Lewis County Sirens.com

WILDFIRE, POSSIBLE DEATH AVERTED

• Responders rushed to a call of a possible brush fire along Interstate 5 near Vader yesterday afternoon but found instead a man sitting atop a gas can smoking a cigarette. His car had run out of fuel and was stopped on the the northbound onramp near the Gee Cees truck stop, according to Lewis County Medic One paramedic Jason Shepherd. He was told he’d shouldn’t be doing that,  Shepherd said. Responders suspect the 911 caller may have just seen some dust kicked up by the car. A paramedic got the Chehalis man some gasoline and while they were fueling up the vehicle for him, he tried once more to light up, Shepherd said. “He was definitely not understanding us, or maybe he was just shining us on.”

NEAR MISS ON LOGGING ROAD

• A log truck tipped over far enough to lose its load but then righted itself yesterday morning on the 200 block of Green Mountain Road in Mossyrock. The 26-year-old Port Angeles driver said he was leaving a work site when he had to move to the far right because an oncoming Honda crossed over the centerline, according to  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The cab and trailer touched the ground and spilled the logs before tipping back up, according to the sheriff’s office. The damage to the trailer was estimated at $1,500, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said. The Honda driver returned briefly and then took off, according to Brown.

CAR VERSUS TREE

• A 32-year-old Chehalis man reportedly was uninjured when he lost control of his Ford Escort and slid sideways into a tree on the 1000 block of North Fork Road outside Chehalis last night. A deputy called just before 10 p.m. cited the driver for second-degree negligent driving and no insurance,  according to  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The car sustained major damage, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

FAMILY SUSPECTED IN JEWERY, TRUCK THEFT

• A Chehalis area man called sheriff’s office last night when he returned home and discovered his 1989 Dodge pickup truck was missing. A deputy called to the home on the 800 block of Lucas Creek Road was told the man’s sister-in-law from Florida had been staying with him as his wife recently passed away, according to  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. She was due to fly home Wednesday and the 52-year-old victim was out of town until yesterday, the sheriff’s office reported. Also missing was most of the wife’s jewelry, Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown said.

BURGLARY

• A computer was reported stolen from a home yesterday a the 1100 block of Plum Street in Centralia, according to the Centralia Police Department.

MISSING CAR FOUND IN WOODS

• A 1989 Acura Legacy stolen earlier this month in Chehalis turned up yesterday on a logging road near the 1000 block of Brown Road West near Chehalis, according to  Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police took a report yesterday of someone using a rock to break the window of a vehicle overnight at the 100 block of East Center Street.

DRUGS

• A 23-year-old Chehalis man was arrested for a warrant and possession of methamphetamine after he was spotted walking in the area of the 1400 block of South Market Boulevard in Chehalis about 11:45 p.m. yesterday. An officer found a baggie of suspected methamphetamine in his pocket, according to the Chehalis Police Department. Ezekiel L. Johnson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police. He is to be released on the potential drug offense with no charges pending further investigation.

ELDERLY MOTORCYCLIST TUMBLES OFF LOGGING ROAD

• An 81-year-old man on a motorcycle was rescued after he went over a 30-foot embankment off a forest service road south of Randle and struck a tree. Responders called about 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday to the road headed to the Burley Mountain Lookout used their four-wheel drive ambulance to crawl up the windy, steep and rutted logging road, according to Lewis County Fire District 14. Chief Jeff Jaques said the man, from out of the area, was ejected and tumbled farther after hitting the tree. He suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Morton General Hospital, Jaques said. The motorcyclist was traveling with others and the fire department was notified by a a Forest Service crew that came upon the accident, according to the chief.

BAD DRIVING

• Police were called about 8:45 p.m. yesterday to the 1300 block of Harrison Avenue where an individual said he was jogging when a white vehicle struck him and then continued on. He was not injured, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A 48-year-old Centralia man was arrested for first-degree negligent driving and a suspended license just after 10 p.m. on Tuesday at North Tower Avenue and East Pine Street in Centralia. Jeffrey Hanson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• Two men were hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries early this morning after a semi truck ran into the rear of Department of Transportation dump truck which was stopped on Interstate 5 south of Chehalis. Troopers called just after 3 a.m to the southbound lanes blamed the 38-year-old driver of the big rig for not paying attention. His 2004 Freightliner sustained about $20,000 damage and he had a sore chest and head, according to the Washington State Patrol. The driver of the dump truck Beau L. Weimer, 29, of Olympia, had a sore wrist, the state patrol reported. His truck was towed with about $10,000 damage, according to the state patrol. Both were taken to Providence Centralia Hospital.

BURGLARY AND THEFT

• Centralia police were called about 3 o’clock this morning to the 2400 block of Seward Avenue about a possible burglary to the home while its owner was in custody.

• Centralia police took a report yesterday afternoon from the 1100 block of West Cherry Street about a debit card number that had been compromised and used. Centralia police Sgt. Stacy Denham said it used a “couple of times in Oregon for a couple hundred bucks.”

• Centralia police arrested a California man yesterday they suspect shoplifted from multiple stores at the Centralia Outlet Mall. Jeremy D. Jackson, 30, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for third-degree theft, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A quad and tools were reported stolen from a garage on the 800 block of South Tower Avenue, according to a report made to police on Tuesday afternoon.

• The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office reported this morning that a 14-foot boat and trailer was stolen from the 100 block of Templeton Road near Toledo sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday night. The loss is estimated at $3,500, according to the sheriff’s office.

• Someone snuck onto property on the 2000 block of Rice Road in Chehalis and left with six radiators. A deputy called Tuesday afternoon when the theft was discovered was told it must have occurred sometime during the previous week. Four of the radiators are from military jeeps, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The loss is estimated at $1,500.

• Centralia police reported yesterday they took a report from the 1100 block of Long Road they day before that a firearm was stolen from a home there sometime during the previous week.

• Chehalis police were called Tuesday about a vehicle prowl that occurred on Sunday on Southwest 20th Street.

MAN MISSING FROM MORTON

• Morton police are asking anyone with information about 39-year-old Richard A. Alston to contact them. The former California man has been living on Seventh Street in Morton the past few months with his sister, but walked away on Aug. 9 and hasn’t been seen since, Chief Dan Mortensen said yesterday. “They had a little discussion, argument, and he left,” Mortensen said. Alston is not believed to be endangered, just missing, Mortensen said.