Firefighters douse rash of brush fires

Spokane firefighters extinguished five brush fires Friday evening in rugged terrain east of Esmeralda Golf Course.

Crews were called to the Beacon Hill area about 8 p.m. on a report of three blazes, Battalion Chief Joel Fielder said. While on scene, firefighters found two more.

The largest of the fires, which were on private land, reached no more than a quarter acre, Fielder said. No structures were threatened.

The Spokane Fire Department was assisted by Spokane County Fire District 9.

The cause of the blazes is under investigation. Fielder said Friday night that it was too early to call the fires suspicious. However, he noted that weather was not a factor. Spokane County Sheriff’s deputies were posted around the scene to interview people who were in the area.

Fourth of July to affect services

Government offices and other services will be affected by the Independence Day holiday Monday:

Mail: All offices are closed.

Buses: Spokane Transit Authority will operate on its holiday schedule. Visit www.spokanetransit.com or call 328-RIDE for route information.

Banks: Most free-standing and in-store branches closed.

Government: City, state, federal and county offices closed.

Garbage: Garbage collection will be one day late with no collection on Monday.

Liquor stores: Closed.

Parking meters: No need to feed them.

Libraries: Closed.

City pools: Pools open from 1 to 4:30 p.m. The Shadle indoor pool will be closed for the holiday. No lap swim at Comstock or Witter pools.

Police getting tips on missing Oregon boy

Milwaukie, Ore. Police said Friday they have received some 125 tips into the disappearance of a 4-year-old boy who vanished from his home and that those are the basis for many areas now being searched.

Matel Zachery Sanchez was last seen about 3 p.m. Wednesday, said Officer Kevin Krebs, spokesman for the Milwaukie Police Department.

Krebs asked for the public’s help in tracking the car of Sanchez’s grandmother, which was towed from the boy’s house on Thursday. He said investigators are especially interested in where the car was Wednesday afternoon.

The tan 1992 Nissan Sentra was removed as a normal part of the investigation, he said. Krebs said two more cars were removed from the home on Friday for the same reason.

Krebs declined to go into specifics of the investigation. “We haven’t closed any doors. All avenues are open,” he said.

Krebs said police have talked to all family members and that they are being cooperative.

Rewards totaling $6,000 have been offered for information leading to the boy’s location.

“There is no one under suspicion,” Krebs said. He added, however, that nothing is being ruled out.

Fugitives from Spokane, Yakima jailed

Missoula Two Washington state fugitives, from the Spokane and Yakima areas, are jailed here after being tracked down by local and federal officers, U.S. Marshal Dwight MacKay said Friday.

They were identified as Carl Ray, 27, and Christopher Richter, 25, both wanted for escape.

Richter also faces charges of failing to register as a sex offender and obstructing a peace officer in Montana. Richter failed to report for jail time in Spokane County for unlawful possession of firearms, said Cpl. Dave Reagan, spokesman for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.

Both appeared Friday before Missoula Justice of the Peace John Odlin.

Ray escaped from community custody in Yakima County, Reagan said.

Plane crash kills 2, hurts 3 off Lopez Island

Lopez, Wash. A light plane from Sisters, Ore., with five people aboard crashed and sank Friday evening off the southwest tip of Lopez Island in the San Juans, killing two people and injuring three, a San Juan County sheriff’s officer said.

The five were members of a Sisters family, Undersheriff Jon Zerby said.

Four of those aboard the twin-engine Beech 55 escaped from the plane and reached shore in the Davis Bay area, he said. A 17-year-old girl, the least seriously injured, reportedly made her way to a nearby house to call for help.

Medics pronounced a 57-year-old man dead on the shore, Zerby said. Divers late Friday night found the plane in about 25 feet of water, with one person dead inside, he confirmed.

Two other young people were evacuated for medical care, one to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and one to St. Joseph Hospital in Bellingham, Zerby said.

Those aboard the plane were not immediately identified.

Cold Stone ice cream recalled

Cold Stone Creamery is recalling its ice cream products containing cake batter following reports of people becoming ill in four states.

The company, headquartered in Scottsdale, Ariz., and the Food and Drug Administration said the cake batter products may be associated with outbreaks of salmonella.

The FDA had reports of 14 people becoming ill. Company spokeswoman Anne Christenson said all the people whose illness had been reported to the company were recovering. The reports of illness occurred in Minnesota, Washington state, Oregon and Ohio.

The company said it is removing products containing cake batter from its stores nationwide and urged consumers who have cake-batter products at home to return them for a refund.

For more information, call Cold Stone Creamery at (480) 348-1704 or visit www.coldstonecreamery.com