A Night of Mystery at Ramona Library

Attendance at the Hot Spots’ Intermountain Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department Auxiliary Night of Mystery at

the Library fundraiser neared 150, with most wearing costumes of book characters or authors. Proceeds benefit the Intermountain department.

Since not all of the bills are in, the Hot Spots does not yet know how much money was raised for the department, which covers a 125-square-mile area bordering Ramona, Julian, Lake Henshaw and Palomar Mountain. A primary source of funding for the department comes from fundraising, donations, grants and some cost-recovery billing. While about 5,000 people live within the department’s boundaries, it serves an additional 18,000 commuters who use the highways that run through the area, the Hot Spots estimate.

“The Plot Thickens, A Night of Mystery at the Library” at Ramona Library on Saturday evening was the Hot Spots’ eighth fundraiser since the auxiliary’s first meeting in 2005. The events, not including proceeds from this year’s benefit, raised $156,000 for the department.