CHELAN – Residents of several cabins on the east shore of Lake Chelan were allowed to Thursday after firefighters made progress battling a nearby wildfire.
The cabins on the central Washington lake had been evacuated since the Flick Creek fire started July 26. Residents of the rural community of Stehekin at the northern tip of Lake Chelan also had been warned they might have to evacuate.
Several trails in the area remained closed Thursday, but transportation and visitor recreation services remained open, said Terry Knupp, spokeswoman for the Chelan Ranger District of the Okanogan and Wenatchee National Forests.
The fire was 20 percent contained Thursday, with an estimated 4,077 acres or about 6 square miles burned.
A bacterial outbreak has prompted state health officials to close more oyster growing areas.
The oyster harvest is now closed in all recreational beaches and commercial growing areas of Hood Canal, Samish Bay, Oakland Bay, Mystery Bay, Skookum Inlet, Totten Inlet and Eld Inlet.
Washington state has 86 reported cases of vibriosis related to eating raw oysters – the highest number of cases in the state since 1997.
The illness is caused by a bacteria, typically found in saltwater, that proliferates in hot weather.
In healthy adults, the bacteria can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fever and chills. The illness can be fatal to those with chronic liver disease or compromised immune systems, but deaths are rare.
Two men, including one affiliated with a company that sells landscape rock, have been charged with first-degree theft in the disappearance of more than 19,000 tons of rock from public land in Skamania County.
Harvey D. Erickson, 69, and Daniel D. Gustafson, 55, were charged in Skamania County Superior Court with one count each of first-degree theft, court documents said. Gustafson, the operator of A&B Rock Distributors, also was charged with criminal trespass.
Officials said the rock, valued at between $276,000 and $1.3 million, was taken from public land in western Skamania County from June 2002 to October 2005.
Court papers said Erickson owned a piece of land in the area and leased it to Gustafson, whose company removed rock in a quarry operation for $7.50 to $12.50 per ton, which was paid to Erickson. Officials said Gustafson and Erickson knowingly extended their rock removal to bordering property on public land.
Associated Press
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
