Traffic was slowed up yesterday afternoon on Interstate 5 in Chehalis. / Courtesy photo by Washington State Patrol
BIG WRECK
• Two children were taken to the hospital to be checked out after a multiple vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 5 in Chehalis yesterday. The Washington State Patrol reports four cars were involved and the injuries were minor. The left lane was blocked just north of the 13th Street interchange beginning about 12:30 p.m. with one vehicle partially on the center median.
BAD WRECK
• A 31-year-old Vader woman was airlifted after a wreck last night along state Route 506 when her car ran through a wire fence, rolling and came to land on its top in a field. Troopers responding just after 9 p.m. to the scene about three miles east of Vader found Elizabeth Bridgman was injured and her Oldsmobile Aurora was totaled, according to the Washington State Patrol. She was reportedly driving too fast and was not wearing a seatbelt. The eastbound lane was blocked for about an hour and a half, according to the state Department of Transportation. Bridgman was flown to PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center, according to the investigating trooper.
SCREWDRIVER TO THE BACKSIDE
• Firefighters were called just before midnight to the 3100 block of Ives Road in Centralia for a stabbing victim. The 28-year-old man who was upright outside of an apartment complex had what appeared to be four mostly superficial wounds from a screwdriver in the middle of his back, according to Riverside Fire Authority. Medics bandaged him and he declined to be taken to the hospital, Fire Capt. Terry Ternan said.
BURN BAN EXPANDS
• As a heat wave rolls into Western Washington, the state Department of Natural Resources announced yesterday that all outdoor burning on DNR-protected forestlands is prohibited, with two exceptions: Recreational fires in approved fire pits within designated state, county, municipal or other campgrounds, and gas or propane stoves/barbecue grills are allowed. DNR-approved prescribed fires for ecological purposes may be permitted if expressly approved by the commissioner of public lands. Because of the potential wildfire danger, the ban will run through Sept. 30, according to the state agency. Always illegal on DNR-protected forestlands are fireworks and incendiary devices, such as exploding targets, sky lanterns, or tracer ammunition. Charcoal briquettes are not allowed. The hot, dry conditions prompted a ban on outdoor burning in unincorporated Lewis County that began at 12:01 a.m. today.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter