In brief: Siblings injured while rock climbing
A brother and sister were seriously injured Friday in a rock climbing accident west of Leavenworth, Wash.
According to a news release issued by the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Kurt D. Haisch, 24, was climbing at an established climbing wall in Tumwater Canyon when he may have pulled loose a large boulder from the wall.
Haisch fell about 15 feet, and the boulder fell and landed on his sister, Andrea A. Haisch, who was watching from the ground. She was pinned beneath the boulder, which was about five feet long. A friend who was on belay for Haisch was not injured.
The news release says the siblings’ mother was at the scene by the time emergency personnel and sheriff’s deputies arrived. Both siblings were taken by ambulance to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee. Andrea was flown and her brother was taken by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
A hospital spokeswoman said Andrea was in serious condition and her brother had improved to satisfactory condition by Saturday afternoon.
Three wounded in police shootout
ALBANY, Ore. – A sheriff’s sergeant, a police officer and a fleeing suspect were wounded Saturday night after exchanging gunfire following a police chase that ended near Albany.
The Benton County, Ore., deputy and the suspect were seriously wounded, authorities said Sunday.
The 32-year-old suspect was airlifted to Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland for treatment. He is expected to survive. Authorities on Sunday withheld his name, pending notification to his family.
Authorities said Benton County sheriff’s Sgt. David Peterson, 29, was listed in serious condition at a Corvallis hospital Sunday.
Salem police Officer Andrew Connolly, 46, was treated and released for a single gunshot wound.
Authorities said the suspect was spotted Saturday night with a gun at an Albany-area resident’s backyard. The resident, who told authorities she knew the man, called police. The man left her residence in a stolen vehicle.
Police officers in the area began looking for the vehicle and intercepted it along Highway 20 in Benton County.
A chase ensued. Minutes later the suspect lost control of the vehicle, crashed and began fleeing on foot. Officers began searching for him using police dogs.
Just before midnight, the man emerged from brush just south of the Benton-Polk County line, encountered a search team and gunfire was exchanged.
Large wildfires still burning in Idaho
BOISE – Fire officials say 11 large wildfires in Idaho on Sunday have burned about 500 square miles and are being fought by about 2,300 firefighters.
The 50-square-mile Trinity Ridge fire, about 50 miles east of Boise, has drawn 635 of those firefighters, who are dealing with a Red Flag warning through today for temperatures approaching 100 degrees along with low humidity and gusty winds. Officials say the human-caused fire is about 5 percent contained.
In central Idaho, the 77-square-mile Halstead fire is continuing to burn through large areas of beetle-killed trees in the Salmon-Challis National Forest about 18 miles northwest of Stanley.
Some areas near the fire are closed, but officials say the Middle Fork of the Salmon River remains open to recreationists.
Man killed in boating accident
KALISPELL – Authorities say a man was found floating face down on the North Fork after a boating accident on the northwestern Montana river.
The Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell reports that several people called authorities to report they saw the man floating in the water near the Glacier Rim access point.
Law enforcement, search teams and emergency crews responded. Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said the man was declared dead at the scene after attempts to revive him.