Amador County – A homeowner discovered a fire at his house only too late Thursday in Ione and it destroyed most of his home. The fire broke out around 11:15 a.m. A horse rancher at 4183 Curran Road had gone to a neighbor's house to work out some horses and when he returned he noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the windows and eves of the home. He immediately phoned 911 and fire units were dispatched. The heat buildup inside the closed building was intense and when fire units arrived, the home was fully involved. Firefighters knocked down the blaze quickly, but the damage had already been done. The fire blew out a window and quickly engulfed the single-story home and burned the interior to a presumed total loss. The exterior of the home was saved but the inside was gutted and reportedly looked like a total loss. Firefighting brigades responded from the Cal-Fire, Mule Creek State Prison, Ione Fire Department, Amador Fire Protection District Battalion 10, and Jackson Fire. Pacific Gas & Electric Company also responded to shut down utilities to the home, on Curran Road, off of Jackson Valley Road, and the Red Cross was called in to aid the victims. The cause of the blaze was unclear and CDF fire prevention was investigating the cause. No injuries were reported. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – An intoxicated driver led Amador CHP officers in a dangerous high speed pursuit late Wednesday, involving law enforcement from three counties and two states. At approximately 9:45pm, CHP officers too evasive action to avoid colliding with the driver of a red pickup who was entering Highway 88 from the Silver Lake recreation area. A pursuit eastward on Highway 88 immediately ensued between the subject vehicle and CHP officers. According to official reports, the subject vehicle drove recklessly and without regard to other motorists, sometimes exceeding 100 miles per hour. As the suspect passed Kirkwood Resort and entered Alpine County, Alpine Sheriff Deputies and CHP units joined the pursuit. The chase continued into Douglas County, Nevada, where reports say the subject intentionally rammed a Nevada Sheriff Deputy. The gathering storm of law enforcement immediately converged on the location. The subject vehemently resisted arrest but was taken into custody. The suspect was identified as Marc George Dubois of Redwood City, California. He now faces numerous felony charges in three different counties, including felony evasion of law enforcement, driving under the influence of narcotics, drug possession, assault with a deadly weapon utilizing a vehicle, and driving with an expired license. The vehicle he was driving was registered in Gardnerville, Nevada. There were no injuries to officers or civilians. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – The Ione city council approved an agreement with the police union on Tuesday and authorized City Manager Kim Kerr to work to finalize revisions. The council approved a $186,000, 3-year contract with the Ione Police Officers Association Tuesday. Kerr said a comparison of pay rates between Ione Police Department officers showed they were paid 8 percent below the rates paid to Jackson Police Department officers. The sergeant pay was 20 percent under JPD’s pay rate, and the agreement, covering January 2009 to July 1, 2010, aimed at narrowing the differences through annual raises. She said the officers’ first raise will be 5 percent, and a sergeant’s rate raise will be 8 percent. Councilman Jim Ulm said basing the pay on Jackson P.D. was not a good idea as the JPD was looking at layoffs to balance its budget, not unlike every other municipality and also the Amador County Sheriff’s Office. Ulm said he would rather not give raises if they must look at layoffs and he hoped the money holds out, saying: “we are the only ones not cutting.” Vice Mayor Lee Ard said Ione has “the luxury of a fine management team and a strong balance sheet.” Ard said he found no discomfort in raising police pay because public safety is the most important thing. Councilman David Plank said the main objective should be retaining quality officers and the IPD has one officer who has been there 3 years. Plank asked if the city can absorb $186,000 in 3 years. Councilman Skip Schaufel said if the city had a catastrophic event, it could renegotiate the contract, and the agreement “shows good faith on our part.” Bonham said “there is a cost to recruiting and not keeping your officers in place,” noting that they police force had lost good officers all because of money. She said they like the community and still live in Ione but work elsewhere. The contract passed 4-1 with Ulm voting no. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

By Alex Lane -

A wild grass fire whipped by strong winds ravaged a section of open fields and pockets of oak trees near Lake Pardee Thursday afternoon. A swift and strong response by local fire agencies and CDF aircraft quickly stopped the fire in its tracks before it was able to cause any serious damage. The head of the blaze was stopped near Stony Creek Road, leaving small fires burning in tree trunks and in small pockets of brush. The Amador Fire protection District, or AFPD, is responsible for approximately 85 percent of emergency fire, rescue, and medical aid service in the unincorporated areas of Amador County. The latest AFPD statistics for the month of September indicate a total of 111 incident responses. Of these, 62 medical aid and 16 vehicle accidents accounted for 70 percent of the total incidents. Only 5 of the incidents were fire related- 1 structure fires, 1 vehicle fire, 1 outside rubbish fire and 2 wildland fires. 54 percent of the total calls occurred between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm.