Lewis County Sirens.com

Firefighters use a ladder truck to survey the hopper for fire damage. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An explosion and fire in a wood dust hopper prompted an evacuation at a Centralia sawmill today, but damage was minimal, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Crews were called just before 2 p.m. to Northwest Hardwoods on the 1000 block of Galvin Road, according to Fire Chief Jim Walkowski.

The fire was contained to the dust collection system, without extension to nearby or surrounding structures, Walkowski said in a news release.

Firefighters remained on the scene for an extended period, extinguishing the burning wood dust as it was unloaded from the hopper and loaded into trucks for disposal, according to the chief.

No injuries were reported.

They were assisted by the Chehalis Fire Department and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

While the double-wide mobile home looks good from the outside after a fire, the interior does not, according to fire Lt. Laura Hanson. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 5

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Nobody was injured, but some pets are unaccounted for and a family of three is displaced after a residential fire in Napavine today.

Crews called about 1 p.m. to the 100 block of Woodard Road found heavy smoke coming from a double-wide mobile home, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

No one was home at the time, according to department spokesperson Lt. Laura Hanson.

Hanson said the home and its contents are believed to be a total loss. Three adults who live there were offered assistance from the Red Cross, according to Hanson.

She said she understood a cat and a dog were missing.

District 5 was joined by members of Lewis County Fire District 6 and 15.

The cause is unknown, according to Hanson.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire that did extensive damage to a north Centralia home overnight appeared to have started on or around a couch on the first floor, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Crews called about 1 a.m. to the 1200 block of Delaware Avenue found heavy flames coming from the front of the one and a half story house and already extending into the eves and attic, Assistant Chief Rick Mack said.

A Chehalis firefighter suffered some smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was released this morning.

Nobody was living in the home as, Mack said, it was his understanding the owner passed away early this year. The family had an estate sale over the weekend, he said.

The early 1900s wood structure sits just east of the railroad tracks near the viaduct, according to Mack. He estimated the damage at about $50,000.

Investigators were on the scene until after 5 a.m., according to Mack.

“We have interviews to conduct to find out who was there most recently,” he said.

Updated at 10:55 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are looking for a burglary suspect who ran off into the woods near the 800 block of Pleasant Valley Road west of Napavine yesterday afternoon when his wife was arrested.

Todd E. Fears, 39, of Kelso, is described as 6-feet tall, weighing about 250 pounds with a shaved head wearing khaki cargo shorts and a black T-shirt, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Todd E. Fears

The sheriff’s office suspect the couple in an interrupted burglary yesterday morning just south of Winlock in which more than $6,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, as well as other break-ins in the area during the past week, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

Their vehicle, a light blue 1980s pickup, was found hidden off Lenz Road on private timberland, according to Brown.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who sees Fears not to contact him but to immediately call 911. He has an outstanding warrant for a probation or parole violation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies at about 10:15 a.m. yesterday responded to the 1300 block of Hining Road in Winlock where a resident said he arrived home to find a light blue truck in his driveway and a woman who said she was looking at his house which is for sale, according to Brown. He then saw a male run from the back of his house, who was picked up by the woman after she jumped in her truck and drove off, according to Brown.

When the owner went inside, he discovered he had been burglarized of the jewelry, Brown reported.

Later, just before 4 p.m., a couple who matched their description stopped by a home on the 800 block of Pleasant Valley Road asking to use the phone because their vehicle was broke down, according to Brown.

The resident was suspicious because of break-ins in the area and called 911, Brown said. Arriving deputies detained Alicia J. Fears, 42, but her husband fled, Brown said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary.

Their truck was found about two miles to the south, according to Brown.

Just last week, after deputies investigated a residential burglary on the 400 block of Berry Road, west of Napavine, they said there had been a suspicious male and two females walking up and down Berry Road during the previous two weeks. In one case, a woman went to someone’s door and asked to use the bathroom, but then ran away.

A similarly described truck was implicated in a residential burglary in early May on the 500 block Cedar Creek Road near Toledo.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia’s SWAT team was called out to the 3100 block of Galvin Road last night after a suspect in a domestic assault locked himself inside his home and refused to come out.

Police said Kyle W. Elliott, 35, had a previous weapons violation, several felony convictions and neighbors indicated he had been seen recently in possession of firearms.

It began about 7:50 p.m.

Police negotiators tried to contact Elliott by telephone and with a loudspeaker for an hour and a half before “flash devices” and pepper spray were introduced into the home, according to a news release from the Centralia Police Department.

He immediately answered the phone, according to police.

Elliott was taken into custody without further incident and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault, but he likely faces additional charges, according to police.

Officers found body armor in his room and planned to further search the home for guns, according to the news release.

A clay model of the what will become a bronze statue by sculptor Jim Stafford. / Courtesy photo Lewis County Sheriff's Office

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Off duty deputies and other employees of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office will be serving breakfast at Applebee’s on Saturday morning to raise money for the memorial to fallen local law enforcement officers to be placed in front of the Law and Justice Center in Chehalis.

So far, $28,000 has been raised out of an estimated $55,000 needed for the almost life-sized tribute of an officer, a police dog and a child, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

Tickets can be purchased for $10 at the sheriff’s office front counter or at the door that morning.

The event runs from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. The breakfast includes pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, coffee, milk and juice.

Applebee’s is at 1670 NW Louisiana Ave. in Chehalis.