OMAK – Two of Washington state’s three wildfires were reported contained Thursday while the third, near Omak, nearly doubled – to 3,800 acres, fire officials said.
The Omak-area blaze, mostly burning on Colville Indian Reservation land, covered just 2,000 acres Wednesday. About 380 firefighters were working that blaze, and had it 50 percent contained by Thursday afternoon, said Marc Hollen at the Northwest Interagency Incident Coordination Center in Portland, Ore.
A 530-acre fire burning grass, sagebrush and timber near Winthrop was declared 100 percent contained Thursday, Hollen said. About 60 of the 300 firefighters who worked that blaze had been sent home, and more were to be let go over the next 24 hours, Hollen said.
A fire on the northwest corner of the Hanford nuclear reservation charred 5,000 acres of grass and sagebrush before it was contained Wednesday evening, Hollen said. Some of the 31 firefighters had been sent home from that fire at the Saddle Mountain National Wildlife Refuge near Mattawa.
No injuries were reported in the fires, and the causes were undetermined.
Associated Press
Friday Harbor: Three orcas boost population
At least three killer whales have been born to Puget Sound-area orcas, boosting the resident population to 90 animals and continuing an apparent comeback, researchers say.
The calves, two first seen June 7 in L Pod and one spotted Saturday in J Pod, seem to be healthy and thriving, but the first year is always the greatest challenge, Stefan Jacobs of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island told the Kitsap Sun.
Jacobs said a characteristic orange coloration and fetal folds in the skin of the youngest, J-41, indicated he was no more than a few days old as he swam with his mother, J-91, named Shachi.
“J-41 seemed to be fairly active,” Jacobs said. “He was playful and sometimes seemed to be playing on his own.”
A previous calf born to Shachi died during its first year.
Last month, whale watchers noticed two newborns as L Pod returned from winter travels along the coast – L-106, the offspring of L-86, a 14-year-old female named Surprise, and L-107, born to L-47, named Marina, a 32-year-old female whose previous calf survived only a month.
Associated Press
Canada: Teen’s joke at airport stalls return
A teenager says she’s happy to be home and resting after five days in a U.S. detention center because of a bad joke at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Sarah Van Egmond of Duncan, B.C., got into trouble Friday after she arrived and was denied entry into the United States because of concern she might try to gain citizenship by marrying her U.S. boyfriend in Columbus, Ohio.
When she was asked a standard question, whether she had any “credible fears” about returning to Canada, she jokingly replied that a rapist was on the loose in Duncan and she was afraid to go home.
She said Wednesday her remark was “bad judgment,” adding that at the time she did not understand the consequences.
The teen’s father, John Van Egmond, said it took some effort for him to reach the right officials and persuade them to relent, partly because she has a mild form of autism called Asperger syndrome that can affect social skills and hinder clear thinking in stressful situations.
Associated Press
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