Fire broke out close to the 1300 block of Aurora Drive in El Cajon. The fire started on a open space preserve and burned close to homes. A 100-foot firebreak along the east edge of …
August 20, 2013
Back to profile
Stories by Billy Ortiz
Fire moves from open space to El Cajon homes
Video: Weasel watch at a Lakeside park
Lindo Lake Park in Lakeside has become a hotspot for wildlife photographers. This year’s rains brought enough water to fill the east basin, bringing with it again an abundance of wildlife. Many shore birds have …
June 5, 2013
Two-fire weekend in Lakeside
At about 1 p.m. on May 12, a fire broke out in the Glenview area in the East County, marking the second fire in as many days. A mobile home burned in the Glen View …
May 12, 2013
Video: Eagle watch at Ramona Grasslands
For the first time in many years, according to the Wildlife Research Institute, a young pair of bald eagles are nesting and raising a single offspring. The eaglet is about one month old, according to …
May 7, 2013
San Diego police K-9 units train at Lakeside’s El Monte Park
Mid-week, you can often find San Diego police utilizing the large open spaces of El Monte Park (five miles east of Lakeside) to train their dogs. The K-9 unit pulls up to the staged scene, …
January 25, 2013
Lakeside Rodeo trades sign for big screen
In Lakeside on January 17, the finishing touches were put on the new Lakeside Rodeo marquee. The old sign was put up in the early ’70s and was showing signs of wear. The cost of …
January 22, 2013
Lindo Lake refilled with recent rainwater
Until the other day, the upper pond at Lindo Lake Park had been dry since the beginning of last summer. The pond is full of water once again, thanks to the storm runoff from this …
December 16, 2012
El Monte Valley Bobcats Caught on Video
Early on the morning of November 15 in El Monte Valley, I was driving slow like always, hoping to see a cat. Thursday was my day. I stopped my car when I spotted a young …
November 16, 2012
A Man and His Mules Find Lakeside
A lone drifter, age unknown, rides into Lakeside, California, with his three mules. He says they wander the country, guided only by the love of the Earth and its creatures. The man goes by the …
November 10, 2012
Aerial Assault on Larvae in Lakeside
This helicopter, owned by Hummingbirds Helicopters Inc. of Valley Center, was recently conducting an aerial assault on mosquito larvae in ponds along the San Diego River. This particular chopper was spraying larvicide onto the edges …
October 3, 2012
Dam, Lakeside! San Vicente Reservoir Capacity to Double?
After it’s completed, the dam at San Vicente Reservoir, near Lakeside, will be the largest roller-compacted concrete dam-raise in the world. From the deep rock basin to the top of the dam, it will stand …
September 18, 2012
Drought Drains Lakeside’s Lindo Lake
In Lakeside there’s been recent thunder and lightning, flash-flood warnings, and ominous skies, but not a drop of rain in sight. It’s a sad scene at Lindo Park. The upper lake is almost completely dried …
August 17, 2012
Bobcat by the Roadside in Lakeside
Most every day I like to drive down El Monte Rd in Lakeside, It reminds me of how it used to be in the old days: wide open fields, some farmed acreage, and the wildlife …
March 10, 2012
Shot in Lakeside: Sunrise Powerlink Chopper at Work
Pictured is one of the sky cranes being used to lift Sunrise Powerlink electrical transmission towers into place along the rim of El Monte Valley in Lakeside.
January 5, 2012