North Side house fire leaves nine people homeless

Nine were left homeless, two firefighters injured and a house destroyed Saturday in a fire on West Sharp.

The fire started in the back of the frame house at Sharp and North Howard and spread quickly, Battalion Chief Ken Kirsch said. Crews battled to keep the nearby commercial building, which has offices for an attorney and an accountant, from catching fire.

Five adults and four children lived in the house and were receiving aid from the Red Cross.

One firefighter injured his ankle and another needed stitches for a cut on his hand received while forcing open the door of the office building, Kirsch said.

Crews were expected to remain on the scene through the night to watch for hot spots.

The cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.

Coeur d’Alene

County considers park ban

Rowdy users of Kootenai County facilities could be banned from all parks, if members of the county commission agree with a proposal from the local parks department.

The Parks and Waterways Department’s employees would be able to order people to leave county parks if they are drunk or using drugs, harassing or intimidating others or disturbing the peace.

People under such orders could also be banned from all county parks and public waterways for up to one year, under the plan.

Violations would be deemed trespassing, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine or a year in jail.

Centralia, Wash.

Teen struck, killed by train

A 15-year-old boy riding a bicycle was struck and killed Saturday by an Amtrak train at a pedestrian crossing in Centralia.

The boy was killed instantly.

He was riding with another boy on another bicycle when the accident occurred. The other boy was not injured.

The northbound train was coming from Portland.

The Amtrak was halted for about 90 minutes after the boy’s death before it left for Seattle.

Centralia police are investigating.

TROUT LAKE, Wash.

Fire 50 percent contained

The Cold Springs fire that has been burning on the south side of Mount Adams since June 12 was listed at 7,933 acres and 50 percent contained Saturday.

Geree Mills, of the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, said Saturday that the lightning-caused blaze has grown from only 7,933 acres to 7,956 acres.

The blaze is burning on about 7,000 acres in Gifford National Forest and about 1,000 acres of the Yakama Indian Reservation.

Mills said there is no estimate on the time of full containment of the fire, but he said the weather Saturday was good for firefighting; about 70 degrees with a humidity of about 30 percent, with a wind of 12 to 18 mph from the southwest.

She said no lightning is forecast for the next three to five days, making the firefighters’ job easier.

The fire broke out 10 miles northeast of Trout Lake in Washington’s south Cascades.

There were 1,086 firefighters battling the blaze on Saturday.