Lewis County Sirens.com

Firefighters stopped a field fire in Toledo from spreading this afternoon. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 2

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

It’s fire weather.

Any fires that get started could spread rapidly with the combination of wind and low humidity through this evening, according to the National Weather Service.

It’s hot, it’s dry and northeast winds from 8 to 14 mph, and afternoon gusts near 20 mph, are what’s fueled the concern.

The so-called red flag warning is in effect for the Interstate 5 corridor from Lewis to King counties until 9 o’clock tonight, according to the weather service.

Already today, a Toledo area resident’s grass field caught on fire while he was using his tractor and brush hog attachment.

“Maybe the blade hit a rock or a piece of metal in the field, caused a spark, and away she went,”  Lewis County Fire District 2 Chief Grant Wiltbank said. “It’s really dry.”

The flames charred about a half an acre on the 100 block of Boone Road.

Three members of the department who responded to the 2:18 p.m. call quickly extinguished the fire, Wiltbank said.

Wiltbank said it’s the most tinder dry conditions he’s seen in the seven years he’s been in Lewis County.

Had the field fire jumped Boone Road, he said, it would have taken several fire districts to contain it.

The chief suggests that for the next couple of days folks do all the things they know they should do in terms of being extra careful, such as not leaving a barbecue or recreational fire unattended.

“Until it cools off and we get some rain, the fire danger is going to remain high,” he said.

Flames charred about a half an acre on the 100 block of Boone Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 2

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Thank goodness for texting and the old-fashioned siren at the Mineral Fire Station.

A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in a vacant two-story building and dispatchers weren’t able to tone out the volunteer fire department.

Fire Chief Kevin Mounce got a text message about it and his son, a firefighter, alerted other firefighters by activating the backup siren.

The “repeater” was down,” Mounce said.

The delay was somewhere between two and five minutes, but it was the kind of fire fight that needed all the resources that could be mustered.

The fire spread to three outbuildings, as well as brush and trees behind the house, the chief said.

“It was a mess,” he said.

Crews spent six hours battling the blaze in yesterday’s hot dry weather, with help from five neighboring departments, according to Mounce.

It started on the 100 block of Maple Lane, ignited an attic fire in a bunk house and burned the roofs of a tool shed and a garage, he said.

It was just west of the old Mineral School.

“What I was worried about was catching the roof on the school,” he said.

One firefighter was injured, and went to Morton General Hospital for X-rays of his hand.

At one point, a good samaritan brought coolers full of Gatorade and water for firefighters, he said. “So that was nice,” he said.

This morning, Mounce returned to put out “hot spots”, he said.

The house had no electricity to it. An investigator was heading up there today to try to determine the cause.

Updated at 2:50 p.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A man in the Littlerock area is dead after an exchange of gun fire with police today.

Deputies were called about 11:45 a.m. to the 6200 block of Maytown Road Southwest about a man with a gun possibly shooting at passing motorists, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

When deputies arrived, the man went inside his house, sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said.

Deputies, troopers and Tenino police surrounded the home.

At one point, he fired what appeared to be a rifle at deputies in the front, Elwin said. He then presented himself on the back porch with what looked like a handgun and shots were fired, according to Elwin.

“The suspect is shot, aid is administered, EMS arrives and the shooter ends up, he’s deceased,” Elwin said.

The lieutenant, speaking from the scene, said he didn’t yet know who the man is. Update: He was 70 years old, according to the sheriff’s office.

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See video from  KOMOnews.com, here

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A pair of injured hikers from Oklahoma were plucked out of a snowfield by a helicopter in East Lewis County after they were spotted from above by waving their orange sleeping bag.

The 58-year-old woman had cut her legs, face and arms as she attempted to help her husband who accidentally slid approximately 60 feet down a snow and ice field yesterday in the Goat Rocks Wilderness area, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

The 62-year-old man struck his head on rocks on the way down and suffered hip pain and possible head trauma, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

They are currently being treated at Morton General Hospital, Brown said.

The injured couple spent the night waiting for help after making a satellite phone call yesterday to the Forest Service. They were hoisted about 11:30 a.m. today into the King County Sheriff’s Office Guardian helicopter.

A pair of Lewis County sheriff’s deputies set off on foot about 7:30 a.m. today trying to locate the man and woman. The couple had relayed they were near Hart Lake, south of Packwood.

Retired sheriff’s detective Dave Neiser flew the sheriff’s office plane over the area this morning looking for signs of the pair. Neiser spotted the orange sleeping bag.

Brown said the couple had hiked in the area before and returned because they loved it so much the last time.

They were only hours into their hike when the accident occurred, she said. They were well-prepared with food and supplies for a four-day trek, according to Brown.

Packwood Search and Rescue as well as the Lewis County Posse horse team assisted in the search this morning, according to Brown.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A pair of deputies are hiking into the Goat Rocks Wilderness area this morning trying to find two injured hikers who slipped and fell while trekking through snow fields yesterday.

One of them, using his satellite phone, was able to relay they were near Hart Lake could not make it out and requested a rescue, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

Hart Lake is south of Packwood.

The sheriff’s was office contacted just before 5 p.m. yesterday, had a phone conversation with the hikers and advised them to stay put, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

Brown said it’s unknown where the husband and wife couple are from or their ages. The phone connection was not clear, Brown said.

A deputy was told the woman cut her leg, but the bleeding had been controlled and the husband bruised his hip, according to Brown.

There is some confusion as to specifically where the couple is, as there is no GPS function working on their phone, Brown said.

The sheriff’s office hopes to fly its plane over the area, which may be able to spot the pair and then send GPS coordinates to ground crews, Brown said.

Search and rescue teams have not been called out yet because they don’t yet have a good location, according to Brown.