House fire victim’s status improving

A woman seriously hurt Friday morning in an east Spokane fire was improving Monday.

Tawnia Embree, 29, awoke to find smoke in her home at 5408 E. Commerce Ave. She and her 4-year-old son escaped the blaze, which destroyed the house. They were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

Embree, who manages a Tesoro 2Go station, was listed in satisfactory condition Monday afternoon. Dick Honnold, who rented the home to Embree a few weeks ago, said her son had been discharged from the hospital.

Firefighters said last week the boy started the fire while playing with a lighter.

Honnold has started a fund to assist Embree. Donations can be made at any Banner Bank location. “All she has is the gown the hospital gives you,” Honnold said.

Pedestrian hit by bullet fragment

A 20-year-old man was apparently shot or hit by a ricocheting bullet late Sunday while walking through Franklin Park in north Spokane.

As the man stopped to watch kids lighting fireworks in the park at 5101 N. Division St., he felt a sting on his upper right arm, the Spokane Police Department reported.

When he noticed blood, he ran to Holy Family Hospital, where hospital staff notified police.

Police did not find evidence or witnesses to the shooting. Because of the victim’s statements and the bullet fragment removed from his arm, police believe he was struck by a bullet that ricocheted.

Search called off for missing boater

A search for a missing man in Lake Coeur d’Alene was called off Monday evening.

The man, who was not identified, is presumed drowned, said Capt. Ben Wolfinger, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

“Initial indications are that two people fell out of a boat (about 300 yards north of Arrow Point) and one was recovered,” Wolfinger said.

Authorities were called about 6:45 p.m. Monday, Wolfinger said. Divers and marine deputies searched the area, where the water is about 125 feet deep.

Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the incident, Wolfinger said.

Man burned while lighting fireworks

A 23-year-old man suffered second- and third-degree burns to 60 percent of his body Saturday while shooting off fireworks on the Pend Oreille River, authorities said.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office Inspector Alan Botzheim.

The man had apparently been lighting fireworks on a dock when a blast knocked him into the water, officials said. Two friends pulled him out.