NCWLIFE Evening News

•The major wildfire that had its origins in Kittitas County is now forcing trail closures and low-level evacuation notices on the outskirts of Wenatchee.•Commissioners for the Chelan-Douglas Regional Port Authority on Monday authorized the filing of a lawsuit against Chelan County, seeking to restrain the county from enforcing its moratorium on the creation of tax increment areas.•Grant County sheriff’s deputies arrested a 70-year-old Coulee City man Tuesday evening after he allegedly threatened five people with a handgun.

•The Washington State Patrol bomb squad disposed of a live hand grenade Monday night, after police say a three-year-old boy discovered it.•An East Wenatchee man was arrested by a police tactical team on Saturday after an eight-year-old child reported an alleged domestic assault. •Grant County firefighters were called out in force on Monday for an above-ground diesel storage tank in flames on a farm property near George.

•A Sunday spot fire traveled beyond the containment efforts on the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, sparking a 60-acre brush burn high on Burch Mountain.•Deputies with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man in Wenatchee on Sunday evening after he allegedly stabbed his roommate. •A Wenatchee woman shot to death by her neighbor under mysterious circumstances over the summer appears to have been a victim of mistaken identity.

•Forty mile an hour winds pushed North Central Washington’s huge twin wildfires beyond some of their boundaries on Thursday, and put residents in the Wenatchee Valley and Blewett Pass on high alert.•Chelan County Coroner Wayne Harris is responsible for determining the cause and relative time of any unexplained death in his jurisdiction. He says today in Travis Decker’s case, that may prove impossible.•Creighton Hilstad, the owner of the Wenatchee Avenue boutique store Henry Harrow & Co. lost 10 acres of his property to the Lower Sugarloaf fire on Sunday night. He’s one of dozens of landowners who’ve found themselves in the path of the 34,000-acre fire.

•Travis Caleb Decker, the man accused of kidnapping and murdering his three young daughters, is dead. Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison gave the news in a 4 p.m. press conference today.•Highway 97 over Blewett Pass remains closed as fire crews deal with the troublesome Labor Mountain Fire, the 17,000-acre wildland blaze which now overlaps from Kittitas County into Chelan County.•42-year-old Brandon David Ebe pleaded guilty Wednesday in Chelan County Superior Court to 10 counts of possessing sexually explicit depictions of minors.

•A filing in the federal criminal case against Travis Decker says the man who allegedly murdered his own children more than three months ago is now dead.•The Chelan County Commissioners chambers was full of community members Tuesday morning for the hearing on the county’s moratorium preventing the creation of Tax increment financing areas.•One of the two wildland firefighters accused of traveling in stolen vehicles on their way to work on the Lower Sugarloaf Fire has been charged with two felonies.

•A 41-year-old Chelan resident pleaded guilty yesterday to providing fentanyl to local juveniles in exchange for sex and compromising photographs.•More than 50 people attended a Sept. 18 East Wenatchee City Council workshop for a discussion on the city’s policy on displaying banners around main thoroughfares.•After a 15-day closure, Knapps Hill Tunnel on Highway 97A near Chelan has reopened.

•While the Lower Sugarloaf Fire increased in size and prompted new evacuation notices over the weekend, a wildfire burning in Kittitas County crossed into Chelan County, prompting evacuations of its own.•An 18-year-old Wenatchee man was arrested on Saturday after he allegedly stole a vehicle.•A combined grass and structure fire consumed storage outbuildings plus a parked trailer and boat on Friday just outside Leavenworth.

• Human remains found in the Icicle River Valley may be those of Travis Decker, wanted in the June killings of his three daughters.• Wenatchee High School students are adjusting to a new policy that locks away their phones during the school day.• The Wenatchee River Salmon Festival returns this weekend at Rocky Reach Dam and Discovery Center.

•Sheriff’s deputies say two firefighters working the Lower Sugarloaf wildfire were involved in the thefts of two vehicles this week, including one that was stolen in Wenatchee and became involved in a police chase.•Customers with the Chelan County Community Development department have been targeted recently by a new email scam.•Chelan County is hosting an open house next week to show off the newly-updated Veterans Services Office on Orondo Avenue.

•A suspected robber who allegedly made two visits to local banks was apprehended Tuesday, and turned out to have a lengthy prior history of bank robbery.•The Northwest Athletic Conference found the Wenatchee Valley College athletics department to have QUOTE “no significant structure, vision or plan” after WVC requested a review by the governing body earlier this year.•Managers on the Lower Sugarloaf Fire changed evacuation levels yesterday, placing new areas under Level 2 notices.

•The Chelan County Mountain Rescue team located a deceased hiker last week in the Dragontail Peak area of the Enchantments.•Authorities modified the evacuation levels around the Lower Sugarloaf Fire, now at just over 18,000 acres and burning between the Chumstick and Entiat valleys.•Another move to end COVID-19 vaccinations through the Chelan-Douglas Health District has failed.

•The 17,000 acre Lower Sugarloaf Fire is now listed at 11% contained. That’s a major step in the battle against that large fire, burning between the Entiat and Chumstick Valleys.•Construction began today on Valley Mall Parkway in East Wenatchee between Northeast Ninth Street and Highway 28.•The annual Fiestas Mexicanas at Triangle Park on Friday and Saturday drew thousands to celebrate Mexico's Independence Day, despite uncertainty around immigration concerns.

•It could have been a tragedy, but police say a quick-thinking semi driver averted disaster on Thursday when his vehicle lost its breaks heading downhill on Grant Road.•The Lower Sugarloaf Fire burning between the Chumstick and Entiat Valleys picked up some energy on Thursday, growing to just over 15,000 acres.•The Wenatchee City Council unanimously adopted a new policy Thursday night, concerning the use of artificial intelligence in city offices.

•Chelan County Commissioners on Tuesday heard a grievance brought by the Teamsters Union, which represents supervisors and deputies at the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.•The growth of large wildfires in Chelan County has led to a local emergency declaration.•A 36-year-old Ephrata man died Wednesday night after he crashed his motorcycle and was run over by a truck on Highway 28 near Soap Lake.

•At a community meeting held in Entiat on Tuesday, the team handling the Lower Sugarloaf Fire said they’re continuing to set dozer lines around the 13,814-acre blaze, burning between the Chumstick and Entiat River Valleys.•The attorney for a woman arrested in Chelan on a false drunk-driving charge has won more than $42,000 in a settlement from the Washington State Patrol.•The long-awaited Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed expansion of Mission Ridge is now available, and open for public comment.

• A Moses Lake man who federal prosecutors called the primary gang recruiter for all of Grant County will spend 10 years in prison on firearms charges.•A change in leadership at Wenatchee Valley College has the institution losing down a vice president.•Governor Bob Ferguson visited Wenatchee today for the State Building and Construction Trades Council Convention, held downtown at the Wenatchee Convention Center.

• Eastward expansion of the Lower Sugarloaf Fire over the weekend prompted authorities to expand Level 3 evacuation notices to include the entire community of Ardenvoir.• A former custodian at Sterling Junior High in East Wenatchee was charged late last month with sexual offenses against a student there, two years after his initial arrest.• A Moses Lake man has pleaded guilty to child porn possession after his arrest last year.• The Wenatchee River Institute is launching what it calls an “urgent” campaign to save its beloved Traveling Naturalist in the Classroom program.• The City of Wenatchee plans to reopen nearby Hale Park on a limited basis while construction goes on.

•Washington’s state health officer signed an order Thursday making anyone in the state eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations, without consulting their doctor.•A complex incident team is now in charge of the Lower Sugarloaf Fire in Chelan County as well as the Labor Mountain Fire near Cle Elum.•NCWLIFE met with three FFA participants from the Eastmont School District yesterday as they finished setting up for this weekend’s events at the Cashmere fairgrounds, and heard about all the work it takes for the students to get there.

•The Lower Sugarloaf Fire, which began outside the town of Plain due a lightning strike Monday, has quickly grown to more than 6,200 acres and sparked urgent evacuation warnings for residents along Mad River Road in the Entiat Valley.•A structure was lost but firefighters were able to control the spread of a wildland fire that ignited the building today.•Mosquitoes that were captured at Crab Creek near Moses Lake have tested positive for West Nile, a mosquito-borne virus that can cause severe disease in the central nervous system.

•Chelan County Emergency Management has issued several evacuation notices due to the fast-growing Lower Sugarloaf Fire burning east of Plain.•The second of 12 men arrested in a State Patrol sting operation last year for soliciting sex with a minor has been sentenced.•A Washington Elementary School student will serve as one of the state’s Youth Heart with the American Heart Association this school year.

•Lightning strikes over the weekend are blamed for half a dozen new fires now burning on the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.•A Cashmere woman with a history of serious driving convictions now faces possible assault charges after allegedly driving away from a Chelan County traffic stop.•The Wenatchee Valley Fire Department’s Malaga location is now fully-staffed after the temporary hiatus that came after a loss in funding from the shutdown of Alcoa’s aluminum smelter plant.

•All guests and non-essential staff are being evacuated from Holden Village and nearby facilities as the 60-acre Martin Fire continues to burn in the area.•A Level 1 “be ready” fire advisory was issued this morning for Blewett Pass after another wildfire caused by lightning ignited last night.•The Washington State Department of Transportation will close Knapps Hill Tunnel after Labor Day to replace its failing lighting system.

•Two people in a Grant County long-term care facility have died and many more were sickened by a COVID-19 outbreak.•A Level 2 “get ready” evacuation notice was issued this morning for Holden Village, including the Rio Tinto Mine water treatment plant, as the lightning-caused Martin Fire grows.•A tractor driver was injured in a collision on Highway 281 early this morning near Quincy.

•The two occupants of a small plane that crashed into a house during a failed landing attempt at the Cashmere airport say they’re recovering after the ordeal.•Authorities say they’re still investigating a deadly house fire that happened last week in Chelan, and still unable to publicly identify the two people killed.•The driver who bumped a group of police officers with his vehicle while fleeing a traffic stop will serve four months in jail.

•About 100 federal agents are moving through the Icicle River area where the Decker sisters were murdered almost three months ago, carrying out a grid search in pursuit of the father who’s accused of killing them.•Two people were injured in a three-car collision Monday afternoon on Highway 28 near Quincy.•As the Valley Academy of Learning begins its new life inside the former Columbia Elementary School building, the Wenatchee School Board is determining what to do with its former site.

•Last night, the FBI once again began a sweep of the forested area where Paityn, Evelyn and Olivia Decker were found murdered nearly three months ago.•Quincy police say a local resident was already wanted on a warrant when he decided to use a handgun to settle an argument.•The city of Chelan struggled today with a water main break that threatened to deplete its reservoirs.

•A recreational vehicle caught fire yesterday while traveling on Highway 97. That led to a wildfire that had to be controlled before highway traffic could resume.•A second person has now been reported as killed in the house fire at 418 East Woodin Ave. in Chelan early Thursday morning.•The East Wenatchee City Council voted this week to impose a new 0.1% sales tax that takes effect next year.

•Two people were injured and one person was killed in a house fire at 418 East Woodin Avenue in Chelan early this morning.•A homeless Wenatchee man who pleaded guilty to setting fire to a drainage pipe back in February is again charged with arson, this time for allegedly starting a small fire near Hale Park on the Apple Capital Loop Trail.•East Wenatchee police say they’ve arrested a 27-year-old Cashmere man for providing fentanyl that contributed to a woman’s death.

•Police in Mattawa and Moses Lake are seeking public assistance in solving a homicide in a public park.•A three-year-old rescue from the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society is the new narcotics-detecting dog for the Chelan County Regional Justice Center.•The Level 1 evacuation notice on Holden Village was lifted on Tuesday after being in place since early July due to the Pomas Fire.

•A barn was destroyed by a fire Monday morning along Blewett Pass, though firefighters were able to prevent the blaze from spreading to nearby trees.•Four people were injured in a four-vehicle wreck on Highway 2 yesterday afternoon in Tumwater Canyon.•Today marks ten years since the Twisp River Fire, started by tree branches contacting a power line.

•Governor Bob Ferguson has authorized an investigation into the conduct of members on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, including its new vice-chair, former wildlife biologist John Lehmkuhl of Wenatchee.•Three people were injured in a four-car DUI collision Friday afternoon on Highway 97 near Pateros.•A new report from the Washington State Auditor finds that Moses Lake schools did not appropriately track their employees hours and productivity when paying them with federal Title I funding.

•The McNeil Canyon Road Realignment project in Douglas County is currently suspended, due to a union strike in several eastern Washington cities.•The city of Chelan will receive $3 million in state funding secured by 12th district Representative Mike Steele to begin its East Chelan Water Reservoir Project.•Lake Chelan Health is applying for commercial building permits to construct a new administrative building and ambulance garage on its campus.

Lighthouse Christian Ministries has shut down its homeless aid center at 410 South Columbia Street after a hearing officer allowed its conditional use permit to be revoked on Monday.A driver who pleaded guilty to bumping police officers with his vehicle while fleeing a traffic stop is now wanted for sentencing.And a 95-acre brush fire burned up a hillside north of Brewster on Wednesday.

An injured hiker was forced to spend Monday night at the base of Dragontail Peak above Colchuck Lake in the Enchantments before being rescued Tuesday morning.A firefighter in training with the Wenatchee Valley Department has been charged with felony harassment and misdemeanor assault for allegedly making threats to a superior and to a fellow firefighter during a mental health crisis, and for fighting with team members when they came to his home to intervene.And the Wenatchee Valley woke up to moderate air quality this morning as smoke from wildfires on the west side travels east.

Wenatchee Valley Firefighters were kept busy on Monday with not one, but two vehicle fires.Wenatchee Valley College has received a warning from the body that oversees college accreditation, which warns WVC is out of compliance with standards around how it handles complaints and harassment amongst staff.And a 18-year-old suspect has been arrested for allegedly sparking the Balsamroot Fire, a 305-acre wildland blaze that erupted outside Wenatchee on the Fourth of July, 2024.

A structure fire on Lake Wenatchee's north shore this morning spread into surrounding woods, leading to a Level 2 evacuation notice for homes in the area.Travelers should expect single-lane closures and reduced speed limits this week on Highway 2 just west of Leavenworth during the Washington State Department of Transportation’s $2.3 million Slope Stabilization project.And the Chelan School District is asking voters to approve a $73 million school bond that would build a new elementary school and modernize multiple facilities.

A probationary firefighter with the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department is accused of threatening a superior, and attacking fellow firefighters including a battalion commander who arrived at his home to defuse the situation.Chelan and Douglas County came together yesterday for their second annual Purple Heart Day ceremony, recognizing those in the community who’ve received the military honor for suffering harm in the line of duty.And the former director of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust is suing the nonprofit over her firing last November.

Hikers in the Enchantments attempted Sunday to rescue a drowning man in Colchuck Lake, but authorities say he was beyond resuscitation.Chelan County is calling its first Blake Relief Day a big success after 28 drug possession cases were vacated in district court last month.And the entire town of Electric City in northwest Grant County was placed under a Level 2 evacuation warning on Wednesday, as a brushfire on the southeast side of town grew to roughly 29 acres.

A misfiring handgun may have saved a Moses Lake man from becoming a victim of homicide. Firefighters were able to spare a Leavenworth dining spot from a kitchen fire on Monday night. And voters in the city of Wenatchee appear to have rejected a sales tax that would have doubled the budget for street repair and improvements.

A trailer carrying scrap metal tipped over on the George Sellar Bridge on Monday, causing heavy traffic congestion on the south end of Wenatchee.A 37-year-old Moses Lake man died after reportedly running a stop sign in the Mae Valley area and being struck by another vehicle.The Wenatchee School District will hold a budget hearing on Aug. 12 to take public comments on the upcoming school years' spending plan.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that happened Saturday at the Shell gas station in Desert Aire. Also on Saturday, a Moses Lake man died in a two-car crash on Highway 28 near Soap Lake. Then on Sunday, four homes were destroyed in the Brooks Tract Fire near Omak.

East Wenatchee police responding to a report of gunshots Thursday night found a bullet-riddled pickup truck, apparently damaged in an exchange of gunfire. The two occupants of a Cessna that crashed into a home Wednesday near the Cashmere Airport are now in stable condition and a 550 acre wildfire in Okanogan County sparked Level 3 evacuations yesterday.

A small plane apparently went off the end of the runway Wednesday night at the Cashmere-Dryden Airport, crashing into the roof of a house nearby. A specialized search team walked and swam roughly two miles of upper Icicle Creek yesterday in the hunt for wanted murder suspect Travis Decker and Police in Quincy are seeking the public’s help to solve a John Doe case dating back at least 16 years.

Lighthouse Christian Ministries will appeal to the Wenatchee Hearings Examiner in early August in hopes of staying open. A 26 year old man was arrested for DUI early this morning in Wenatchee after running his vehicle off the roadway and into a fire hydrant and Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison is encouraging hikers to exercise caution after Search and Rescue personnel performed two wilderness evacuations this past weekend.

One of the 12 men arrested in last year’s Net Nanny operation targeting suspected sex offenders has entered a plea in federal court. Near Rock Island yesterday, an allegedly impaired driver is suspected of causing a collision with a semi-truck at the intersection of Highway 28 and Batterman Road and a state police commission is still reviewing the steps Douglas County Sheriff Kevin Morris took after shooting a cougar on his property in Idaho.

The discovery of human remains at a Spokane homeless encampment have put an end to a three-year Okanogan County manhunt. Police are investigating an apparent shooting that occurred last night in Douglas County and the city of East Wenatchee hopes a proposed public safety sales tax can reinforce its police budgets.

Two members of a Wenatchee Valley family have been touched by fatal violence at the Arizona vacation home they owned. A 26-year-old East Wenatchee man was arrested early Friday morning after an hours-long standoff with police. And a former East Wenatchee Water District employee was awarded $5 million on Thursday by a federal jury.

A small group of demonstrators who use the Social Security system organized a gathering today outside the Wenatchee office, complaining of long wait times for service, and the possible impact of future cuts. As Wenatchee’s city administrator prepares to leave her job, the city is debating how to recategorize the job itself. And a former police chief of Moses Lake has died.

A Moses Lake man who opened fire on pursuing deputies three years ago will serve more than 37 years for the crime. Landlords and tenants now know the upper ceiling for any rent increase next year. And it’s now been 51 days since the Decker sisters — Paityn, Evelyn, and Olivia – were found murdered in the Upper Icicle Valley. NCWLIFE spoke last week with Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison, whose deputies found the Wenatchee girls’ bodies, and who have been carrying out the investigation ever since.