Newsbriefs

Center School zone on agenda

Grand Coulee’s Planning Commission meets at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) at city hall. Among items to be discussed is a zoning change for Center School, which the Grand Coulee Dam School District is trying to sell.

Anyone wanting to use the building for something other than a school is reluctant to bid on it under its current zoning. The public is welcome to attend.

Bridges near

Nespelem closed or

restricted

In a press release sent about 5 p.m. Monday, Okanogan County Public Works said one bridge near Nespelem would be closed and another restricted beginning Tuesday.

The agency said it was closing Bridge B-3 at milepost 5.08 on Park City Loop Road, and would post a 5-ton weight restriction on Bridge B-15 at milepost 2.15 on Joe Moses Road.

“Your patience during these short delays is greatly appreciated,” the press release said. “We apologize for any inconvenience you may encounter during the construction.”

It did not specify the purpose of the bridge restrictions.

State

mobilization has record-setting fire season

The 2015 fire season was a record-setting one for Washington’s Fire Service Resource Mobilization Plan. The Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office coordinated assistance to local fire jurisdictions in an unprecedented 30 fires this summer, beginning June 13, the agency said. The previous record was 17 fires in 2012, capped by a mid-September lightning storm that ignited multiple fires across Chelan and Douglas Counties.

In 2014, the Mobilization Plan was used 15 times, including the devastating Carlton Complex Fire in Okanogan County.

This year, Washington state wildfires scorched over 1,005,423 acres across both the east and west sides of the Cascades. The largest fire in Washington this summer was the North Star fire in Okanogan County, which burned 218,138 acres.

According to information provided by the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland, 499 structures were destroyed by these blazes, including 307 primary residences and 21 commercial buildings.