A San Bernardino County Fire Strike Team has returned home after a 14-day assignment working the Oak and McKinney fires. “Brush Patrol 6606” is housed out of Station 44 here in Joshua Tree. They are commonly deployed when there is a declared “state of extreme emergency” - using a mutual aid agreement with the California Office of Emergency Services enacted back in 1950. The crew worked 24-hour shifts on the northern California fires - working the perimeters and performing mop-up operations. The…

The Perseid meteors are at their peak this weekend here in the high desert. Despite this year’s meteor shower occurring during a full-moon, you should still be able to catch some of the spectacular show as our earth passes through the densest and dustiest debris left behind by the Swift-Tuttle Comet all the way back in 1992. You may recall the meteor showers from previous years - in 2016 it was particularly heavy with some people seeing up to 200 meteors an hour. It probably won’t be as…

Summer time can tend to slow things down here in the high desert - but that’s definitely not he case this weekend when it comes to art. There are a few free shows taking place in different galleries around Joshua Tree - here’s a quick rundown for your saturday: Hey There Projects Gallery will have a group exhibition of folk-art inspired kinetic sculptures called Whirligigs and Weathervanes - that will be going from 6 to 9PM. https://www.instagram.com/p/ChKl_QhA_r7/ During the same 6 to 9 PM time…

On July 25th, School Bus driver David White had just picked up a group of students at the 29 Palms Jr. High campus where they were finishing up summer school. The bus had just left the parking lot when White heard a commotion behind him - one of the students had stood up and moved toward the front of the bus, and that’s when he heard someone say “he’s choking.” With the bus already in motion, David says he started to pull the bus over to assist the student. But by the time he had safely stopped…

The Mojave Desert Land Trust is offering a paid internship for women interested in conservation and environmental studies. Women in Science Discovering Our Mojave - or WISDOM - is seeking interns for two new biological research projects in the Mojave Trails National Monument for this fall and winter. Interns will conduct surveys of bumble bees and bird species at Bonanza and Arrowweed Natural Springs beginning August 26th through February of 2023. Applications from women of all backgrounds are…