Ocotillo Wells

JACUMBA ARTIST FEATURED AT GALLERY GRAND OPENING IN OCOTILLO JANUARY 14

By Rebecca Person 

 

January 10, 2024 (Jacumba) -- Kirk Gilliam, an electrician by trade, is one of ten talented artists represented at the new Gateway Gallery in Ocotillo at 1173 Imperial Highway, which celebrates its grand opening on January 14 from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

The artists hail mostly from southernmost California towns in the border area - El Centro, Bombay Beach (Salton Sea), Anza-Borrego, Jacumba Hot Springs, San Diego, and on the Mexican side, Mexicali. Gateway Gallery is the realized dream of Mark Silva, resident of the desert hamlet of Ocotillo. Silva bought the house which was to become the future gallery last January and embarked on fulfilling his dream with the participation of fellow artists.


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FIRE DAMAGES SEVERAL RV TRAILERS IN OCOTILLO WELLS

By Miriam Raftery

Photo of burned trailers via Cal Fire on Twitter

February 21, 2023 (Ocotillo Wells) – A fire on private property has caused heavy damage to six recreational vehicle trailers in Ocotillo Wells.

Cal Fire San Diego posed on Twitter early yesterday evening that it was at the scene of multiple large vehicles on fire along Split Mountain Road south of Highway 78 in Ocotillo. 


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ALL WIND TURBINES AT OCOTILLO REMAIN SHUT DOWN SINCE SEPTEMBER TURBINE COLLAPSE

By Miriam Raftery

December 9, 2021 (Ocotillo, Calif.) – All turbines at the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility have been offline in a since September 20, when a massive wind turbine collapsed, as ECM reported. The California ISO’s Dec. 8  Curtailed and Non-Operational Generator report, the shutdown of more than three months is listed as “forced.”


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MISSING LAKESIDE SENIOR FOUND SAFE IN OCOTLLO WELLS

By Miriam Raftery

January 18, 2019 (Lakeside) – Kathryn Anne Kennedy, 70, was found in Ocotillo Wells shortly after 11 a.m. this morning, Lt. David Perkins with the San Diego Sheriff’s Department has confirmed to ECM.

“A concerned citizen saw her sitting on the steps of the market at a campground in Ocotillo Wells and called for a welfare check because she seemed disoriented,” Lt. Perkins told ECM. Law enforcement officers identified her as the missing woman and transported her back to Lakeside to be reunited with friends, after making sure she did not appear to have any physical injuries.

“She was shaken, hungry and tired,” says Jill Barto, who helped organize a search for the missing woman and received word via a phone call with the good news.


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PILOT INJURED IN CRASH AT OCOTILLO WELLS AIRPORT

 

By Miriam Raftery

October 17, 2018 (Ocotillo Wells) – An Ultra-Light aircraft crashed onto the runway of the San Diego County airport at Ocotillo Wells this morning, causing minor injuries to the pilot.

Deputies from the Rancho Sheriff’s substation responded along with Cal Fire and California State Parks personnel.  The pilot, 57, was transported via air ambulance to Palomar Hospital.


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MAN FOUND DEAD IN OCOTILLO WELLS

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Bryan Hong via Wikipedia

Update June 26, 2018:  The deceased man has been identified as Manuel Lizarraga, who had been reported missing. His body was found four miles from his vehicle in a remote area of the park.

June 22, 2018 (Ocotillo Wells) – A 24-hour search for a man reported missing yesterday at 4:30 p.m. led to discovery of a male body at 5 p.m. today, four miles from the missing man’s vehicle.

A caller reported a man missing and presumably stuck in sand near Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area in San Diego County, between Borrego Springs and the Salton Sea. That prompted a search by park rangers and a Sheriff’s Astrea helicopter late yesterday.


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MAGNITUDE 3.6 EARTHQUAKE SHAKES EAST COUNTY DESERT

 

East County News Service

Photo:  San Andreas Fault courtesy lkluft on Wikipedia

March 26, 2017 (Ocotillo Wells) - A magnitude 3.6 earthquake shook the East County desert and Imperial County early Sunday morning, with the epicenter 69 miles east-northeast of San Diego, CBS 8 reports.


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READER’S EDITORIAL: PROTECTING ACCESS FOR OFF-ROAD VEHICLE RECREATION

 

By Assemblyman Randy Voepel

Photo: Ocotillo Wells off-road vehicle recreation area

February 28, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) -- As a representative of rural areas San Diego and Riverside counties, I’m proud that my district includes wide swaths of land that are perfect for off-road recreation. There are tens of thousands of individuals and families throughout my district and our state who enjoy exploring our state’s natural environment through off-roading.


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WIND TURBINE COLLAPSES IN OCOTILLO

 

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Jim Pelley

November 21, 2016 (Ocotillo) – A 500-foot-tall wind turbine at the Ocotillo Wind Energy Facility collapsed this morning, spewing debris and three blades each weighing many tons across the desert floor.

ECM photographer Jim Pelley, an Ocotillo resident, says 30 minutes after the collapse, the other 111 turbines were still spinning and no one from Pattern Energy had arrived.  Around an hour or more after the collapse, Pattern arrived and deenergized the entire project.


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BORDER PATROL AGENTS RESCUE LOST ATV RIDER IN DESERT

 

East County News Service

November 1, 2016 (Ocotillo Wells) -- Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents rescued a man who was lost in the Ocotillo Wells Desert early Monday morning.

On Sunday, around 6:30 p.m., a ranger with California Department of Parks and Recreation contacted Border Patrol agents assigned to the Highway 86 checkpoint and asked for help to locate a missing man last seen in the Ocotillo Wells Desert. He was reported missing by his family after he failed to return from an ATV ride in the desert.


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ASSEMBLYMAN JONES ISSUES STATEMENT SUPPORTING “OPEN RIDING” IN OCOTILLO WELLS STATE VEHICULAR RECREATION AREA

By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2013 (Ocotillo Wells)-- Assemblyman Brian Jones (R-Santee) has sent  a letter to the State Parks Department encouraging open riding in Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA) in response to legal action filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Desert Protective Council (DPC).  Plaintiffs contend that riding off trails has caused extensive environmental damage in the park, which has over 1,200 historic and archaeological sites, as ECM previously reported.

“Many of my constituents enjoy recreating in the Ocotillo Wells SVRA, which is why this lawsuit is very troubling," said Jones.  "This area has been used for OHV recreation for over 50 years and has always been designated as an open riding area, meaning that users in the park are not required to stay on designated trails."


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ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS FILE LEGAL ACTION SEEKING TO BAN OFF-ROAD OPEN RIDING AT OCOTILLO WELLS

 

By Sholeh Sisson

June 5, 2013 (Ocotillo Wells) -- Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and the Desert Protective Council (DPC) filed a legal action May 21, 2013 to stop open riding in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area (SVRA). If successful this action would end ORV "open riding" beyond designated trails and require the state park to implement strategies to protect the park's habitats and archaeological resources.

The park, located in east San Diego county, allows off-road driving on all 85,000 acres except for a few fenced and protected areas.


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OFF-ROAD MOTORCYCLIST FROM SAN DIEGO KILLED IN BORREGO ACCIDENT

May 23, 2010 (Borrego Springs) – A 24-year-old San Diego man was killed Friday night while riding off-road motorcycles with a friend in the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicle Recreation Area. The victim lost control of his motorcycle and was ejected at Shell Reef Expressway at Fault Wash in Borrego Springs.


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