Mt. Rainier Nat. Park partially open this weekend
STAFF REPORT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 5 months AGO
ASHFORD — Many areas within Mount Rainier National Park will be accessible to visitors beginning Memorial Day weekend, despite 13 feet of snow on the ground at Paradise, according to a press release from the National Park Service.
Preparing for the season involves plowing winter snow from park roads, cleaning up the roadsides and ditches, placing information and regulatory signs along the roadways of newly opened areas and starting up water and utility systems. Park visitors should be prepared for snow-covered trails at high elevations; only some low-elevation trails are free of snow at this time. Hiking safety information can be found on the park’s website.
Some locations will have a delayed opening due to the lingering heavy winter snowpack, including Tipsoo Lake and Chinook Pass. Impacts from the significant rain event in November 2021 caused substantial damage to the pedestrian suspension bridge on the Grove of the Patriarchs Trail; that trail will remain closed at the junction with the Eastside Trail. The park’s highest elevation developed areas, including Sunrise, the White River Campground, and Mowich Lake will reopen later in the season, the release said.
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Connell woman killed in Booker Road crash
CONNELL — Charges are pending against a Kennewick man following a collision about 12 miles south of Othello that killed a Connell woman and injured three other people Tuesday evening. A Washington State Patrol press memo said intoxicating substances were a factor. Jessica Zarate, 37, Connell, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash near the intersection of SR 17 and South Booker Road, the WSP memo said. She was driving south on Booker Road approaching the intersection when her car was hit by a pickup driven by John Reiss, 62, Kennewick. Edgar Garcia Quirino, 28, Othello, was driving north on SR 17 and ran into Zarate's car, the WSP memo said. The crash occurred at about 6:40 p.m.
Wheeler Road closed because of traffic collision
UPDATE: The road was reopened as of noon, according to a GCSO media release. MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s Office has announced there is a road closure between Road 3-NE and Road S-NE. There was a serious traffic collision. GCSO is asking for drivers to avoid the area and find alternative routes. This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Doors opening: The Currents will provide homeownership for more local workers
About 104 homes are planned at the former Atlas sawmill site
Teachers, nurses, firefighters and other workers who keep Coeur d’Alene running will soon have more places to buy a home in the community where they work. About 104 homes are being planned to be built at Atlas Waterfront, on roughly 10 acres that are part of a swath of land that was once home to the Atlas sawmill and is being redeveloped. Ignite CDA, the city of Coeur d’Alene’s urban renewal agency, is leading this effort.