Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – It turned out to be a neatly folded stack of recently laundered towels on a shelf.

That could have burned up a popular Chehalis night spot, if not for the fact that someone smelled something not quite right before the business closed.

It was about midnight last night when someone from Sabra’s Place walked around the corner to the Chehalis Fire Station and said there was a strange odor inside the restaurant.

The crew went into the building on the 300 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue and looked around. The air conditioner was checked, the area was searched and finally, the source was located, Fire Investigator Ted McCarty said

It was coming from a stack of towels in a cabinet, McCarty said. They were just slightly smoking.

Fire Investigator Derrick Paul related to McCarty that he took them outside, laid them out and found heavy charring in the middle.

“So, they were actually spontaneously combusting,” McCarty said.

Paul asked if they’d been used previously to clean up anything oily or chemicals. He was told yes, but they’d been washed since, he was told.

Most people know that oily rags left laying around can ignite, but firefighters know that even after they are laundered, they are still risky, according to McCarty. They should be stored in something metal with a lid on it, he said.

“In this case, luckily they smelled something,” he said. “Otherwise, we’d have had a big fire.”

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A male was robbed at gunpoint inside a vehicle by a person with him yesterday evening, leading to a short police pursuit that began in the area of Harrison Avenue and Johnson Road in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

Officers responding at 6:53 p.m. to the 1100 block of Harrison Avenue, just west of Interstate 5, report the suspect took money from the victim.

The suspect is described only as a person known to the victim.

Police located the vehicle, which refused to yield, according to a brief summary of the incident from the department.

The pursuit was terminated by police for public safety
concerns, according to police.

Centralia officers have positively identified the suspect, and recovered the vehicle in Olympia, according to the summary.

Further details were not readily available. The investigation continues, according to police.

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A line-of-duty death memorial service for Chehalis Police Department Officer Rick Silva will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, and is open to the public.

Officer Rick Silva

Silva, with more than a quarter century of law enforcement service behind him, died Thursday of complications following surgery to repair an on-the-job hip injury.

“Rick’s family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to the community for the outpouring of love and support they have felt over the past week.” Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Stacy Brown stated in the announcement today.

Brown stepped in to assist with public information officer responsibilities for the Chehalis Police Department.

Silva, 61, worked at the sheriff’s office before moving to the Chehalis Police Department in 2002.

On Friday, a police procession will depart from the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on North National Avenue at approximately 9 a.m. and travel to W.F.West High School where the service is to be held.

A public reception will follow immediately afterward in the commons area of the high school.  W.F. West is located at 342 SW 16th Street, Chehalis.
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For background, read “Chehalis police mourn loss of veteran officer” from Friday June 19, 2015, here

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – Worries about fire danger have prompted a timber company to close their properties to the public as well as caused an expansion of last week’s burn ban on state-protected lands in Eastern Washington to now cover the west side of the mountains.

Both announcements were issued today.

The majority of Port Blakely Tree Farms property in Lewis County is in the Morton area.

Their closure applies to foot, horse, motorized and any other form of access, according to a company spokesperson.

“With the recent weather so warm and dry, and even higher temperatures expected in the coming days, we are doing what we can to keep our forestlands safe,” Teresa Loo stated. “As soon as the fire danger subsides, we will re-open our lands for public access.”

The state Department of Natural Resources reports westside forests are drying out so outdoor burning is now prohibited in state forests, state parks and other property protected by DNR, with the exception of recreational fires in approved fire pits within designated state, county, municipal and other campgrounds.

Fireworks and incendiary devices, such as exploding targets, sky lanterns, or tracer ammunition, are illegal on all DNR-protected property, according to DNR.

Last week, outdoor burning restrictions were put into place in unincorporated Lewis County.