DNR looking into origin of large Grand Mound fire

August 3rd, 2017
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Arial view of Kuper Court. / Courtesy photo by Chief Robert Scott

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The cause of the fire that swept through more than 30 acres of tall grass and at least one grove of trees in Grand Mound is being investigated by the state Department of Natural Resources.

Firefighters called at 3:56 p.m. yesterday to the area of 201st Avenue Southwest and Kuper Court managed to stop the fast-moving flames just behind a row of numerous houses, but a garage and two outbuildings were lost, according to West Thurston Regional Fire Authority.

Residents on Dakota Court were asked to evacuate, Fire Chief Robert Scott said.

WTRFA was joined by eight neighboring fire departments and DNR with approximately 100 firefighters battling the blaze. One DNR firefighter suffered a minor hand laceration.

Scott said today it appeared to be human caused, but said DNR is responsible for the investigation and he didn’t have any details.

Photos taken by the chief show charred wood fencing and curled vinyl siding on the backs of some houses.

It was just two days earlier the same fire department tackled a three-acre brush fire a couple of miles to the northwest, where a pump house burned but they managed to save a dozen homes.

The first wave of firefighters were relieved about 9 p.m. and personnel with DNR stayed overnight, he said. They are continuing mop up today.

Scott said the department stands prepared in case anything else breaks out during the next few hot days, but residents would be well served to help themselves, ahead of time.

He advises people to create defensible space around their homes, clearing away anything combustible from near their houses.

“You don’t think about it much, this side of the state,” he said.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 3rd, 2017
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•••

PURCHASE GOES SIDEWAYS

• A convenience store customer reportedly annoyed to be asked for identification when she wanted to buy tobacco allegedly threw a cup of fountain pop onto a clerk and subsequently punched another clerk yesterday afternoon in Chehalis. Police were called about 3:10 p.m. to the 100 block of Southwest Interstate Avenue and eventually arrested Ruby L. Pulley, 25, of Sacramento, California, for two counts of fourth-degree assault, according to the Chehalis Police Department. One of her companions wanted on an outstanding warrant was arrested as well and both were booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to police.

AUTO THEFT

• Police were called at 1:14 a.m. today after the owner of a red Honda hatchback awoke to the sound of his car starting up and driving off from the 200 block of South Diamond Street in Centralia.

OTHER THEFT

• Centralia police were called at 7:59 a.m. yesterday on a report of a theft discovered during the review of surveillance video at the 1200 block of Mellen Street.

CAR PROWL

• Police were called at 12:02 a.m. today about a vehicle prowl at the 2200 block of Eureka Avenue in Centralia. Car stereo speakers were missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

• A case involving a 35-year-old Centralia resident allegedly caught with a stolen tablet and Bluetooth speaker taken from a vehicle prowl was referred to prosecutors yesterday to be evaluated for a charge of second-degree theft, according to the Centralia Police Department. A wallet with money and credit cards was missing the same prowl in the last night associated with the 1000 block of L Street, according to police.

VANDALISM

• Centralia police were called to the 700 block of F Street just after 1 p.m. yesterday regarding the egging and a window broken on a vehicle.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD, IN THE ROAD

• A bicycle rider sustained what police described as a moderate injury when he came off a sidewalk in front of a Ford Focus at West Main and King streets in Centralia just before noon yesterday. Riverside Fire Authority states via Twitter a 49-year-old man was transported in stable condition to Providence Centralia Hospital.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, trespassing, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, probation violation, malicious mischief, driving without required ignition interlock; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, disorderly person, third-degree theft, suspicious circumstances, vehicle collision, dog alone inside parked vehicle, three juveniles caught in private swimming pools, unknown person found sleeping on someone else’s front porch … and more among 166 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

News brief: Flames consume Pe Ell home, one transported

August 3rd, 2017
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Smoke rises in Pe Ell from house fire. / Courtesy photo by Daniel Sparks

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A Doty-area firefighter was hospitalized for heat exhaustion and dehydration from battling a house fire in Pe Ell yesterday, a blaze that destroyed a single-story home.

Firefighters responding to the 11:55 a.m. call on the 100 block of Alder Street found the structure fully involved and attacked it defensively, according to Lewis County Fire District 11.

“It was a great team of us, Districts 13, 16, 6, AMR and DNR as well,” Fire Chief Michael Krafczyk said.

The chief said he meant not him specifically as he was at work at the time, and didn’t arrive until later during the mop up phase.

He said he understood the person who resided there was working out of town.

Crews worked to keep the flames from the tall grass from igniting two houses next door, chasing fire that burned a U-shape around one of them, he said.

Firefighters didn’t completely clear the scene until 9:30 p.m., according to Krafczyk.  It was an approximately 1,500 square-foot home with a two-car garage.

The firefighter who was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital was treated then released and is doing well, the chief said.

Sirens: Daily police and fire roundup

August 2nd, 2017
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•••

Updated

DOG STOLEN FROM YARD

• Police were called to the 500 block of Girard Street in Centralia about 6:40 p.m. yesterday to take a report of the theft of a dog. The 6-month-old brown Pit Bull mix had been tied up in the yard, according to the Centralia Police Department.

BREAK-IN CHEHALIS

• Chehalis police were called yesterday evening about a second-degree burglary at the 100 block of Southwest Second Street.

• A deputy was called about 10:30 a.m. yesterday about a burglary that took place sometime during the previous three weeks from a garage at the 500 block of Newaukum Valley Road in Chehalis. Stolen was a Stihl chainsaw MS180C, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

AUTO THEFT

• Chehalis police were called about 6:15 a.m. today to the 1600 block of Southwest Snively Avenue where someone stole a tan-colored 1995 Honda Accord sometime after 9 p.m. yesterday. Its rear passenger-side running light is not working, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A deputy called about 10 p.m. yesterday regarding a 2003 Honda Civic taken without permission on Sunday from the 100 block of Deer Haven Drive in Ethel subsequently learned the car had been traded to a 43-year-old man on Oyler Road for a 1990 Jaguar, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The Honda owner’s previous significant other – a 21-year-old Winlock man – is the suspect, according to the sheriff’s office. The Honda was recovered after a traffic stop just after 2 o’clock this morning in Chehalis, according to police.

• The balding man wearing shorts and white knee-high socks sought after a police chase in East Lewis County on Monday was located at the 100 block of Baker Road in Mossyrock following several sightings and calls yesterday around 4:30 p.m. Deputies had been investigating a car prowl in which stolen credit cards were then used at a gas station in Morton and ran into the suspect there, but he drove off. He abandoned the vehicle he was driving on the south side of the Mayfield Lake bridge and it turned out to be stolen, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. Jimmy J.C. Weiler, 25, of Tenino, was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail for possession of a stolen vehicle, obstructing, resisting arrest and third-degree driving with a suspended license, Chief Deputy Dusty Breen said this morning.

• Chehalis police were called about 1:15 p.m. yesterday to take a report a white 1995 Honda Accord with a black hood had been stolen from where it was parked outside a home at the 10 block of Southeast 16th Street. It has 17-inch black aluminum wheels, according to the Chehalis Police Department.

• A white 1991 Honda Accord was stolen from the 100 block of Dieckman Road west of Chehalis sometime between 9:30 p.m. on Monday and 7 a.m. yesterday, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The owner recounted having heard a knock on the door about 10:30 p.m., according to the sheriff’s office.

• A 1991 Toyota Camry was reported stolen from the 400 block of South Silver Street in Centralia, according to a report made to police about 9:45 a.m. yesterday. It has a license plate reading AWD 1616.

CAR PROWL

• Centralia police were called about 11:05 p.m. yesterday about a vehicle prowl at the 1500 block of Pike Street. A GPS device was stolen, according to the Centralia Police Department. The victim had seen and suspected a teenage boy, but he fled before police arrived.

• Police were called to the 300 block of North Tower Avenue in Centralia about 9:15 a.m. yesterday about the theft of a wallet from an unlocked vehicle.

• An officer was called just after 9 a.m. yesterday about a car prowl at the 500 block of Hillkress Avenue in which a purse was taken. The purse was recovered a short distance away, with ID missing, according to the Centralia Police Department.

VANDALISM

• Chehalis police took a report yesterday of someone tagging a box truck at the 400 block of Northwest Chehalis Avenue.

ON THE ROAD, OFF THE ROAD

• A deputy tried to make a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 12 just before midnight yesterday in Glenoma on a vehicle that was speeding and traveling over the centerline, but the vehicle kept going and the deputy lost sight of it at Cispus Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office.

• Two people on a motorcycle were hurt and one airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle yesterday after a collision with a mini van at the 600 block of North Fork Road outside Chehalis. Deputies, firefighters and medics responding to the approximately 7:50 a.m. call found the wreck blocking the road, according to responders. A 65-year-old man from Chehalis operating the 2017 Harley Davidson had traumatic injuries to his extremities and was transported by air from a private airfield on Hewitt Road, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office and Lewis County Fire District 6. His passenger, a 62-year-old woman also from Chehalis, was transported to Providence Centralia Hospital with non life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff’s office and District 6. Both were treated and released by last night. The driver of the van, a 46-year-old Onalaska woman, was uninjured but was cited for failure to yield and not having proof of insurance, according to the sheriff’s office.

AND MORE

• And, as usual, other incidents such as arrests for warrants, misdemeanor assault, driving under the influence, driving with suspended license, protection order violation, third-degree malicious mischief; responses for alarm, dispute, civil issue, vandalism, trespassing, disorderly person, suspicious circumstances, vehicle collision, a couple little bark fires by Wal-Mart … and more among 168 calls for local law enforcement and / or fire-emergency medical services in the 24-hour period ending about 7 a.m. today.

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Mini van turns in front of 2017 Harley Davidson on North Fork Road. / Courtesy photo by Lewis County Fire District 6

Primary voters favor Tinney, Shannon for county clerk

August 2nd, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – It looks like challenger Carla Shannon and appointed Lewis County Clerk Scott Tinney will advance to the November election, based on numbers released for the primary.

Out of 9,302 ballots cast and counted in yesterday’s primary election, a third candidate, Linda Williams, took in just a tad more than 26 percent.

The numbers between Shannon and Tinney are close.

The Board of (Lewis) County Commissioners selected Tinney in November to finish out the term of retired Lewis County Clerk Kathy Brack, who left in the middle of a four-year term.

Tinney came from the Thurston County Clerk’s Office but resides in Lewis County.

Shannon was actually the first choice of three names forwarded to county commissioners by the local Republican party after Brack’s retirement.

Shannon is a deputy clerk in the Lewis County Clerk’s Office, where she has worked about five years.

All three identify as Republicans.

Shannon so far has secured 36.07 percent, or 3,114 votes and Tinney has 37.85 percent, or 3,268 votes, according to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office elections division.

As of 8 p.m. yesterday, the elections division had tallied 8,268 votes and then today processed and counted another 1,034 in the all vote-by-mail primary.

More ballots may come in, but they must be postmarked by no later than yesterday to be valid, Elections Supervisor Heather Boyer said today.

The office won’t count those until Aug. 14 and they will certify the election on Aug. 15.

Regardless of who wins in November, the elected position will be on the ballot again in November 2018, for a regular four-year term.

Lewis County Fire District 5 had an Emergency Medical Services levy on the ballot and while a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of it, it’s not clear it will clear the hurdles to pass.

As of today, 58.96 percent, or 895, people voted yes but the measure needs to pass by a super majority of 60 percent.

Boyer said the EMS levy also requires validation, meaning the total number of votes has to reach at least 40 percent of the number who voted in the last general election. That number is 1,585, Boyer said.

As of today, only 1,518 individuals cast ballots on the levy.

The Napavine-based fire district failed to get at least 60 percent support for an emergency medical services levy in November.

News brief: Rochester man taken into custody for fatal May wreck

August 2nd, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – The driver of a car that crossed the centerline killing an 18-year-old Centralia motorist has been arrested, as he was under the influence of marijuana at the time of the crash this past spring, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.

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Grand Mound, May 17, 2017

Cheyllyn R. Collinsworth, 18, of Centralia, died the night of May 17 just as LifeFlight was landing following the collision at Old Highway 99 near Oregon Trail Road in Grand Mound.

Donald D. Siegler, 25, of Rochester, was seriously injured and hospitalized.

The sheriff’s office said Siegler was not well enough until this past week to take into custody. He was arrested on a warrant for vehicular homicide at his home on Monday, sheriff’s Lt. Tim Rudloff stated in a press release today.

The sheriff’s office investigated the collision and concluded Siegler was under the influence of marijuana when his Ford Focus crossed the center line and struck Collinsworth’s oncoming Kia, according to Rudloff. Siegler was booked into the Thurston County Jail.
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For background, read “News brief: Victim of fatal two-car wreck is Centralia resident” from Friday May 19, 2017, here

Hang with firefighters during heat wave

August 2nd, 2017

By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – When the coroner puts out a public service announcement cautioning about the dangers of extreme outdoor temperatures, it’s worth paying attention to.

Of particular concern, are the more vulnerable members of the community such as the very old and the very young.

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•••

“If you do not have a way to cool down your residence you can go to a library or other public building during the hottest part of the day,” the Lewis County Coroner’s Office stated in a press release this morning.

An excessive heat warning remains in effect though late Friday, with highs tomorrow forecast to surpass 100 degrees in Chehalis, according to the National Weather Service.

Along with that, an air quality alert has been issued due to smoke from wildfires in Washington and British Columbia, advising that children, the elderly and those with respiratory issues should limit outdoor activities.

Lewis County Fire District 6 announced they will open their main station in south Chehalis for citizens to come in and cool off between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. today, tomorrow and Friday.

Their building is located at 2123 Jackson Highway.

The city of Centralia is opening city hall for the same reason from from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the same period. Water will be provided.

Coroner Warren McLeod asks folks to please check on older neighbors and family members.

As others in the know have recommended, McLeod says people should avoid prolonged direct exposure to the sunshine and be sure to drink more water than usual, or beverages with added electrolytes. He says carbonated drinks and alcohol should not be used for hydration purposes

Here’s what the coroner wants you to know about two conditions that can develop during hot spells:

Heat exhaustion:

Signs: Heavy sweating, dizziness, rapid pulse, fatigue, cool/moist skin.

Treatment: Get into shade, sit or lie down and hydrate with fluids.

Heat stroke:

Signs: Confusion, nausea and vomiting, but most importantly is the skin is hot and dry.

Treatment: This is a true medical emergency that can lead to death if not treated immediately. Call 911.

Also on McLeod’s list of ways to avoid an unwanted encounter with his staff this week: “Always wear a life jacket when you are in, on or around the water.”