Rural communities

LARGE BRUSH FIRE IN TECATE, MEXICO NEAR BORER

By Miriam Raftery

July 26, 2023 (Tecate)  -- The #Border20Fire which started late this afternoon has burned 458 acres. The fire started on the south slope of Tecate Peak. 

At 6:35 p.m., Cal Fire reports that updated mapping and intelligence shows the fire is completely within Mexico – a correction from their early report, which had indicated that the fire had crossed the border.


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PACIFIC SOUTHWEST ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS HONORS STEVEN SLADEK OF ALPINE AS REALTOR OF THE YEAR

East County News Service



July 20, 2023 (Alpine) – Alpine resident and realtor Steven Sladek was recently honored with the Realtor of the Year award from the Pacific Southwest Association of Realtors (PSAR), one of San Diego County’s largest real estate trade organizations for San Diego-area realtors.


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COUNTY CONTINUES ROLLOUT OF EXPANDED RURAL PARAMEDIC SERVICES

East County News Service

Source: County News Service

July 17, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – San Diego County’s Board of Supervisors heard an update in late June on a  three-stage plan to implement new paramedic-based community health initiatives that aim to improve emergency medical services in rural areas.


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SAPS AT SEA PRESENT 'DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE' NIGHT AUGUST 19

East County News Service

July 11, 2023 (Spring Valley) - Saps at Sea, the San Diego chapter of the Sons of the Desert, the Laurel & Hardy fan organization, present their August program, "Double Your Pleasure" on Saturday, August 19 at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Spring Valley.


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$25K REWARD TO FIND MOTORISTS WHO STRUCK AND KILLED A LA MESA WOMAN IN SPRING VALLEY

By Miriam Raftery

July 10, 2023 (San Diego’s East County)—Michele Michalina Lange was a devoted mother  and a popular waitress at the Por Favor Restaurant in La Mesa.  But on June 22, her ended when she was walking across  Jamacha Blvd. near Lamplighters Village Drive in Spring Valley and was struck by two vehicles—a red SUV and a silver sedan.

 Both fled the scene, and now Michele’s father, Michael Lange, is offering a $25,000 reward to find those drivers and hold them accountable.

“I’m lost…I loved my daughter dearly,” he told 10 news, adding, “I want justice.”


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AGGRESSIVE AIR ATTACK HALTS PARK FIRE AT 64 ACRES

Story and Photos by Josh Stotler

July 9, 2023 (Potrero) -- At 2:49 p.m., firefighters were dispatched to 25850 Potrero Park Dr. for reports of a vegetation fire. Arriving units radioed that the fire was 3-5 acres in heavy fuel with a potential to spread to 50-100 acres. 

Additional resources were requested, bringing in more air support and ground crews to the scene. Structures were threatened and evacuation warnings were issued for grids 0852 and 0853, the Potrero valley.  Due to the unpredictable nature of the fire, the warnings were quickly upgraded to evacuation orders for those two grids.


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LOCAL ARTIST CREATES WEARABLE ABSTRACT ART

 

By Branda Gorgies

 

Photos: Left: Model at Runway Chardonnay Fashion Show at Trevi Hills Winery; right: Dawn Sebaugh


July 1, 2023 (Spring Valley)—Dawn Sebaugh is a local artist who wears, lives, and loves her art in every way. Sebaugh, creator of “Wear Art, Live Art,” has a unique twist to her art: for every painting, she creates a fabric to match. Her slogan is "Wear art, live art, love art."


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COTTONWOOD SAND MINE REVISED DRAFT EIR IS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT; MEETING SET ON JULY 25

By Miriam Raftery

Photo; Left, Cottonwood Golf Course pond, before it was drained; right, a sand mining operation

July 5, 2023 (Rancho San Diego) – The County of San Diego has issued a revised draft environmental impact report (EIR) on the proposed Cottonwood sand mine. View documents and details

The public has until August 14 at 4 p..m. to submit comments on the revised EIR.

Comments can be sent via email to Christopher.Jacobs@sdcounty.ca.gov.  The County will also hold an in-person public meeting regarding the Recirculated Draft EIR on July 25, 2023, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at Hillsdale Middle School (1301 Brabham Street, El Cajon).


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SHOOTING IN SPRING VALLEY LEAVES ONE DEAD, ANOTHER INJURED

East County News Service

July 5, 2023 (Spring Valley) – Shortly after 10 p.m. last night, Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call reporting gunshots in the 2700 block of Central Ave. in Spring Valley. Deputies found a man in the middle of the street suffering from several gunshot wounds to his upper torso.

“Deputies and medical personnel provided medical aid, but he succumbed to his injuries. The victim was pronounced deceased on scene,” says Lieutenant Joseph Janjura.

A second male victim arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm.  He is expected to survive.


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HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOUR TAP WATER

Source:  Helix Water District

Photo:  R.M. Levy Water Treatment Plant

June 29, 2023 (San Diego's East County) - Helix Water District’s newly released 2022 Water Quality Report shows that throughout 2022, the district continued to deliver healthy, top-quality drinking water that outperforms federal and state standards.


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PROCTOR FIRE HALTED AT 50 ACRES

Story and Photos By: Josh Stotler

Photo, left:  A San Diego Helitack crew heads into the smoke to clear crush as the Proctor fire burns in the background.

 

June 24, 2023 (Jamul)-- Crews from CAL FIRE and Inmate fire crews are still on the scene at the #ProctorFire this evening, mopping up and dousing hot spots. All   road closures and evacuation orders have been lifted.

The  brush fire was reported off Proctor Valley Road around 5:23 pm. Units were dispatched to the scene and reported the blaze burning in medium vegetation with a medium rate of spread. Due to vegetation drying out and homes in the area, the fire was upgraded; more air and ground units were called in.


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FIRE IN PROCTOR VALLEY

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Photo by Henri Migala

June 24, 2023  (Jamul) – A brush fired dubbed the #ProctorFire is burning along Proctor Valley Road near Jamul.  CalFire reported at 5:37 that a vehicle fire at 12998 Proctor Valley Rd. spread into the brush, had charred a half acre and was burning at a moderate rate of spread.

Since then, scanner traffic indicates a structure threat and that the fire has reached five acres.


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CHP SEEKS DRIVERS WHO FLED SCENE OF FATAL HIT AND RUN IN SPRING VALLEY

East County News Service

June 24, 2023 (Spring Valley) – California Highway Patrol is searching for the drivers of a red SUV and a silver sedan which each struck a 50-year-old woman in Spring Valley shortly before 10 p.m. on June 22, then fled the scene.

The woman was walking northbound on Jamacha Blvd. east of Lamplighter Village Drive when she was hit by the red  SUV, which was traveling west on Jamacha.  The impact knocked the victim to the ground. While she was lying on the roadway, she was struck a second time by the silver sedan.

The woman sustained major injuries and died at the scene.

“Both vehicles were last seen fleeing the scene, westbound on Jamacha Blvd.,” says Officer Matthew Baranowski with the California Highway Patrol. 


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MOTHER SHOOTS DAUGHTER DURING STRUGGLE OVER GUN

East County News Service

June 23, 2023 (Boulevard) -- A woman has been arrested on suspicion of shooting her daughter in Boulevard. 

Shortly before 10 a.m.,  deputies from the Sheriff's Rural Command responded to a call about a 22-year-old woman with a gunshot wound who came to a fire station on Church Road.

Deputies learned that the victim and her mother, Andrea Najera, had gotten into an argument earlier that morning inside their home near the fire station.


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SUPERVISORS VOTE TO EXPAND SWEETWATER PRESERVE IN SPRING VALLEY AND MOUNT OLYMPUS PRESERVE IN NORTH COUNTY

East County News Service

June 21, 2023 (Spring Valley) –Sweetwater Regional Park in Spring Valley will soon be expanded from 300 acres to 490 acres, helping the county to complete the 11-mile Sweetwater Loop Trail around Sweetwater Reservoir.


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FIRE AT BORDER SOUTH OF DULZURA

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

Photo courtesy of Cal Fire

June 21, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) --  The #Border14Fire is burning in vegetation near Marron Valley Road and Border Road in the Copper Canyon area south of Dulzura. 

On the Mexican side of the border, around 20 acres have burned,  but thus far the fire has been held to five acres on the U.S. side.

Multiple air tankers and helicopters have been making drops, stopping the forward progress of the flames,  Cal Fire reports.


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FIREFIGHTERS HALT BLACKWOOD FIRE AT 37 ACRES, SAVE HOMES ON RESERVATIONS

Story and Photos By Josh Stotler

June 20, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) --  Federal, state, and tribal fire departments battled the #Blackwood Fire this afternoon, which threatened homes before crews halted the blaze at 37 acres.

The fire broke out around noon on the Campo Reservation just off interstate 8 on Black Wood Rd and Old Mine Rd.  Initial responders confirmed a vegetation fire and immediately upgraded the incident, calling for more ground units as well as air support.


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CAL FIRE SUES PARENTS OF CHILDREN ACCUSED OF STARTING 2020 SKYLINE FIRE IN JAMUL

By Miriam Raftery

Photo by Dan Rigger

June 19, 2023 (Jamul) – Cal Fire has filed a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court against the parents of two young children, seeking to recover $675,000 in costs for fighting the Skyline Fire in Jamul three years ago. The suit alleges that parents “negligently” supervised their children while camping at Skyline Truck Trail and that a fire started by their two young children on June 11, 2020 spread into the brush and onto neighboring property.


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24 PARROTS SEIZED FROM SMUGGLER TAKE WING AT SOCAL PARROT IN JAMUL

By Miriam Raftery

Photo:  A Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot, by Charles J. Sharp, Sharp Photography, CC by SA 4.0

June 15, 2023 (Jamul) – Chirping at a Miami airport alerted authorities to a smuggler with 29 parrot eggs inside—including one that had just hatched. Two dozen of the eggs later hatched out, including 21 critically endangered Yellow-Naped Amazon parrots and three Red-Lored Amazons.


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EAST COUNTY ARTIST LINDA CHURCHILL RALLIES FROM LOSING HOME AND STUDIO IN BLAZE

By Rebecca Person 

Photos by R. Person and L. Churchill

June 15, 2023 (Jacumba Hot Springs) -- The shell of a rock-walled artist’s studio stands charred and quiet among the arid hills outside a small town in the backcountry of East San Diego County. 

The house that once stood beside it has been leveled into a pile of blackened charcoal - all that is left of the residence local legend Dennis Ruth had once built his parents out of solid wood timbers; the hardwood flooring is black. 

This has been the residence of Ruth’s’ partner, Linda Churchill, since his passing. It’s placed in a harsh boulder-strewn and brush-covered landscape, full of inspiration and vitality, an area that draws outdoors folks, artists, photographers, rockhounds, adventurers.


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FIERY FATALITY CRASH IN DULZURA

Update June 19, 2023 --The deceased has been identified as  Max Andrew Vizcarra, 26. The Medical Examiner found cause of death to be blunt force injuries and inhaling products of combustion.

 

By Miriam Raftery

June 15, 2023 (Dulzura) – A 26-year-old San Diego man lost control of the sedan he was driving last night on State Route 94 in Dulzura, causing a fiery collision with a pickup truck.  The crash killed the sedan driver and injured the pickup truck’s driver.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the sedan was heading westbound on 94 just west of Cochera Via Drive around 7:10 p.m. when the driver traveled onto the dirt shoulder, then spun counterclockwise and crossed into the eastbound lane. The sedan struck a 2012 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup driven by a 26-year-old man from Tecate, Mexico, who was traveling at 55 miles per hour.

“The right side of the sedan struck the front of the Dodge, resulting in the sedan bursting into flames,” says Officer Jared Grieshaber with the CHP. “The driver of the sedan was knocked unconscious during the impact, and the driver of the Dodge attempted to extricate him from the sedan, but was unable to do so.”


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GRANT FUNDS TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE IN RIVERBED ENCAMPMENTS

East County News Service

Photo via County News Service

June 14, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The State of California has awarded a grant of nearly $17 million to help put people experiencing homelessness along the San Diego Riverbed into permanent housing and to connect them with services.

The grant is the result of a county-led partnership in collaboration with the city of Santee, the city of San Diego, and the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans).  It’s funded as part of $240 million in Encampment Resolution Funds that California announced last year to help local jurisdictions resolve encampments and get people into housing, as well as provide services.

According to the Point in Time homeless count conducted countywide on a January morning in 2023, homelessness countywide has risen by 25% over last year’s count.  Here in East County, communities along the San Diego River, where there are numerous homeless camps, have seen homeless numbers rise significantly including a 58% increase in Lakeside, 23% increase in Lakeside, and an 18% increase in Spring Valley.  In Lakeside and Valley, 100% of homeless people are unsheltered, highlighting the need for these funds. The count found 78 homeless people in Lakeside and 71 in SpringValley.  Santee had76 homeless individuals, of whom only 18 were in any type of shelter.


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WELLMAN SIMMONDS ARRESTED FOR MURDER: FUGITIVE SERVED ON CAMPO PLANNING GROUP, LED WATER DISTRICT IN LAKE MORENA

By Miriam Raftery

Donald Michael Santini,  aka Wellman "Wells" Simmonds

June 13, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – A fugitive wanted for the murder of a Florida woman nearly 40 years ago, as well as a robbery in Texas, has been leading a double life in Campo. There, he brazenly held public positions under an assumed name.

On Wednesday, Donald Michael Santini, known locally under the alias Wellman “Wells” Simmonds, was arrested in Campo's Lake Morena community by U.S. Marshals, ECM news partner 10 News reports.

Simmonds served on the Campo-Lake Morena Community Planning Group as well as president of the board of directors for the Lake Morena Views Mutual Water Company, a troubled water district where nitrate contamination has left district residents forced to drink bottled water for the past three years, as ECM reported.

“Everyone was surprised. There was nothing unusual about him,” Billie Jo Jannen, Chair of the planning group, told ECM.


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SUPERVISOR ANDERSON TO HOST JAPATUL TOWN HALL JUNE 17

East Count News Service

June 10, 2023 (Alpine)-- In Saturday, June 17, Supervisor Joel Anderson will be hosting a town-hall style Community Coffee in Japatul at the residence of John & Cori Mendez, 23155 Illahee Drive in Alpine, from 3:00 to 5:00  p.m.


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44 PROPERTIES QUARANTINED IN 3 SOCAL COUNTIES WITH VSV LIVESTOCK DISEASE

By Miriam Raftery

June 4, 2023 (San Diego) – The outbreak of Vesicular Stomatitis  Virus (VSV) that started last month in San Diego County has now spread to San Bernadino as well as Riverside County. There are now 44 properties quarantined, including 28 in San Diego County, according to the latest update posted  June 2, 2023 by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

Since the last report a week earlier, 18 new properties affected by VSV have been identified, including three new confirmed positive cases and 8 suspected cases in San Diego County.

To date, all of the premises quarantined have cases in horses or other equine species, except one property that has clinically affected cattle locally. However the disease can occur in other animals such as llamas, alpacas, pigs, sheep, goats and deer.


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VSV LIVESTOCK VIRUS SPREADS ACROSS COUNTY; WEBINAR MAY 31

By Miriam Raftery

May 28, 2023 (San Diego’s East County) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Equestrian Foundation (USEF) will hold a webinar on May 31 at 1 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Vesicular Stomatis Virus (VSV), a contagious livestock disease that has spread to at least six different communities in San Diego County. Registration is required for the webinar, which will be held on Zoom. Register here.

Dr. Angela Pelzel McCluskey, USDA equine epidemiologist, will provide an overview of Vesicular Stomatitis and the current situation report also providing perspective based on her firsthand experience managing numerous VS outbreaks in her previous roles. Dr. Katie Flynn,USEF Equine Health and Biosecurity veterinarian, will cover prevention measures for horses and their premises, as well as the biosecurity requirements being implemented at those USEF events with horses competing from VS Affected States.

As of Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that 23 properties are quarantined due to VSV, including 18 sites in San Diego County—seven more than in the last report five days earlier.  All but one case in the outbreak have occurred in equine species such as horses, but there is one suspected case  in a “backyard beef steer” at a local property with three cattle. The remaining cases are in Riverside County. 

The USDA has not responded to our media inquiry for specific locations impacted in our region, but the Ramona  Sentinel reports that the first six confirmed cases since the outbreak began May 17 were in Ramona, Lakeside, Campo, Jamul, Del Sur, and Descanso, according to local veterinarians. San Diego and Riverside counties are the only places in the nation with current cases.


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MOVIES IN THE PARK: ON SCREEN AT PARKS COUNTYWIDE

By Miriam Raftery

May 27, 2023  (San Diego’s East County) – The County of San Diego is kicking off its annual movies in the park, which this year features 150 movies at dozens of parks across the County.  Bring the family—along with blankets and lawn chairs—to cozy up for a night under the stars.

The season opens this Memorial Day weekend at Waterfront Park downtown and runs through October.  East  County and inland locations include Anza Borrego,Campo, El Cajon, Encanto, Escondido, Julian , Lakeside,  La Mesa, Lemon Grove, Pine Valley,  Potrero, Poway, Ramona, Rancho Penasquitos, Rolando, San Carlos, and Spring Valley.

Theme weekends have also been scheduled, including Juneteenth (June 16 and 17), Comic-Con (July 21-22), Ladies Night (Aug. 12), International Dog Day (Aug. 25 and 26), Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) and Halloween (late October).


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LOVELAND RESERVOIR TO REOPEN MAY 30, SWEETWATER ANNOUNCES

By Miriam Raftery

May 27, 2023 (Alpine) – Sweetwater Water Authority has posted a notice on its website announcing that the recreation program at Loveland Reservoir in Alpine will reopen on May 30.  Available activities are expected to include hiking and birdwatching, but not yet fishing, since the district has not committed on a date to restock the lake with fish.

In November and December, the district drained Loveland Reservoir to dead pool status for the first time ever, killing off the fish to save ratepayers money and avoid buying water during the drought. The action drew outrage from local residents and fishing advocates.

Then heavy rains in December and January destroyed a floating fishing dock, which the district plans to restore with insurance funds. The rains also caused severe erosion of trails which the district deemed dangerous, so it closed public access to the lake in January.


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CONSTRUCTION COMMENCES AT JAMUL HOTEL

East County News Service

May 25, 2023 (Jamul)  -- Construction has begun on a boutique luxury hotel, the Jamul Indian Village Development Corporation (JIVDC), a subsidiary of the Jamul Indian Village (JIV) Tribe, announced on  May 23. 


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INVESTIGATIONS TARGET SUBSTITUTE TEACHER IN ALPINE

East County News Service

May 24, 2023 (Alpine)-- The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has been informed of allegations of inappropriate use of social media by a substitute teacher working at Joan MacQueen Middle School within the Alpine Unified School District.


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