutting I’ve ever done,” Supervisor Dianne Jacob declared, moments before driving a vintage 1907 REO car through a red ribbon at yesterday’s ceremony honoring the state’s declaration of Old Highway 94 as a historic highway. The event was held at Simpson’s “Garden Town” Nursery in Jamul—starting point for this weekend's motorist adventures.

To participate, just stop by the Nursery to pick up a map with a list of discounts and free items offered by merchants along the route, then present the flyer to shops and restaurants along the drive from Jamul to Boulevard today.

By Dinah Saur

April 1, 2010 (Potrero) – Two years after Blackwater USA withdrew its proposal to build a private military base in Round Potrero Valley, the property owner welcomes a new version of black water on the site.

November 30, 2009 -- East County Roundup includes the most important stories about San Diego's eastern regions, or stories relevant to our readers, that are published by other media. Top stories from the past month include:

• Bilbray Billing Bilbray: North County Congress member pays his wife from campaign coffers
  
• SD Retailers Pleased with Early Black Friday Results
  
• 70% of Local Sex Offenders Live Too Close to Parks, Schools
  
• Thrift Store to Leave Downtown El Cajon
  
• Anderson Defends Mailer Touting Bill
  
• 'They're Looking at Impending Doom' - If California exacts the worst possible cuts on schools, San Diego Unified literally has no idea how it can balance its budget.
  
• Bankruptcy an Option, Says Mayor's Fiscal Task Force
  
• Cuyamaca College Names Its New President
  
• San Diego State Athletic Director Jeff Schemmel Resigns Amid Controversy
  
• Potrero Preschool Reopens After 2007 Harris Fire