Home Care In Mountain Center, CA

A group of firefighting monks was ready to defend a Buddhist monastery threatened by a wildfire burning in the rugged central coast mountains south of Big Sur.

Seven monks at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center have been clearing brush from around the center this week and running a sprinkler system dubbed “Dharma rain,” which helps keep a layer of moisture around the buildings.

“The blaze is about a mile away but we’ve been lucky with the weather, it has really cooled down,” said Sozan Miglioli, the president of San Francisco Zen Center, which operates the monastery.

The Willow fire erupted last week near Big Sur, one of dozens of blazes burning in hot, dry conditions across the US west.

By Tuesday, the fire had burned more than 2,800 acres and was climbing uphill among chaparral, grass and scrub. Its location in a steep, remote area meant that the 500 firefighters fighting the blaze had to hike in to battle the flames.

At the Tassajara monastery, most people evacuated earlier in the week, but members of the fire crew stayed. Other firefighting monks joined them from the San Francisco Zen Center and the Green Gulch Farm Zen Center, a third monastery in the Marin county mountains.

The group of firefighting monks was created after a 2008 blaze reached the buddhist center and a dozen stayed behind to defend it. They got their name from a book titled Fire Monks about those who stayed to fight that blaze, Miglioli said.

The monks train every year with professional firefighters and reside in the three monasteries. They travel to centers where they are needed, he said.

Despite all the work, they are still meditating every morning and holding service, Miglioli said.

The Willow fire is among dozens scorching large swaths of the west, including in California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado.

Also in California, on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada, the Inyo Creek fire in the Whitney Portal area near the town of Lone Pine thwarted hikers planning to climb Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States. The fire was officially estimated at 640 acres (259 hectares).

Hikers were unable to begin treks at Whitney Portal and rangers were in the wilderness to divert returning hikers to other longer egress trails. Hikers were still being evacuated Tuesday evening, fire officials said.

A lightning-caused wildfire crept closer to Flagstaff in northern Arizona, threatening to force people from their homes. The mountain city has nearly 80,000 residents, a state university and an observatory where Pluto was discovered.

Evacuations were in place because of several other wildfires across Arizona, affecting mostly rural residents and campers, and many local roads were closed. Half of the national forests in Arizona will to close entirely to the public because of wildfire danger and limited resources, authorities said.

Life is getting back to normal for many San Jacinto Mountains residents with the Cranston Fire nearing full containment and the Ribbon Fire having been contained earlier in the week. Highways have reopened, response teams on the ground assessing flash flood risks and multiple communities around Anza which had been without power for more than a week saw power restored by the Anza Electric Co-op Friday night.

On Monday, the Mountain Center post office on Highway 243 reopened, according to a release by the United States Postal Service. Mountain Center residents had been advised to collect their mail at the San Jacinto post office during the Cranston Fire.

"Mail delivery service has resumed and Postal customers in Mountain Center will receive all mail that was held at the San Jacinto Post Office during the Cranston Fire," the release stated. "Blue collection boxes are back in service."

NEW:Two arson suspects have been arrested in two weeks. How common is arson in California?

Read more:Highways closed by Cranston Fire reopen; Desert Hot Springs man accused of starting unrelated brush fire

Related:After Cranston Fire, Idyllwild's Jazz in the Pines fest will be more than a celebration of music

As of Saturday evening, the Cranston Fire had scorched 13,139 acres and was 96 percent contained, according to San Bernardino National Forest spokesperson Zach Behrens. Full containment was expected by Aug. 9.

“Minimal fire activity was observed today as firefighters continue monitoring for smoldering heavy fuels near containment lines and along highways,” he said in a statement sent out early Sunday.

Behrens said a Burned Area Emergency Response team would begin work in the national forest Sunday to examine the areas that had been burned and assess any potential future threats to humans, wildlife, property and cultural artifacts.

“This will provide a list of emergency stabilization measures to be taken before the first major rain storms. Fires result in loss of vegetation, increased potential for erosion and increased water runoff that may lead to flooding, increased sediment, debris flows, damage to infrastructure and critical natural and cultural resources,” he said.

The two highways significantly impacted by the Cranston Fire and the Ribbon Fire--which burned 205 acres near Ribbonwood was fully contained July 30--were both fully reopened Saturday. Highway 243 has been opened to all traffic with no restrictions.

Related:Cranston Fire victims who lost their food line up for a new supply courtesy of community, charitable groups

Cranston Fire: Idyllwild Arts Academy's summer program and grand finale in L.A. cancelled

Highway 74 also reopened, but Behrens said there were still escorts between Lake Hemet and Mountain Center and from Mountain Center to Valle Vista. Motorists travelling along the highway were told to expect 45 minute delays and advised to drive carefully and no to pass other vehicles.

Saturday also saw the reopening of many hiking trails and campgrounds within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Mountains Monument, but the South Ridge Trail and a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail remain closed. The Stone Creek and Idyllwild campgrounds in the San Jacinto Mountains State Park have also reopened.

Corinne Kennedy covers the west valley for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorinneSKennedy

Hour-long documentary to air as court battle continues over Abrams’ estate.

MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — The mysterious disappearance three years ago of former La Jolla resident Dia Abrams from her ranch near Idyllwild is back in the spotlight.

An hour-long documentary airing Sunday at 10 p.m. on the Investigation Discovery network will give national exposure to the missing-person case.

Abrams body was never found after the 65-year-old mysteriously disappeared from her ranch near Idyllwild in June 2020.

Investigation Discovery released excerpts of interviews with Abrams’ boyfriend, Keith Harper, 74, and a former neighbor, Diana Fedder.

“June 7 (2020), I received a phone call from (a neighbor) and she asked me, ‘Has Harper called you?’ I said, ‘No, why would Harper call me?’ So, I call Harper and I said, ‘What's going on?’ He said, ‘Did Dia spend the night with you?’ I said, ‘No.’ ‘Well, I can't find her,’ (he said). I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He goes, ‘Well, she was here Saturday. I saw her at lunch,” Fedder told Investigation Discovery.

“My concern was where she was and what was going on with her. Maybe she had gone on a hike, maybe she had got injured. And so all that's going through my mind,” Harper told Investigation Discovery.

CBS 8 previously has interviewed both Fedder and Harper. Harper said in 2020 that he was the last person to see Abrams alive on the Bonita Vista Ranch in Mountain Center. Police consider Harper a person of interest. He continues to live on Abrams' ranch.

Meanwhile, a court-appointed fiduciary and co-trustee overseeing Abrams’ estate has had trouble reaching Harper in recent months, according to court filings in Riverside County probate court.

“There are many, many, many things that I've asked for that are important to the security and the safety and protecting the value of the estate assets that I have had no response to,” Richard Munro, a fiduciary with Invenz, Inc., told the judge during a probate court hearing Friday in Palm Springs.

Attorneys said during the hearing that no tax returns had been filed for the Abrams' estate since 2017.

“We know that there's income being derived there. We don't know where it's gone. We know there was a lot of money spent. We don’t know how it was spent. Mr. Harper indicated he's loaned money to the estate. We have no idea what those loans are, nor any evidence of that,” attorney Michael Wachtell told the judge.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Russell Moore ordered Harper to turn over a long list of accounting records related to Abrams’ estate by Sept. 22.

Moore then set a Nov. 15 hearing date on a motion filed by Invenz to remove Harper as co-trustee of the Abrams estate.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct a typo in the court date.

WATCH RELATED: House near Idyllwild owned by missing woman Dia Abrams for sale

Members of the Anza Electric Cooperative, which services Aguanga, Anza, Pinyon down to UC Riverside’s Deep Canyon Reserve, and Garner Valley to Mountain Center (covering more than 500 square miles), voted in 2015 to move forward with an ambitious project to bring “fiber-to-the-home” high-speed fiber optic internet to its member-owners. The new internet service is being called ConnectAnza.

Phase 1 of implementation began in 2015 with large parts of Anza and Aguanga online and other neighborhoods being built out now. But for members along the Highway 74 scenic byway, the wait continues as AEC works to get the California Public Utilities Commission to approve Phase 2 of the project.

AEC General Manager Kevin Short met with CPUC representatives on Aug. 2 to tour the Phase 1 project area and parts of the Phase 2 area, which straddles Highway 74 from Deep Canyon at the base of the Santa Rosas to Mountain Center.

Because of the scenic byway, ConnectAnza is required to undergo a California Environmental Quality Act review. “When we’re proposing putting fiber optic wire on existing poles with existing wires, the CPUC still determines that is a new structure,” Short explained, prompting CEQA jurisdiction.

He said the cable being installed is about a half-inch in diameter. “The majority of our poles and cables are not even visible from the highway,” he said.

Like Phase 1, Phase 2 would be funded primarily by a California Advanced Services Fund grant. CASF has identified rural areas within AEC’s coverage as priority areas. Phase 2 (which covers about 200 square miles) will cost about $3,689,000, with $2,213,420 in CASF funding and $1,475,613 coming from ConnectAnza.

ConnectAnza will offer speeds of 50 megabits per second of unlimited data at $49 per month. Short is optimistic that the speed can expand to 1 gigabit per second within a year of being up and running.

ConnectAnza also provides free service to the area’s fire stations and will offer free service to Camp Ronald McDonald in Mountain Center, which serves children with cancer and their families.

The main existing service provider for the area is Frontier, which acquired Verizon’s internet customers two years ago. When ConnectAnza applied for the funding, Frontier filed an appeal. But with the CASF requirements, Short explained, Frontier must show it can soon offer at least 6 megabits per second download speed and 1.5 megabits per second upload.

For one Garner Valley Frontier customer, myself, the upload speed on May 26 was 0.30 megabits per second and 1.07 mbps download. Frontier charges $20 per month for internet when bundled with its Frontier Freedom Plan with a $30-per-month phone service, making total the monthly charge after taxes and fees $61.66.

Short is optimistic that with enough input from residents and after his meeting with the CPUC, the project will be deemed worthy and funding will come through.

He said he expects a decision from the CPUC within a month or two. Once Phase 2 gets the OK, and the CASF grant comes in, he said work could begin right away with some areas up as soon as two months from then. The grant allows two years maximum to complete the project.

Short created a change.org petition for anyone within the district to show their support. It can be found at www.change.org/p/california-public-utilities-commission-approve-connectanza-phase-2-casf-grant. Letters of support or concern are also welcome to [email protected] or by mail to ConnectAnza P.O. Box 391909, Anza, CA 92539.

Last week, the Town Crier reported an active tuberculosis case affecting a Tahquitz High School student in Hemet.

On Thursday, Aug. 17, Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser determined that tuberculosis test results from the clinic held at Tahquitz High School from approximately 150 students were within expected levels that health officials expect to find in the general public.

At this time, testing will not be expanded to other students or staff, Kaiser said.

The testing was done after a student was recently diagnosed with active TB. The student is receiving treatment and is expected to recover. The student is not being identified due to confidentiality requirements.

The other students were given skin tests Tuesday, Aug. 15, and results were read Thursday, Aug. 17, at the school. A positive test result means the person had been exposed to TB at some time in the past, but does not necessarily mean the person has an active case of the disease.

Those who tested positive will get a chest X-ray and follow up with an appropriate provider. The X-ray will help determine whether an individual might have a latent TB infection, which is not contagious, rather than active TB.

The fire grew by 4,000 acres overnight. Here are all the latest stats on the blaze.

|Updated Fri, Jul 27, 2018 at 6:46 pm PT

MOUNTAIN CENTER, CA — A fast-moving brush fire in the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County was only slightly contained Friday after blackening at least 11,500 acres, threatening communities and prompting the evacuation of thousands of people. Before crews entered the third day of fighting, the massive blaze's estimated size increased by 4,000 acres overnight and the estimated containment decreased from 5 percent to 3 percent.

More than 1,300 firefighters from agencies across the state are now battling the Cranston Fire, which has destroyed at least five homes and prompted road closures and the evacuation of 6,000 people in Mountain Center, Idyllwild, Herkey Creek, San Jacinto Mountain State Park, Fern Valley, Pine Cove, Cedar Glen and the northern section of Garner Valley, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

"Yesterday’s fire behavior remained very active...which was verified by infrared last night with an increase of hot spots detected; however, all hot spots remain inside the fire perimeter," the U.S.F.S. said Friday morning.

Below is the latest fire map, released Friday morning:

An excessive heat warning was extended to midnight Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Authorities issued a smoke advisory for the region, advising that winds could bring smoke into various parts of Riverside County, including the Coachella Valley, Banning Pass, the Hemet/San Jacinto Valley, Perris Valley and Anza. The advisory will be in effect through Friday morning and possibly longer.

A fire information call center for the public has been established at (909) 383-5688.

#CranstonFire [update] off Highway 74 and Control Road, east of Hemet (Riverside County) is now 11,500 acres and 3% contained. Unified Command: CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire and San Bernardino National Forest https://t.co/tEZx1sFiep pic.twitter.com/6feFXqKs5Y— CAL FIRE (@CAL_FIRE) July 27, 2018

— City News Service contributed to this report / Image via Palo Alto Fire Department

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