By Miriam Raftery 

April 7, 2021 (Pine Valley) -- A San Diego Sector Border Patrol agent and off-duty firefighter prevented a woman from jumping off the Pine Valley Bridge along Interstate 8 early Tuesday morning.

At approximately 7 a.m., while driving eastbound on I-8, a Border Patrol agent observed a woman standing on the rails of the Pine Valley Bridge near the westbound traffic lanes. The agent quickly turned around and was joined by an off-duty firefighter. The agent and firefighter physically removed the woman from the edge of the bridge and secured her for her safety, according to a press release issued by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol.

Story and photos by Jake Rose

Miriam Raftery contributed to this report

Photos, left: Parishioners at Skyline Church flock to indoor services, many without masks

November 15, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- Skyline Church in the unincorporated area of La Mesa and Shadow Mountain in El Cajon had full parking lots for Sunday morning services, despite new Purple Tier restrictions now in effect throughout the county.

Purple tier restrictions started at midnight Saturday, due to rising numbers of Covid-19 cases. Purple tier, or Tier 1, is the most restrictive level for California and comes into play when positive tests exceed 8%. Many non-essential business operations must close, places of worship, restaurants and gyms must move all activity outdoors, and retail must cut capacity to 25%.

With businesses already struggling after the initial lockdown followed by an overall slowdown due to the public’s worry about the coronavirus, this second lockdown has some businesses and places of worship around East County flouting the new restrictions.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: New power poles in Pine Valley are made of steel, not wood, for fire safety, as part of the upgrades that SDG&E has been installing across inland San Diego County.

Updated August 23, 2020 9:40 a.m. with responses from SDG&E.

August 22, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) – Amid a record-breaking heat wave with monsoonal thunderstorms, flash floods and lightning-sparked fires forecast as potential added hazards, SDG&E has announced plans to shut off power for hours during the heat of the day on Sunday and Monday across much of San Diego County.  

The outages are to upgrade wood poles to steel, among other equipment upgrades or maintenance planned.

The NWS has warned that the intense heat  this week can be life-threatening for those without air conditioning, yet the power outage will leave any residents who lack generators without access to safe, cool spaces amid the COVID-19 pandemic when many public, air-conditioned places are shut down.

Rural residents with electric well pumps will also be left without water for people or livestock to drink, as well as for fighting fires, as many rural residents equipped with tanks and hoses have done in past brush fires, unless they have invested in generators. Downed communications including internet and in some areas, phone service also leave residents unable to receive emergency alerts despite a high potential for emergencies during the extreme weather conditions.

By Rebecca Jefferis Williamson

Miriam Raftery contributed to this report

September 1, 2019 (Pine Valley) – How safe are wireless technologies including new 5G now being rolled out across our region?  Are the following useful to protect yourself against radioactive injuries: Y-Shield paint, a visit from a building biologist, EMF shielding curtains and fabrics, using airplane mode on your cell, turning off your router at night, and carrying around a portable, personal radiation detector?  

Aviation Association recognizes deputies for saving skier's life

East County News Service

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

December 26, 2018 (Pine Valley) - Another new fire station opened in the backcountry Tuesday, strengthening fire safety for a number of outlying communities.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in Pine Valley and celebrated the opening of a two-story, 13,090-square-foot fire station that is almost double the size of the previous building. The structure is designed for full-time firefighters and replaces a facility that was built in 1974.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo courtesy ECM news partner 10 News

April 24, 2018 (Descanso) – Three men in the trunk of an orange Mazda have sustained moderate to serious injuries after the driver failed to follow an order to pull over for a secondary inspection at the Border Patrol checkpoint in Pine Valley.   The driver fled through the checkpoint onto I-8 west at speeds over 100 miles per hour with Border Patrol officers in pursuit.

By Miriam Raftery

Photo: Jose Estrada from Cal rans presents Dan Russell with an award in appreciation of his tireless efforts

February 15, 2018 (Pine Valley/Campo) – Dan Russell worked 27 years for the San Diego Fire Department. Now he’s a local hero for a different reason – working tirelessly to clean up trash along Interstate 8 and other roadways in East County.

“I’ve been doing it now for 12 years,” says Russell.  “I would say I average five hours a day, six days a week.  I pick up just under a thousand pounds a month…real close to 10,000 pounds a year; over 100,000 pounds since I got started.”

By Yvette Urrea Moe, County of San Diego Communications Office

Photo:  County officials take part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Pine Valley Station 44.

December 13, 2017 (Pine Valley) -- County and fire officials broke ground Wednesday on a new $8.2 million fire station that will serve the Pine Valley community for the next 50 years.

“This new station helps deliver on our promise to boost wildfire protection in our most fire-prone communities,” said Supervisor Dianne Jacob, chairwoman of the Board of Supervisors. “Since the deadly Cedar Fire in 2003, the county has spent $460 million on fire and emergency service improvements in the backcountry — and this new station builds on that.”

Sheriff warns of snow jams

Readers, send us your snow photos! editor@eastcountymagazine.org

East County News Service

December 22, 2016 (San Diego’s East County) – A winter storm in the region is dropping heavy rain across our region, with snow forecast to dip down to 3,500 feet by Saturday. That includes Pine Valley, Descanso,  and Julian,  with  six inches or more possible atop Mt Laguna.

Strong winds of 60 miles per hour or more are expected in some mountain areas.

The Sheriff offers this advice if you plan to visit these areas:

East County News Service

March 31, 2016 (Pine Valley) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a 31-year-old man after he allegedly attempted to smuggle four Mexican nationals last through the Border Patrol checkpoint near Pine Valley on March 25^th.

Update January 23, 2016 -- The Medical Examiner has identified the victim as Donnie Chipp, 28.  Cause of death was a stab wound to the chest.

East County News Service

January 22, 2016 (Pine Valley) – Pine Valley resident Douglas Kell, 20, has been arrested and charged with murder.

By Miriam Raftery

Here audio, recorded by Bob Turner:  bob turner 1.WAV

August 5, 2015 (Pine Valley ) –At a town hall meeting convened by disgruntled shareholders in the Pine Valley Mutual Water Company on August 2nd, over 100 people turned out to discuss a controversial water sale to Rough Acres Water.  A petition asking the water company to terminate the Rough Acres contract was passed out at the meeting and many attendees picked up copies of the petition.  

But at an official water company meeting on Tuesday, two nights later, shareholders who didn't RSVP were turned away by armed law enforcement officers, much to the dismay of residents/shareholders seeking to voice their concerns to their elected board.

Update: Hear a podcast of our radio story on this (originally aired on KNSJ) with audio clips from the Pine Valley Mutual Water Co. Shareholders meeting here:

http://k003.kiwi6.com/hotlink/snd5v902dn/PineValleyShareholdersStory.mp3

By Miriam Raftery

Photos by Bob Ames Smith: Pine Valley Creek, several years ago and now, after 4 years of drought

July 15, 2015 (Pine Valley) –With water running short across the state, tensions are building where local water districts are being asked to share precious water supplies with neighboring districts and developers.

Directors of the Pine Valley Mutual Water Company found themselves in hot water with shareholders, who staged a revolt over their board’s decision to sell up to 5 million gallons of water to the newly formed Rough Acres Water Company in Boulevard.  Rough Acres Ranch wants to build an industrial scale solar facility on its property that needs massive amounts of water—and Boulevard doesn’t have enough.  

But when Pine Valley shareholders—the residents who rely on water from Pine Valley wells – found out about the secret sale, tempers at the latest shareholder meeting reached the boiling point, as a tape provided to East County Magazine by Charlene Ayers, leader of the Ranter’s Roost online discussion group on land use issues locally, makes clear.

East County News Service

Photo: U.S. Border Patrol

July 7, 2015 (Pine Valley) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint on I-8 near Pine Valley found three undocumented Mexican immigrants in a vehicle trunk and arrested three American citizens on Monday.