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.
Fire breaks out at Winlock warehouse. / Courtesy photo by Desiree Bowers
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
WINLOCK – Twelve hours after fire tore through a warehouse just up the street from the world’s largest egg in Winlock, smoke still rose from the sprawling pile of the building’s remains.
“We still have pockets of active flames,” Lewis County Fire District 15 Assistant Chief Kevin Anderson said.
An excavator was working through the debris so firefighters could continue to extinguish it.
The wood-framed, metal-sided structure stood on the west side of Northwest Kerron Street, just south of Laurel Street.
A similarly large warehouse to its south and two-story house to its north appeared untouched.
Anderson said firefighters arriving after the approximately 2:30 a.m. call found heavy smoke outside and flames visible from the north side of the building, coming out of a rollup door he believed had “failed”.
They were joined by crews from Vader, Toledo, Napavine and rural Chehalis, as well as the ladder truck from the Chehalis Fire Department.
It was an exterior attack, nobody was hurt, he said. The initial knockdown took well over an hour.
“I believe the business was, they were kind of like the middle man, selling materials to some of the liquidator stores,” Anderson said. “Mostly food items.”
It was filled with everything from ketchup and mustard to laundry detergent; pallets and pallets full of grocery products, plus plastic wrapping and packing materials, fire investigator Sam Patrick said.
“So your fire load was huge,” Patrick said.
Anderson said he didn’t know when people were last in the building, as the owners are away on vacation.
Patricia and Michael Parish, who reside in the Winlock area are out of the country, but had been contacted, according to Patrick.
Information from the Lewis County Assessors Office shows the 14,640-square-foot warehouse was built in 1968. It was labeled in fair condition. The assessed value is $220,000.
The building and the property – just shy of one acre – are listed as owned by Alternative Logistics LLC.
Among the rubble was a for-sale sign. Toledo Police Chief John Brockmueller said the property had been on the market off and on for three years or so.
Some of the run off from fire hoses reached a storm drain, and cooking oil seeped into Olequa Creek behind the building, according to personnel on the scene from the state Department of Ecology.
Spill Responder Ben Cornell said they had various ways of cleaning up what they could, including vacuuming oils from the water’s surface.
Brockmueller was there, as the city of Winlock recently contracted with Toledo for police services. Patrick is Sgt. Patrick with the Toledo Police Department. He also sits on the Winlock City Council.
Patrick said he expected it could be a couple of days before he could get in and start searching for the cause.
Firefighters continue putting out hot spots today at Northwest Kerron Street.
•
Smoke rises from the remains of pallets of grocery items after warehouse burns in Winlock.
Children were removed through the back of a wrecked mini van still in their car seats this afternoon on Interstate 5. / Courtesy photo by Grant Wiltbank
PINNED ON INTERSTATE 5
• Firefighters and medics from four area departments responded to an approximately 1:40 p.m. collision today on northbound Interstate 5 northeast of Winlock. A mini van carrying a man, a woman and three children was pinned against the concrete center barrier by a semi truck’s trailer, according to an off-duty firefighter who stopped to help. Crews quickly stabilized the incident and removed all occupants safely through the rear hatch, with the girls still in their car seats, Toledo resident Grant Wiltbank said. The former fire chief of Toledo’s fire department said they were transported for what were described as non-life threatening injuries. It happened near the U.S. Highway 12 interchange. Another van was also involved but sustained relatively minor damage, he said. The Washington State Patrol was on the scene investigating, according to Wiltbank.
REAR-ENDED ON INTERSTATE 5
• Two drivers were hospitalized with neck pain after a rear-end-type collision on northbound Interstate 5 near the Mellen Street interchange in Centralia yesterday evening, according to the Chehalis Fire Department.
HARASSMENT
• Centralia police were called to the 200 block of North Ash Street about 6:45 a.m. today where an individual reported that during a dispute, a male threatened to kill him. The investigation is underway, according to the Centralia Police Department.
BURGLARY AND THEFT CENTRALIA
• A 24-year-old Centralia man was arrested for residential burglary yesterday in connection with an approximately 9 p.m. call to the 500 block of West Pine Street, according to the Centralia Police Department. James J. Ayres Brewer was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.
• A 23-year-old Centralia resident seen coming out the back door of a house on the 2300 block of Salzer Valley Road in Centralia at about noon on Friday was arrested for a warrant and for residential burglary. Mykl C.P. Teeter and the female he was with said they were picking up belongings for a past renter and feeding the dogs, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The owner when contacted said they did not recognize the two and had never heard of them, detective Sgt. Steve Aust said. Teeter was booked into the Lewis County Jail for his Centralia warrant and also for burglary, Aust said. He was released today without charges filed pending further investigation.
• Centralia police were called around noon yesterday to the 100 block of West Magnolia Street where an individual reported the theft of tires off their vehicle.
CAR PROWL
• Chehalis police were called on Saturday to the 400 block of Southwest 15th Street where sometime during the night someone broke into a vehicle and stole fishing gear.
LOST AND FOUND
• Chehalis police were called about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday about a wedding ring lost in a parking lot on South Market Boulevard.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, shoplifting, urinating in public, driving with suspended license; responses for alarm, dispute, runaway child, shoplifting and other misdemeanor theft, issue civil in nature and not criminal, to tell transients to put out their campfire, dogs alone inside presumably too-hot parked vehicle, baby sleeping alone inside inside a parked car in front of a retail store, collision on city street … and more.
A wreck involving three vehicles was cleared from Interstate 5 just after 3 p.m. / Courtesy photo by Grant Wiltbank
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.
Updated at 11:40 a.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 24-year-old walking on the railroad tracks in Rochester last night, was hit by a train and taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital with head and neck injuries.
“The crew said he was walking down the tracks, the train approached,” West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Chief Robert Scott said. “He stepped off to the side but not far enough.”
Firefighters called about 9:35 p.m. to the area near 183rd Avenue Southwest and Pendleton Street searched around the train, Scott said. They were joined by the crew of the Puget Sound and Pacific Railroad train which had stopped, but didn’t find the man.
A sheriff’s deputy located the victim two blocks away on Daryl Lane, Scott said.
Ambulatory and conscious are not findings usually associated with such a call, Scott said.
“He was clipped by the corner of the engine, knocked clear and fell down in the gravel,” Scott said.
The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office described the injury as minor. Scott said visually it was obviously serious, but, he was still walking and talking.
Medics transported the patient to the Olympia hospital. He was treated and has been released, a hospital spokesperson said this morning.
•••
TIMBER FIRE BURNS NEAR ALDER LAKE
• An approximately 25-acre fire burning just south of Alder Lake yesterday afternoon is unsafe and inaccessible to firefighters because of the steep terrain, according to a public affairs officer with the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Helicopters dropping buckets of water have been helpful with the lightning-strike caused timber fire which was reported on Tuesday, according to authorities. The fire is near Elbe and being managed by the Gifford Pinchot and the state Department of Natural Resources. A Type 3 wildland fire management team with approximately 40 firefighters and personnel are assigned, operating at the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District. There is no estimate of containment or control. Officials remind the public of restrictions that began on July 1 all through the Gifford Pinchot that prohibit any kind of motorized vehicles on trails, any smoking outside of buildings or enclosed vehicles and any campfires unless they are built inside the provided metal campfire rings or grills in developed recreational sites.
POLICE: DAYTIME OFFICE BURGLAR APPREHENDED
• Centralia police arrested a 37-year-old Morton man on Saturday after they found him inside a closed business on the 1100 block of Kresky Avenue. Officers were called at 1:20 p.m. by a citizen who saw a male throw a rock through the glass door and enter, according to the Centralia Police Department. When police arrived, the subject was rummaging through the office and “squared off” against an officer, according to police. Joseph C. Tjelde had allegedly stuffed his pockets with various items of no particular street vale, Sgt. Carl Buster said. Tjelde was booked into the Lewis County Jail for first-degree burglary.
BREAK-IN
• Police were called to the 500 block of North Rock Street about 10:15 a.m. on Saturday regarding the theft of tools from a residence.
FRAUD
• Centralia police were called about 8 o’clock on Sunday morning to the 1800 block of Shamrock Drive where an individual reported two credit card accounts were fraudulently opened in their name.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, misdemeanor assault, driving with suspended license, violation of an anti-harassment order, unlawful possession of fireworks; responses for hit and run, misdemeanor theft, collision on city street … and more.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A 39-year-old man with a gun who confronted a prowler in his yard in Centralia last night ended up shot in his foot with his own weapon, according to what he told police.
The man told police who arrived after the 9:24 p.m. call to the 500 block of Hamilton Avenue that he’d gone outside to feed his cat, saw someone on his property and confronted him, Sgt. Carl Buster said.
Police were told the prowler “rushed” him and struck him in the head with a pipe, Buster said.
The 39-year-old said he began to draw his pistol, but the other guy shoved the gun down, causing the victim to shoot himself, according to police. The victim fired a second round at the suspect while he was running away, police said.
The prowler then disappeared into the night, Buster said.
Police summoned aid for the man, set up “containment” around the area and attempted to find the subject they were told was a white or Hispanic male, Buster said.
A police dog was summoned to assist.
The K-9 sniffed around the yard but could not pick up a scent to track, Buster said.
The victim had a bump on his head as well as the gunshot wound, but has already been released from the hospital, he said.
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