News
The Chronicle - Centralia
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Fire destroys home in Oakville
A Sunday afternoon fire tore through an Oakville residence, leaving only charred remains of the structure. The initial call came in at 1:57 p.m. for a structure fire, said Chief Carlton Rhoades of the Grays Harbor Fire District 1, while the department's first-out engine was already assisting East Grays Harbor Fire and Rescue with a call. The structure, located on the 300 block of South 2nd Street, was completely ablaze when the initial fire crews arrived on scene, Rhoades said. "Everybody was out. As far as we know there was only one occupant and he was out with law enforcement when we got there," Rhoades said in an interview. "They immediately went to structure protection because the house was a loss." Invoking mutual aid agreements with West Thurston Regional Fire Authority and Riverside Fire Authority, crews worked to suppress the spread of the fire as it threatened neighboring structures and vehicles, Rhoades said. "We held it to the residence of origin," Rhoades said. "We spent a significant amount of time in overhaul. There was a tremendous amount of fire load in the house." The fire entered overhaul at 2:47 p.m. and crews cleared the scene at 4:42 p.m., Rhoades said. The thoroughness of the devastation made discerning the origin of the fire impossible, Rhoades said; the interior of the house was totally destroyed, with only a few charred remnants of the wall and roof still standing. The fire comes at a busy time for the department, Rhoades said. "Lately, we've had a lot of structure fires," Rhoades said. "We've been busy." |
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Wildfire strikes Pacific Beach State Park
A fire swept through the beach grass at Pacific Beach State Park on Saturday, destroying about two acres, after a campfire on the beach spread. Grays Harbor Fire District 8, with assistance from the Quinault Nation Fire Management, extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported and no property was destroyed, but the fire marks the start of a season where the threat of wildfires in the dune grass reaches its most dangerous. Some of the rules for beach fires set out by GHFD8:
Beach grass is extremely dry and prone to fire, even after rainfall. Fire can spread easily with the wind and destroy the environment and structures, such as homes |
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Gov. Inslee touts benefits of Climate Commitment Act in visit to preservation site
Gov. Jay Inslee visited a forested site above the south end of Lake Whatcom on Tuesday, praising state and local officials for their efforts to fight climate change through land preservation. Calling trees a "carbon-sequestration machine," Inslee touted his signature Climate Commitment Act, a 2021 measure that's raised billions to fight human-caused climate change through a "cap-and-invest" program where major polluters must buy allowances to cover their emissions. That landmark climate legislation is now the focus of a repeal effort that will be on the November ballot. Speaking to about 30 reporters, state and local government officials, tribal members and environmental advocates in a clearing below 600 wooded acres in the Mount Baker foothills, Inslee discussed how preserving timberland is part of the state's multi-faceted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That land was purchased by the state Department of Natural Resources with funding from the Climate Commitment Act and is being preserved from logging forever. "There's two parts to this act," Inslee said. "We're seeing the investment side here, but the side that prevents pollution in the fundamental cap is really important, too. That's protecting these forests and this lake as well. We're taking care of this Garden of Eden in two different ways." Older forests such as the one being preserved provide habitat for a diversity of plants and animals and are also more resistant to wildfire, Inslee said. "If we preserve our trees, it can help other (trees) from not burning down and it can prevent forest fire smoke from getting into our kids' lungs," Inslee said. Inslee said that his visit shouldn't be considered a political event, and he described several ways that the Climate Commitment Act is making a difference in Washington residents' lives, including: — A nursing home that was able to add a heat pump, keeping its residents cool in summer and allowing them greater control over individual room temperature. — An electric school bus driver who said his young passengers are less rambunctious because they don't have to holler over the sound of a diesel engine. — Single mothers who now can afford to lease an electric car. "(The Climate Commitment Act) has value independent of any electoral or ballot issue. It's not an abstraction. It's reality," Inslee said. Csenka Favorini-Csorba, policy director for the state Department of Natural Resources, said that preservation of mature forests is key to fighting climate change. Some $70 million has been set aside for that purpose statewide, Favorini-Csorba said. "The Climate Commitment Act has been amazing in terms of funding for the DNR," she said. Whatcom County hopes to expand its role in protecting complex forest ecosystems, Deputy Whatcom County Executive Kayla Schott-Bresler told The Bellingham Herald in an email. "We hope to further work with DNR to identify and acquire replacement lands so we can maintain our working land base. We are also actively working with partners on forest management planning for the Lake Whatcom watershed as we look to secure the health and future of the Lake Whatcom reconveyance lands," Schott-Bresler said. Inslee praised Bellingham Mayor Kim Lund for her city's efforts to buy land in the Lake Whatcom watershed and preserve it from development. "The city shares in the commitment," Lund told the crowd, adding that since 2001, the city has spent $45.2 million to buy 2,786 acres of land that stopped the construction of about 900 homes or other buildings. Lake Whatcom is the drinking water source for 100,000 Whatcom County residents, including Bellingham and the community of Sudden Valley. Water customers pay a surcharge that funds the program. ___ (c)2024 The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.) Visit The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, Wash.) at www.bellinghamherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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NYT Politics
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Overdose Deaths Dropped in U.S. in 2023 for First Time in Five Years
Preliminary numbers show a nearly 4 percent decrease in deaths from opioids, largely fentanyl, but a rise in deaths from meth and cocaine.
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Portland Business News
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Clackamas-based Hoptown Handles buys a North Carolina firm
The move gives the local company another sustainability category play.
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Former Portland exec pleads guilty to wire fraud charge
Stephen Baird, who was accused of bilking investors out of millions of dollars, was charged last year with 10 counts of wire fraud.
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In stunning report, Multnomah reveals 18-fold increase in fentanyl overdose deaths since 2019
The county's report indicates that fentanyl affects all age groups and races.
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Seattle Times Politics
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The story of ‘Three Bob Night’ was no aberration in today’s GOP
The GOP recruiting of fake candidates named Bob Ferguson was great fodder for social media meme jokes. But something like it'll happen again if it just passes for laughs. |
Washington State News
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Yankees' Giancarlo Stanton bids to continue power surge vs. Twins
(Photo credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports)
New York Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton smiled at the question.
Which type of home run is his favorite? Is it a towering blast that soars deep into the bleachers, or a line-drive rocket that leaves the field in a hurry?
"I like the ones where I know off the bat," Stanton told the Yankees'TV broadcast team, "so I don't have to (wonder) is it out, is it going, and sp
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