Evacuation notice issued near Blue Canyon Fire, F Street construction to continue, Skagit County shellfish harvesting suspended, Man attempted to steal from US Customs in Lynden, Local tribes to receive $21 million in housing funds, WA Supreme Court: Unions can no longer block release of state worker’s contact info
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STORY: Evacuation notice issued near Blue Canyon Fire
Yesterday, a Level 2 evacuation notice was issued for Blue Canyon Road residents due to the ongoing wildfire at Lake Whatcom.
A Level 2 notice means that people should be prepared to evacuate, Level 3 is an order to leave. This notice affects about 20 homes, many of which are summer homes or weekend retreats. Firefighters from the Baker River Hotshots have been assigned in response to the fire, with additional tanker aircraft assisting in the effort.
The wildfire began Monday night after a lightning bolt struck an area on the southeast bank of Lake Whatcom. It currently spans about 30 acres and has closed down the park and surrounding trails. While not out of control, it had grown overnight yesterday from its initial 10 acres. Recent rain and cooler temperatures has helped to slow the spread, but thunderstorms like the one that caused the fire will continue.
STORY: F Street construction to continue
The construction on the F Street railroad crossing will continue after delays on getting equipment. The construction is expected to continue through September, but the end result will be the third of six crossings that can be designated as a “quiet zone” for passing trains.
Once all six crossings have completed construction, Bellingham’s waterfront can be designated a quiet zone, which will mean no train horns at all hours of the day within the coastal part of town.
Safety was a major concern with the equipment procurement, as F Street is a busy crossing and making sure the equipment works is a top priority.
STORY: Skagit County shellfish harvesting suspended
Harvesting of all species of shellfish is suspended in Skagit County after unsafe levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning or PSP toxins were found.
The species included on the list released by the Washington State Dept of Health include clams, oysters, mussels, scallops and other invertebrates like the moon snail. Crab meat is not affected but crab butter and entrails should be discarded as it likely holds biotoxins.
Biotoxins like PSP cannot be cooked or frozen out of shellfish. PSP can cause severe illness and death. The symptoms of PSP set in within 30 minutes of ingestion.
STORY: Man attempted to steal from US Customs in Lynden
An Oregon man was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border for attempting to steal equipment from a secured Customs Administration building on the American side.
Austin Michael Giger, a 30-year-old man from Tigard (tie-guard), was caught in the Lynden border crossing wearing a U.S. Border Patrol uniform around 1 a.m. on Monday. When asked what he was doing, Giger told officers he had just gotten off work and pointed to his stolen border patrol vest. He was arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, first-degree theft, theft of a firearm and first-degree criminal impersonation.
Giger is accused of stealing two bulletproof vests worth $3,000 each, a radio worth $5,000, a Border Patrol jacket worth $200, $20 worth of ammunition, $20 worth of pepper spray and a $30 ammunition magazine.
STORY: Local tribes to receive $21 million in housing funds
The Lummi Nation and two other Washington tribes will receive funding to build affordable housing. The money comes from the Indian Housing Block Grant.
Of the $21 million, the Lummi Nation will receive $7.5 million of the designated funds to build 32 new housing units. The remaining funds are going to the Port Gamble S’Klallam Housing Authority in Kingston and the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe in Tokeland to build infrastructure and new housing units.
In a statement, Senator Patty Murray – who secured the grant money – said that there is nothing more basic and essential than having a safe place to call home, and these grants are going to make a serious difference for Tribal families in Western Washington who need this help the most.
STORY: WA Supreme Court: Unions can no longer block release of state workers’ contact info
A new ruling from the Washington State Supreme Court determined that unions representing state employees can no longer block requests for employees’ contact information.
The court’s decision is in response to the Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Olympia, who had attempted to retrieve information including state employees’ full names, job titles, birthdates, work emails, and salary. The foundation stated they wanted to contact employees to inform them about the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME, where the Supreme Court had ruled that public-sector employees who refuse to join labor unions cannot be compelled to pay union dues. The unions, led by the Washington Federation of State Employees, had refused to disclose employees’ information as they said that doing so would violate the employees’ “constitutional liberty interest in personal security.”
A lower court judge granted an injunction that allowed the union to deny releasing the information, however the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that the union hadn’t proved anyone’s security would be compromised by granting the Freedom Foundation access to the above-mentioned information.
Under a new state law, House Bill 1533, state workers can still request that their personal information be withheld if they can show that disclosure would put them at risk.
STORY: WA wildfires burning faster and more often
The acreage of wildfires in Washington this wildfire season is on par with what ecologists predicted and are burning longer and more often than past seasons.
Not only has the fire season grown in length every year, but fires have become more dangerous as rainy seasons grow more fuel for the fires. Cheatgrass, a fast-burning invasive species, grows during the year and dries out during the summer months, providing wildfires assistance in burning hot and fast. Long-term trends show grassland and sagebrush fires in Washington are becoming much more common. Matthew Dehr, a wildfire meteorologist for the Department of Natural Resources, says that while recent fires have had forest and structures as fuel, it’s really the fine brush and grass that starts the fire out.
To help prevent the buildup of fuel like this going forward, Washington State was recently approved to conduct more prescribed burns in the future. Controlled burning of vegetation first came back in 2022, after 18 years without them in Washington. Six burns are planned for this fall, two of which will be Okanogan County at Camelback and Sinlahekin (sin-lah-HEEK-in), west of the Eagle Bluff fire.
WX: Partly Sunny Day, Overcast Night
The weather is expected to remain somewhat cloudy in Bellingham today. The National Weather Service has forecast a partly sunny day, with a high near 70*, though nighttime is likely to bring showers with it. The temperature then will have a low near 58*, alongside a 70% chance of precipitation and new precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
OUTRO:
Today’s newscast was produced by volunteers AnThu Nguyen (ANNE-two new-WIN), Susan Lindsey, Emma Toscani and Carlos Braga. Tune in to local news on KMRE weekdays at 3, 4 and 5 p-m. For news tips and feedback, send us an email at news@kmre.org or call 360-398-6150. KMRE is a nonprofit community radio station, powered by listener donations. I’m ________________ and thanks for listening.
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