On May 5th, at about 8:00 AM, a man arrived on foot at the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) to report his vehicle had caught fire approximately one mile up the steep, narrow, and twisty Galloway Road, south of Downieville. 

The Downieville Fire Protection District (DFPD) responded quickly to the news and, when they arrived on the scene in their green and yellow, four-wheel drive fire wagon, their crew discovered the fire being driven up the hill by a light wind through the heavily forested area. 

Given the circumstances, the DFPD immediately asked for mutual aid from firefighters in Alleghany and Pike City, as well as the US Forest Service. 

By 11:00 AM, local volunteers plus a Forest Service Hotshot crew from the USFS’s station in Camptonville were able to slow the fire’s spread and the incident command was assumed by the Forest Service, allowing the volunteer firefighters to be released.  

(GRASS VALLEY) — Footage of the legendary Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, has been caught on film in the wee hours of morning at BriarPatch Food Co-op in Grass Valley. 

Employees were filming a short documentary about the history of cooperative grocery stores on Super 8mm film when they were startled by what appeared to be a 6-to-7 foot tall hairy beast walking down the aisles in lanky movements with arms swinging. 

By Don Russell

For the 157th time in the Great Yuba Pass Chili Cook-off’s 30 year history, Jenny Varn again took home the first place trophy. 

There was much amiss at last Saturday’s festivities. Sixteen cooks suffered the balmy weather. Some health issues prevented Loyalton’s Andy White from creating his traditional masterpiece. He rarely misses the event, and always improves it. His absence, however, did not prevent judge Paul Bianco from taking some cheap shots at him in a rant that excoriated several other participants. With any luck, those disparaging comments will be published in some future edition of this scurrilous rag.