Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 38 of 38
PALOUSE — An airstrip on Grinnell Road north of town caught fire the night of Wednesday, Aug. 16, damaging a large hangar building. Local volunteer firefighters out were paged at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday, Palouse Fire Chief Wil Edwards said. Volunteer firefighters responded from Garfield, Albion, Colfax, Endicott and Farmington, he said. Palouse firefighters were cleared around 11:30 p.m. “So, we were out there around 3 hours,” Edwards said, adding that no one was injured in the fire. Garfield Fire Chief Chris McCully was on scene; he did not retur...
CHENEY - On the morning of Aug. 21 Spokane County Fire District No. 3 firefighters responded to several brush fires burning along Mullinix Road. At one point, 5 acres burned quickly, but were doused. District No. 3 firefighters received additional support from Cheney Fire Department, Spokane County Fire District No. 10 (Airway Heights), Turnbull Wildlife Refuge and the state Department of Natural Resources. The cause is under investigation....
CHENEY - As emergency officials pushed traffic off Interstate 90 and into the city, traffic backed up for miles. At times Saturday and Sunday, traffic was bumper-to-bumper from the Cheney-Spokane Road to the Cheney Free Press building, 1616 W. First St. Periodically, traffic was shifted west to state Highway 231 through Edwall and Reardan. But traffic backups on that small two-lane road and a crash in the southbound lane forced traffic back into Cheney or west to Davenport and Harrington. For a...
MEDICAL LAKE — In the midst of the chaos Friday, Aug. 18, one local man stared through the danger to save his disabled neighbor. Tyler Lust was at work in Cheney when he got word of the evacuation notices for his neighborhood in Medical Lake. “I heard that Greengate Road was being evacuated, so I raced home because I have two dogs I wanted to save,” Lust said. “On my way out, I noticed my neighbor was pretty hysterical in her yard. “I asked if she needed help, and she said her husband was stuck in the house and couldn’t get out.” Leisa Anderso...
MEDICAL LAKE — A lifelong resident, philanthropist and advocate for area youth died in the Gray Fire on Friday, Aug. 18. The cause of death for Carl Grub, 86, has yet to be released. Grub was born in Medical Lake in 1937. He served in the U.S. Air Force reserves for 22 years, sold real estate and was a cattleman. In 2008, he and his brother, Craig, established the Jensen Memorial Youth Ranch, which serves as a place for 4-H and FFA members from Reardan, Medical Lake, Cheney and Fairchild Air Force Base to keep their animals at no charge w...
WINONA - The Winona Fire, which burned 2,535 acres over the weekend, completely destroyed the Rebel Flat Creek railroad trestle. The fire broke out Friday and destroyed the trestle as it raced through dry grass and sage down a slope to the creek and railroad tracks. After the fire had passed, only rails remained in the span over the creek. State Department of Transportation spokeswoman Janet Matkin said Tuesday, Aug. 22, the wooden trestle bridge was about 200 feet long and and handled close to...
CHENEY - What started as a back-to-school drive has transformed into a clothing drive for victims of regional wildfires. According to Cheney Church of the Nazarene Pastor Chuck Perry, the congregation decided to do some early preparation for a back-to-school clothing drive. Little did they know the Gray, and Oregon Road and Winona Fires would change their plans. "The funny thing is we were actually gathering clothes for kids going back to school," Perry said. "But then the fires hit, and for...
CHENEY - A local veterinary clinic has been assisting the ongoing animal rescue efforts after the Gray Fire. Many animals went missing or escaped when the fire ripped through Medical Lake neighborhoods Friday, Aug. 18. In the days since, a volunteers have come together to rescue, treat and reunite animals with their families. According to Cheney Veterinary Clinic technician Lillian Nowlin and Assistant Manager Marrisa Dormaier, hundreds of animals have needed rescue and treatment following the...
SPOKANE - In a matter of minutes, the Gray Fire grew into an aggressive beast that scorched more than 10,000 acres. The fire had authorities calling for Level III evacuation notices for 5,000-plus residents of the Medical Lake and Four Lakes areas Friday Aug. 18. As flames quickly swept over the hills behind Lakeland Village, nearby Medical Lake residents such as Catherine Swan didn't have a lot of time to gather belongings before fleeing. "I knew there was a fire nearby," Swan said. "I just did...
CHENEY — With a fire comes the need for a command post and camp to house firefighters and their support crews. For the Gray Fire, Northwest Incident Management Team No. 7, a Southeast Washington response team, set up operations at Cheney Middle School, 740 Betz Road, where it replaced state Department of Natural Resources managing the emergency. The team will be moving later this week due to the back-to-school timetable. Spokeswoman Heather Gibsen said Monday, Aug. 21, that the team is charged with managing the daily logistics in c...
MEDICAL LAKE - Rain Tuesday, Aug. 22, gave fire crews a break in their effort to stop the growth of the Gray Fire. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, fire officials said the blaze was 48% contained. The new estimated size is 10,016 acres. On Wednesday at 7, officials hosted a community meeting to explain the status of the Gray Fire and hear fire victims' concerns. They were also explain the command post move from Cheney Middle School to Pine Lodge, 721 S. Pine St. That meeting was planned for Medical Lake...
ELK — On Monday evening, the Oregon Road Fire grew into the largest blaze in the regional over the last week. At least one person had died in the blaze, officials said. Evacuation notices remain in effect across much of the area surrounding the communities of Elk and Chattaroy. The fire was most active east and southeast of elk, burning in dry grass and timber. An evacuation center was set up at Riverside High School, 4120 E. Deer Park Milan Road, Chattaroy. Another is open at Spokane Falls Community College, 3410 W. Forth Wright Drive, S...
WINONA — Local fire crews contained the Winona Fire after it decimated 2,525 acres over the weekend. Whitman County Emergency Management Director Bill Tensfeld reported a fire management team that arrived Saturday to help local crews departed Monday, Aug. 21, after assisting with containing 90% of the blaze. Whitman County Fire District No. 6 is monitoring the smoldering Rebel Flat Creek train trestle that burned Friday and watching for remaining hot spots. "They will take care of any hot s...
