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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

In brief: Blaze damages South Hill mansion

From Staff And Wire Reports

Spokane firefighters on Monday battled a fire inside an 87-year-old mansion on the South Hill.

Crews responded at 6:52 a.m. to 506 W. Sumner Ave., where they found a “quick-moving fire” in the structure’s second and third floors, assistant chief Brian Schaeffer said. According to county records, the home is owned by Donald C. Pearson, has more than 6,300 square feet and was last sold in 2005 for $1.7 million.

Because of the complexity of the building’s design, fire was able to burn through items in the bedrooms and hallways. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in one hour. Nobody was in the residence at the time of the blaze and no injuries were reported.

The cause remains under investigation. Schaeffer did not have an estimate on the value of the damage.

Fire kills three dogs inside mobile home

Spokane County fire crews responded Monday to a fire near Elk that killed three dogs inside a mobile home while a family of four was away.

Neighbors reported the fire at about 12:10 p.m. on Hardesty Road near Elk, KHQ TV reported.

Fire crews arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the mobile home, which was later described as a complete loss.

Skier, snowmobiler die in pair of avalanches

HELENA – Authorities have identified a snowmobiler and a skier who died in separate avalanches near the Montana-Wyoming line.

David Lee Gaillard, 44, was skiing with his wife Saturday southeast of Cooke City, Mont., when an avalanche occurred around 2 p.m.

Park County Coroner Al Jenkins said Gaillard’s wife tried to find her husband but was unsuccessful. She traveled to Cooke City to report the accident, and emergency responders recovered the body.

About two hours earlier, another avalanche occurred north of Cooke City where three men were snowmobiling. County officials say the avalanche buried 46-year-old Jody Ray Verhasselt, of Sidney, under 4 feet of snow for 12 minutes before the others pulled him out and began CPR.

Emergency responders took over but could not revive him.

Missing Seattle boater in Hawaii found safe

HONOLULU – A 66-year-old Seattle man who failed to show up at his destination while sailing in the Hawaiian islands has been found safe after two weeks at sea, the Coast Guard said.

Officials said Ira Foreman arrived at Honokohau Harbor on the Big Island on Sunday after apparently encountering strong winds that blew his 36-foot sailboat off course.

Foreman set sail from Kauai on Arcturus on Dec. 17 with plans to arrive at Keehi Lagoon on Oahu a day later. He never showed up. His ex-wife reported him missing a week later. The Coast Guard launched a search on Christmas Day.

After scouring more than 200,000 square miles by air and sea, the Coast Guard on Thursday called off its efforts.

Foreman contacted his ex-wife by cellphone Saturday evening and said he had encountered strong winds but was never in distress.

The Coast Guard later located Foreman’s boat but was unable to contact him until Sunday morning. He arrived at Honokohau Harbor at 3 p.m.

Proposal would ban shipments of coal

BELLINGHAM – A group said it intends to propose an ordinance that would prohibit any transport of coal through Bellingham.

The plan came in reaction to a proposal to build a shipping terminal capable of handling large volumes of cargo that would largely include coal bound for China.

Rick Dubrow, a key organizer of the new political action committee called No Coal!, told the Bellingham Herald last week that the group will release its proposed city ordinance on Jan. 26.

The ordinance would prohibit any transport of coal through Bellingham by rail or any other means – a move intended to thwart plans by SSA Marine of Seattle for its proposed Gateway Pacific Terminal.