In brief: Cleanup of fuel proves difficult

LEWISTON – Officials say cleanup of a month-old diesel fuel spill from a tanker crash along U.S. Highway 12 has slowed because of wintry weather.

More than 7,500 gallons of fuel spilled into a ditch on the side of the highway on Sept. 29.

Gayle Westhoff of the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality told the Lewiston Tribune that the geology of the area is making the cleanup effort difficult.

She said the fuel has gone down through cracks in granite and has been tough to recover.

Four wells have been drilled near the Lochsa River, a federally protected waterway, to get to the fuel.

Munitions found in Elliott Bay

SEATTLE – The Port of Seattle has found military munitions several times this year in the water near Terminal 91 in Elliott Bay near Magnolia.

Seattlepi.com reported the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investigating whether more munitions are present.

The Port said the munitions are likely from World War II, when the terminal was used by the military. Officials said the munitions do not pose a threat to the busy cruise ship terminal.

Divers first found discarded military munitions in April. The port said all were safely removed.

Starfish die-off found on beach

EUGENE, Ore. – A beach ranger’s discovery of hundreds of dead starfish along Haceta Beach has confused shellfish biologists, who can’t determine why the starfish died in such numbers in just one place.

The (Eugene) Register-Guard reported the starfish die-off was discovered Thursday morning.

Justin Ainsworth of the Department of Fish and Wildlife said the starfish may have been killed by recent stormy waters, but the storms hit most of the coast, and the dead starfish were only found on Haceta Beach.

Ainsworth said the starfish may also have been killed by disease or low oxygen levels in the water, but no evidence has been found of that.

Distillation try ends in explosion

COOS BAY, Ore. – Police say a man who tried to distill the active ingredient from marijuana using butane gas inadvertently caused an explosion that sent the door of his refrigerator through a wall in his home.

Police have not identified the man. No one was injured.

Coos County sheriff’s Sgt. Pat Downing said one of the home’s residents was trying to extract tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, from marijuana on Monday. The butane gas built up in the home, and when the freezer activated, a spark ignited the gas.