VIDEO: An encampment fire caused a massive plume of smoke to rise above downtown Seattle Monday afternoon. The fire sparked in an encampment at Mercer Street near Fairview, close to an Interstate 5 onramp. Eastbound lanes of Mercer Street were blocked while firefighters worked on the scene. There were no injuries reported and firefighters did not find anyone in the encampment.
- PUB DATE: 8/15/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KING-TV NBC 5 Seattle

With these searing weather conditions, firefighters are standing by for anything that sparks, and they are not having to wait very long for the next call. This is the first day of this heatwave, and we are already seeing fires spark across the region. FOX 13 News interviewed West Pierce Fire & Rescue at about noon Monday.
- PUB DATE: 8/14/2023 10:24:47 PM - SOURCE: KCPQ-TV FOX 13 Seattle

The Sourdough Fire in the North Cascades grew more than 1,000 acres over the weekend. The growing fire forced Seattle City Light to disconnect the Ross and Diablo dams from the power grid that serves customers in the Seattle area Saturday night. A third Skagit River power source 4 miles downstream, the 99-year-old Gorge Dam, continues to provide hydropower to Seattle.
- PUB DATE: 8/14/2023 4:01:00 PM - SOURCE: KUOW-FM 94.9 Seattle

A 74-year-old man died in a fire Saturday morning at the President Apartments in downtown Mount Vernon. According to a news release from the city of Mount Vernon, firefighters were dispatched to the apartments in the 300 block of Myrtle Street after a 911 call at 7:47 a.m. They arrived four minutes later.
- PUB DATE: 8/14/2023 1:50:00 PM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald

Five people were killed and several others injured in a house explosion Saturday in Plum, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The explosion destroyed three structures and damaged at least a dozen others, authorities said. A person who was initially unaccounted for after the explosion was among the five dead, officials said Sunday.
- PUB DATE: 8/14/2023 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: CBS News