Man electrocuted while moving fuse

A Soap Lake man who attempted to reinstall a fuse on a power line died Monday night after being electrocuted and falling 20 feet, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office said.

Joseph M. Sims, 44, was using two metal poles to reseat a fuse that had been disconnected by the local public utility district, said Grant County Sheriff Frank De Trolio. The fuse is placed in the power supply line to protect the transformer from lightning strikes or surges that would cause severe damage.

Sims lived with his girlfriend in the residence where the power had been turned off.

The primary power line is typically charged with 7,620 volts, De Trolio said. A deputy reported Sims received the charge through his left hand and then out his lower right leg.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner

St. Maries

Reason for trestle collapse unknown

Potlatch officials still don’t know what caused a trestle to fail on the St. Maries River Railroad on Monday afternoon, causing a repair crane and a carload of railroad ties to plunge into Benewah Lake.

Employees from the Federal Railroad Administration, who were on the scene Monday night, had inspected the trestle and surrounding area two weeks earlier, said Mike Sullivan, spokesman for Potlatch Corp. No problems were reported at the time.

No one was hurt in the collapse about 10 miles west of St. Maries. The crane was making minor repairs on other stretches of the track.

The St. Maries River Railroad runs 71 miles between Plummer and Clarkia. Potlatch owns the railroad, which transports lumber and plywood from Potlatch’s St. Maries mill to a Union Pacific spur. It also hauls lumber for another mill and ore from a nearby garnet mine.

The products are being trucked to a rail spur in Spokane until the line is fixed. Repairs are expected to take several months, Sullivan said.

Potlatch officials hope to pull the crane from the water early next week.

– Becky Kramer

Spokane County

Test of crisis response declared a success

If there’s a major emergency in Eastern Washington, public health and safety agencies are confident they will be able to communicate with one another.

A Homeland Security exercise Tuesday in Spokane tested the agency’s communications system.

Health and public safety agencies from 10 counties responded to a mock call requesting emergency resources, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Earl Howerton said. The purpose was to test communication systems across the 10 counties.

The forms of communication used included phones, e-mail, Internet sources, teleconferencing and radio, Howerton said. More than 50 people participated.

The exercise was a success with a few hitches, Howerton said. The problems that arose were outdated contact numbers and unanswered phones or other communication devices. Those issues are being addressed.

– Jody Lawrence-Turner