Poor visibility grounded planes battling wildfires in Stevens County on Wednesday afternoon. Fire Chief Mike Bucy said the Department of Natural Resources grounded air support. Bucy said heavy smoke had moved into the area and large chunks of ash were falling on hunters in the area. The ash is form the Carpenter Fire in the Hunters/Fruitland area according to firefighters in the area.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 9:19:08 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News

Authorities combed the rubble left behind by a gas explosion at Motel 6 overnight and all day Wednesday, searching first for bodies and later for clues as to how the gas leak and blast occurred. All but two of the 65 guests at the 11th Street motel were accounted for. Police used cellphone “pinging” technology to find one guest who was well south of the motel, according to Bremerton Police Capt.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 6:44:50 PM - SOURCE: Kitsap Sun

More residents of fire-scarred Eastern Washington were rousted from their beds and evacuated overnight as crews continued to battle countless wildfires burning across hundreds of square miles. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued a new red flag warning for the possibility of "extreme fire behavior" Wednesday through Friday in most of central and eastern Washington.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 11:42:18 AM - SOURCE: KEPR-TV CBS 19

As the flames drew closer, the fire chief called and called for help. But three other major wildfires were burning in Stevens County, Wash., and no one was left to respond. Whipped by 40- to 50-mph winds, the new blaze on the Spokane Reservation sent up a column of smoke as it churned north toward a rural community of about 2,000 people east of the Columbia River.
- PUB DATE: 8/19/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Los Angeles Times