Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire that ravaged a summer cabin at Lake Mayfield Village leaving only two walls standing on Friday evening is under investigation.

Nobody was injured but crews from Salkum and Mossyrock who spent hours battling the blaze were hampered by sparks from an exploding power box they couldn’t aim their fire hoses at, according to Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel.

They had to wait almost an hour and a half for workers from Lewis County PUD to shut off the electricity, McDaniel said. They surrounded the house and kept most of the siding wet while they waited, he said.

“It’s not one you’re gonna win, we contained it the area,” McDaniel said.

The approximately 1,500 square-foot, cedar-sided, metal-roofed  dwelling was nestled among fir trees, according to the chief.

It was just before 6:30 p.m. when a District 8 crew was returning from an aid call, crossing the bridge on Mayfield Lake and spotted a fully engulfed structure fire on the ridge, McDaniel said. They headed that way and were dispatched about a minute later to the 200 block of Lakeview Drive, he said.

“We probably were on the scene within four minutes,” he said.

McDaniel said the cabin had been remodeled about a year ago and was for sale. It’s owners live in Portland, he said.

“It’s under investigation with the fire marshal’s office as to the cause,” he said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia police over the weekend dealt with numerous car thefts, in some cases informing the victims their vehicle had been found abandoned and stripped before they were reported missing.

Yesterday morning, a Honda Civic taken from the 200 block of East Carson Street turned up off Johnson Creek Road in South Thurston County. It had been torched, according to police.

It’s happening during the night and all the cars have been locked, according to the Centralia Police Department.

They’re not breaking the windows.

Police suspect that thieves might be using a “shaved” key to defeat the locks and ignitions since they are targeting similar cars, Sgt. Carl Buster said.

The years mostly range from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, he said.

Buster recommends folks to be extra vigilant and if they see any vehicles or people out of place in their neighborhood to call 911.

“Someone’s going to have to catch them in the act,” Buster said. “Unless you put a club on your steering wheel or lock it in the garage, they’re gonna get it.”

According to Buster: Saturday began with a 1989 Toyota Camry found in an alley near the 1800 block of North Tower Avenue. It had been taken from the 1700 block of Military Road and It’s stereo was missing, according to police.

Around 11 a.m., a 2001 Honda CRV was discovered in the area of Fair Street that was stolen from the 300 block of East Pine Street. It was also partially stripped.

Soon after, an officer was called to the 1800 block of Shamrock Drive where someone had tampered with a 1993 Mazda, but didn’t take it. It had an alcohol ignition interlock in place that probably made it less attractive, according to Buster.

Five have been reported stolen in Centralia since Jan. 4

“So, they’re stealing them from all over town, dumping them all over town – and out of the county – and they’re progressively getting worse,” Buster said. “Now they’re burning them.”

Crews work to put out a fire at a home on Lone Yew Road. / Courtesy photo by Clayton Skinner

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A couple who has lived in their Toledo area home some 50 years returned home today to find firefighters extinguishing a blaze that virtually destroyed their house.

Lewis County Fire District 2 was called just before noon to the residence on the 200 block of Lone Yew Road, about two miles southeast of town. A passing motorist called it in, according to Fire Chief Grant Wiltbank.

Wiltbank said the flames got into the attic and multiple “void spaces” making it difficult to put out. Responders came also from fire departments in Winlock, Napavine, Vader-Ryderwood and Lewis County Medic One.

Crews managed to save a lot of their personal belongings, including several large boxes with generations of family photos, according to Wiltbank.

The single-story wood frame house is still standing, but will probably have to be bull dozed, he said.

Nobody was injured.

The preliminary cause appears to be a chimney failure, according to the chief.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission reported yesterday that 52 motorists in Lewis County were pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence during their recent special enforcement campaign.

The numbers come from their Drive Sober of Get Pulled Over emphasis that ran Nov. 21 through Tuesday.

How many of those occurred on New Years Eve and day was not immediately available.

Extra DUI patrols during the nearly six-week emphasis were funded by a grant from the traffic commission.

Statewide, police arrested 3,446 for impaired driving during that period, according to a news release from the WTSC.

During the same time span a year earlier, law enforcement officers on routine patrol around the county arrested 38 people for DUIs, according to the news release.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Police and aid were called just after 3 p.m. when a van ran into the back of a school bus in Chehalis, smashing the front of the van. Nobody was hurt.

It happened on the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue.

The bus was southbound but stopped for traffic ahead, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

“The van sustained quite a bit of damage, I think it’s probably totaled,” Sgt. Brian Hickey said. “I don’t think there was much braking.”

An airbag deployed so the 18-year-old driver was unhurt, according to Chehalis Fire Department Capt. Kevin Curfman.

Curfman said the chief arrived first and let them know nobody was injured, but a medic also checked out each of the 12 grade school-aged children.

“I don’t think they even felt anything hardly,” Curfman said.

Hickey wasn’t finished with his investigation, but said it appeared the driver looked away and when she looked back, the bus was stopped in front of her.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Centralia home sustained an estimated $20,000 damage when a fire broke out in an attic next to a wood stove chimney yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters called about 3:45 p.m. to the single-story house on the 400 block of Bryden Avenue near Fort Borst Park found smoke coming from vents near the roof, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

The occupants called 911 and got everyone safely, according to Fire Chief Jim Walkowski.

Crews removed portions of the ceiling and extinguished the fire, according to Walkowski.

It appears the chimney was too close to wooden roof trusses in the attic, which ignited, Walkowski said.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 95-year-old Randle man’s home was consumed by fire yesterday, but he got out safely.

Lewis County Fire District 14 was called about 4:30 p.m. to the 100 block of Kiona Road and joined by crews from Glenoma and an engine from  Packwood, according to Fire Chief Jeff Jaques.

The owner and his daughter-in-law were home when it started but escaped without injury. His son and daughter-in-law live there with him, Jaques said.

The single-wide mobile home which had been added on to was a total loss, according to the chief.

“It was fully involved when we go there,” Jaques said. “There was nothing in the house that wasn’t burning when we got on scene.”

The cause is under investigation.

The trio have family and friends in the area to stay with, although they were also put in touch with Red Cross, he said.