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Wednesday, August 21, 2013 | 75 cents
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Brush fire strikes Falling Waters
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Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for sunny skies with highs to 85 and overnight lows to 53. Sunny weather continues Thursday changing to partly cloudy Friday with highs to 78. Saturday and Sunday will be mostly cloudy with highs in the mid 70s and overnight lows to 53.
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East Pierce Fire and Rescue responded to a brush fire in Bonney Lake Sunday afternoon. The fire spread quickly, covering two acres before firefighters were able to contain it. Crews worked through the night and returned to the next morning to ensure all hot spots were fully extinguished. Photo courtesy of East Pierce Fire and Rescue.
Bullet hits Public Safety Building By Daniel Nash Staff Writer
Bonney Lake police and fire personnel had a surprise last Monday morning when they discovered a Public Safety Building window had been shot. East Pierce Fire & Rescue Battalion Chief Jeff Moore had arrived at work at 8:20 a.m. Aug. 12 when he entered the building’s training room and found glass strewn throughout the room. He did not know what had broken
the window, he said. He alerted the police department — which occupies the east end of the same building — and subsequent close investigation revealed a .30 caliber rifle bullet lodged in the window frame, having penetrated both the inner and outer panes of glass. Overnight, the Public Safety Building houses on-call fire department personnel and one or two on-duty officers, though on-duty officers spend most of the night out on patrol, public
information officer Todd Green said. “At the end of the day, we are talking about a property crime,” he said. Police checked the exterior of their building and the neighboring post office, but found no additional damage caused by a gun or otherwise. “We do have remnants of the bullet, so we’ll be able to put it up to crime lab for testing,” Green said.
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A fire was reported around 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon near Bonney Lake at the Falling Water housing subdivision. The blaze was located in the brush at the end of Falling Water Boulevard off of 181st Street. When first reported, it measured approximately 50 by 50 feet but quickly spread uphill and covered two acres. The flames were stubborn and at one point, the wind picked up and began moving towards nearby homes. Thankfully, the winds quickly shifted again before any homes were threatened. “Our main concern was the homes in Falling Water,” said East Pierce Assistant Chief Russ McCallion. “Fortunately, no homes were threatened and no one was evacuated.” Multiple crews from East Pierce Fire and Rescue were on scene. Additional help was provided by Mountain View Fire and Rescue, Buckley Fire Department, Central Pierce Fire and Rescue and Orting Valley Fire and Rescue. Water was transported to the location by tenders. The fire was contained by 5 p.m. but firefighters worked through the night to extinguish hot spots. East Pierce Fire and Rescue crews continued clean up efforts Monday to ensure the fire didn’t rekindle. “It is well contained, but there is a good deal of highly-flammable materials around, such as slash from logging. We want to keep an eye on it,” McCallion said. At the time of press, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. There were no reports of injury or damage to nearby homes.
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