Updated at 4:17 p.m.
TENINO HOUSE FIRE
• Tenino firefighters were called to a house fire last night on Vantime Road about three miles northeast of town. “On arrival we had smoke coming out of the house, on the second floor,” Thurston County Fire District 12 Battalion Chief James Fowler said. “The interior crew got upstairs and found fire in a closet.” Crews were joined by personnel from three other fire departments and were on the scene about two hours, Fowler said. Nobody was hurt, he said. He estimated the damage at perhaps $50,000 because of wallboard that will have to be replaced. The bedroom sustained smoke damage and the first floor just a little water damage, he said. The contents of the closet were consumed. The two-story structure is like a mother-in-law house where the property owner’s band practices, according to Fowler.
ASSAULTS
• Centralia police booked a 23-year-old man into the jail this morning in connection with an incident reported yesterday at the 200 block of North Iron Street in which he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend and took her cell phone. Officers called about 1:40 p.m. yesterday learned David J. Rangel had left before they were called, according to the Centralia Police Department. Officers later went to the residence because Rangel was there and he fled out the back door, according to police. Police dog Lobo was called to the area and located their suspect hiding in some bushes several blocks away. He was booked for second-degree robbery. Officers also arrested an 18-year-old Centralia resident for obstructing, contending they had delayed Rangel’s arrest, giving him time to escape. Baylor Jackson Scott was cited and then released, according to police.
• Centralia police were called about 7 p.m. yesterday to a dispute at Centralia College Boulevard and Silver Street where witnesses said a male pointed a gun at several people and pulled a female into his dark-colored sport utility vehicle and assaulted her. The participants are all known to each other, according to the Centralia Police Department. No arrest has been made, police report this morning.
DRUGS
• A 22-year-old Centralia man was arrested yesterday for a warrant and possession of methamphetamine after contact with an officer about 1:15 p.m. at the 1000 block of Scammon Creek Road in Centralia. Jarrin A. Smalley was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.
FORK PEAK FIRE UPDATE
• The Fork Peak Fire southwest of Pe Ell has been held to 126 acres and is now 95 percent contained. “There is still some heat in the interior of the burned area that is also being mopped up to minimize the chance of wind-thrown embers,” the Department of Natural Resources states in its morning report. There is very little fire activity near the fire’s edge, according to DNR spokesperson Jay Guthrie. The forest fire about five miles southwest of town began Sept. 11 in an active logging area, on private timberland owned by Rayonier. Still, 103 personnel are working the site, with three hand crews, seven fire engines, two water tenders and one piece of heavy equipment, according to Guthrie. Guthrie notes he expects the update he sends out tomorrow will be the final one for this fire. DNR took the opportunity to suggest to the public that autumn is a great time to improve your property and implement a firewise home and community. For more information about Firewise Communities check out the website www.firewise.org
WSP WELCOMES NEW TROOPERS
• A new trooper is joining the state patrol detachment in Morton following his graduation from the Washington State Patrol Academy. Justin R. Schaffer, from Centralia, is among 39 individuals sworn in this week at a ceremony at the Capitol in Olympia. Also presented their official commission cards on Wednesday by Gov. Jay Inslee and WSP Chief John Bastiste were Centralia resident Jacob D. Payne, who will be working out of Yakima and Christopher L. Hendrickson from Tenino who is assigned to the Hoquiam detachment, according to the state patrol.
AND MORE
• And as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor theft; responses for collision on city street, misdemeanor assault … and more.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter