Swanson Lake fire 35 percent contained
The Swanson Lake fire, which has burned 19,090 acres in Lincoln County, was 35 percent contained Friday, fire officials said.
More than 750 people worked to create perimeters around the fire and eliminate pockets of fuel.
Residents of the Hawk Creek Ranch Road and Hawk Creek Canyon Estates in the Dodd Canyon remained on Level 2 emergency notice, which means the area is open only to local traffic and residents are urged to take precautions by staying out of the burned areas, away from fallen and damaged trees and downed power lines.
One abandoned home, two seasonal cabins and 15 outbuildings have been destroyed in the fire, likely sparked by lightning Monday night.
The Jack Creek and Foam Creek fires continued to burn Friday in unpopulated areas of the Wenatchee River Ranger District. The Jack Creek fire remains at 1,058 acres and has not increased over the past few days, fire officials said. The Foam Creek Fire encompassed 595 acres within the Glacier Peak Wilderness.
The wildfire on the border of Spokane and Whitman counties was 80 percent contained Friday, Fire District 3 Chief Bruce Holloway said.
Because of cooler temperatures and rain, fire managers lifted the fire restrictions put in place Aug. 7 in the Colville National Forest, effective Friday.
spokane
Man who fled to Mexico sentenced
A man who fled to Mexico after being charged in 1992 with defrauding Spokane homeowners out of $240,947 has been sentenced to three years in prison on separate federal charges.
Steven W. Francis was sentenced earlier this month to 18 months for violating terms of his federal supervised release stemming from an earlier bank theft charge in Idaho.
He also was sentenced to an additional 18 months for bank fraud. That charge was tied to Citizens National Mortgage Corp., a company that Francis set up in Spokane in 1992.
He was accused of obtaining refinancing for three homeowners, but not paying off their first mortgages before disappearing with the new loan funds in the summer of 1992.
He was arrested in May 2007 after being located in Mexico, where he lived under the name Gary Stevens for 15 years. He has been in custody since then and will be given credit for the 16 months he has been in jail.
In a written plea agreement, Francis admitted committing bank fraud in handling deeds of trust in refinancing mortgages for C.E. Gemmell, W.F. and M.B. Etter, and M.H. and L.E. Nichols.
As part of the bank fraud sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Shea ordered Francis, 51, to make $240,947 in restitution to Home Federal Savings and Loan, insurance, title and other companies involved in the refinancing.
SEATTLE
Two rescued from cave undergo surgery
Two boys rescued after an ice cave collapsed on them in Washington’s Cascade Mountains underwent surgery for broken backs and other injuries Friday.
Alec Corbett, 17, was upgraded from serious to satisfactory condition, his family said in a statement released by Harborview Medical Center.
His neighbor in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood, Alessandro Gelmini, 14, remained in serious condition. In addition to a broken back, he suffered facial fractures and a broken ankle, his family said.
The boys were hiking with their mothers and their sisters Thursday two miles up a trail in the Denny Creek area, 50 miles east of Seattle, when they wandered into the mouth of the ice cave. With a deafening crack, a 50-foot swath of the cave’s roof crashed down on them.
“I don’t think there’s anybody who thought we were going to bring out two live, talking patients,” said Eastside Fire and Rescue Lt. Dean deAlteriis.
OLYMPIA
Quarter of state’s births by C-section
The state Health Department says a quarter of the births in Washington are by C-section and some of those operations are not necessary.
A new report says about 14 percent of the Caesarean sections each year could be prevented in favor of natural births in low-risk women.
The report says the number of Caesarean sections in low-risk births increased 60 percent from 1997 to 2005 in Washington.
C-sections may be recommended when the mother is at risk because of obesity, diabetes or other disease.
But the state health officer, Dr. Maxine Hayes, says a woman having a C-section faces a higher risk of infection and infertility, and the newborn faces a higher risk of breathing problems.
PROSSER, Wash.
Deputies bury loads of moldy marijuana
The marijuana was all cut up and bagged. But instead of it getting in the hands of drug users, the two and a half dump truck loads of pot was left by the side of the road because it was moldy.
Benton County sheriff’s deputies say they had to bury the marijuana instead of burning it because they were worried about releasing mold spores in the air.
Officials say it probably would have been worth thousands of dollars if it had been dried properly.