Lightning sparks fires around area
Lightning and strong winds sparked and fanned a flurry of fires in the region Monday night, including a wildfire that burned homes and closed a highway.
Spokane fire crews were so busy a dispatcher just said “everything” and hung up the phone when asked what was going on.
Two wildfires blew smoke into the Spokane area. One wildfire burned homes and closed Highway 2 from Wilbur to Davenport in Lincoln County, according to a dispatcher. The fire began near Creston about 5 p.m. and was once estimated at about eight miles long and half a mile wide.
“But it’s a lot bigger than that now,” the dispatcher said. An unknown number of homes have been lost, and evacuations are in place.
Meanwhile, crews in Whitman County stopped battling a 300-acre wildfire in the northwest corner of the county near Rock Lake and are focusing on protecting three or four structures, a dispatcher said.
The storm left more than 3,000 without power. Spokane
Theft suspect pulled from river
A 17-year-old theft suspect tried to elude police Monday afternoon by jumping into the Spokane River near Division Street and swimming away from her pursuers.
The current carried her downstream quickly, and she was pulled from the river at Riverfront Park shortly after 5 p.m. at the east end of Havermale Island, where an Avista Utilities dam controls water going to the upper falls and a power house adjacent to the park.
Police Sgt. Anthony Gianetto said the teen suffered a scrape on one knee, which was treated by fire department personnel.
The pursuit started at Finders Keepers II, a vintage clothing and jewelry store at 18 W. Main Ave., where two girls were seen attempting to take a dress, police said. They were confronted by staff at the store. One girl ran while the other girl was held for police, Gianetto said.
Police searched the area for the theft suspect and spotted a girl hiding near the Courtyard by Marriott at 401 N. Riverpoint Blvd. on the river’s south bank. The girl ran from police and jumped into the river.
“Luckily, she’s OK,” Gianetto said.
Trooper’s condition stable after crash
A trooper who was struck while parked along Interstate 90 on Sunday was in stable condition Monday night at Sacred Heart Medical Center.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Allen W. Larned, 47, suffered multiple injuries in the 12:14 a.m. four-car crash near the Argonne Road exit in Spokane Valley.
The crash sent four people to Spokane-area hospitals.
William D. Zink, 29, of Coeur d’Alene is charged with two counts vehicular assault for injuries to the trooper and to a man in the back of the patrol car, said WSP Trooper Joe Liebrecht. According to the state patrol, Larned had pulled over a 2008 Subaru Outback driven by Kevin C. Mangola, 31, of Spokane. Larned and Mangola were both in the patrol car when a 2008 Dodge pickup driven by Zink crashed into the police cruiser, sending it across the westbound lanes into a concrete barrier in the median.
Zink and his passenger, John J. Abraham, of Coeur d’Alene, were treated at Deaconess for unspecified injuries. Zink was booked into the Spokane County Jail, where his bail is set at $100,000.
Investigators believe alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.
Region
Rash of records for one hot Sunday
Temperature records melted away across the region Sunday, the hottest day of the year so far.
At least 15 new high records were set across Eastern Washington and North Idaho, according to the National Weather Service’s Spokane office.
Lewiston shattered a 111-year-old record with a high of 108. Rosalia, Ephrata and Omak each hit 106, several degrees above previous records.
Spokane’s high of 103 and Pullman’s high of 102 each beat the previous records, from 1967, by 3 degrees.
In the Panhandle, Priest River was 100 degrees, surpassing the 1967 by three degrees, and Plummer also hit 100, 9 degrees above the 1992 record. The high was 101 in Bonners Ferry, 2 degrees above the 1967 record.
Even Mullan Pass, at 5,168 feet above sea level on the Idaho-Montana border, set a record Sunday with 84 degrees, 3 degrees higher than the previous record in 1942.
With a cooler front moving into the region, the high today is expected to be in the mid-80s, and then drop to the mid-70s by Wednesday.
Spokane County
Power line incident leaves man dead
A 51-year-old West Plains resident was killed Saturday when the metal grain auger he was moving came into contact with a power line.
Gregg L. Burchett and another man were spinning the 40-foot metal tube around in the 8000 block of West Wild Rose Road when it rolled and touched a 7,200-volt power line, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office.
Burchett was holding the base of the tube against his waist and died from electric shock. The other man was holding onto a tire and was able to let go when he felt a shock. He pushed the victim away from the machine with a stick, but Burchett was declared dead about 11:50 a.m., according to a news release.
Seattle
Missing Idaho woman in hospital
A 73-year-old woman reported missing from Harrison, Idaho, this weekend was found in Seattle, where she is hospitalized following a collision.
Fern L. Bates-Ehrlich was involved in a crash on Saturday, said Sgt. Michael McFarland, a spokesman for Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Bates-Ehrlich is in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.