Lewis County Sirens.com

Police and fire at the scene of accident on North Pearl Street in Centralia that knocked out electricity to the north. / Courtesy photo by Danielle Ziady

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man and woman were critically injured in a single-vehicle wreck last night at the north end of Centralia that caused a large power outage and sent them by helicopters to regional trauma centers.

Police and aid called about 10:50 p.m. to the intersection of North Pearl Street and Sawall Avenue found a pickup truck against a tree, a male passenger trapped inside and the female driver had been ejected through a window, according to responders.

Riverside Fire Authority says they are both approximately 35 years old.

It appeared the Chevrolet Avalanche was traveling southbound and very fast when it missed a corner, went broadside and rolled multiple times, before striking a stop sign, a utility pole’s guideline and then the tree, according to police and firefighters.

Initial information indicated the driver was found laying in the roadway about 30 feet away, according to Fire Capt. Scott Weinert. Crews used the Jaws of Life to extricate the passenger.

Both were transported to Providence Centralia Hospital, but helicopters from both Life Flight and Airlift Northwest were summoned to fly them to out-of-the-area hospitals, according to Weinert.

The truck was heavily damaged, according to the fire department.

Further information about the identities of the pair was not readily available. Centralia Police Department Sgt. Brian Warren said troopers from the Washington State Patrol took over the investigation. Excessive speed and alcohol are suspected, according to police.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Riverside Fire Authority Chief Mike Kytta notified dispatchers and neighboring fire departments this morning he essentially closed the Harrison Avenue fire station for the day, because he’s short staffed.

One firefighter is on vacation and another called in sick, Kytta said.

Kytta said he doesn’t have money in his budget to pay overtime to bring in someone on their day off.

Three firefighters will be on duty at the Pearl Street station during the 24-hour period that ends tomorrow at 8 a.m., according to Kytta. They will respond to district calls, he said.

The Harrison Avenue station had its usual administrative personnel on duty, during regular business hours.

“It happened once earlier this year,” Kytta said. “Unfortunately we’re down enough staff right now, here it is. Here’s the reality of it.”

The chief expected to have volunteers at the station overnight.

Riverside Fire Authority, which protects a population of 28,000 spanning more than 180 square miles in and around Centralia, is working this year with a budget of $3.9 million, compared to last year’s of $4.6 million.

The primary reason for the reduction is related to the fairly sudden change in taxes contributed by TransAlta’s power plant, as it winds down coal burning operations.

If their predictions about next year’s budget are realized, they will lose another $600,000 in revenue, Kytta said this morning.

The department is scheduled to lay off two more firefighters in July, making a total of six positions lost since the beginning of the year. Today, they have 23 paid firefighters.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police were called just before 4:30 a.m. today after someone burglarized an apartment while its occupants were sleeping.

Officers arriving to the 400 block of West Main Street called for a police dog to conduct a track, but no suspect was found, according to the Centralia Police Department.

A 19-year-old man who lives there told police he awoke from a recliner chair in the living room to see a person in a dark hooded garment walking out the front door, according to police.

“He yells at the person and last saw him running down the hallway,” Officer John Panco said.

Missing from the living room were a television and a guitar, Panco said. The 24-year-old roommate said he’d left the door unlocked, according to police.

The individual was described as more than 6 feet tall but less than 6-feet 4-inches tall, Panco said.

It was just three days ago when a resident at the north end of Centralia called for help as he hid in his bedroom while his home was burglarized in the night. Deputies responding to the 3000 block of Lowery Lane initially reported the victim did not see the person but there was a broken bedroom window.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies called it a day late this afternoon and will be reevaluating how to go about finding the 5-year-old who disappeared into the Cispus River on Monday.

“They didn’t make any progress today, as far as finding him,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Steve Aust said early this evening.

The Tacoma boy was riding his motorcycle at the family’s campsite when his parents realized they didn’t hear the motor any longer and then saw it in the water.

Search and rescue personnel have been combing the area south of Randle off Forest Service Road 23 since Monday evening, stopping at nightfall. Today, four deputies and a fish and wildlife officer – swift water rescue team members – conducted their work, putting the fire department and Packwood SAR on standby.

Aust said it would help if the water level would drop, something that has been happening over the past 24 hours.

Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber will be considering conditions and resources and what to do next, he said.

Updated

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are on the scene looking for a 5-year-old and an adult missing near the Cispus River south of Randle.

“We’ve got really spotty information because there’s no cell service, but it’s possible they went into the river,” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Steve Aust said.

Aust said he was notified around 7 p.m. Chief Criminal Deputy Gene Seiber is gathering up search and rescue personnel, he said.

Aust said the area is out Forest Service Road 23, possibly within a mile of the Cispus Center.

“It’s not sounding too good, but hopefully they’ll be found, and be just fine,” he said.

Swift water rescue team members out of Toledo were dispatched just after 7 p.m. for a possible drowning.

The Cispus Learning Center is in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, about seven miles outside Randle.

The search is expected to resume in the morning.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The streets around the Chehalis Fire Department are blocked off after a man showed up with what appeared to be a pipe bomb this morning.

He found it in his storage unit on Jackson Highway and took it to the downtown station, but left it inside his van, according to authorities.

Firefighters earlier this morning requested an officer respond and the arriving officer decided the device was a possible explosive according to the Chehalis Police Department.

The Washington State Patrol bomb squad is on the scene.

The man’s vehicle is parked outside the building on Northwest Park Street. The brick building is not evacuated.

Firefighters had already moved all their engines outside to a nearby intersection, so they are not prevented from answering emergency calls, Firefighter Kevin Reynolds said.

The state patrol is getting ready to dispose of it, Reynolds said shortly after 12 noon.

The incident began in the 9 o’clock hour, and there is no timeline for them to be finished, according to Reynolds.