NEWS BITES for August 8, 2024
A break in the East Low Canal northeast of Moses Lake left water across the roadway on Road N Northeast.
GCSO PHOTO
MOSES LAKE — An irrigation canal break northeast of Moses Lake caused flooding and triggered evacuation notices Monday night, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
A little before 10 p.m., the GCSO responded to a break to the East Low Canal between Road 5 and Road N Northeast, according to the statement. By 10:30, the GCSO reported water over the roadway on Road N, traveling southwest toward Road 4. Shortly before 11 p.m., the GCSO issued a level 2 (be ready to leave) evacuation notice to residents in the 10000 block of Road 4 Northeast. Water was diverted into Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir, the GCSO wrote, filling Lower Crab Creek with 3,200 cubic feet of water per minute, nearly half again as much as the 2,200 CFM the waterway is rated for.
Road N was closed Wednesday as was Road 4 between Roads M and N, according to the statement. A timeline for repairs was unavailable from the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, which operates and maintains the canal, pending a full damage assessment.
ROYAL CITY — Angel Delarosa Martinez, 23, of Royal City was arrested over the weekend and faces charges that include driving under the influence in association with a collision about 5 miles east of Royal City, according to a GCSO statement.
Delarosa Martinez was driving west on Road 12 SW at about 11 p.m. Friday when he collided with a vehicle driven by Hermilo Ocampo, 55, of Royal City at the intersection with Road D SW. GCSO officers report that Delarosa Martinez then fled the scene and Ocampo was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Deputies found Delarosa Martinez’s car and utilized a K-9 officer to track him down in a nearby cornfield about 300 yards away from his vehicle. He was arrested but was no longer listed in custody at the Grant County Jail as of Wednesday. He faces possible charges of DUI, hit-and-run collision causing injury, resisting arrest and obstructing a law enforcement officer.
GCSO was assisted by personnel from MACC 911, Royal City Police Department, Royal Slope Fire & Rescue, Washington State Patrol and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police during the incident.