Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The criminal case of the 3-year-old boy who died while in the care of a Vader couple last autumn continues to drag on.

Danny and Brenda Wing, both 27, have pleaded guilty under an agreement in which they’ve promised to share information with authorities and undergo polygraph examinations.

Jasper Henderling-Warner

Jasper Henderling-Warner died from what the coroner labeled chronic battered child syndrome last Oct. 5.

Lewis County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Will Halstead back in May sought and was granted permission for sentencing to be held off, because, he said, the investigation was still ongoing.

In July, Lewis County Prosecutor Jonathan Meyer revealed criminal charges could be filed against others. He didn’t rule out the little boy’s mother.

Brenda Wing was scheduled to be sentenced today in Lewis County Superior Court, but the hearing has been delayed. Danny Wing went before a judge last Friday when Halstead got a postponement for his sentencing.

Danny WIng’s lawyer opposed waiting, according to court documents.

Halstead last week said he is still waiting for unspecified things to happen in the case – including the polygraph tests – and it’s taking longer than he thought.

Each of the two have pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and third-degree child assault. They both face a standard sentencing range of between 146 months and 194 months in prison.

However, if they don’t hold up their end of the bargain, prosecutors indicate in court documents they could add so-called enhancements, leaving the Wings facing terms up to life.

Authorities have spoken about the little boy’s injuries, but nothing has been shared publicly about how he got them.

The formal statements of guilt don’t offer much insight, as Danny Wing said he recklessly caused Jasper’s death by failing to get medical care for the boy and Brenda Wing’s statement says she recklessly caused the death, as an accomplice.

Jasper’s  21-year-old mother had given the couple temporary custody last summer while she was homeless and looked for work out of state.

Currently, Danny Wing’s sentencing is on the court calendar for Sept. 11 and his wife’s is scheduled for Sept. 25.
•••

For background, read, “Prosecutor not ruling out other arrests in Vader toddler’s death” from Thursday July 2, 2015, here

Chicken farm fire on the 200 block of Gore Road. / Courtesy photo by Rhonda Volk

Updated at 5:49 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The fire believed to have been sparked by a tractor-brush hog operating in a field in Onalaska destroyed a dozen chicken barns and burned 175 acres of property.

Crews are still on the scene this morning.

“Everything is black, burned, but nothing right now is causing any major hazard,” Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel said this morning.

It was reported shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday at the Neilson’s chicken farm on the 200 block of Gore Road.

Crews created what McDaniel called a wet line to protect the farm and also to keep fire from getting to an 18,000 gallon propane tank.

McDaniel and two of his firefighters were putting water down around the tank when flames about 25 feet tall rolled over the fire break towards them, he said. Some neighbors were in the area as well, he said.

“We left on foot,” McDaniel said. “There was probably six or seven of us that ran out of there.”

They left behind a 2,500 gallon fire engine-tender that was destroyed, he said.

McDaniel called for everyone – fire personnel and residents alike – to evacuate the area for at least a half mile away from the propane tank, and then enlarged the zone to a mile, he said.

“The size of it, if it blew, it would have launched itself about a mile,” he said.

McDaniel at that point requested help from every fire chief in Lewis County. Assistance came that included fire tenders from all or almost all departments in the county, as well as two from Thurston County and two from Cowlitz County, he said.

Firefighters with the state Department of Natural Resources responded as well, he said.

The firefighting effort couldn’t continue until after a DNR helicopter was able to observe that the only thing still left burning near the tank was the fire truck, he said.

Homes in the area of the fire have Onalaska addresses, but are protected by the Lewis County Fire District 8, based in Salkum.

The farmer’s house was saved as was a neighbor’s barn and several other structures, according to McDaniel.

But 12 large chicken buildings were lost; eight of them occupied by poultry, he said.

Nobody was injured, but two firefighters became overheated, he said.

Critical fire weather conditions are expected to continue through the weekend, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

DNR is warning the public to take every available precaution to protect themselves during what they call emergency conditions.

All available resources, both statewide and nationally, are already deployed fighting wildfires across the American West, according to Carrie McCausland, DNR’s deputy director of communications.

More than 1,000 firefighters are battling 10 large wildfires on the other side of the mountains, where more than 120,000 acres have burned.

Three U.S. Forest Service firefighters were killed yesterday fighting fires in Okanogan County, and other federal and state wildland firefighters were burned or injured.

McCausland urges members of the public to take any evacuation order or emergency direction with the utmost seriousness.

Most firefighting agencies have, by necessity, adopted a defensive posture to contain the already overwhelming spread of wildfires, she stated in a news release this morning.

A fire that broke out a week and a half ago south of Gish Road in Onalaska scorched 102 acres of private property and at one point had about 170 personnel assigned to it.

On Aug. 5, approximately 50 DNR firefighters were working about four miles north of the Gish Road fire to extinguish 18 acres of burning brush and trees off Centralia-Alpha Road.

After District 8’s call for assistance yesterday, the Chehalis Fire Department was put on standby to answer any other calls as far away as Mossyrock, wherever they might be needed.

Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Dusty Breen said deputies provided traffic control and helped with evacuations.

Breen said it appeared the fire originated with the tractor-brush hog, but they are conducting an investigation.

U.S. Highway 12 was closed at Leonard Road in Ethel, and then expanded to reach from Jackson Highway at Mary’s Corner to Fuller Road in Salkum.

Gore Road was shut down at Fred Plant Road on the east end to Leonard Road at the west end; and Leonard’s closure extended north to Gish Road.

The Lewis County 911 center put out reverse 911 calls to advise residents in the area to evacuate beginning just after 3 p.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m. The Code Red emergency alert warning system is available to those who register their phone numbers with it.

McDaniel said it wasn’t until about 11 p.m. they felt like the fire was under control enough to wrap up for the night.

DNR is estimating the fire is 50 to 60 percent contained this morning.

District 8’s fire engine-tender that burned is worth about $350,000, according to McDaniel.
•••

For background, read “Breaking news: Large fire prompts evacuations near Ethel” from Wednesday August 19, 2015, here

Deputies and firefighters knocked on doors for an evacuation of one mile in every direction after fire rolled over an 18,000 gallon propane tank. / Courtesy photo by John Cleveland

Looking north towards Ethel from near the Cowlitz River. / Courtesy photo

Updated at 7:56 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Evacuations are underway in a one-mile wide area around a several-acre fire burning in Lewis County.

U.S. Highway 12 is closed at Leonard Road in Ethel.

The fire is just north of there, at the 200 block of Gore Road.

Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza had a post made on the sheriff’s office Facebook page at 3:31 p.m. today, making the announcement.

He asks that citizens stay out of the area and to please evacuate, if needed.

The following roads have been closed:
• U.S. Highway 12 from Jackson Highway to Fuller Road.
• Leonard Road at Gish Road
• Leonard Road at U.S. Highway 12
• Gore Rd at Fred Plant Road

The sheriff’s brief message made mention that it’s not confirmed if a propane tank is actually pierced. The state Department of Natural Resources reported just before 4 p.m. that structures were threatened.

A large smoke column was visible just before 3 p.m. from more than five miles to the south.

Ethel is roughly eight miles east of Interstate 5.

Homes in the area of the fire have Onalaska addresses, but are protected by the Salkum Fire Department.

A Code Red reverse 911 call was sent out beginning at  3:05 p.m. today, to those who have previously signed up for the service.

It read: “Fire District 8 Chief is advising everyone in the area between Leonard Road and Kennedy Road and between highway 12 and Gore Road to evacuate due to a fire and hazardous conditions. Information about when it is safe to return will be available at 360-740-1152.”

The state Department of Transportation advised at 5:27 p.m.: “For the safety of the traveling public, U.S. Highway 12 is closed between Jackson Highway and Fuller Road in Salkum due to the Gore Road Fire. Eastbound traffic is being detoured north to Jackson Highway then to state Route 508. Westbound traffic is to state Route 122 to Cinebar Road to state Route 508. Updates will be posted to the WSDOT Blog.”

However, DOT advised at 5:37 p.m. U.S. Highway 12 is now back opened.

Lewis County Fire District 8 advised at 7:45 p.m. that it is now safe for all residences evacuated from the Gore Road area to return home.

Steve Mansfield, who oversees the Lewis County Department of Emergency Management, said it appears fire crews will be out there for the rest of the evening, at least.

Further details to come.

Fire breaks out at Winlock warehouse. / Courtesy photo by Desiree Bowers

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

WINLOCK – Twelve hours after fire tore through a warehouse just up the street from the world’s largest egg in Winlock, smoke still rose from the sprawling pile of the building’s remains.

“We still have pockets of active flames,” Lewis County Fire District 15 Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said.

An excavator was working through the debris so firefighters could continue to extinguish it.

The wood-framed, metal-sided structure stood on the west side of Northwest Kerron Street, just south of Laurel Street.

A similarly large warehouse to its south and two-story house to its north appeared untouched.

Anderson said firefighters arriving after the approximately 2:30 a.m. call found heavy smoke outside and flames visible from the north side of the building, coming out of a rollup door he believed had “failed”.

They were joined by crews from Vader, Toledo, Napavine and rural Chehalis, as well as the ladder truck from the Chehalis Fire Department.

It was an exterior attack, nobody was hurt, he said. The initial knockdown took well over an hour.

“I believe the business was, they were kind of like the middle man, selling materials to some of the liquidator stores,” Anderson said. “Mostly food items.”

It was filled with everything from ketchup and mustard to laundry detergent; pallets and pallets full of grocery products, plus plastic wrapping and packing materials, fire investigator Sam Patrick said.

“So your fire load was huge,” Patrick said.

Anderson said he didn’t know when people were last in the building, as the owners are away on vacation.

Patricia and Michael Parish, who reside in the Winlock area are out of the country, but had been contacted, according to Patrick.

Information from the Lewis County Assessors Office shows the 14,640-square-foot warehouse was built in 1968. It was labeled in fair condition. The assessed value is $220,000.

The building and the property – just shy of one acre – are listed as owned by Alternative Logistics LLC.

Among the rubble was a for-sale sign. Toledo Police Chief John Brockmueller said the property had been on the market off and on for three years or so.

Some of the run off from fire hoses reached a storm drain, and cooking oil seeped into Olequa Creek behind the building, according to personnel on the scene from the state Department of Ecology.

Spill Responder Ben Cornell said they had various ways of cleaning up what they could, including vacuuming oils from the water’s surface.

Brockmueller was there, as the city of Winlock recently contracted with Toledo for police services. Patrick is Sgt. Patrick with the Toledo Police Department. He also sits on the Winlock City Council.

Patrick said he expected it could be a couple of days before he could get in and start searching for the cause.

Firefighters continue putting out hot spots today at Northwest Kerron Street.

•

Smoke rises from the remains of pallets of grocery items after warehouse burns in Winlock.

Updated at 11:40 a.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 24-year-old walking on the railroad tracks in Rochester last night, was hit by a train and taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital with head and neck injuries.

“The crew said he was walking down the tracks, the train approached,” West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott said. “He stepped off to the side but not far enough.”

Firefighters called about 9:35 p.m. to the area near 183rd Avenue Southwest and Pendleton Street searched around the train, Scott said. They were joined by the crew of the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad train which had stopped, but didn’t find the man.

A sheriff’s deputy located the victim two blocks away on Daryl Lane, Scott said.

Ambulatory and conscious are not findings usually associated with such a call, Scott said.

“He was clipped by the corner of the engine, knocked clear and fell down in the gravel,” Scott said.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office described the injury as minor. Scott said visually it was obviously serious, but, he was still walking and talking.

Medics transported the patient to the Olympia hospital. He was treated and has been released, a hospital spokesperson said this morning.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 39-year-old man with a gun who confronted a prowler in his yard in Centralia last night ended up shot in his foot with his own weapon, according to what he told police.

The man told police who arrived after the 9:24 p.m. call to the 500 block of Hamilton Avenue that he’d gone outside to feed his cat, saw someone on his property and confronted him, Sgt. Carl Buster said.

Police were told the prowler “rushed” him and struck him in the head with a pipe, Buster said.

The 39-year-old said he began to draw his pistol, but the other guy shoved the gun down, causing the victim to shoot himself, according to police. The victim fired a second round at the suspect while he was running away, police said.

The prowler then disappeared into the night, Buster said.

Police summoned aid for the man, set up “containment” around the area and attempted to find the subject they were told was a white or Hispanic male, Buster said.

A police dog was summoned to assist.

The K-9 sniffed around the yard but could not pick up a scent to track, Buster said.

The victim had a bump on his head as well as the gunshot wound, but has already been released from the hospital, he said.