Free Republic

Last summer, a large wildfire that came to be known as the Oak Fire scorched its way across California's Mariposa County and threatened Yosemite National Park. First reported on July 22, 2022, the Oak Fire burned more than 19,000 acres of land, cost more than $90 million, and evacuations forced the displacement of thousands of Californians and visitors in the fire's path as it rapidly expanded. "Experts say dry air, strong winds, parched trees and grass and soaring temperatures caused the Oak fire to expand rapidly through the rugged foothills in recent days. The area has experienced nearly two weeks...

Another possibility is being investigated in a case that one sheriff has called the most mysterious of his career. Responding agencies treated the scene as a hazmat situation because of uncertainty about the cause of the fatalities, and everything from toxic algae to dangerous mine gasses to murder has been probed. According to a New York Times feature on the family, now lightning strikes have been added into the mix. A handful of causes of death have been ruled out. Previous autopsy data provided by the Mariposa County Sheriff's Office excluded acute trauma, such as stabbing, gunshot wounds or blunt-force...

Mariposa woman pretended to have cancer for years in donation scam, sheriff says BY LARRY VALENZUELA JULY 17, 2020 09:08 PM , MARIPOSA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE A woman who orchestrated a cancer scam that victimized dozens of Central California families is in custody after six years. Kellie Walker, now 28, began faking back in 2014 that she had stage two ovarian cancer, according to the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office. Friends and family of Walker set up a bank account at a local bank branch, and a fundraising dinner was held in order to help Walker and her family deal with...