Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A bit of smoke is still rising from the approximately 12-acre wild fire southeast of Chehalis, and crews continue making progress extinguishing all of it.

Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015

“It’s completely lined and we consider it 100 percent contained at this point,” Chuck Turley, assistant manager of the Pacific Cascade Region of the state Department of Natural Resources said this morning

Firefighters from numerous agencies responded Tuesday afternoon to the blaze roughly a half mile north of the intersection of Centralia-Alpha Road and North Fork Road.

The cause is as-yet unknown, but crews put out fires twice last week on the same property.

Turley expected DNR personnel could be working three or even four more days on this.

“The vegetation is really thick,” he said. “It’s going to require people on the ground digging it out.”

Turley said that’s one difference between wild fires on the east side of the mountains and the west side of the mountains.
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For background, read “Chehalis area wildfire knocked down but not contained” from Wednesday August 5, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A 52-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a single-vehicle accident yesterday evening in Mineral, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened about 7:15 p.m. on the 700 block of Mineral Creek Road, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this morning.

The woman was traveling northbound and it appeared she had been going too fast at a right sweeping curve, according to Brown. Her 1997 Harley Davidson left the road, went through a barbed wire fence and came to rest in an open field, Brown said.

The 52-year-old Mineral woman was pronounced dead at the scene. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, according to the sheriff’s office.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Lewis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said it’s not clear exactly what caused a baby to be ejected from the car in the wreck that left its driver dead on Sunday evening south of Chehalis.

Jackson Highway, Chehalis

Deputies and firefighters responded just before 9:45 p.m. to the single-vehicle collision along the 3100 block of Jackson Highway.

Kelsie Gonzalez, 31, of Chehalis, was dead at the scene and her infant passenger was found outside of the car.

Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue Firefighter Brad Bozarth said the car hit a fence, a parked van and couple of trees before coming to rest against another tree, in someone’s yard.

The sheriff’s office’s initial information was Gonzalez was traveling southbound at a high rate of speed, and went airborne after striking a ditch.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen said the 1-year-old’s car seat was still inside the 1990 Acura and secured in the car, but the straps which would have been holding the baby to its car seat were not fastened.

“Based on this it is unclear where the child was and how the exact ejection of the child occurred,” Breen indicated.

He said the baby was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where it was still undergoing treatment the following morning. He didn’t know if the child was a girl or a boy.

Breen said he expected to know more by Friday, as the investigating deputy would be finishing the report after days off.

The Lewis County Coroner’s Office said Gonzalez died from internal injuries from the impact.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

The Washington State Patrol is warning the public they believe their headquarters’ telephone has been compromised.

The state patrol says they’ve received 30 complaints from citizens saying they were phoned by someone who identified themselves as a trooper.

The apparent trooper impersonator has accused those who’ve answered the calls of various violations including outstanding warrants, unpaid tickets, and unpaid school taxes, according to state patrol Capt. Monica Alexander.

The state patrol does not call people to collect fines or advise of such things, according to Alexander.

She says they are currently working to remedy the problem and advises the public if they get such a call to do the following:

• Do not answer any questions
• Do not agree to pay any fines
• Do not share any personal information
• Hang up the telephone

The scene at the the 3100 block of Jackson Highway outside Chehalis. / Courtesy photo by Nicole Lovo

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 31-year-old Chehalis woman was dead at the scene and her infant passenger ejected after her car went airborne and struck a tree south of Chehalis last night.

It happened just before 9:45 p.m. along the 3100 block of Jackson Highway, near Trevor Lane, according to responders.

It appeared the driver was traveling at a high rate of speed before she left the roadway, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Dusty Breen said the 1-year-old was in a child car seat, but still was tossed from the vehicle.

The 1990 Acura appeared to be totaled, Breen said.

The baby was airlifted from the Chehalis Airport to Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital in Tacoma, according to Newaukum Valley Fire and Rescue. The sheriff’s office said however the patient was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where treatment was still being provided as of this morning.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A Toledo father died after saving his child on the Toutle River yesterday afternoon.

Benjamin Brooks

Thirty-five-year-old Benjamin Brooks, his wife and kids were swimming a few miles east of the town of Toutle when the 9-year-old boy had an issue in the water, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.

Both parents and their daughter jumped in to help him, but then all four struggled to swim and stay afloat, the sheriff’s office reports.

The son was climbing on his dad when the dad pushed his son towards the shore; and the mom was able to get her son to safety with the assistance of her daughter.

Brooks had gone underwater and did not make it to shore.

The daughter went to the roadway to try to get help and flagged down a firefighter from Toutle, at milepost 19 Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, according to the sheriff’s office.

It was about 3:15 p.m. and her father had been in the river for about a half an hour by then.

Members of fire departments from Toutle and Castle Rock responded along with deputies and Cowlitz County Dive Team members.

Dive team personnel located Brooks’ body underwater near the point where was last seen.

None of them had been wearing life jackets, according to the sheriff’s office.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Instead of going forward with an arraignment yesterday, prosecutors released from jail a 22-year-old accused of injuring her boyfriend’s toddlers.

Chandra M. Munsey was arrested last week, held with no bail and then charged on Monday with two counts of second-degree child assault. The judge set her bail at $50,000.

Chandra M. Munsey

Authorities have revealed little about the case, other than alleging it occurred in Lewis County between Monday and Wednesday of last week.

The boys, ages 2 and 3, were taken from their father into protective custody. Thirty-one-year-old Casiano Baldovinos has said he believes his girlfriend is innocent and that he found his children with bruises when he picked them up from Munsey’s parents home outside of Centralia, and then called police.

Baldovinos and Munsey live together in Chehalis, her lawyer told the court earlier this week.

Lewis County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Brad Meagher said yesterday he asked the judge to reduce Munsey’s bail to a $10,000 signature bond.

“We’re continuing our investigation, we need more time,” Meagher said as to the reason why.

The court related timelines and deadlines that apply for a defendant who is out of custody are less strict than for those who are locked up, according to Meagher.

“The only way to buy more time is to let her out of jail,” he said.

The documents detailing the allegations have been sealed by the judge at the prosecutor’s request. Meagher indicated the reason for the temporary closure of the records is to prevent information in them from interfering with the sheriff’s office continuing investigation.

Munsey’s arraignment is now expected to take place next Thursday in Lewis County Superior Court.
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For background, read “Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigating child assault, one arrested” from Tuesday July 28, 2015, here