Lewis County Sirens.com

Updated at 5:23 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning alcohol impairment and speed may have led to the crash early yesterday that sent two Chehalis residents to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Based on a conversation with the driver, Brandon A. Davis, 18, deputies believe he and his 20-year-old passenger had been at Walupt Lake before the 1996 Honda Accord wrecked into a tree at the 200 block of Kirkland Road, northeast of Napavine, according to the sheriff’s office.

Davis was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered broken bones and possible internal injuries, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning. His passenger was seat belted but had a head injury as well as an injury to his foot, Brown said. Both men are from Chehalis, she said.

Investigators are awaiting toxicology test results but are referring the case to prosecutors for a possible charge of vehicular assault, according to Brown.

Responders found the men trapped in the wreckage, freed them, treated them and put them in a helicopter for transport to the hospital, according to Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue.

Davis was listed in satisfactory condition this afternoon, according to a hospital spokesperson. No information was released about his passenger.
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For background, read “News brief: Car versus tree collision sends two to Harborview” from Sunday August 23, 2015, here

Updated at 1:02 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Two young men were injured when their car ran into a tree off the 200 block of Kirkland Road, northeast of Napavine overnight.

Firefighters from three departments responded to the approximately 3:10 a.m. call, which required “heavy extrication,” according to Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue.

Firefighter Brad Bozarth said that meant they had to use their power tools to got into the car.

“The first fire units arrived on-scene to find two male patients trapped in the vehicle,” Firefighter Maria Kenndey said in a news release.

The patients were stabilized on scene and then airlifted from Bethel church’s parking lot to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, according to the fire department.

Both are listed as critical, Kennedy indicated just after noontime today

Skies over south Chehalis at mid-afternoon today.

Updated at 5:11 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Lewis County’s Department of Emergency Management wants the public to know the smoke being seen around the area today is traveling from the large wildfires on the eastern side of the mountains.

“There are no fires at this time in Lewis County,” DEM Manager Steve Mansfield said.

Lewis County 911 and the fire departments are getting lots of calls from people asking what’s burning, Mansfield said.

The state Department of Natural Resources and weather people are confirming it’s coming from the east, Mansfield said. And perhaps a little bit from the Alder Lake fire, he said.

South Lewis County is experiencing it to the degree that in places you can’t see the blue sky and smoke is sitting in low valleys, Mansfield said.

However, if anyone sees flames, or sees a column of smoke, they do need to call 911, Mansfield said.

Mansfield said he talked with Lewis County Fire District 8 Chief Duran McDaniel today and was told the Gore Road fire in Onalaska is maybe putting off little wisps of smoke.

And people are keeping an eye on the other places where there have been large fires locally, such as Gish Road and Centralia-Alpha Road, he said.

The Tenino Fire Department says their phone has been ringing off the hook this afternoon with callers wanting to know what is burning as well. They’ve verified with their central dispatch in Olympia the haze is coming from the east.

Tammy Sizemore snapped this photo along Falls Road about 6:30 p.m. / Courtesy photo

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

About a dozen members of two fire departments responded yesterday evening to a wildfire south of U.S. Highway 12 in between Randle and Glenoma.

“It was nothing too big, compared with what else was going on,” Lewis County Fire DIstrict 14 Chief Jeff Jaques said this morning. “One and half acres, unknown cause at this point, on DNR-protected land.”

It was near milepost four off Falls Road, on property that had been logged a year or maybe two years ago, Jaques said.

The fire was under control fairly quickly and a crew stayed on till about 9:30 doing “mop up,” the chief said.

They also kept someone on fire watch there during the night, and will be back this morning to finish up, he said.

“And then we’ll continue to monitor it,” Jaques said.

Smoke rises from Toledo residence. / Courtesy photo by Stormie McKenzie

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Firefighters called yesterday afternoon to a house fire in Toledo spent about four hours extinguishing it, according to Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Dave Germain.

“It was a lot of fire, it was a real stubborn fire,” Germain said.

One teenage boy was home at the time but got out safely, and nobody was injured, he said.

Germain said the lower level of the residence on the 500 block of Washington Street was pretty much saved, albeit with a lot of water damage.

“The upper story is pretty well gone,” he said.

A fire investigator was looking into its cause, he said.

Looking south from U.S. Highway 12 in Grand Mound. / Courtesy photo by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Southbound Old Highway 99 in Grand Mound is blocked this morning after a log truck lost its load in front of the AM/PM.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office tweeted at about about 7:50 a.m. there were no injuries in the rollover accident, just south of U.S. Highway 12.

A crew sprays down the remains of a motorhome on the side of Interstate 5 this morning. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority.

Updated at 4:52 p.m.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

An elderly Washougal man was hospitalized for injuries after a motorhome caught fire on Interstate 5 in Centralia this morning.

Firefighters called at 10:10 a.m. to the southbound lanes near milepost 83 found the vehicle on the shoulder and well-involved in flames, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

It was quickly extinguished but it and all of its contents were destroyed, according to the fire department.

The occupant of the motor home stated there was a mechanical problem, that the fire originated in the engine compartment and then spread through the dash to the interior of the motor home, Fire Capt. Scott Weinert stated in a news release.

The 88-year-old had first and second-degree burns to his arm, the back of his head and his neck, according to Weinert. They think it happened when he opened the hood, Weinert said. The patient was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital for evaluation.

The state Department of Transportation reported a seven-mile backup into Thurston County.