Evacuations still in place for northeast Washington fires
Fire officials have revised downward the number of acres burned by the Hope Fire in Stevens County. Yesterday’s estimate was about 6,800 acres. That has been revised to about 5,600. Level 2 and 3 evacuation orders remain in effect for people who live in the vicinity of the fire. Nearly 300 people are working the fire. The Red Cross shelter remains open for people who have evacuated their homes.
In Lincoln County, authorities have revised the acreage for the Western Pines fire, adding about 400 acres. It now sits at about 4,100. They’ve also revised the Level 3 evacuation area. Crews are trying to complete a line around the fire. Airplanes are dropping water and retardant to stop the fire from advancing. Nearly 100 people are fighting that fire. Officials are asking people to stay away from the areas where they’re working.
Health warning issued for north Idaho lake
Idaho health officials say harmful algae are growing at the north end of Hayden Lake.
The Idaho Panhandle Health District has issued an advisory for the area near Sportsman’s Park and the adjacent bay. They encourage people in the area to be careful about having contact with the water, to wash themselves if they do, and to watch for signs that they’ve been exposed. Those include rashes, hives, digestive problems, coughing and wheezing.
For people who eat fish caught there, you’re urged to take off the fat and skin and remove the organs before cooking it. People with wells in the area may want to consider alternate sources of drinking water.
Two Washington agencies work to reduce wildlife mortality
The Washington Transportation and Fish and Wildlife Departments are collaborating on a strategy to reduce accidents involving wildlife. The plan is also expected to help reconnect fragmented animal habitats.
It identifies 38 sections of state highways where projects can reduce accidents and allow wildlife to move safely between habitat areas.
Transportation Department habitat biologist Glen Kalisz says a wildlife crossing at Snoqualmie Pass is showing success.
“That project is about halfway done, but we just surpassed 30 thousand safe wildlife crossings at the crossing structures, and collisions in that corridor are near zero," he said.
Kalisz says the crossings help animals to interact with others of their type.
In cases like the cougar populations near I-5, the highways block those meetings. Cats on the west side of the freeway have the lowest genetic diversity and highest inbreeding rates in the state because they haven’t interacted with cougars on the other side of the roadway for years.
While more projects are planned, Kalisz says some federal grants that would fund the work have been put on hold for the near future.
Spokane discovers some roads can improve water quality
A Spokane city stormwater study is one of the first in the nation to show that permeable pavement can filter out common fish toxins.
Seven years ago, Spokane installed a few lanes of permeable pavement on Sharp Avenue between Lidgerwood and Nevada. Their goal was to test the durability of the material, which is porous enough to let some water through and help prevent flooding.
But they decided to analyze something else, too – how does pavement filtration affect water quality?
What they found surprised Trey George, the city’s environmental and stormwater specialist.
The special pavement consistently filtered out phosphorus, lead and zinc – known fish toxins.
It’s one of the earliest studies to show how permeable pavement can help remove water pollutants.
The pavement does wear more quickly than conventional asphalt, which means it probably shouldn’t be used for high traffic roads. But George says it could be used in parking lots, driveways or bike lanes to combat runoff and create cleaner groundwater.
Indoor tennis facility on the list of projects for Spokane schools, parks
Spokane voters will decide in November whether they want to pay for a new indoor tennis facility at Shadle Park.
The project is part of a school bond issue and parks levy that will be on the ballot.
The Shadle project would add two courts to the eight already at the city-owned park, resurface them, then build a bubble over them so they can be used year round.
The United States Tennis Association would donate a million dollars to cover some of the cost.
“What's great about this project is that not only is that school component, where the high school team will play here and practice here, and, again, having the in-school portion with the PE teachers and all, but also this particular facility will be open to the public during the school day, so the general public can come in and play here as well," said USTA Pacific Northwest Executive Director Matthew Warren.
Warren says more people are playing tennis in the U.S. and Spokane and the demand for places to play in growing.
“Really, the main challenge for us, especially given the weather patterns that we experience in the Pacific Northwest, is the lack of indoor courts and year-round access. So that's why we're really interested in this, and we think that there's tremendous potential here in the Spokane area," he said.
Warren says the association would also donate equipment and sponsor after school programs for students of all ages to play.
The Shadle tennis project would be funded in part by the school district’s $200 million bond issue and the parks department’s $240 million property tax levy. Both are on the November ballot.
Washington food banks gear up for more customers
Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, passed by Congress last week, may lead to more business for food banks in Washington.
Right now, the food assistance program helps about a million Washingtonians purchase food, according to state officials, but many could see their benefits reduced or cut altogether.
This comes at a time when food banks are already struggling. Ballard Food Bank Executive Director Jen Muzia says inflation is affecting what food they carry on their shelves.
“We stopped buying eggs," she said.
"You know the cost of inflation, the cost of eggs was so much I had to sit my team down and say we can’t buy that any more. I used to be able to tell people that no matter what time of the day you come into the shop you will see full shelves and you will get what you need. I haven’t said that in a very long time," Muzia said.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson’s office estimates more than 130,000 state residents could lose food assistance as a result of the changes to SNAP.
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Reporting contributed by Doug Nadvornick, Steve Jackson, Eliza Billingham and Mitch Borden.