In brief: Idaho firefighter pleads not guilty to arson

A volunteer Parma firefighter accused of setting seven wildfires that burned more than 1,000 acres in southwest Idaho’s Payette County has pleaded not guilty.

Clyde Dewayne Holmes Jr. was arraigned Friday in U.S. District Court in Boise after a grand jury indicted him on seven felony charges of arson.

Authorities say all the fires occurred on Bureau of Land Management land northeast of Parma.

Holmes faces up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000 on each charge.

A trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 18.

Holmes has been released but is prohibited from using public lands or participating with any other fire department.

Republic

Motorcyclist killed in crash

A Snohomish man died Saturday afternoon when the motorcycle he was riding hit a guardrail on state Route 20, near Republic in Ferry County.

The Washington State Patrol said Robert Ranko, 48, died at the scene. He was wearing a helmet, but one not approved by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A passenger, Rondi Ranko, 47, was transported to Sacred Hearth Medical Center in Spokane, then to Deaconess Medical Center. Her condition was not available.

She, too, wore a helmet not approved by the USDOT.

The cause is under investigation, but the patrol said alcohol or drugs were involved.

Seattle

UW student dies from fall

A 21-year-old University of Washington student has died after he fell 30 feet from a fraternity house window onto a concrete surface.

The student, reported to be a junior from Renton, was taken to Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center after emergency crews were called at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, but later died. He lived at the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house, and apparently fell from his third-floor bedroom.

Seattle police spokesman Mark Jamieson said the fall was believed to be an accident, with no indication of foul play.