News brief: Wood dust sparks fire at Centralia sawmill

June 5th, 2012
2012.0605.nwhardwooddustfire.trim_2

Firefighters use a ladder truck to survey the hopper for fire damage. / Courtesy photo by Riverside Fire Authority

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter


An explosion and fire in a wood dust hopper prompted an evacuation at a Centralia sawmill today, but damage was minimal, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Crews were called just before 2 p.m. to Northwest Hardwoods on the 1000 block of Galvin Road, according to Fire Chief Jim Walkowski.

The fire was contained to the dust collection system, without extension to nearby or surrounding structures, Walkowski said in a news release.

Firefighters remained on the scene for an extended period, extinguishing the burning wood dust as it was unloaded from the hopper and loaded into trucks for disposal, according to the chief.

No injuries were reported.

They were assisted by the Chehalis Fire Department and West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

News brief: Napavine home burns

June 5th, 2012
2012.0605.napavine.woodardfire.trim_2

While the double-wide mobile home looks good from the outside after a fire, the interior does not, according to fire Lt. Laura Hanson. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 5

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter


Nobody was injured, but some pets are unaccounted for and a family of three is displaced after a residential fire in Napavine today.

Crews called about 1 p.m. to the 100 block of Woodard Road found heavy smoke coming from a double-wide mobile home, according to Lewis County Fire District 5.

No one was home at the time, according to department spokesperson Lt. Laura Hanson.

Hanson said the home and its contents are believed to be a total loss. Three adults who live there were offered assistance from the Red Cross, according to Hanson.

She said she understood a cat and a dog were missing.

District 5 was joined by members of Lewis County Fire District 6 and 15.

The cause is unknown, according to Hanson.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

June 5th, 2012

Updated at 12:22 p.m.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: MAN JAILED FOR STARTING FIRE

• A 52-year-old Chehalis area man was arrested yesterday after security video allegedly captured an image of him starting a fire inside a dumpster behind a gas station south of Chehalis. A deputy called to the Texaco station on the 100 block of U.S. Highway 12 contacted Tim C. Johnson, a resident of the adjacent RV park, who said he did it because he was mad at the  owner of the store, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The owner Harneck Dhudwal told the deputy it occurred about 12:30 a.m. yesterday. Johnson was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for reckless burning, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

RESIDENTIAL BURGLARY

• Someone forced their way through a back door of a garage to get inside an Onalaska home and stole more than $14,000 worth of jewelry yesterday. A deputy called to the 800 block of state Route 508 was told it happened sometime between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Among the missing valuables were two gold wedding bands and many gold and diamond pieces, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Also, $30 cash was stolen, Cmdr. Steve Aust said.

• A deputy was called yesterday to a residential burglary on the 100 block of Tillicum Drive southeast of Chehalis. Stolen was a television, two computers and jewelry, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. An intruder broke a basement window to get inside, sometime between 8 a.m. and 1:20 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office. The loss is estimated at more than $4,500.

• A Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun was stolen from a home on the 100 block of Middle Fork Road southeast of Chehalis yesterday sometime between 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. There was no forced entry into the home, according to the sheriff’s office.

INTRUDER CHASED FROM YARD

• Centralia police were called about 5:30 p.m. yesterday to the 1300 block of Delaware Avenue when an individual pulled a board from a fence and tried to enter a yard. The subject was spotted and fled, according to the Centralia Police Department. He was described as about 5-feet 8-inches tall, thin, with short black hair, according to police.

THEFT

• Centralia police took a report yesterday morning from the 1800 block of Beach Street about prescription medication missing from the home.

•••
CORRECTION: The news item involving the Texaco gas station has been updated to correctly reflect who was arrested for reckless burning. The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office erroneously reported to the news media the name of the owner as the arrestee. Lewis County Sirens apologizes for the error.

Fire breaks out in unoccupied Centralia home

June 5th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

A fire that did extensive damage to a north Centralia home overnight appeared to have started on or around a couch on the first floor, according to Riverside Fire Authority.

Crews called about 1 a.m. to the 1200 block of Delaware Avenue found heavy flames coming from the front of the one and a half story house and already extending into the eves and attic, Assistant Chief Rick Mack said.

A Chehalis firefighter suffered some smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was released this morning.

Nobody was living in the home as, Mack said, it was his understanding the owner passed away early this year. The family had an estate sale over the weekend, he said.

The early 1900s wood structure sits just east of the railroad tracks near the viaduct, according to Mack. He estimated the damage at about $50,000.

Investigators were on the scene until after 5 a.m., according to Mack.

“We have interviews to conduct to find out who was there most recently,” he said.

Sharyn’s Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

June 4th, 2012

Updated

DEATH THREAT

• A 52-year-old Onalaska man was arrested by the sheriff’s office after he allegedly left voice messages on a 62-year-old woman’s phone saying he bought a gun, was going to blow the back of her head off and drag her by her hair down Burnt Ridge Road. The calls reported on Friday afternoon were traced to Ferryman’s Inn in Centralia where the sheriff’s office says Steven P. Forbes was staying. Forbes, an Onalaska resident, was booked into the Lewis County Jail for felony harassment, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown. It’s not clear what the relationship between the two was.

SHERIFF’S OFFICE: GUN POINTED AT MOTORISTS ON SR 6

• A deputy was called about 1:40 p.m. on Saturday after two women driving east on state Route 6 at River Road near Dryad saw a teenager walking on the side of the road point what looked like a black pistol at them. The male, who was with a small group of pedestrians, was not found, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. He was described as wearing a red plaid jacket and a hoodie, the sheriff’s office said.

BREAK-INS

• Centralia police are investigating a burglary to a home on the 1100 block of South Tower Avenue that took place yesterday. Police did not mention what was taken, but note they suspect a relative.

• Someone may have climbed up a fire escape to break into a Chehalis apartment where they stole about $200 cash and a gold ring, according to police. An officer called just after 5 p.m. on Thursday to the 1700 block of South Market Boulevard could not find any sign of forced entry, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

MISSING CHECKS CASHED

• Chehalis police were contacted by a 57-year-old woman who discovered someone had apparently stolen and cashed three of her checks at the Wells Fargo Bank in Centralia. The loss of $950 was reported on Thursday and remains under investigation, according to Chehalis Police Department.

FAKE BILL FOUND

• Centralia police took a report of a counterfeit $10 bill on Saturday from the 800 block of Harrison Avenue.

VEHICLE PROWL

• Police were called about 3:40 p.m. yesterday about a car prowl on the 2500 block of Kristin Court in Centralia.

• Centralia police took a report about 5:30 a.m. yesterday of a vehicle prowl on the 100 block of South Tower Avenue. Money and identification were taken, according to police.

• A purse was reported stolen from a vehicle on the 1100 block of Scammon Creek Road in Centralia on Saturday morning.

DUI ON ORV

• A 55-year-old Randle resident was arrested for driving under the influence after a deputy responded to a report about 10 p.m. on Saturday of off-road vehicles traveling on Peters Creek Road. Kirk M. Thompson was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s office.

DRUGS

• A 53-year-old Chehalis woman was arrested  for possession of two grams of suspected methamphetamine and some hydrocodone pills without a prescription following a traffic stop about 12:50 a.m. today in Chehalis. An officer stopped Marianne A. Brown because of a suspended license at Southwest 13th Street and Wilson Avenue in Chehalis, according to the Chehalis Police Department. A police dog “hit” on the scent of drugs in the vehicle and also found a misdemeanor amount of marijuana, according to police. Brown was booked into the Lewis County Jail. A passenger, Kelly Weeks, 32, who allegedly had a prescription bottle with a hydrocodone pill in it – and someone else’s name on it – was arrested but not jailed because she had what appeared to be a seizure and was taken to the hospital instead, according to police.

•••
CORRECTION: The news item involving the gun pointed at two women on state Route 6 has been updated to correctly reflect they were traveling in a vehicle(s). The Lewis County Sheriff’s Office erroneously reported to the news media the victims were on foot.

Burglary suspect sought near Napavine

June 4th, 2012

Updated at 10:55 a.m.

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Deputies are looking for a burglary suspect who ran off into the woods near the 800 block of Pleasant Valley Road west of Napavine yesterday afternoon when his wife was arrested.

Todd E. Fears, 39, of Kelso, is described as 6-feet tall, weighing about 250 pounds with a shaved head wearing khaki cargo shorts and a black T-shirt, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

2012.0604.todd.fears.burg

Todd E. Fears

The sheriff’s office suspect the couple in an interrupted burglary yesterday morning just south of Winlock in which more than $6,000 worth of jewelry was stolen, as well as other break-ins in the area during the past week, according to Chief Civil Deputy Stacy Brown.

Their vehicle, a light blue 1980s pickup, was found hidden off Lenz Road on private timberland, according to Brown.

The sheriff’s office is asking anyone who sees Fears not to contact him but to immediately call 911. He has an outstanding warrant for a probation or parole violation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Deputies at about 10:15 a.m. yesterday responded to the 1300 block of Hining Road in Winlock where a resident said he arrived home to find a light blue truck in his driveway and a woman who said she was looking at his house which is for sale, according to Brown. He then saw a male run from the back of his house, who was picked up by the woman after she jumped in her truck and drove off, according to Brown.

When the owner went inside, he discovered he had been burglarized of the jewelry, Brown reported.

Later, just before 4 p.m., a couple who matched their description stopped by a home on the 800 block of Pleasant Valley Road asking to use the phone because their vehicle was broke down, according to Brown.

The resident was suspicious because of break-ins in the area and called 911, Brown said. Arriving deputies detained Alicia J. Fears, 42, but her husband fled, Brown said. She was booked into the Lewis County Jail for burglary.

Their truck was found about two miles to the south, according to Brown.

Just last week, after deputies investigated a residential burglary on the 400 block of Berry Road, west of Napavine, they said there had been a suspicious male and two females walking up and down Berry Road during the previous two weeks. In one case, a woman went to someone’s door and asked to use the bathroom, but then ran away.

A similarly described truck was implicated in a residential burglary in early May on the 500 block Cedar Creek Road near Toledo.

Assault suspect barricades self inside Centralia home

June 4th, 2012

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

Centralia’s SWAT team was called out to the 3100 block of Galvin Road last night after a suspect in a domestic assault locked himself inside his home and refused to come out.

Police said Kyle W. Elliott, 35, had a previous weapons violation, several felony convictions and neighbors indicated he had been seen recently in possession of firearms.

It began about 7:50 p.m.

Police negotiators tried to contact Elliott by telephone and with a loudspeaker for an hour and a half before “flash devices” and pepper spray were introduced into the home, according to a news release from the Centralia Police Department.

He immediately answered the phone, according to police.

Elliott was taken into custody without further incident and was booked into the Lewis County Jail for fourth-degree assault, but he likely faces additional charges, according to police.

Officers found body armor in his room and planned to further search the home for guns, according to the news release.