The first late season burn ban went into effect in Snohomish County Thursday. No burning is allowed in uncertified wood stoves or fireplaces, and all outdoor burning is prohibited until further notice by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Burn bans are called when winter weather is especially cold or still, without breezes that normally clear away daily air pollution.
The ridge of high pressure trapping pollution now is expected to remain in place through Sunday.
The amount of soot, dust and particles floating in the air around Snohomish County was predicted to be moderate today. In other parts of Western Washington, levels are expected to be unhealthy for people with asthma or other diseases that make them sensitive to air pollution.
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency also recommends the following:
Mountlake Terrace
Stove fire damages home: French fries left cooking on a stove sparked a fire Thursday afternoon in a Mountlake Terrace home, causing an estimated $35,000 in damage.
The fire in the 4600 block of 241st Street SW occurred after a mother of three children left the house for about five minutes and apparently forgot to turn off the stove, said Leslie Hynes, spokeswoman for Fire District 1.
The family returned to find the split-level house full of smoke and the detectors blaring around 5:20 p.m.
Firefighters from Mountlake Terrace, Fire District 1 and Edmonds were able to keep the fire from spreading beyond the kitchen. No one was hurt, but there was heavy smoke damage in the upper floor of the house.
The family of five has insurance, Hynes said. Support 7 — a volunteer organization in south Snohomish County — was helping them find another place to stay Thursday night.
Edmonds
Edmonds man charged with murder: An Edmonds man apparently upset with his mother’s relationship with a music teacher was charged Thursday with first-degree murder in the teacher’s death.
Joseph Ieronimakis, 22, of Edmonds was charged in the shooting of Jan Zabel, 40, according to King County Superior Court. Charles D. Siegmund, 27, of Lake Forest Park, was also charged.
Both remained in custody with bail set at $1 million pending arraignment.
Zabel was found unconscious and bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds in the trunk of a car Friday after police were called by a neighbor who heard screaming and said he had seen two men putting what appeared to be a body into the trunk. Zabel died soon afterward.
As detailed in court documents, Siegmund said both men went to Ieronimakis’ residence in Edmonds, got a tarpaulin and shovel and went to the mother’s house in West Seattle. They waited for the mother to leave, and then Ieronimakis walked into the house.
Siegmund said he heard shots fired. Siegmund said he didn’t know Ieronimakis intended to shoot Zabel. Siegmund said Zabel was kicking at the inside of the trunk as they drove away.
From Herald staff reports
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