News Bites for June 20, 2023
STAFF REPORT | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 4 months AGO
Caring Neighbors Board member Kristy Rattray presents Adams County Fire District 5 Chief Gary Lebacken with a $2,375 donation Thursday.
COURTESY PHOTO/ACFD 5
OTHELLO — Caring Neighbors, a nonprofit established by Big Bend Energy Cooperative, donated $2,375 to Adams County Fire District 5 on Thursday, according to an announcement from ACFD 5. The money will help to fund the replacement of older extrication tools, the announcement said.
OLYMPIA – In the coming months, Washington state will face an elevated risk of wildfires, the Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office wrote in a statement Thursday, citing a report completed by Challenge Seattle, an alliance of CEOs from 22 of the region’s largest employers. The report showed that 4.6 million acres have burned in Washington since 2015, the statement said, an area the size of King and Snohomish counties combined.
In the statement, the SFMO asked for the public’s help in preventing mega-wildfires by:
• Responsibly starting, managing and extinguishing campfires and debris burns
• Safely using outdoor equipment that can cause a spark
• Complying with burn bans
• Removing flammable items within 5 feet of a home
• Putting screens on vents
• Building home fire resiliency by removing dry leaves and debris, and cutting back large tree limbs up to a minimum of 10 feet away from homes
• Creating smoke readiness and evacuation plans
The full report can be found at http://bit.ly/3Czsiu3.
ARTICLES BY STAFF REPORT
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.