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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Cleanup Begins After Fierce Storm Four Killed, Power Knocked Out In E. Washington Thunderstorm

Associated Press

Utility crews and others began cleaning up Wednesday after a fierce storm battered much of Eastern Washington, leaving four people dead in its wake.

Crews worked to restore power knocked out by falling trees from Okanogan County to the Tri-Cities on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains on Tuesday. Also, heavy rain, accompanied by gusting winds, thunder and lightning were reported throughout the day in the western half of the state.

“It’s a major inconvenience, mainly a cleanup thing,” said Scott Lowers of Chelan County Emergency Management. “I think we were lucky” there were no injuries or deaths in the county.

A falling tree near Mount Rainier crushed a pickup truck about 70 miles west of Yakima.

Killed were Richard H. Wetton, 53, of Enumclaw, the driver; Denna M. Sherry, 27, of Gig Harbor; and Derek M. McGrew, 30, of Puyallup, and his son, Thadeus A. McGrew, 4, also of Puyallup.

Winds gusting to about 70 mph tore the roof off a lumber mill near White Swan, in the Yakima Valley, severing some power lines, said John Walmsley of Yakima County Emergency Management.

Thunderstorms knocked down power lines in the southern part of Okanogan County. The weather service reported winds gusting to 66 mph in the Brewster area.

One trailer home was crushed by a falling tree near Leavenworth, but no one was injured, Lowers said.