SONORA — Officials say a mountain lion wandered inside a California house and was captured in a photo lying on a bathroom floor. The Tuolumne County Sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that family members and the mountain lion ran away from each other Sunday after the cougar entered...
Snow Falls on I-80 at Top of Sierra Nevada
RENO, Nev. — It's still technically summer but snow is falling in the Sierra along the California-Nevada line. California transportation officials posted a photo on the Caltrans District 3 Twitter account shortly after noon Monday showing snow accumulating on U.S. Interstate 80 at the top of Donner Summit about 10 miles...
Should Grizzly Bears Be Restored to California's Sierra?
Wildlife advocates are seeking a court order that would force U.S. officials to consider if grizzly bears should be restored to California's Sierra Nevada and habitats in other Western states, following the animals' resurgence in the Northern Rockies. Grizzly bears are protected as a threatened species outside Alaska. An estimated...
Four Mountain Climbers Rescued From Sierra Nevada Peak
LONE PINE — A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew rescued four climbers from a Sierra Nevada peak. The effort began Sunday when the Inyo County Sheriff's Office received an emergency satellite transmission requesting rescue. The office says the group went off course while descending Mount Russell and got stuck above...
Storm Slams Western US, Raises Flood Fears for California
SAN FRANCISCO — A winter storm slamming the western U.S. dumped rain Tuesday in Northern California and raising the threat of floods, while heavy mountain snowfall created a risk of avalanches and whiteout conditions on roads in the Sierra Nevada. The National Weather Service issued flood warnings and flash flood...
US Steps Up Winter-Warfare Training as Global Threat Shifts
MARINE MOUNTAIN WARFARE TRAINING CENTER — Hunkered down behind a wall of snow, two U.S. Marines melt slush to make drinking water after spending the night digging out a defensive position high in the Sierra Nevada. Their laminated targeting map is wedged into the ice just below the machine gun....
Storms Boost Sierra Snowpack to 98% of Seasonal Average
PHILLIPS STATION — California officials say January storms have pushed the Sierra Nevada snowpack to 98 percent of average to date, which is good news for state water supplies. The California Department of Water Resources said Thursday that the snowpack is already at 71 percent of average for the state's...
Sierra Snowpack Checks in at 67% of Normal
PHILLIPS STATION — Winter storms have coated California's Sierra Nevada mountains in snow, but the drought-prone state is still off to another dryer-than-normal start to the crucial wet season. California water managers said Thursday the Sierra snowpack is only 67 percent of normal in this winter's first manual measurement. “The...