Mammoth Times
‘Hero, dad, best friend’
Editor’s Note: his is the second of a two-part story. The first part was published in the Jan. 15 edition of the Mammoth Times. The sea has to be mighty cold for a body to freeze onto the life ring that is keeping it afloat. But the Barents Sea, off...
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‘A living legend’
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two-part story. Part two will appear in next week’s Mammoth Times. When Bridgeport resident Richard “Dick” Burbine came into the world a century ago in Melrose, Mass., a number of things we take for granted today,...
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A look back at 2025
Jan. 7: Missing hiker’s body found on Mt. Whitney — The body of an Inyo County resident, Taylor Rodriguez, was found on Mt. Whitney days after he set out to summit the peak. Rodriguez was located half a mile northwest of Upper Boy Scout Lake at an...
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Pair of avalanches leave one dead, two injured in Mono County
A pair of avalanches marred the weekend after Christmas in Mono County, leaving a local ski patroller dead and two people with injuries. On Friday, Dec. 26, two members of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol were caught in an avalanche on Lincoln...
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Cerro Coso: New courses in forestry, outdoor rec, firefighting
Cerro Coso Community College, the Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center and strategic community partners have launched an education and workforce development effort that is a hand-in-glove fit for the Eastern Sierra. On Wednesday, Dec. 17, both...
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Kids, cops team up for holiday shopping
It took two counties, more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, scores of volunteers, countless monetary donations from the community, and generous accommodating retailers to put on the Eastern Sierra Shop with a Cop event in Bishop on Saturday. But...
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A difficult year for wildlife
The annual newsletter of local wildlife rescue and rehabilitation nonprofit Wildcare Eastern Sierra, issued last Friday, Dec. 5, does not pull any punches: 2025 has been “A difficult year for wildlife,” as its headline proclaims. The culprit?...
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Basking in the Limelight
Winter people need to know how to do hospitality right: After all, the comfort, warmth and safety of many depend on it — especially among discerning travelers seeking a fun lodging experience. On Monday, the folks at Aspen Hospitality, the parent...
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#Givingtuesday: Online charitable giving on Dec. 2
Coming on the heels of the multi-day self-andfamily pampering that begins on Thanksgiving through gatherings, food and football, and continues on Black Friday and Cyber Monday through shopping, Givingtuesday is a selfless call to refocus. This day of...
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Pack Fire nears containment
The Pack Fire that erupted last week was nearly contained on Tuesday afternoon, days after it destroyed some 30 structures, including many homes in Mcgee Creek. The destructive blaze that started at about 11:15 a.m. Nov. 13 was 96% contained as of...
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Countdown to winter
The weather forecast leading up to Saturday, the rescheduled opening day for Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, could not be better for eager skiers and snowboarders. Originally scheduled for Friday, the season’s opening was pushed back a day “due to incoming...
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Mono County serves up food aid resources
As Calfresh benefits were paused on Nov. 1 due to the ongoing federal government shutdown, Mono County mobilized quickly to ensure local residents in need continue to have access to food assistance. That same day, the county issued its November 2025...
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Hiker falls from cliff on Mt. Whitney
After days of battling high winds, volunteers with Inyo and Mono search and rescue teams were able to recover the body of a hiker from Mt. Whitney. Just before 1 p.m. Saturday, Inyo County Search & Rescue received a report of a possible fatality on...
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‘Relentlessly brave, radically kind’
Close to 1,200 people — 350 in Mammoth, 700 in Bishop, and more than 100 in Lone Pine, according to organizers — added their numbers to the estimated 7 million protesters across more than 2,700 No Kings 2.0 rallies in the U.S. and overseas on...
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Destination: Mammoth Lakes
Two open town halls — one in English, one in Spanish, designed to help shape a five-year Destination Stewardship Plan commissioned by the Town of Mammoth Lakes and Mammoth Lakes Tourism — were held on consecutive days last week. The purpose of the...
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Autumn brings brilliant color to the Sierra
The air is getting crisper, Mammoth Mountain got its first dusting of snow for the season, and fall is upon the region. And that means it’s time for one of Mother Nature’s most spectacular shows of the year: the changing of the leaves. While there’s...
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‘A state worth fighting for’
Former California Controller Betty Yee is glad for direct-flight service from San Francisco to the Eastern Sierra. Last Friday, the East Bay resident and Democratic Party member flew to Bishop as part of her Betty Yee for Governor 2026 campaign....
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Up in smoke
Mono County is warning the public this week that wildfire smoke from the Garnet Fire in neighboring Fresno County has caused extremely unhealthy and hazardous air quality conditions across the region. “Air quality today has reached extremely...
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A new home for local art
Sometimes your artistic muse inspires you to downsize. The Mono Arts Council knows that only too well, having recently moved from a 2,800-square-foot space to a new location that, while just 1,500 square feet, has much higher ceilings, is better lit,...
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Get ready for sensory overload!
The Eastern Sierra’s biggest sensory overload, the Tri-county Fair, returns to Bishop Labor Day weekend with a theme that promises “Carnival Lights & Mountain Nights” today through Sunday, Aug. 28 to 31. Like its iconic spinning Ferris wheel, this...
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Cleaning up a beautiful disaster
Some people prefer to do their volunteering underwater. That certainly applies to the more than 1,200 individuals who, over the past five years, have donated close to 16,000 hours of volunteer time to Clean Up The Lake, a Nevadabased nonprofit that...
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Summiting her namesake
Seven-year-old Sierra Heinz of Olancha will have a lot to tell her friends when she starts second grade next week at Lo-inyo Elementary School in Lone Pine. Together with her dad, Jeff, who teaches science at Lone Pine High School, Sierra summitted...
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Reeling in a great day
Lots of junior fishermen and their families discovered the joys of fishing at Mammoth Lakes’ 36th annual Kids Fishing Festival, held Saturday at Snowcreek Resort ponds on Old Mammoth Road. Funded by the Town of Mammoth Lakes, the festival is free to...
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Chasing the Lights
Tracking a geomagnetic storm last October, professional astrophotographer Dan Zafra drove from Las Vegas to Mono Lake with one goal in mind: to try to capture the aurora borealis. It would mean a sleepless night for him, as he had to be back home the...
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Eastern Sierra Book Festival returns to the Mammoth Museum on July 19
The eighth annual Eastern Sierra Book Festival will liven up the grounds of the Mammoth Museum at the Hayden Cabin in Mammoth Lakes once again on Saturday, with speakers, vendor booths, book signings and new and used book sales. The free-admission...
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Patriotism on Parade
On Independence Day, 50 floats turned out to parade through Mammoth Lakes in celebration of the holiday. Where Creativity Runs Wild was the theme of the parade, which was hosted by the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by Mammoth...
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Mammoth MX tragedy
A tragic accident on the track of the Monster Energy Mammoth Motocross in Mammoth Lakes, the oldest continuous motocross event in the U.S., took the life of rider Aidan Zingg on Saturday. He was 16. The Team Green Kawasaki member reportedly crashed...
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Public lands at risk
A proposal to sell off millions of acres of public lands across the western United States has been put on hold after the Senate’s parliamentarian ruled that it could not be included in the Republic tax and spending bill currently moving through...
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Teen ‘fighting for life’ after Mt. Whitney fall
Special to the Mammoth Times A teen from Santa Clarita is fighting for his life after a disastrous fall on Mt. Whitney. Zane Wach is currently hospitalized in Las Vegas, where he’s being treated for traumatic injuries he suffered after an accident...
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Mammoth revved up for Motocross
The oldest continuous motocross in the U.S., Mammoth Motocross has become one of the major amateur events in the country, drawing racers from all over. Riders like Ricky Carmichael, Jeremy
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Inyo County Sheriff’s Office seeks help finding missing woman
Special to the Mammoth Times The Inyo County Sheriff’s Office is requesting the public’s assistance regarding a reported missing person. Kelsey Pittman, originally from North Carolina, has been missing for months, her mother told the Sheriff’s...
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Inn Fire nears containment
Inyo National Forest firefighters were making progress against the Inn Fire on Wednesday morning, with the 728-acre blaze reported at 70% containment just before 9 a.m. Nearly 500 personnel with the U.S. Forest Service were fighting the wildfire,...
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Mono County social worker receives major recognition
A Mono County social worker was one of seven nominated for a major award this spring, and was named one of the two winners for her dedication to helping local children and families. Tiffany Montanez is one of two recipients of the Sarah Duncan...
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Mono SAR aids injured skier in Bloody Couloir
After a skier tumbled 800 feet in Bloody Couloir, the Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team helped transport her safely to a local hospital. At about 12:05 p.m. Saturday, May 10, the Mono County SAR team received a call that the 37-year-old...
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Patsiata Historic District earns federal recognition
The Patsiata Historic District was officially recognized for its cultural and historical importance when it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 3. The district includes Owens Lake and the many shorelines formed as lake...
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Fighting fire with fire
As winter turns into spring, Inyo National Forest fire personnel are shifting their focus from winter pile burning to broadcast burning operations across the forest. These planned ignitions aim to improve forest health and reduce hazardous fuel...
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License to Kill
(Editor’s note: This story is based on court research by Robert Lewis, Lauren Hepler, Anat Rubin, Sergio Olmos, Cayla Mihalovich, Ese Olumhense, Ko Bragg, Andrew Donohue and Jenna Peterson. It is the second and final part in a series published in the...
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License to Kill
(Editor’s note: This story is based on court research by Robert Lewis, Lauren Hepler, Anat Rubin, Sergio Olmos, Cayla Mihalovich, Ese Olumhense, Ko Bragg, Andrew Donohue and Jenna Peterson. It is the first part in a series that will be published in the...
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Mapping out a trail plan
Calling all hikers and nature lovers! Inyo National Forest and the Town of Mammoth Lakes need your help. The two agencies are seeking public input on a proposed trail reconstruction project in the Sherwin Meadows area of Mammoth Ranger District,...
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Body cam footage released
The Mammoth Lakes Police Department on Thursday released video footage of a March 4 officer-involved shooting that left one man dead. The video, which can be viewed at www.tinyurl.com/ Mlpdshooting, is 8 minutes and 24 seconds long, and includes the...
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A plan that plows into the future
For the first time in nearly 20 years, Mammoth Lakes has updated it snow management policy, a comprehensive plan that guides the Town’s efforts to clear roadways, sidewalks and multi-use paths after winter storms. With 120 lane miles of roads and 7.4...
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Going to the birds
THE AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER OF MAMMOTH LAKES AND THE EASTERN SIERRA Friends of the Inyo’s Owens Lake Bird Festival is returning to Lone Pine for its 10th year from Friday, April 11 to Sunday, April 13. Since 2015, the Owens Lake Bird Festival has...
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Reining in Mono Lake’s wild horses
It’s time for a few hundred wild horses near Mono Lake to move on out, according to the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. As the equine population of the Montgomery Pass Wild Horse Territory near Benton has grown too large for the...
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Learning by frolicking
Sierra Forever, Friends of the Inyo, partners and volunteers recently united in “it takes a village” spirit to teach local fifth-graders about snow science. About 250 students from school districts in Mono and Inyo counties attended Snowschool, an...
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Snowmobilers rescued in two operations
The Mono County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team prepare to rescue two separate groups of snowmobilers who got stuck in deep, wet snow on Feb. 16. Special to the Mammoth Times Two different groups of snowmobilers got stuck in the snow on a recent...
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Avalanche sends Mammoth ski patroller to hospital
Two Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol staff members were caught in an avalanche on Lincoln Mountain at approximately 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14. The slide occurred during avalanche mitigation work, following a significant Sierra snow storm where...
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Dreaming of a white … Valentine’s Day?
Fresh snow blankets the Mammoth Lakes area on Feb. 6 and 7. On Groundhog’s Day, famous groundhog Punxsutawney Phil climbed out of his den to predict six more weeks of winter. Across the country in Mammoth Lakes, the weather appears to be following his...
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Another casualty of a bone-dry winter
Los Angeles will take most or all of its allotment of water from Mono Lake through March, disappointing local environmentalists and conservation experts after raising hopes that more water would be left in the iconic alpine lake. The Los Angeles...
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Framing of the shrew
THE AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER OF MAMMOTH LAKES AND THE EASTERN SIERRA A small mammal native to a small region the Sierra Nevada was photographed for the first time in history in Mono County last fall. Students Vishal Subramanyan, Prakrit Jain and...
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‘Just try to keep it as fun as possible’
In 2021, Mammoth Lakes native Dusty Henricksen did what no male snowboarder from the U.S. had managed since Shaun White in 2009 – he won a gold medal in Slopestyle at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. And Henricksen, then just 17, made it look...
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‘Literally off the charts’
As much of Los Angeles smolders, wind warnings return and fire crews stand guard, scientists say almost unprecedented climatic conditions throughout Southern California led up to the disaster. Last summer was one of the hottest on record, and the...
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‘Have fun. Land runs. Podium. And eat sushi!’
Every January, snowboarders and skiiers flock to Aspen, Colorado to test their mettle at the Winter X Games. This year, two athletes from Mono County will be joining them: Dusty Henricksen, 21, will be making his fourth X Games appearance, and for...
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HELP WANTED FULL TIME
MAMMOTH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT has the available: following THE COUNTY OF INYO Is currently accepting applications positions www.mammothhospital.org/jobs positions World Language-spanish Teacher Mammoth High School Salary: $55,077-$100,042...
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HELP WANTED PART TIME
NOTICE OF PART-TIME CLASSIFIED OPENINGS FOR LONE PINE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL AIDE - Special Education One to One Specialized 5.75 hours per day at the Lo-inyo School (7:50 a.m. to 2:05 p.m.) : High school diploma or equivalent....
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Fighting fire with fire
Inyo National Forest firefighters conduct controlled pile burns in Reds Meadow as part of the Reds Meadow Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. Inyo National Forest firefighters have been conducting their annual winter pile burning efforts in Reds Meadow...
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Are you ready for winter?
MONO COUNTY – The region has already seen its first cold, snowy days of the season. Now, with winter set to officially begin in less than two weeks, Mono County officials are urging area residents and visitors to be ready for potential winter weather...
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A celebration of winter and the human spirit
Special to the Mammoth Times It’s back! The traveling Backcountry Film Festival is returning to Mammoth Lakes next week, bringing a selection of short films that will keep winter sports lovers, adventure enthusiasts and those who just love a good...
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Sign of the times on 395
A section of Highway 395 in Mono County has been renamed for a local resident who helped transform the Eastern Sierra into a tourist destination. Caltrans erected two signs denoting Highway395 between Convict Lake Road and Highway 203 as the Dave...
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Winter wonderland in Mono County
Snow blankets Mammoth Lakes on the evening of Nov. 11. Winter weather brought several inches of snow to Mammoth Mountain and surrounding Mono County last week, just in time for opening day on the mountain. More winter weather is ahead, with mixed rain...
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A night of recognition
The Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce hosted its eighth annual Business Excellence Awards Gala on Nov. 7 at Canyon Lodge, celebrating the achievements of local businesses and individuals who contribute to the local community. With a strong turnout of...
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Fall means feeding frenzy for black bears
Autumn is here, and black bears around the state, including in Mono County, are entering a temporary physiological state known as “hyperphagia.” During hyperphagia, also known as the fall feeding frenzy, bears consume as much as they can to bring their...
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Invasive bat fungus detected in Inyo County
The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats has been detected in several counties across California this year, including in Inyo County, although bats with visible signs of the disease have yet to be observed in the state. White-nose syndrome...
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Rebelles with a cause
THE AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER OF MAMMOTH LAKES AND THE EASTERN SIERRA After eight grueling days that tested them physically and emotionally – and a last burst of speed across a dry lake bed – Louisa Bir and Jordan Keeth crossed the finish line at their...
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Mammoth Lakes is going to the dogs
The Town of Mammoth Lakes has opened its first dog park on College Parkway. Mono County residents now have a place where their dogs can run around and get all that pent-up energy out of their systems. The Town of Mammoth Lakes opened its first...
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Mammoth team competes in Rebelle Rally
By the time you read this, Louisa Bir and Jordan Keeth will have set off in a Toyota 4Runner on an intense, eightday off-roading adventure – the Rebelle Rally. The Rebelle Rally is the longest off-road navigation rally competition in the U.S., as well...
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Fate of planned affordable housing project uncertain
An affordable housing project that has been in the planning stages for more than decade has seemingly hit a brick wall, as the cities of Bishop and Mammoth Lakes have not been able to contact the developer. Bishop assistant city planner Anastasiia...
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Mammoth Lakes Chamber hosts election event
Editor’s note: Information about candidates for the Southern Mono Healthcare District Board and the Bishop Unified School District will appear in the next edition of the Mammoth Times. The Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce hosted its recent Power...
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