NANCE BESTON
Staff Writer
Recent Stories
FIRE REPORT: Kittitas County has a multi-fire outbreak
KITTITAS COUNTY — On Friday and Saturday, Kittitas County saw an outbreak of eight fires, six of them being 10 acres. The fires include from largest to smallest: Thomas Mountain Fire, 10 acres; Stave Creek Fire, 10 acres; Davis Peak Fire, 1 acre; Anna Bell Drive Fire,1 acre; Waptus Fire, 0.5 acre; Bear Creek Fire, 0.5 acres and Skeeter Creek Fire, 0.1 acre.
FIRE REPORT: Swawilla fire contained
MOSES LAKE – The Swawilla Fire, ignited by lightning at 11:30 p.m. on July 17, was Washington's largest active blaze, having consumed approximately 53,500 acres. The fire is now 98% contained, as of Thursday according to InciWeb.
FIRE REPORT: Williams Mine Fire expands rapidly
WHITE SALMON -- The Williams Mine Fire started Monday at about noon and was only burning five acres; however, the fire quickly expanded to more than 2,700 acres Tuesday and expanded again to about 4,500 acres Wednesday with no containment according to NIFC. According to InciWeb, a national fire tracking site, the fire is currently wind-driven and moving primarily south. Smoke will be heavily visible for Trout Lake, Washington and surrounding communities until the fire is contained.
FIRE REPORT: Combine tractor ignites, burns wheat near Coulee City
GRAND COULEE – A vegetation fire started shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday near G Road in Douglas County, near Coulee City. The fire was caused by a combine tractor igniting. The combine fire spread to the crop of wheat and burned about 350 acres.
Photo enforcement tech in full effect in Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — There has been a significant increase in tickets being issued via photo enforcement technology for running red lights or speeding in school zones. The implementation of the tickets began on June 6. In June there were only 43 tickets. However, in July the court saw 1,159 tickets from the photo enforcement devices.
Five Columbia Basin hikes for August adventures
MOSES LAKE – As August ushers in perfect outdoor weather, there's no better time to lace up your hiking boots and discover some of Washington’s trails. Here are five destinations worth visiting. Additional hiking opportunities in the area can be found at www.alltrails.com. Trails may require a Discover Pass which can be picked up at most local outdoors stores.
FIRE REPORT: Washington’s largest fire 90% contained
MOSES LAKE – The Swawilla Fire, ignited by lightning at 11:30 p.m. on July 17, is Washington's largest active blaze, consuming approximately 53,400 acres. However, the fire went from 70% containment on Saturday to 90% on Monday.
FIRE REPORT: Triple-digit temperatures blaze through Washington
MOSES LAKE – On Friday, record-breaking triple-digit temperatures swept across Washington, ushering in extreme heat and a heightened risk for wildfires according to a National Weather Service press release.
Cantwell says FAA oversight of Boeing lacking
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has requested the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a root cause analysis of its oversight of aviation manufacturers, according to an announcement from Cantwell’s office.
FIRE REPORT: Two more fires contained before WA heat wave
MOSES LAKE -- Two fires were contained in Washington on Thursday including the South Columbia Basin Fire and the Black Canyon Fire.
Fire near Soap Lake destroys property, hospitalizes one
SOAP LAKE – The Road 20 Fire, which began at about 10 p.m. Tuesday near Soap Lake, has been determined to be caused by 25-year-old David Teslyuk, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
FIRE REPORT: Washington’s largest fire now fully contained
MOSES LAKE – As of 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the Big Horn Fire, once the largest active blaze in Washington, has been fully contained. The fire, which scorched approximately 51,600 acres, began at 1:07 p.m. on July 22. As of Tuesday, at 6 p.m. the fire has been turned back over to local jurisdiction according to InciWeb.
FIRE REPORT: Local districts give updates on fire season
SOAP LAKE – Grant County Fire District 7 is doing well on resources for July, even with 98 fires breaking out according to GCFD 7 Fire Chief Chris Baker. Baker said he is concerned about fireworks and uncontrolled burns though.
Climate credit applications available to Washingtonians
OLYMPIA — Up to 675,000 households will receive a $200 credit on utility bills due to $150 million funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. According to Gov. Jay Inslee, this funding aims to reduce health risks from climate change and lower electricity costs for low and medium-income households.
FIRE REPORT: Fires burn over two million acres nationwide
MOSES LAKE – As of Monday morning, there are 102 large active wildfires being managed nationwide, burning an estimated two million acres according to the National Interagency Fire Center. In Washington there are around 182,300 acres burning according to NIFC.
MLSD continues working toward balanced budget
MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District Board of Directors continued to develop a balanced district budget during its regular Thursday meeting. District staff highlighted significant budget cuts, previous spending and highlights from the previous school year during the meeting.
FIRE REPORT: Two fires light up in Spokane County Friday
SPOKANE — Two new wildfires began Friday afternoon in Eastern Washington, according to information released by state and federal authorities.
FIRE REPORT: Swawilla Fire uncontained, still growing
GRAND COULEE — The Swawilla Fire, ignited by lightning July 27, is located 11 miles east of Grand Coulee and grew to roughly 17,389 acres by Thursday. The fire remains uncontained according to the Washington Department of Natural Resources.
Keeping Families Together Act reduces dependency cases in Grant Co.
MOSES LAKE – Grant County Juvenile Court is seeing a decrease in dependency cases in the last couple of months. Dependency cases involve issues with guardians of minors, which includes minors in the foster care system and minors being relocated to other family members.
Grant Co. Jail project moving quickly
EPHRATA – The New Grant County Jail is progressing rapidly according to Tom Gaines, the Grant County central services director. He provided updates on the new Grant County Jail during the County Commissioners meeting on Monday.
FIRE REPORT: Multiple new fires break out across WA
SELAH – The North Wenas Fire started on Monday at 7:45 p.m. located in Yakima County near Selah, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire is estimated at 1,500 acres and growing with no containment. The fire is threatening homes, the electrical grid, irrigation and cultural areas. Level three evacuations are in effect on Tuesday.
WA delegation shows the Evergreen State’s aerospace leadership at UK airshow
OLYMPIA – The largest delegation from Washington state ever, led by Lt. Governor Denny Heck and State Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig, is currently in the United Kingdom attending the 2024 Farnborough International Air Show.
Soap Lake sewer leak stopped quickly
SOAP LAKE – On Saturday, a citizen alerted authorities to effluent seeping out of a manhole cover near West Beach in Soap Lake. The City of Soap Lake Public Works team, led by Supervisor Darrin Fronsman, swiftly responded to the emergency, according to an announcement by Soap Lake Mayor Allen DuPuy.
Grant Co. commissioners receive infrastructure updates
EPHRATA – During the Grant County Board of Commissioners meeting Monday they received updates from the central services and the development service directors to begin their day, followed by a variety of other updates.
FIRE REPORT: Local fire causes road closure, lightning storm causes 9 WA fires
EPHRATA — Grant County Fire District 13 and Ephrata firefighters dealt with a 25-acre burn near Highway 28 and Road E NW Sunday, closing Highway 28 at Naylor Junction and Neva Lake Road. By 5:14 p.m. the fire was handled, and by 5:35 p.m. the highway was reopened. Fire is inferred to have been sparked by a bird on a power line, and was wind driven. The Miners Complex Fires consist of nine wildfires caused by lightning strikes on July 17 and 18. The storm caused about 1,000 lightning strikes across Oregon and Washington. Fire crews are battling a 500-acre complex of lightning-caused fires in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, which has prompted trail closures and warnings from the U.S. Forest Service. The Miners Complex include: Miners Fire, Vista Ridge Fire, Dolly Creek Fire, Sulphur Three Fire, Sulphur Four Fire, Sulphur Thirty-Four Fire, Upper Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, Lower Sulphur Thirty-Two Fire, and Plummer Fire.
FIRE REPORT: Wilson Creek fire out as of Friday
WILSON CREEK – The Road R Fire, also listed as the Wilson Creek Fire, in Grant County, was put out on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and crews began to monitor hot spots, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The road between R-NE and Wilson Creek is open again beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Murray plans school updates, announces priorities
EPHRATA – Ken Murray has stepped into the role of Superintendent of Ephrata Schools. In a community message on the Ephrata school’s website he elaborated on three focuses as the superintendent which include fiscal responsibility, facility updates and long-term planning.
WA job market adds 7,100 jobs in June
OLYMPIA - Washington's job market saw positive growth in June, with an estimated 7,100 new jobs added and the unemployment rate remaining steady at 4.9%. While the unemployment rate had been slowly rising over the past few months, it still remained below 5% since summer 2021 according to the Washington Employment Security Department.
Ephrata School District receives two clean audit reports
EPHRATA – The Washington State Auditor’s Office recently completed two audits of the Ephrata School District, both resulted in no significant deficiencies. The audits included an accountability audit and a financial statement and federal grant compliance audit, covering September 2020 to August 2023 and September 2022 to August 2023, respectively.