Fort Bragg

It may look like North Africa, but it's Northern California. In March, Kurt Brotcke and his family took a guided hike with Lodging and Llamas along Ten Mile Beach, just north of Fort Bragg. That's where he took this picture of his 4-year-old daughter, Clara, with a digital Canon EOS Rebel. She and the llama were set in high relief against the sky, said Brotcke, a transportation planner for Orange County who lives in Santa Ana. "And the colors were just perfect."

A monthlong manhunt in the rugged redwood forests around Fort Bragg in Northern California came to an end Saturday when authorities shot and killed Aaron Bassler, a fugitive who was suspected in two killings, including that of a local city councilman. A three-man SWAT team found Bassler around midday Saturday and fired at him, said Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman. The 35-year-old fugitive, who was said to have schizophrenia, was armed but did not shoot at sheriff's deputies.

Fifteen years ago, the century-old redwood train trestle at the north end of Fort Bragg, on the Mendocino coast, was where teenagers went to smoke cigarettes and make out. The towering bridge ? gorgeous even at the height of its decay ? was closed to pedestrians because of rotting beams and gaping holes. But the view, high above Pudding Creek and out over the churning Pacific, was irresistible for romance and rebellion, the wire fence at the bridge's mouth a feeble barrier against young, bored Fort Braggers.

Authorities searching for suspected killer Aaron Bassler in the tangled woods around Fort Bragg have come tantalizingly close to capturing the fugitive, but his familiarity with the forest northwest of San Francisco has complicated the hunt, they say. The closest call came when Bassler popped up behind a bush near his mother's house, but he vanished after a search dog tackled him. Since then, the man accused of gunning down two area foresters has...

A monthlong manhunt in the rugged redwood forests around Fort Bragg in Northern California came to an end Saturday when authorities shot and killed Aaron Bassler, a fugitive who was suspected in two killings, including that of a local city councilman. A three-man SWAT team found Bassler around midday Saturday and fired at him, said Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman. The 35-year-old fugitive, who was said to have schizophrenia, was armed but did not shoot at sheriff's deputies.

Three Fort Bragg, Calif., men have been arrested on suspicion of murder, robbery and conspiracy in the death of a Santa Ana man. The body of Donald Perez, 39, was found Thursday east of Fort Bragg. He had been missing since Sept. 15. Authorities said August Stuckey, 19, Tai Abreau, 19, and Aaron Channel, 20, were arrested and are being held on $100,000 bail. Deputies received a tip Thursday that Perez may have been killed.

The city of Fort Bragg has been ordered by a Mendocino County judge to permit a developer to open a hotel that has been empty since it was completed 15 months ago. Local officials said the hotel was too tall and refused to issue an occupancy permit. "The structure exists and no public benefit will be gained by requiring it to remain vacant," Superior Court Judge Conrad Cox ruled Tuesday. He said neither the city nor the state can enforce a disputed height regulation.

A police bulletin was issued Tuesday for a 26-year-old man described as armed and dangerous in the deaths of four people in a house wracked by an explosion and fire. The deaths were described by Mendocino County sheriff's investigators as possibly drug-related. Sgt. Rich Wiseman said the case was being investigated as possible arson and homicide.

An earthquake that registered magnitude 4.25 struck about 20 miles off the coast of Point Mendocino. No damage or injuries were reported, according to the state Office of Emergency Services. A Ft. Bragg radio station reported three calls from residents who felt the temblor. "I had one lady call and ask if we'd just had an earthquake," said Mendocino County Sheriff's Sgt. Tony Craver, who did not feel the quake. "There was no feeling, no sensation of an earthquake at all."

Ft. Ross had always tugged at my imagination. An unsustainable 19th century outpost of the Russian empire at its most expansive, home of sea otter and seal fur trappers, eventually sold to John Sutter (yes, the very same), it was part of the romance of California, the weathered redwood boards of its several buildings now a state historic park. So there we were, crawling along Highway 1 toward Ft. Ross north from Jenner, negotiating tight curves and switchbacks far above the Pacific.

In the quiet mountains above this small coastal town, it feels at times as if war has broken out. Large swaths of the forest have been closed to visitors. Helicopters with infrared cameras fly above the mountains. And at one point last week, camouflaged sheriff's deputies rode the area's picturesque Skunk Train, which usually carries tourists on a winding trip through the woods. The officers, joined by FBI and state forestry agents, have been hunting for the man who shot and killed Fort Bragg City Councilman Jere Melo last Saturday.

FORT BRAGG, CALIF. Fort Bragg Whale Festival When, where: March 19 and 20, various venues Highlights: Whale-watching and microbrew tasting are the featured events, plus an art fair, guided walks, chowder tasting and a whale cruise out of Noyo Harbor. At Point Cabrillo Lighthouse, family-friendly activities await. Cost: Most events are free; check website for details Info: (707) 961-6300, http://www.mendowhale.com LAS VEGAS Extreme Thing Sports and Music Festival When, where: March 26, Desert Breeze Skate Park Highlights: $20; $17 in advance.

Fifteen years ago, the century-old redwood train trestle at the north end of Fort Bragg, on the Mendocino coast, was where teenagers went to smoke cigarettes and make out. The towering bridge ? gorgeous even at the height of its decay ? was closed to pedestrians because of rotting beams and gaping holes. But the view, high above Pudding Creek and out over the churning Pacific, was irresistible for romance and rebellion, the wire fence at the bridge's mouth a feeble barrier against young, bored Fort Braggers.

If you go THE BEST WAY TO FORT BRAGG, CALIF. From LAX, nonstop and connecting service to Santa Rosa is offered on Alaska. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $138. WHAT TO DO MacKerricher State Park, (707) 964-9112, http://www.lat.ms/9LcmcA. Three miles north of Fort Bragg on Highway 1, near the town of Cleone. Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens , 18220 N. Highway 1; (707) 964-4352, http://www.gardenbythesea.org C.V. Starr Community Center, 300 S. Lincoln St., (707)

Charles Benjamin Gittings Jr., who for nearly nine years ran a website dedicated to stopping prisoner abuse in the war on terrorism, died Wednesday at his home in Fort Bragg, Calif., after a long battle with cancer. He would have been 58 next week. Though not a lawyer, Gittings had a life-long interest in military tactics and law that led him to become an invaluable resource to some of the nation's greatest experts in the field. His death prompted an outpouring of tributes from civil liberties attorneys across the nation who worked with him to try to close the prison at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Declaring that the legal system should be allowed to do its job, Mendocino County Superior Court Judge Ron Brown sentenced Aaron Vargas to nine years in prison Tuesday for shooting to death the man who began molesting him when he was 11. Vargas, 32, was originally charged with murder for shooting Darrell McNeill, 63, to death in McNeill's Fort Bragg trailer in front of the man's horrified wife. He faced 50 years to life in prison for the Feb. 8, 2009, crime. Then other victims began to come forward alleging that McNeill had also molested them or tried to, including McNeill's stepson.

Some books should be heard, not read. Consider the moment in Tom Wolfe's new novella when a redneck Marine first opens his mouth. Many English-speaking readers might feel utterly lost. They might even toss the book aside. "Man was some adder wit chew?" asks Jimmy Lowe, drunk and agitated. "You in see no snakes. I mean, hale, you caint tale me you seen no snakes outcheer in no broad daylight." Translation: "Man, what's the matter with you? You aren't seeing no snakes.

Sprawling between Main Street and wind-raked ocean bluffs, the Georgia-Pacific lumber mill has been far more than this town's economic center. For generations, it has been part of the culture, the swagger, the identity of blue-collar Fort Bragg. Before it started bleeding workers, the mill turned redwood trunks into stacks of lumber so dependably that kids could graduate high school on Friday and begin work on Monday, earning better pay than any job around. Now it's closing.

Twenty days before his planned storybook wedding in Yosemite National Park, Aaron Vargas got drunk on beer and vodka and pocketed a loaded revolver. Then he drove to a remote trailer and shot Darrell McNeill to death in front of the man's horrified wife. McNeill's death shocked residents of this small city on the rugged Northern California coast, and so did Vargas' motive. But what came next might have been the biggest surprise of all. Assistant Dist. Atty. Elizabeth Norman describes McNeill, who was unarmed when he was killed, as "a little old man with Parkinson's disease, who was in his little trailer home in his stockings, pants and T-shirt."

Just yards from the murky waters of Noyo Harbor, the boats sit tilted sideways on scraggly grass, their hulls rusted, their white paint peeling. Bruce Abernathy has collected them for years on the cheap, hoping to make a killing selling the fishing rights that go with them when the salmon return and Noyo Harbor regains its rightful berth as one of the biggest salmon fishing ports in California. Instead, his dilapidated fleet has only grown bigger, as frustrated fishermen walk away from their boats.