Fireworks burn roof of Mill Creek house
Published 10:17 pm Wednesday, July 4, 2007
MILL CREEK – Fireworks were blamed for a roof fire Wednesday that caused about $40,000 in damage to a Silver Firs home Wednesday, officials said.
A smoldering firework ignited a wood-shake roof in the 13900 block of 54th Avenue SE about 1:34 p.m., said Leslie Hynes, spokeswoman, Snohomish County Fire District 1.
Most of the damage was done to the roof and the attic, she said.
A family of five who rents the home was told to spend the night someplace else, Hynes said.
No one was injured.
Sheriff’s Office holds sex offender meeting
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office invites the community to a meeting about a registered sex offender moving into the Mill Creek area.
The meeting is scheduled from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the commons area at Henry M. Jackson High School, 1508 136th St. SE, Mill Creek.
Sheriff’s detectives will release information about Herman “Butch” Ross Paschke, 60, who is expected to be living in the 12100 block of Andrew Sater Road, Everett.
Paschke was civilly committed as a sexually violent predator in 1999 in Spokane County. He was convicted in 1972 for abduction and in 1979 for second-degree rape.
He was sent to the Special Commitment Center at McNeil Island. He was granted unconditional release earlier this month.
Snohomish: School’s playground burns
The playground at Riverview Elementary School melted.
Firefighters believe fireworks sparked a fire that destroyed the playground equipment at the school in the 7300 block of 64th Street SE, said John Hincliffe, battalion chief, Snohomish County Fire District 4.
“It’s pretty well burned,” he said.
The fire was reported at about 8:15 p.m., Hinchcliffe said. A thick column of black smoke could be seen from miles away.
No one was injured.
The Snohomish County Fire Marshal is investigating.
Tulalip: DNR called in to fight brush fire
Reports of a large brush fire caused Snohomish County Fire District 15 to call for support from the state Department of Natural Resources.
The state agency is responsible for battling wildfires.
Reports of a brush fire were called in about 9:15 p.m., officials said.
The fire was in a heavily-wooded area between Tulalip and Spee-bi-dah off Marine View Drive.
No further information was available.
Seattle: Everett arsonist sentenced
An Everett man convicted of burning down his own store and attempting to make it look like a hate crime was sentenced to more than four years in prison Friday.
Mizra M. Akram, 39, was found guilty in February of conspiracy to commit arson in connection with a fire that gutted Continental Spices in Everett.
On Friday, prosecutors requested a lengthy sentence for Akram, saying he destroyed one of only a handful of places Muslims in the area could get meat permissible to eat under Islamic law.
They also said Akram created fear in the community when he and a co-conspirator spray-painted anti-Muslim graffiti around the store.
U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman agreed.
“The manner that this arson was carried out was particularly terrifying to the community,” Pechman said. “I find it particularly cowardly that someone would use this kind of graffiti and leave the community to believe that others were involved.”
A year ago Akram was convicted of food and wire fraud. He was sentenced to more than a year in prison.
Akram, a Pakistani, is a legal resident of the U.S. He could be deported after his release from prison.
From Herald staff reports
