’s oldest weekly newspaper of continuous publication “Covering Mariposa County Like The Stars”

Established 1854 — 163rd Year Official County Newspaper Mariposa, California • Thursday, July 19, 2018 • Issue No. 29

Photo by Nicole W. Little An empty bulldozer transport trailer was symbolic on Monday when an escort took place for Braden Varney, the local firefighter who was killed last weekend during the . Local residents lined the streets on Monday to pay tribute to the CAL FIRE firefighter. Varney was a 10-year employee of CAL FIRE, working as a dozer operator. MARIPOSA COUNTY MOURNS Death of firefighter Ferguson Fire is brings heavy hearts By GREG LITTLE Editor still a major threat By Gazette staff perich, chief of the CAL FIRE Even with heavy smoke hanging in the air, it was noth- Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit. ing compared to the heavy hearts throughout Mariposa It’s possible history is in the The reason, said Koerperich, is County following the death of a local firefighter. making in Mariposa County — because they have always focused Braden Varney, 36, a heavy equipment operator with and not in a good way. on making sure fire never gets CAL FIRE, died in a bulldozer accident last weekend The Ferguson Fire, which start- into that terrain, which is rug- near Jerseydale. ed last Friday night in the Merced ged, steep and has tree mortality Varney was a heavy equipment operator stationed at River Canyon near the Ferguson issues. the Merced-Mariposa-Madera CAL FIRE Unit Head- slide, has made its way into the The fire broke out just three quarters in Mariposa. South Fork of the . days short of the one year an- “Braden was a “We have no history of fire well-known, well in that area,” said Nancy Koer- See FIRE on Page A-8 ‘I can’t tell you how respected resi- Braden Varney dent as well as a proud I am of Mari- critical member of the team,” said posa County and the Battalion Chief entire community.’ Jeremy Rahn. The incident —Chief Nancy Koerperich happened during the Ferguson Fire, which be- gan around 8:30 p.m. on Friday, July 13. Rahn said CAL FIRE units responded to the fire that evening. The fire began along Highway 140 near the Ferguson Slide area. “Braden was part of that dispatch,” said Rahn. At that time, the fire was being handled with a unified command between CAL FIRE and the United States Forest Service. He said the two agencies were working together throughout the night. Then, said Rahn, conditions “looked good to the point where CAL FIRE resources were released.” Photo by Matt Johnson The forest service, he said, would continue with the Firefighters salute as the body of fire- Photo courtesy National Forest Service fighter Braden Varney passes by in Mari- This photo shows the fire near the Merced River in its early stages. Heavy terrain has hampered the efforts of firefighters who are battling to protect See HEARTS on Page A-8 posa. Varney died last week in a bulldoz- er accident. structures along Highway 140. Four new deputies take oath All are graduates from regional police academy By GREG LITTLE the patrol division. Nolan was assigned Editor to court security. Papaleo graduated from a prior academy and hired as a se- Four new Mariposa County Sheriff’s curity officer but more recently was as- Office deputies were sworn in last week signed to the patrol division. during a ceremony at the government The sheriff said his department “prides center in Mariposa. itself” in “total service” and “relationship “It is a privilege and an honor,” said building.” Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binnew- He also pointed out a large part of ies. lies within the Officers William “Chip” Crane, Bran- county and there are “millions of visitors don Roberson, Harold “Hal” Nolan, Jr., a year” who come to Mariposa County. and James Papaleo all took the oath of “They do their best to make these folks office administered by the sheriff. feel comfortable,” said Binnewies. Photo by Nicole W. Little “For me, this is one of the most excit- He said the sheriff’s office receives ap- Sheriff Doug Binnewies swears in four deputies during a ceremony held last week at ing things I do,” said Binnewies. the government center in Mariposa. Shown, from left, are William Crane, Harold No- Crane and Roberson were assigned to See FOUR on Page A-9 lan, Jr., James Papaleo and Brandon Roberson.

Like us on Visit us at MARIPOSAGAZETTE.COM Facebook 0 5149703749 9 Page A8 www.mariposagazette.com Mariposa Gazette • Thursday, July 19, 2018 HEARTS From Page A1 incident. On Saturday morning, Rahn said communications with Varney was lost. “That is not uncommon,” said Rahn. He said there are basically two types of duties per- formed by the bulldozer operators. One is a “direct line,” where the bulldozers go along the edge of the fire line. The second is an “indirect line,” where dozers “go in front of the fire’s progression and make fire breaks to slow down the fire.” The latter is what Varney was doing, said Rahn. “He was making an indirect fire line,” said Rahn. “He was trying to protect the community of Jerseydale.” Rahn said CAL FIRE lost communication with Varney on Saturday morning. “That is not uncommon,” said Rahn. “These bulldoz- ers, when they go out to do a job, they are in rugged ter- rain.” That also can mean a loss of communication, which is what happened. Rahn said there happened to be an airplane in close proximity when communications were lost. Spotters in that airplane, said Rahn, were “visually able to see a bulldozer that rolled into a ravine.” Ground personnel then went to that location, where Reader Pamela Sofranek submitted this photo from Catheys Valley as the procession for Braden Varney made its way they found the dozer. Varney’s body was also found. along Highway 140. Officials reported that people paid tribute to the fallen firefighter all along the route from Jersey- “We found he had died,” said Rahn. dale to Modesto. Rahn said Varney had worked 10 years for CAL FIRE, following in his father’s footsteps as a heavy equipment sa, where it was greeted with hundreds of mourners who Friends, officials react operator. lined the streets. It also went past the Madera-Maripo- Varney was well known in the community for his hard “Our prayers are with the community and the family,” sa-Merced CAL FIRE Unit Headquarters, where many work and his skill with operating heavy equipment. said Rahn. firefighters and others saluted their fallen comrade. After hearing the news of his death, a number of com- He also gave a “thank you” to the community, who he From there, it eventually went to Modesto, where an munity members reacted. said has shown an outpouring of sympathy and compas- autopsy was to be performed. “Braden is known by everyone in Mariposa County sion following the tragedy. It was an emotional time in Mariposa, with firefight- and is a star in our community and is a friend of every- Varney leaves behind his wife, Jessica, along with two ers, police officers and citizens coming together to honor one,” said Mariposa County Sheriff Doug Binnewies. children, daughter Maleah, 5, and son, Nolan, 3. Varney. Frank Bigelow, California State Assemblymember for He is the son of Gordie and Lynn Varney and was a Nancy Koerperich, chief of the local CAL FIRE unit, District 5, posted on Facebook that “Braden Varney’s 2001 graduate of Mariposa County High School. especially thanked the California Highway Patrol for sacrifice and bravery will never be forgotten.” As of our press time on Tuesday, no services had been their efforts in escorting Varney’s body. “Such terribly sad news,” said Bridget Fithian, execu- arranged by the family. She said they did it in the “most respectful manner,” tive director of the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, a land An online fundraising page has been set up for Varney including along Highway 99. trust in Mariposa County. “Braden Varney was a class- at www.gofundme.com/bereavement-funds-for-bra- Koerperich also was emotional when addressing the mate and such a great guy. We recently were able to bring den-varney. Thus far, $46,205 has been raised in bereave- Mariposa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday Braden in to work on our meadow restoration project. ment funds. morning. He helped us work through a really challenging set of She called Varney a “big part of the CAL FIRE family.” constraints to get the project completed on time and A local tribute She also made reference to his outside life, in which he within budget. Everyone said it couldn’t be done but Because of the extremely rough terrain involved where has operated heavy equipment almost his entire life. Braden found a way. I was so impressed with his creative Varney’s bulldozer overturned into a ravine, it took re- “Not only was he a dozer operator, it was a family busi- problem solving and incredible skill with his equipment. covery workers some time to extricate his body. ness,” she said. It was really special to get to work with someone I’d That happened on Monday and immediately, CAL Koerperich also acknowledged the Mariposa County known since childhood. My heart breaks for the loss of FIRE arranged an escort for the fallen firefighter. community. this tremendously talented husband, father and member That escort left Jerseydale and made its way down Dar- “I can’t tell you just how proud I am of Mariposa Coun- of our community. Keeping his wife and children in my rah Road, onto Highway 49 South and then into Maripo- ty and the entire community,” she said. thoughts. You will be missed, Braden.”

Photo by Nicole W. Little A helicopter lands to fill up with fuel at the Mariposa Yosemite Airport this past weekend. Airport Manager Tony Borreson said the facility was closed briefly to commercial traffic but then reopened. Helicopters have been using the facility since the start of the Ferguson Fire. It was also utilized heavily last year during the . From the airport, it is just a short flight for the choppers to get to the areas where the fire is burning. FIRE From Page A1 niversary of the Detwiler Fire, which scorched 73,000 Some good news came out of Watkins when he ad- On Monday, evacuation advisories were issued for acres last year. dressed the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors, many areas in Mariposa County. Those ranged from As of press time on Tuesday afternoon, the Fergu- and that was the amount of resources available. Lushmeadows to Ponderosa Basin to Old El Portal. son Fire had burned over 12,000 acres and was con- He said fires in Southern California had waned in As of our press time, no mandatory evacuations had tinuing to spread at about 3,000 acres per day. recent days and there were basically unlimited re- been issued for those areas. “We’re going to be challenged,” said Koerperich. sources as of Tuesday. A Red Cross evacuation center has been established Even the command of the fire has changed hands Officials said 1,500 firefighters were on the scene at the New Life Christian Fellowship at 5089 Cole since it broke out last Friday. and more were being called in daily in an effort to bat- Road in the Bootjack area. The and CAL FIRE shared tle the stubborn blaze. Sheriff Doug Binnewies said about a dozen people command during the first hours of the fire. However, Officials moved the incident command center to had been staying overnight at the shelter. by Saturday morning, it was turned over to the forest Ahwahnee, where they said it was a more central loca- CAL FIRE officials said as of Tuesday, 118 engines service. The fire continued to grow day by day and on tion. A community meeting was planned for Tuesday were assigned to the fire. There were five water ten- Monday, it was announced a joint command had once night at the elementary school in Ahwahnee. ders, four helicopters, 39 hand crews, 16 dozers as again been established. One of the likely reasons for the move is the fact that well as numerous air tankers which have been making The three agencies involved in the command are as of Tuesday, there was structure protection in place regular drops when conditions permit. CAL FIRE, the forest service and the Mariposa Coun- in Yosemite West. That is a development of mainly va- Those conditions are totally dependent on weather, ty Sheriff’s Office. Many other agencies are involved cation homes that is only accessible from within Yo- said Watkins. with the blaze, as well. semite National Park. Because Highway 140 is closed, Weather conditions have been hot and dry during Steve Watkins, the incident commander, said on that access is limited to Highway 41 which enters the the duration of the fire. Watkins said conditions are Tuesday the fire appeared to be growing at about park from the south. expected to change including a more stable air mass 3,000 acres per day. Another major impact of the blaze is along High- moving in from the Rockies. “It seems like the clip it is going,” said Watkins. way 140 — a main artery into Yosemite National Park It will help with air quality, he said, but it “increases As of our press time on Tuesday, firefighters were during the height of the tourist season. the ability of the fire behavior.” attacking the blaze on various fronts. Residences and businesses along Highway 140, in- Smoke has been heavy in the air in the county. One was along Highway 140 near Cedar Lodge, cluding in Mariposa, are being impacted by the road County health officials have warned residents to take which was evacuated shortly after the fire started. closure. Combined with the closure of Highway 49 precautions when dealing with the heavy smoke in the “We are trying to keep it north of Jerseydale and North, the area is certainly taking an economic hit air. Midpines,” said Watkins. during the fire. Complete information about all aspects of the However, he said on Tuesday, the fire was “closing There have also been evacuations ordered since the fire have been established on the county website at in” on Mariposa Pines and crews were focusing their fire began. The first was part of the Jerseydale area http://www.mariposacounty.org/. efforts on keeping it out of that area. and then on Monday, all of Jerseydale was evacuated. In addition, all area residents are encouraged to sign He said they were “looking to create” a burnout area There were also mandatory evacuations, as of Tues- up for the Nixle alert system. That system regularly to “push the fire back to the main fire.” day morning, on Inclide Road from Clearing House updates residents who are signed up with the service. The fire was also “backing down” toward Cedar to the last Bureau of Land Management campground; Visit Nixle.com to sign up. People can also contact Lodge and Incline Road, he said. Mariposa Pines, Cedar Lodge/Indian Flat Camp- the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in “It’s all about tempo,” said Watkins. ground; Savage’s Trading Post and Sweetwater Ridge. signing up for the program.