As the coronavirus pandemic has taken over headlines and dominated conversations on public health, another crisis has seemingly been swept under the rug. The opioid epidemic. Snohomish County health officials said it their weekly media briefing that opioid use numbers are up since last year. First Lady Melania Trump used some of her time at the Republican National Convention Tuesday to address the national epidemic.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

It’s called an LSP: a “last seen point.” The spot in the water where a swimmer was once above the surface, then wasn’t — and where the search for them begins. Sometimes all a first responder has to do is get to the LSP and plunge a hand into the water to feel an arm or leg just below. Or a rescue diver will go down as deep as 30 feet, spot a flash of color amid the murk and the milfoil, and pull an unconscious person up.
- PUB DATE: 8/27/2020 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: The Seattle Times - Metered Site

A 33-year-old man has been arrested for starting a fire off Light Road. Around 5:00 pm on Monday, August 24, a person called 9-1-1 to report a fire in the trees north of the old Plum Creek Mill. A release from the Lake County Sheriff says the person saw a suspicious person in the area and reported them to the 9-1-1 call center.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 4:06:09 PM - SOURCE: KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

Kittitas County deputies say a homeless man is in jail after allegedly setting a massive hay mound on fire in Ellensburg Tuesday night. Deputy Sheriff Chris Whitsett says the fire was set inside one of the huge hay barns at 11 p.m. at the Anderson Hay complex just outside the southwest corner of town.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 12:23:13 PM - SOURCE: iFiberOne

Fire departments on Whidbey are seeing an increase in carbon monoxide related calls, but often it’s just that the batteries or sensors in the carbon monoxide detectors have expired. Oak Harbor Fire Chief Ray Merrill attributes the increase in carbon monoxide calls to a law passed in 2013 requiring existing apartments, condominiums, hotels, motels and single-family residences to install carbon monoxide detectors.
- PUB DATE: 8/26/2020 6:56:56 AM - SOURCE: South Whidbey Record