Region Briefly 8/28

Parks division offers annual firewood sale

The state parks division is offering permits for its annual firewood sale.

About 230 permits for cords of wood are available this year on a first come, first-served basis. They go on sale 8 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Library and Archives Building, 100 N. Stewart St. The sale ends when all permits have been sold.

The wood goes for $50 a cord - cash or check only - and must be picked up either in the Spooner Lake area or near Hobart Reservoir. A spokesman said four-wheel drive vehicles are strongly recommended at Spooner and mandatory at Hobart.

The wood, a mix of pine and fir, is cut by forestry conservation crews as part of the forest health program in Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.

Former radio host joins Senate race

Former talk show host Mike Wiley has filed federal forms, joining the growing number of Republicans seeking to challenge Democrat Harry Reid for his U.S. Senate seat.

Wiley, now a business and marketing consultant in Las Vegas, has run for office before. He was an unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate in Florida in 1994.

Rangers destroy park marijuana plot

SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) - A section of this Sierra Nevada national park was closed to visitors Thursday while rangers helicoptered in to destroy a sizable marijuana growing operation just a half-mile away from a crystal-filled cave popular with tourists.

Authorities said the proximity of the pot plants to such a heavily trafficked tourist site was unusual and reflects a newfound boldness among growers, who are now planting marijuana near trails and access roads at an increasing number of parks.

"We've really seen an expansion of the types of sites where people are growing marijuana," said Scott Wanek, chief ranger for the Pacific West region of the National Park Service.