A firefighter evaluating a Northern California wildfire was killed by the erratic, wind-stoked blaze while he was surveying an area to decide the best way for crews to handle the flames, a U.S. Forest Service official said Saturday. Forest Service firefighter David Ruhl, 38, was in a vehicle in the Modoc National Forest and would have been scouting for ways to suppress the fire when crews lost contact with him Thursday evening, Forest Service spokesman Ken Sandusky said.
- PUB DATE: 8/3/2015 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: u.s. news & world report

The fire burning along Long Lake Rd on Friday in Spokane County caused concern for neighbors across Lake Spokane in Stevens County. Neighbors described the scene, saying they could see a large column of smoke. Michael Burrows, who lives in Tum Tum, spent Friday evening watching the fire grow from his home across the lake.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2015 11:56:26 AM - SOURCE: KHQ-TV NBC 6

A Toledo man reportedly drowned Saturday after rescuing his 9-year-old son. Around 3:15 p.m., a Toutle firefighter was flagged down by a family member just a few miles east of Toutle on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway to report a drowning nearby. The victim, Benjamin A. Brooks, 35, of Toledo, had been swimming in the area with his wife, Linda, and two children.
- PUB DATE: 8/2/2015 2:19:38 AM - SOURCE: Longview Daily News

Authorities said Saturday that a wildfire in a rural part of Mason County burned 13 structures - five of them homes - and was 50 percent contained. Mason County authorities said no civilians or firefighters have been hurt in the Deckerville fire, but an unknown number of animals have been lost. Chief Deputy Ryan Spurling with the Mason County Sheriff's Office said six of the structures burned are homes.
- PUB DATE: 8/1/2015 2:58:30 PM - SOURCE: Northwest Cable News