Extra Washington State Patrol troopers will be on the roads Sunday, looking for speeders, aggressive motorists and suspected drunken drivers heading home from Super Bowl activities.

In Pierce and Thurston counties, the State Patrol will be at full staffing, plus have some troopers working overtime to look for speeders. Troopers will be fully staffed in King County. An additional 12 troopers will work overtime over the weekend.

Troopers ask drivers to not drive if they drink alcoholic beverages at a Super Bowl party.

"We don't want to spoil anyone's fun," said State Patrol Chief John Batiste in a press release. "But getting in a collision is not the way to celebrate a major sporting event. Have a designated driver, a taxi, or call a friend."

A Seattle-based insurance company has ranked the recent weeks of heavy snowfall, freezing temps and flooding as among the most damaging of the state's bad weather spells.

Here's the press release from PEMCO:

SEATTLE – Washington's recent spell of bad weather – snow, freezing temperatures, followed by heavy rain and flooding – will rank among the most damaging ever, according to Seattle-based PEMCO Insurance.

Although final figures won't be known for several weeks, PEMCO's claims trends show the year-end snowstorms and rapid snowmelt will end up generating a projected 1,305 claims totaling around $7 million in losses. That would rank No. 5 all-time on the PEMCO Storm Index, which tracks PEMCO’s weather-related losses dating to 1982.

Sandwiched around the recent storms are the Dec. 18, 1990, Seattle snowstorm ($7,650,007 in PEMCO claim losses, gross inflation-adjusted dollars), ranking No. 4; and the 10-day Puget Sound snowstorm of February 1985 ($6,788,775 in losses), ranking No. 6. (See chart.)

"These recent storm claims were a bit tough to gauge, because they actually resulted from a series of events, not one isolated storm,” said Jon Osterberg, PEMCO spokesperson. “We’ll likely see more claims trickle in later, and they’ll be expensive – things like stressed roofs, or broken pipes that won’t be discovered until outdoor faucets are used this spring.”

PEMCO is the largest property and casualty insurer headquartered in Washington and insures only Washington residents.

This affidavit was filed about year ago, but I just ran across it after the accused was picked up on a bench warrant.

It just goes to show that in tough economic times, you can sometimes get a refund if you ask.

Bonus: the affidavit was written by prosecutor/author Mark Lindquist, whose novel "King of Methlehem" is full of similar gritty Pierce County vérité.

A freight train has hit a semi-truck hauling cars at a railroad crossing in Kent, according to KIRO TV.

The incident occurred about 1:15 p.m. Friday. The truck driver was not injured. At least two cars were thrown off the semi-truck; one was dragged a quarter mile by the train, the television station reported.

Read more here.

An Eatonville High School student is recovering today after being hit and injured by a school bus on Thursday afternoon.

The 14-year-old boy was "pretty banged up" and suffered internal injuries, Eatonville School District Superintendent Raymond Arment said Friday. The boy was being treated at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital and Health Center in Tacoma.

Eatonville police were trying to figure out what happened Thursday afternoon.

The boy, a ninth grader, was hit by the bus as he was crossing the street about 1:45 p.m. at the intersection of Center Street East and Washington Avenue East, Arment said. He tumbled under the bus.

"We don't know what happened," Arment said.

Officers interviewed witnesses and a reconstruction of the accident was planned.

After the accident, the 65-year-old bus driver was taken for mandatory drug and alcohol testing. Arment said there were no signs of impairment at the scene.

The driver has been placed on paid administrative leave. She's been a driver with the district for 17 years and has had no previous problems, Arment said.

"She is very distraught," Arment said. "She's one of our more experienced driver, a very cautious driver."

Arment went to Mary Bridge Hospital on Thursday night and visited with the boy's family. He said the boy is expected to make a full recovery.

Eatonville schools were not in session Friday because of a regularly-scheduled teacher in-service day.

On Monday, officials will offer counseling for any students who need to talk. They'll also have a book available for classmates to send well wishes to the injured teen, Arment said.

Here's the press release from the state Department of Corrections:

McNeil Island Corrections Center Passes Audit

OLYMPIA – The McNeil Island Corrections Center (MICC) in Steilacoom scored 100 percent on mandatory standards and 99.3 percent on non-mandatory standards in an American Correctional Association (ACA) accreditation audit that took place Jan. 26-28.

Located in Alexandria, Va., ACA is the only national organization that accredits correctional facilities.  ACA standards are considered the benchmark for the effective operation of professional correctional systems.

Prisons Director Dick Morgan said the high scores affirmed the ability of MICC employees to balance the delivery of comprehensive services to offenders with maintaining prison security.

“ACA audits look at every aspect of a prison’s operations,” said Morgan. “The employees at MICC work hard every day to ensure this facility is well run and safe for the public, our staff and offenders.”

The accreditation process includes a tour by certified ACA auditors who look at the quality and adequacy of the facility’s programs, activities and services as well the responses to any violent incidents that have occurred. In addition, employees and offenders are interviewed to obtain varied perspectives of the facility’s operations and quality of life. 

A vote by an ACA panel on full accreditation for the prison is expected in the spring.

Ten of DOC’s 15 prisons have received ACA accreditation to date.

Crews were at the scene of an overturned semi-truck this morning in Tacoma.

The accident was reported near East 26th and C streets.

Per the scanner, no injuries were reported.

UPDATE:This is a logging truck. The logs were being off-loaded before the truck could be righted and removed.

The westbound lanes of East 26th Street were blocked.

A Washington State Patrol trooper suffered minor injuries Wednesday night after a pursuit of a reckless motorcyclist.

The incident began just after 6:30 p.m. The trooper spotted a motorcycle driving recklessly eastbound on Southeast 240th Street at State Route 515 in Kent, the State Patrol reported.

The trooper, who was in an unmarked car, followed the rider as he began doing wheelies.

"The motorcycle rider turned his head and when he realized there might be a police officer behind him he fled at a high rate of speed," the State Patrol reported.

The trooper turned on his emergency equipment and pursued the motorcyclist.

The rider drove back onto SR 515, then lost control and crashed in the intersection of Southeast 208th Street, the agency reported.

The rider fled. He ran through several yards and got over two fences.

"The trooper followed the suspect on foot and when he caught up to him a fight ensued," the agency reported. "Several Taser applications had no effect on the suspect and the fight continued for several minutes before a homeowner heard the altercation and called 911 to report the trooper’s location."

The rider got free again and ran to a house, trying to hide. The homeowner called 911 and deputies found the suspect, who still had the Taser probes in his neck. He continued to struggle but was eventually taken into custody.

The 23-year-old Kent man was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of felony eluding and first-degree assault.

Here's the press release from DSHS about a court ruling on the constitutionality of the state's civil commitment facility for sex offenders:

Appellate Court upholds the constitutionality
of the DSHS sex offender treatment program

OLYMPIA -- A federal appeals court has upheld the constitutionality of the DSHS Special Commitment Center treatment program for sexually violent predators.

The Ninth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld the March 2007 action of U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez to dissolve a federal injunction against the SCC. At one point, DSHS faced a contempt fine of $11 million before completing improvements that satisfied the court.

The underlying lawsuit, Turay v Richards, first went to trial in 1994. The last major court-required treatment improvement to the SCC was the opening of a transition facility in Seattle in 2005.

As he did two years ago, DSHS Deputy Secretary Blake Chard praised SCC staff for their hard work over the years to improve the mental health treatment of sex offenders. “We will continue to fine-tune our program to maintain its place as a leader in civil commitment programs,” Chard said.

The 292 SCC residents are housed and treated at facilities on McNeil Island, in Seattle and in supervised less-restrictive living quarters in various communities.

Law enforcement officers arrested a man early Thursday after finding drugs and thousands in cash in the man's vehicle during a traffic stop in South Tacoma.

A Tacoma police officer and state Department of Corrections officer working on Tacoma's gang team spotted a car squealing its tires in a parking lot in the 5000 block of South Tacoma Way just after midnight, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The DOC officer recognized the car and its driver. The car left the parking lot and another Tacoma police officer in a marked patrol car stopped the car in the 4700 block of South Puget Sound Avenue.

The officers contacted the driver, who was on DOC supervision. The officers found cocaine and hallucinogenics in the car and on the man, Fulghum said. They also recovered $4,000-$5,000 in cash that is the suspected proceeds of drug deals.

"This is a fairly significant find," Fulghum said of the drug and cash seizures.

Officers booked the man into Pierce County Jail on suspicion of two counts of unlawful drug possession with the intent to sell and on a DOC hold.

Click! customers are likely experiencing some problems this evening.

The cable provider has an announcement on its Web site.

Not to be outdone by Everett Police, the King County Sheriff's Office offers up this stupid criminal story...

A woman called 911 Monday night to report an armed robbery at a convenience store while King County sheriff's deputies were chasing the car she was riding in.

Deputies presume she was trying to get the pursuing deputies to bag off the car and respond instead to the robbery.

"It didn’t work," the Sheriff's Office reported.

Deputies eventually arrested the 44-year-old Bonney Lake man who was driving and the 35-year-old Puyallup woman in the passenger's seat. He was booked into King County Jail on suspicion of felony flight; she was booked on suspicion of false reporting and rendering criminal assistance.

The incident began about 10:45 p.m.

A Covington deputy stopped a 2001 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck at the intersection of Southeast 240th Street and 180th Avenue Southeast on suspicion of drunken driving, the Sheriff's Office reported.

As the deputy walked up to the truck, the driver took off. The action sprayed rocks and dirt on the deputy, the Sheriff's Office reported.

The deputy began a pursuit, which lasted eight minutes, covered nine miles and reached speeds of 70 mph, the Sheriff's Office reported.

During the pursuit, deputies believe the passenger used a cell phone to call 911. She reported the Circle K at Southeast Kent Kangley Road and 168th Avenue Southeast was robbed.

"Call receivers were not fooled however, and the chase continued," deputies reported.

As the truck slowed for a turn, the deputy conducted a maneuver designed to stop vehicles being pursued.

The truck driver lost control and hit a power pole. The two occupants suffered "very minor injuries" and were taken into custody, deputies reported.

A teenager pleaded guilty Wednesday to being an accomplice in last May's driveby shooting death of a man outside a Tacoma barbecue.

Hokeshine Lee Tolbert entered the guilty plea Wednesday morning to one count of second-degree murder as an accomplice in the May 10 death of Tracy Steele. As part of the plea agreement, the 17-year-old is required to testified in the trials of the other five people charged in Steele's death, Pierce County deputy prosecutor Greg Greer said.

Tolbert, who had no prior felony convictions, will be sentenced after those trials. He faces between 10 years, three months and 18 years, four months in prison, Greer said. He added the state will be requesting a sentence at the high end of the range.

Steele, 32, was attending a barbecue in the 800 block of South 41st Street when he was fatally wounded in a driveby shooting about 2:15 a.m. May 10. The party had been breaking up and Steele was outside at the time.

Prosecutors contended Tolbert provided the gun used in the shooting, according to court documents. Prosecutors also allege the shooting took place after a confrontation between one of the accused and some of the people at the party.

The trial of three of the other defendants in the case is scheduled to begin Monday. The other two, who were recently charged in connection with the case and arrested on warrants, are scheduled for trial later this year.

The trial will resume today for Pacific Police Chief John Calkins, who's accused of drunken driving last year in Bonney Lake.

Closing arguments are expected today in Bonney Lake Municipal Court, which means the jury will likely start deliberating later in the day.

The trial, which began on Monday, took a break Wednesday.

Calkins testified on his behalf Tuesday. Find that story here.

And here's the coverage of the first day of the trial.

UPDATE: Closing arguments took place this morning and the jury got the case shortly before 11 a.m., according to our reporter Mike Archbold who is at Bonney Lake City Hall.

The governor is asking the federal government to help small businesses impacted by a series of December snow storms.

This week, Gov. Chris Gregoire requested that the U.S. Small Business Administration to declare an economic injury disaster in all of the state's 39 counties as a result of the heavy snowfall.

"The declaration can be a major boost in helping business owners recover from the effects of the snowstorms in an already difficult economic environment," Gregoire stated in a press release from her office. "I urge the SBA to take prompt action on this request so small business owners can apply for low-interest loans to obtain working capital for their businesses."

The request includes descriptions of economic injuries to businesses in 18 counties. According to the governor's office, the state's other 21 counties can be added to the request "because they are contiguous to the primary reporting counties."

Last week, Gregoire asked for a federal disaster declaration for this month's flooding, mudslides and avalanches, which shut down major highways and handcuffed the region for a few days.

A Fort Lewis soldier accused of kidnapping and torturing two women in his Parkland home has returned to Pierce County.

Staff Sgt. Nathan Ryan Smith was booked into Pierce County Jail just before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. He's scheduled to make his first court appearance this afternoon.

Smith was arrested Jan. 16 in Texas after he was found in a rental car with switched plates. A warrant had been issued for the 29-year-old solider's arrest after Pierce County prosecutors charged him with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, four courts of first-degree rape, attempted rape, felony harassment, destroying evidence and first-degree arson.

Smith, a cavalry scout with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division stationed at Fort Lewis, also is considered absent without leave from the Army.

Find out more about his capture here.

A natural gas line broke in Auburn earlier today, causing roads to close and businesses to evacuate.

As of about 3 p.m., roads near A St. Southeast and 41st Street Southeast remain closed.

At about 11:30 this morning, fire officials responded to a construction site where workers had reported a broken gas line that injured a worker. The worker was treated for minor facial injuries.

Crews expect the line to be repaired and roads to be reopened by about 4 p.m.

A Pierce County mother pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder in the March 2008 death of her 5-month-old son.

Nathaniel Noel had been punched in head so hard March 5, 2008, the two blows fractured his skull. Deputies went to the family's home in the 14000 block of Second Avenue Court East on March 9, 2008, because the baby was unresponsive. Nathaniel was found dead.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office discovered the fatal skull fractures and determined that intercranial bleeding eventually killed the baby.

Domenique Astrid Conway, 26, pleaded guilty today to inflicting the fatal blows. She had told investigators she hit Nathaniel out of frustration because he was crying loudly and squirming while she tried to change his diaper, court documents state. Her other two children were fighting and yelling at the time, adding to her frustration.

Conway pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge that included one aggravating factor in Nathaniel's death - that she knew or should have known her son was particularly vulnerable or incapable of resisting because of his age, said Pierce County deputy prosecutor Lori Kooiman.

The aggravating factor allows prosecutors to seek an exceptional sentence above the standard range for Conway.

The standard sentencing range for the mother, who has no previous felony convictions, is 10 years, three months to 18 years, four months. Kooiman said she will be asking for a sentence of 40 years when Conway is sentenced April 23 before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas Larkin.

I couldn't resist this stupid crime tale.

Below is a press release from Everett PD.

EVERETT, WA - A 24 year old Everett man was arrested today in the men’s bathroom of the Everett Police Department for allegedly attempting to sell Oxycodone and other drugs from a stall inside the bathroom.

A plain cloths sergeant and officer from the Department's training unit were in the bathroom when they heard the man answer his cell phone and attempt make a deal for the drugs. It appeared to the officers in the bathroom that the suspect was desperately trying to sell the drugs as he made several other calls from inside the bathroom stall as the sergeant listened in.

In a bit of disbelief the sergeant told his partner what he had heard. As the man started to exit the bathroom he saw the plain cloths officer, who was wearing a shoulder holster and gun, if he worked for probation. Apparently the man thought he was at the probation office.

As the man exited the men's room he was confronted by the officers. When asked, the man admitted to trying to make the drug deals in the bathroom and handed over his stash of drugs to the officers.

The suspect was arrested and booked into the Snohomish County Jail for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Starting today, no vehicles will be able to access Stewart Heights Park because crews are beginning to work on a new substation for the Tacoma Police Department.

Vehicle access to the park will be restricted until April 1, the City of Tacoma announced this week. The park is located on East 60th Street at East B Street.

Construction is scheduled to begin today. Crews need to restrict car traffic because they will be removing 175 feet of the existing roadway in front of the substation's property and moving it about 50 feet east.

Crews will be reconstructing the roadway and hope to have it open by April 1.

Tacoma police worked with community members and Metro Parks to locate the substation. Officials looked for a safe access in and out of the park.

The $2.5 million worth of work at Stewart Heights Park is part of the 2005 Metro Park Improvement Bond. The work will include a new walking trail, picnic and playground areas, restroom facilities, parking improvements and a new skate park.

The Department of Transportation reports that an accident on westbound Highway 512 has blocked the two right lanes and caused a major traffic jam.

The accident, reported at 5:27 p.m., will affect traffic until at least 7:30 p.m., between mileposts 2 and 3.

A purse snatcher has reportedly struck the same Puyallup parking lot twice in about a week, police say.

At about 4:50 p.m. on Monday, a man reportedly accosted a woman at her car and stole her purse at the South Hill Mall JC Penney, 3500 S. Meridian. The man's description matches that of a man who was involved in a purse theft on Jan. 19.

The suspect is described as black man, 5 foot 8 to 6 foot 1, with braided hair under a baseball cap, a black hooded sweatshirt under a white coat and black pants. He fled and was picked up by an unknown person in a small red car.

Today's tip to homeowners: Secure your property, including detached buildings, so you won't be targeted by would-be thieves.

A man Sunday arrested for breaking into a South Tacoma garage told Tacoma police his and three others were "looking for an easy target and came across the victim's unsecured garage," court documents state.

Prosecutors charged the 18-year-old man with residential burglary, second-degree burglary and third-degree assault on Monday.

Court documents provide the following information.

Tacoma police responded to the 6200 block of South Mullen Street on Jan. 12 for a burglary in progress. The neighbor reported seeing two juveniles climb a fence. The neighbor spotted the home's back door open.

Officers found the door open and went inside to make sure no one was there. They found some items that appeared to be disrupted as well as a marijuana grow operation.

The neighbor gave officers a detailed description of the two suspects. Officers did not locate them that day.

Thirteen days later, on Sunday, officers were called to the 6400 block of South Mullen Street because of some prowlers. The neighbor who reported the Jan. 12 burglary told officers he spotted four juveniles walking by his house. Two of them were involved in the Jan. 12 burglary.

Officers heard glass breaking, went to the backyard of a house and spotted movement in a detached garage. One of the suspects saw the officers approaching and alerted three others. All four ran.

The 18-year-old man shoved an officer as he tried to get away. The officer grabbed the suspect and eventually detained him. Other officers found two of the other juveniles and arrested them.

The man admitted that he and three buddies were looking for an easy target and went into the detached garage.

Officers believed the man and one of the other juveniles were involved in the Jan. 12 burglary. The juvenile told officers "they had heard there was marijuana in the house and they broke in to steal some," court documents state.

"They became scared when they found the grow operation, thinking that something of that magnitude would either have police watching it or a gun-wielding grower. They fled before taking anything," court documents state.

This morning's snowfall is causing problems on the highways. Roads are covered with a thin layer of snow, providing for slick driving conditions.

Highway 512 has been a particularly bad stretch.

A rollover crash is blocking the left lane of eastbound 512 at Portland Avenue in Parkland, the state Department of Transportation reported at 7:40 a.m.

The incident began at 6:40 a.m. Troopers and transportation crews are on the scene,

Drivers are backed up to State Route 7.

Earlier, two separate crashes blocked the left lane of westbound Highway 512 at Canyon Road. The crashes were cleared just before 7:30 a.m. after tying up traffic for an hour.

"Motorists can expect delays," DOT reported. "Snow is accumulating on the roadway and motorists are reminded to please drive for conditions."

An injury crash was blocking the left lane of westbound Highway 16 at Mullenix Road in Kitsap County. The incident began at 7:20 a.m. (UPDATE: This crash is now cleared and the road is reopened, DOT reported at 8:30 a.m.)

UPDATE at 8 a.m.: The rollover crash that was blocking an eastbound lane of Highway 512 has been cleared, according to DOT. All lanes are open, however drivers are backed up for about a mile through the area.

PASS REPORT: As of 8 a.m. today, traction tires and chains are required for drivers heading in both directions across Snoqualmie Pass. Oversized vehicles are prohibited at this time between Denny Creek and Gold Creek.

There is snow and ice on the highway. The off-ramp of Exit 45 is closed for both directions because of roadway erosion.

There are no restrictions across White Pass.

There is compact snow and ice in places between Crystal and Greenwater on Highway 410 and traction tires are advised. Oversize vehicles are prohibited.

Reports as of 7:55 a.m. from schoolreport.org:

The following schools in the South Sound are delayed this morning or have made adjustments in transportation routes because of the snow.

Cascade Christian Schools, Puyallup: Two hours late. No morning kindergarten. No morning preschool programs.

Fife School District: Elementary schools only are two hours late. No morning preschool.

Muckleshoot Tribal Schools: Secondary will start at 9:40 a.m., and elementary will start at 10:30 a.m.

Orting School District: Elementary schools are two hours late. No morning kindergarten, preschool or ECEAP. No bus service in the Buttes development. Students should meet the bus at the bottom of the hill.

Puyallup School District: All schools start two hours late today. No a.m. or p.m. kindergarten or preschool, therapies, or STARS. YMCA day care is two hours late. No out-of-district transportation. Lunches will be served. Parent brunch canceled.

Steilacoom School District: Two hours late. No out-of-district transportation. No morning or afternoon preschool. No morning kindergarten.

Sumner School District: Elementary schools will start two hours late; middle and high schools will start on time. District child care programs on time. No morning preschool or ECEAP. No out-of-district transportation.

White River School District: Middle and high schools closed. Elementary schools are two hours late. No out-of-district transportation. No morning or afternoon preschool. No morning kindergarten. No morning or afternoon ECEAP.

Fire crews blocked off the intersection of 12th and Proctor this evening after a natural gas leak was reported.

Assistant Chief Faith Mueller said Tacoma fire and Puget Sound Energy crews, along with a hazardous materials team responded to an apartment complex at the intersection at about 5:30 p.m.

Gas levels were normal and the complex was evacuated as a precaution. No injuries were reported.

A collision is the blocking two left lanes of southbound Highway 167 in Kent.

The crash was reported at 4:55 p.m. The Washington State Patrol, the state Department of Transportation and ambulances are on the scene, just north of S. 212th Street.

Traffic is backed up about four miles as of 5:20 p.m., according to the Department of Transportation.

No injuries have been reported.

Enjoy the sun while you can.

A storm front is moving in and snow will return overnight. Just enough will fall to stick around long enough to cause some problems during the morning commute.

The National Weather Service in Seattle is forecasting about an inch or two to accumulate by Tuesday morning, before the rain comes in the afternoon, meteorologist Ni Cushmeer said.

Temperatures overnight will linger at about 30 degrees and warm up through the day.

Ferry service on the Christine Anderson has been suspended for now because of mechanical issues.

The bridge propulsion controls are not responding, said Michael Esher, administrator for the Pierce County airport and ferry.

Crews are troubleshooting the situation.

UPDATE: The ferry has returned to service with one engine.

The ferry has left the Steilacoom Dock for a run. The next run will leave Steilacoom at 2:10 p.m.

The county advises to expect delays while the ferry is running on one engine.

Tacoma police handled a couple of robberies and shots fired calls over the weekend.

A man tried to rob the Cost Plus World Market near the Tacoma Mall on Friday night.

He walked into the store and went to the office area, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said. The man demanded cash from an employee and implied he had a weapon.

The employee told the would-be robber there was no cash in the office and the man left.

A police dog searched the area but didn't find the suspect. No arrest has been reported, Fulghum said.

Later that night, police officers arrested a woman after she fired a shotgun inside a Sixth Avenue apartment.

The woman had been involved in some type of domestic dispute when she allegedly fired off the round. No one was struck, Fulghum said.

Officers found the woman several blocks away and she was taken into custody.

Just after midnight Saturday, a woman was shot while trying to find out who was arguing outside her apartment.

The woman heard the commotion in the 4000 block of South Lawrence Street and went to take a look, Fulghum said.

As she was outside, she was struck by a bullet. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

The suspects fled and no arrests have been reported.

Early Sunday, a man allegedly robbed a gas station at North 26th and Pearl streets.

He implied he had a weapon, got an undisclosed amount of cash and left the store, Fulghum said.

Officers set up containment in the area. A sergeant spotted the robber hiding and took him into custody.

Officers recovered a toy gun and the money believed to be stolen during the robbery, Fulghum said. The man was booked into Pierce County Jail.

Tacoma police were investigating an early morning assault in the parking lot of the Pegasus restaurant that left two people injured.

No arrest has been reported.

The incident happened just before 1:30 a.m. today at 1320 Puyallup Ave., police reported.

Two men got into an argument inside the restaurant. One went outside to cool off, police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

The other also left the building and got into his car. The man drove around the restaurant. At some point, he got into an argument with another person.

The man from the earlier argument tried to calm tensions. At one point, he thought the suspect was trying to run him down and followed the car to get a license plate number.

The car turned and struck the victim, causing minor injuries, Fulghum said. The car didn't stop and eventually left the parking lot.

The victim discovered a woman also had been hit by the car. Officers do not believe she was involved in the argument, Fulghum said. The woman suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Tacoma police are investigating the incident as an assault and were trying to find the suspect, Fulghum said.

A 10-year-old girl who claimed to be kidnapped last week has recanted her story, the King County Sheriff's Office reported.

The girl told her parents Saturday night that the incident didn't happen. The parents called the detectives, the Sheriff's Office reported this morning.

"The girl provided a motive for the false report, but that information will not be released," deputies reported.

The kidnapping received heavy attention last week on the Seattle television stations. Here's a KIRO story from last week about the kidnapping.

Sheriff's deputies say the case is now closed.

By Mike Archbold
The News Tribune

Pacific Police Chief John Calkins' trial on a drunken-driving charge begins this morning in Bonney Lake Municipal Court and is expected to last two days.

The News Tribune will follow the trial beginning at 9 a.m. with the selection of a jury and the start of testimony.

Calkins, 54, was arrested Aug. 5 after a driver called 911 to report that a black Corvette sports car was weaving on Highway 410 between Enumclaw and Bonney Lake. Bonney Lake police stopped the car and detained Calkins, who reportedly told the officer that he'd been drinking.

Calkins has denied that he was drunk. He failed to produce a conclusive reading twice on a Breathalyzer machine at the Bonney Lake police station. He also refused to take a field sobriety test and a blood alcohol test.

Calkins breathes through a stoma, or hole, in his throat due to cancer, and testified at a Nov. 3 hearing that he can blow air only through the stoma.

After that same hearing, Bonney Lake Municipal Court Judge Douglas Haake rejected motions from Calkins' attorney Ken Fornabai that the traffic stop of the chief and his subsequent arrest and detainment were illegal and that all evidence collected should be suppressed and the case dismissed.

"At no time did Mr. Calkins indicate that he could only provide a sample through his stoma, nor (did) he request to do so," Haake said in his ruling.

Haake ruled that the refusals to take sobriety tests are admissible at trial. He also ruled that arresting officer had sufficient reason to justify the arrest Calkins.

The jury is expected to hear testimony from Calkins, the arresting officer, the driver who called 911, the Pacific Police commander whom Calkins called to the scene of the arrest and Calkins' wife who was in the car with him.

Calkins has continued as police chief of the small community that straddles the line between South King and Pierce counties. He was hired in Pacific in 2000 after he retired from the Auburn Police Department.

One lane of northbound Interstate 5 is blocked this morning in Lakewood after a rollover crash.

Drivers are getting around the accident scene using the two right lanes at Berkeley Street, the state Department of Transportation reported.

The crash was reported just after 7 a.m.

Troopers are on the scene.

Southbound drivers also are backing up because of the crash's visual distraction.

"Motorists can expect delays from DuPont in the Northbound direction and from Gravelly Lake Drive in the southbound direction," transportation officials reported.

UPDATE at 7:55 a.m.: The northbound back-up extends 10 miles to Marvin Road in Thurston County.

The southbound backup extends to Bridgeport Way.

UPDATE as of 8:50 a.m.: The crash was cleared a little bit a go. Traffic is still stop-and-go for several miles.

A Tacoma Fire hazardous materials team is at the scene of a chemical spill at Emerald Services in the Port of Tacoma.

Tacoma Fire spokeswoman Jolene Davis said about 150 gallons of methyl ethyl ketone spilled out of its main container, but is being held by an outer, backup container. The liquid is a solvent that can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat, according to the EPA.

Crews are on scene at 1825 E. Alexander Ave., but there's no immediate danger. Davis said there were two employees on scene at the time of the spill, but there are no injuries. Emerald Services is a plant that recycles chemicals, according to the company's Web site.

The Red Cross has provided the temporary shelter for two families hit by separate fires today.

Tacoma Fire was called to a house fire at 820 E. 51st Street at about 4:40 p.m. A fire had spread through two rooms in the house, and crews were to put it out by about 5:50 p.m., Tacoma Fire spokeswoman Jolene Davis said. Investigators had not announced the cause.

The Red Cross provided shelter and other help for the mother and daughter who lived at the house, spokeswoman Karen Kim said.

Earlier today, a fire damaged a house at 4027 S. Junett St. and the Red Cross provided shelter for the father and son who lived there, Kim said.

The man who was killed in a crash early this morning in the Port of Tacoma has been identified as 18-year-old Samuel T. Watmon of Tacoma.

Watmon was killed when his 1997 Mitsubishi 3000 GT left the roadway on southbound highway 509 and struck a pole at about 2 a.m. The State Patrol does not know if drugs or alcohol were involved, or if Watmon was wearing a seatbelt. The crash is still under investigation.

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office sent out an advisory Friday, warning residents not to be fooled by scam artists claiming to be the victims' grandson and needing money.

They've seen more and more reports of this scam. I've also received calls from Pierce County residents victimized in this scam.

Don't be fooled. Here's the press release from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.

The Sheriff's Office wishes to warn the public of a scam we are seeing more frequently this month. In two instances, citizens have reported receiving phone calls from subjects who pose as their grandson. This scammer claims to be in jail in Canada and needs bail money. In one case, a second suspect gets on the phone posing as an officer to instruct the victim how much money was needed. Victims may receive multiple phone calls from the suspects requesting money. In one case, the victim was told a female passenger had been injured in the alleged collision the "grandson" had been arrested for and money was needed money for her medical bills.

One victim sent a money gram in the amount of $3800. The second victim this month had second thoughts and did not send the $3900 requested by the suspects. A local business who sends out money grams/wire transfers stated that at least two other victims had sent money in the last few days. The Sheriff’s Office has seen at least three similar reports over the last few months but with 2 reported this month and at least two more that the local business has seen, we fear that the suspects are becoming more active and will attempt to victimize even more of our citizens.

Citizen need to ask callers specific personal questions that only their relative would know. They should try to contact their relative and verify their status. They should not send money in this manner, as a person in jail cannot pick up money grams or wire transfers. Contact the actual facility and verify the relative is in jail. Suspects usually hang up when questioned closely. If you have been a victim please report the attempt to the law enforcement agency in which you live or where the attempt was made.

Two local credit unions are alerting customers about a large-scale security breach of cardholders' information at a company that processes credit and debit card payments.

The Boeing Credit Union has the following posted on its Web site:

Heartland Payments Systems provides debit and credit card processing services for approximately 250,000 businesses nationwide such as restaurants, pay-at-the pump gas stations to name just a couple. They have announced that sometime last year its processing system was breached resulting in the compromise of cardholder names, card number, and expiration dates on an undisclosed number of accounts. They have confirmed that it did not include cardholders Social Security numbers, unencrypted personal identification numbers, addresses or telephone numbers or merchant data.

As a BECU member we want to assure you that your accounts are being monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for suspicious activity and that we will contact you if any suspicious transactions are identified. We are not experiencing any abnormal increase in suspicious activity at this time, however, we would greatly appreciate it if you utilize online banking or 24-hour phone banking to periodically check your account and notify us immediately if you identify any unusual activity.

The Washington State Employees Credit Union also has information posted here.

Find out more about the security breach on Heartland's Web site here.

Federal Way police were investigating a stabbing this morning in the 2600 block of Southwest Dash Point Road

KIRO TV was reporting the victim is 17 years old. The incident occurred a couple blocks from Decatur High School.

The investigation was in its initial stages. No other information was immediately available.

UPDATE: Here's the story of what happened.

Federal Way police are searching for two young men this morning after a teenager was stabbed during an apparent robbery near Decatur High School.

The 17-year-old victim suffered two superficial stab wounds to his left shoulder. He was treated at the scene and transported to a hospital, Federal Way police spokesman Raymond Bunk said. The injuries were not considered life threatening.

The teen was on the Lakota Trail just north of the high school when the two suspects approached him just after 7:30 a.m. and tried to rob him of his cellular phone, Bunk said. They wrestled on the path near the 2600 block of Southwest Dash Point Road.

The victim was able to keep his cell phone but was stabbed. The suspects ran off and were last seen running north, away from the high school, Bunk said.

A police dog conducted a track for the suspects but was not able to locate them.

The suspects are described as black and in their teens. They both wore black hooded sweatshirts and dark jeans, Bunk said. One was described as 6 feet 1, with a heavy build and bald. The other was described as 5 feet 8 with a medium build and short afro, Bunk said.

The victim told officers he didn’t know his attackers and didn’t recognize them as students at the high school.

Anyone who sees the suspects is asked to call 911.

A 5-year-old girl was killed in an early morning fire on the Muckleshoot Indian Reservation on Thursday.

The fire broke out while a 17-year-old boy was babysitting the 5 year old, a 10 year old girl and a 4 year old boy. The three others were able to escape, but the body of the 5 year old was found while crews searched the house early in the afternoon, said Greg Smith, chief of Mountain View Fire & Rescue. Crews and a civilian tried to search the house while it was still burning.

"The first few moments were chaotic with various reports of people inside but we heard that an adult tried to make entry into the house to reach someone but was unsuccessful due to the heat," said Tim Perciful, Mountain View Fire & Rescue spokesman, in a statement. "The crews were able to knock down the fire fairly quickly but the search for the person was slow due to the conditions inside the house.

A neighbor reported the fire at about 5:48 a.m. while flames were coming out of the windows of the home, located on Southeast 381 Place. Crews arrived to flames and heavy smoke shooting out of the house.

The 17 year old was taken to Auburn General Hospital, while the younger children were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle and are being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said the name of the child will not be released until tomorrow afternoon.

A cat was found inside the house and taken to a veterinarian by family members, but two dogs and cats were found dead in the house.

The fire was ruled accidental, but the King County Fire Marshal's Office has not yet ruled the specific cause of the blaze. A fire investigator estimated the damage at about $215,000.

We've had a natural disaster with river flooding ravaging the area. Now, the state Attorney General's Office is warning residents to be wary of scam artists that might be looking to take advantage of the situation.

Here's a press release issued today by the office:

The Attorney General’s Office today issued a warning about schemes targeting Washington residents whose homes were damaged by recent floods.

Possible identity theft scam

Snohomish County Emergency Management received a report of a scammer who phoned a homeowner and claimed to be a federal government employee. The caller said he’s able to offer a low-interest loan to help repair flood-damaged homes. The Attorney General’s Office does not know the scammer’s motive or how many people he has called, but suspects he may have been seeking personal information and/or money.

Unregistered contractors

Homeowners and businesses should make sure that electricians, plumbers, roofers or other contractors they hire to do repairs or clean-up are licensed and registered to work in Washington. Reports of unregistered contractors who charge exorbitant fees or do shoddy work are more common after storms.

Check if a contractor is registered on the Department of Labor and Industries Web at www.contractors.lni.wa.gov. You can also see whether there are claims on the contractor’s bond.

Labor and Industries warns that wires and equipment that have been submerged in water should not be re-energized without an inspection from a qualified person, such as an electrical inspector or electrical contractor. Flooding always damages wiring and equipment, and it is usually not visible and may appear later. Once the wiring or equipment has been under water, it could cause electrocution or fire. For more information on flood recovery, go to www.electricalprogram.lni.wa.gov or click here.

Flood-damaged cars

Lastly, the Attorney General’s Office reminds drivers and car dealers that individuals may try to sell flood-damaged cars in the coming months. These cars may look normal but almost always have serious problems including chronic mildew and corroded wires that lead to electrical failure. When buying a used car, you should research the title and the vehicle identification number. Carefully inspect the vehicle inside and out and have it inspected by a qualified, independent mechanic.

Report damages

Local jurisdictions are urging Washington flood victims to report damages. Whether you are a renter, home, farm or business owner – insured or uninsured – report your damages. For local emergency management contact information, visit the state Emergency Management Division’s Web site at: www.emd.wa.gov or dial 2-1-1.

Ten years ago, little Teekah Lewis vanished from a Tacoma bowling alley.

The 2 1/2-year-old girl was last seen playing near a coin-operated racing game as her family bowled nearby at New Frontier Lanes the night of Jan. 23, 1999.

Then she vanished. Teekah has not been seen or heard from since. Police investigators suspect a stranger might have snatched Teekah but have never had a suspect description to release.

Her mother says 10 years is long enough.

"My daughter has been missing for almost 10 years and its time to find my little girl," Theresa Lewis said this week. "It's time for someone to speak out."

Teekah's family will hold a candlelight vigil Friday night at 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the old bowling alley, 4702 S. Center St.

"I wish everybody would come out for this 10 years," Lewis said. "We need all the support we can get."

The investigation into Teekah's disappearance remains ongoing. Last year, the Tacoma Police Department released new photographs and video of Teekah that were taken shortly before her disappearance.

In October, Teekah became the latest missing child to be featured as part of the Homeward Bound program. The Washington State Patrol and Gordon Trucking of Pacific launched the program in 2006 to help bring missing children home.

Police investigators received a few tips from the efforts but none were substantial, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Under the program, the photo of 15 missing children have been featured on the sides of Gordon Trucks, which travel the nation's highways. Lenoria Jones, a 4-year-old girl who went missing from Tacoma in 1995, also has been featured.

Lewis said 10 years has gone by fast.

"She should be home," the mother said. "My baby is almost 13 years old. I've missed 10-11 birthdays. It's just unbelievable."

"It's just so hard to believe not one tip has come in and not lead to anything," Lewis said.

Lewis, as she's done in the past, pleaded for anyone with information to come forward. Or, just let Teekah go.

"All we want is her back," Lewis said. "Drop her off somewhere. Just drop her off."

A car fell down a steep embankment on Highway 18 near Auburn, and the terrain is making it hard for crews to rescue the driver.

At about 7 p.m., crews arrived to Highway 18 at Southeast 304th Street where a vehicle had fallen more than 200 feet down a steep embankment. The driver was conscious, but injured and not able to climb up the embankment. An aid team is heading down the slope to assess the driver's injuries and crews have called for rescue basket and rope system to retrieve the passenger.

UPDATE: The driver was rescued and then transported to Auburn Regional Medical Center for treatment. The driver was described as in stable condition by Valley Regional Fire Authority.

No. Not even close.

The News Tribune uses a feed from Weather Underground to have the current weather reading on the top of the Web site. The Tacoma temperature is measured out at the Tacoma Narrows Airport. Apparently there is an issue over there, which is giving the National Weather Service and Weather Underground a false reading. Don't worry, it is not -14, even though the NWS and WU sites say it is. I just got off the phone with the Weather Service and they are going to try and fix it soon.

For those who are curious, it is actually 34 degrees in Tacoma.

Crews are on the scene of a serious, multi-vehicle collilsion on highway 3 north of Allyn in Mason County.

The collision happened at 5:10 p.m. at Pickering Road, 10 miles north of Allyn. The state Department of Transportation reported possible injuries or fatalities. The Washington State Patrol and ambulances are on the scene, and both lanes of highway 3 are closed.

The last suspect in a fatal drive-by shooting from May was arrested early Wednesday.

Marjorie Josefa Morales, 23, faces charges of first degree murder from her involvement in the May 10 shooting that killed Tracy Steele.

Morales is one of six suspects in the shooting. According to court documents, Morales was in a car with the other known gang members as they drove past a South Tacoma barbecue and fired two shots, striking and killing Steele.

Another suspect, 17-year-old Jose Angel Ancheta was arrested on Tuesday.

Rhonda Downey talks on the phone with her husband Dave Downey who is stuck on the opposite side of the train tracks in Puyallup.(Janet Jensen/The News Tribune)

A freight train has malfunctioned and one car was damaged in Puyallup.

Parts and debris came off the damaged freight car, which separated from the rest of the train about 1:45 p.m., Puyallup police Lt. Dave McDonald said.

Most of the crossings have opened, but the disabled car has been moved and is blocking the crossing at 15th Street Southeast. The crossings at Meridian, Fourth Street Northwest and 12th Street Northwest are now open, McDonald said.

Crews expect the final crossing to open by 8 p.m.

But still expect delays, McDonald said. Trains are traveling through town at a much slower speed, meaning cars will be waiting longer at crossings.

"We haveslow and heavy train traffic and it's going to make vehicular traffic a little slower than normal," McDonald said.

Sounder trains also will be delayed, he added.

There is debris from Ninth to 15th streets. An employee's personal car parked at the Puyallup School District's bus barn was damaged by the debris, McDonald said. No injuries have been reported.

There is minor damage to the tracks.

Hopefully you won't notice, but maintenance will cause a 911 outage tonight for residents in unincorporated Pierce County.

Here's the press release from LESA:

Sometime between 6 p.m. tonight and 6 a.m. Thursday, AT&T plans a five to 15-minute 9-1-1 outage that will affect areas of Pierce County including Buckley, Crystal Mountain, Graham, Puyallup, Roy, Sumner, Tacoma and Tacoma-Waverly. At the time of this release, AT&T representatives could not be more specific as to when the outage would occur.

During the outage, AT&T plans to redirect 9-1-1 calls to LESA’s 10-digit 9-1-1 number. LESA is Pierce County’s primary PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point). Though there are other 9-1-1 call centers in the county, AT&T is unable to route 9-1-1 calls to specific centers because the affected areas are on a “common trunk group” that feeds the service router. As the primary PSAP, LESA transfers emergency calls to their respective 9-1-1 center on a daily basis, so callers should not expect to notice the temporary change.

The 9-1-1 outage is being planned for maintenance rerouting of cable. Affected AT&T wireline phone prefixes include 212, 271, 267, 268, 310, 503, and 719.

Citizens seeking emergency assistance may also go to their nearest fire station.

Pierce County prosecutors on Tuesday charged a 40-year-old man suspected of assaulting a Lakewood gas station clerk, then running off with the cash register in a robbery Saturday night.

Mark Christophr Hamilton remains in Pierce County Jail. He's charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree assault.

Charging documents provide the following information about the incident:

A Sumner police officer spotted a man carrying a cash register and running from the 76 gas station, 10712 Bridgeport Way S.W., about 10 p.m. Saturday. The Sumner officer followed the man while other officers contacted a clerk inside the store.

The clerk told officers he'd been sweeping the floor when he was hit from behind several times. The station's surveillance tapes showed a suspect wearing a white cloth around his head jump over a counter and move toward the clerk.

The suspect was seen hitting the clerk with a stick until the clerk fell to the floor.

"The subject then is seen attempting to open the cash register," court documents state. "When he is unsuccessful, he throws it to the floor in an apparent effort to break it open. When that is unsuccessful, the subject picks up the cash register and runs out the
front door of the store."

The clerk was taken to Tacoma General Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Officers photographed a deep, four-inch long laceration on the clerk's head.

The Sumner police officer lost the suspect in the 10500 block of Bridgeport Way. A police dog responded to the scene and tracked the suspect's scent to Doten Drive Southwest.

The suspect, later identified as Hamilton, was found hiding in the bushes along the front of a house. He was contacted by a police dog and suffered bite marks.

Afterward, the dog tracked back toward the 10500 block of Bridgeport Way and found the cash register. The dog also located a white T-shirt believed to be the cloth the robber wore over his head.

Lakewood police arrested several men Saturday night after a drug-related robbery at the Colonial Court Apartments.

A caller reported the robbery involved a handgun. Responding officers were told the suspects were in a black BMW, court documents state.

Officers arrived at the apartment complex in the 9100 block of Newgrove Avenue Southwest about 7:30 p.m. and saw a black BMW leaving the parking lot.

Officers pursued the car, court documents state. The car returned to the complex after a short, high-speed chase.

Officers arrested the occupants. They found several .22 caliber bullets and more than $100 cash in the pockets of a rear seat passenger. They also found a loaded .22-caliber revolver and a bag containing nearly three ounces of weed on the floorboard.

A witness told police that during the pursuit, the BMW slowed down and a man exited. A police dog found that man sitting on the porch of a residence, court documents state. The residents of the house told officers they didn't know the man.

The victim in the case told officers one of the suspects came to his apartment to buy marijuana. After the suspect entered, two others came up in and "roughed up" the victim.

Another man drew a handgun on the victim, court documents state.

The victim told officers he didn't have marijuana but the suspects stole cash from him.

Prosecutors charged four men in connection with the incident.

A roll-over crash briefing shut down eastbound Highway 410 at 234th Avenue East in Bonney Lake this morning.

The crash was cleared just after 7 a.m., the state Department of Transportation reported.

The incident began about 6:40 a.m.

The suspects in a Walgreen's pharmacy robbery from Jan. 12 turned themselves in after family members urged the two to go to the police.

The two men reportedly walked into the Walgreen's pharmacy, at 11509 Canyon Road East in Puyallup, at about 5:45 p.m. One of the robbers went to the pharmacist and slipped a note demanding Oxycontin. The suspects took the pills and ran out of the store.

The Washington State Patrol arrested one suspect after a traffic stop last week when troopers found nearly 400 Oxycontin pills in the man's car.

The Bethel School District has organized a memorial reception for the boy killed Friday night at the Tacoma Dome.

Here's the new announcement:

Friends and community members are invited to a special Memorial Reception for the boy killed during a Monster Jam truck show at the Tacoma Dome.

Six year old Sebastian Hizey died after a piece of metal flew off a truck and hit him in the stands.
The reception will be Saturday, January 24 at 1pm in the Frontier Junior High School Gym, located at 22110 108th Ave E, in Graham.

An account has also been sent up in Hizey's name. To donate, just call or visit any U.S. Bank Branch and ask for the Sebastian D. Hizey Memorial Fund and reference that it is a business account.

Hizey was a kindergarten student at Graham Elementary School in the Bethel School District.

Lakewood police and the Pierce County SWAT team seized 16 guns, some of which were stolen, in a multi-agency raid this morning.

Officers this morning raided the 4700 block of 127th Street SW, which was the target of an ongoing weapons and narcotics investigation. Officers also seized a large amount of ammunition, a grenade and methamphetamine.

Police arrested a 56-year-old man, who was booked for unlawful possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell and unlawful possession of firearms. The man has been arrested on felony counts in the past. The Pierce County Bomb Squad and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms assisted in the raid.

Damage to the Howard Hansen Dam on the Green River will restrict the amount of water the dam can hold and potentially increase flooding in communities downstream during a storm, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced Tuesday.

If another significant rain event occurs, Auburn city officials said there is the chance of increased risk of flooding inside Auburn city limits.

Lowering the reservoir is needed to safely assess the damage to the right abutment to the dam, according to the Corps. The flood event two weeks ago caused the damage, the Crops explained.

“The Corps has high confidence in the current integrity of the dam and that it presents no immediate danger to people and property below the dam,” the Corps said in a press release.

The Crops said its engineers will continue to reassess the reservoir restriction as conditions change at the dam.

Sarah Miller, emergency preparedness manager with the City of Auburn, said the Crops did not say how much water the reservoir can store during the assessment period. A Corps spokeswoman said Tuesday they wanted to reduce the reservoir to at least 1150 feet above sea level and were able to do that by Friday evening. The level continues to drop.

The Howard Hansen reservoir also supplies drinking water to the City of Tacoma and other communities.

Miller said the reservoir was nearly full during the major flooding event earlier this month. Rather than release flood water, the dam held it back during the height of the storm, she said. The maximum reservoir level is 1,206 feet above sea level. The reservoir currently is at 1,106 feet above sea level.

“What this means is if there a major rain event or a mass snow-melting event causing a lot of water to flow into the reservoir, they will continue to release it,” she said. “We could look at an increased flood risk to the entire Green River Valley.”

During the flooding two weeks ago, however, she said the city suffered no flooding from the Green River.

Current weather forecasts show a dry period ahead, the Corps said, adding that their engineers will continue to reassess the pool restriction as conditions change at the dam. Careful deliberation will be given before any increase or other change of the maximum pool elevation, the Corps said.

City of Auburn officials said they will continue to monitor the Green River and the City of Auburn and talk to the Corps.

Auburn Residents can sign up to receive emergency alerts from the City of Auburn via e-mail or telephone by visiting the City of Auburn website at www.auburnwa.gov and clicking the e-mail update link or the Auburn Alert link for emergency phone alerts.

Further questions can be directed to Auburn's Office of Emergency Management at 253-876-1925.

This landed in my Inbox on Monday:

Do you know anything about an accident yesterday (Sunday 1/18) involving motorcycles on Canyon Rd. near 115th? They were loading someone into an aid car when I went by. I'm a biker, and my heart goes out to anyone getting tangled up with cars... didn't find any news about it.

The Sheriff's Department reported:

At 3:35 p.m. on Sunday a motorcyclist traveling southbound in the 11800 block of Canyon Rd. E. struck the curbing for the left hand turn lane in front of the Rainier Pacific Bank. The rider was thrown off of his motorcycle and sustained minor injuries. No other vehicles or persons were involved in the accident.

There will be a fundraiser TONIGHT for the family of the 6-year-old Puyallup boy killed Friday night at the Monster Jam show.

Here's the information from the Bethel School District:

The Bethel School District is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students over the weekend.

Six-year-old Sebastian Hizey died as a result of injuries he received during a monster truck show in Tacoma Friday night.

Today, counselors from the district's Critical Incident Reponse Team were dispatched to Graham Elementary School to help students and staff cope during this difficult time.

Now the community is invited to help. Tonight, the school will host a special fundraiser at the Applebee's in Graham. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Hizey family.

Fundraiser Info:
Hizey Fundraiser @ Applebee's
16518 Meridian Avenue East in Graham
Tonight, January, 20th
5-9pm

Donations are also being accepted at Amici's Italian Eatery and at the Ace Hardware store in Graham.

Owners of flood-damaged properties can get free inspections through Pierce County.

The county is offering free assessments of the safety of flood-damaged buildings to anyone in the unincorporated areas. Inspectors have gone out to some areas already for initial assessments, the county's Department of Emergency Management reported.

A more detailed evaluation is needed, however.

Property owners can request an inspection by calling 253-798-3741 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Anyone who requests an inspector will have one on-scene within a day.

In addition to evaluating the safety of the building, inspectors can tell property owners whether they need permits to complete any work. Permits might be required for stream bank stabilization, landslide repair, culvert work and removal of trees.

Within two days of the inspection, a letter confirming the detailed assessment will be sent to the property owner.

Over the weekend, Tacoma police arrested another person wanted in connection with a homicide last May in Tacoma.

Jose Angel Ancheta, 17, was arrested Friday night and booked into Pierce County Jail. He's scheduled to make his first court appearance this afternoon.

Ancheta and several others have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the May 10 death of Tracy Steele.

Steele was attending a barbecue near South 41st and J streets in Tacoma the night of May 10 when he was killed in a drive-by shooting.

A neighborhood organizer in the North End e-mailed in this "what was that?" over the weekend.

Early this [Saturday] morning at about 2:00 am, neighbors saw a couple dozen TPD officers at N. 30th and Proctor, who eventually blocked off the street to traffic. A TFD truck arrived shortly after.

Here's what Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum had to say about the activity:

Suspicious person/theft in progress call. Subject caught stealing a catalytic converter from a vehicle. One of our sergeants received a minor injury when the subject resisted.

A person on the East Side sent in this inquiry:

Date: 16th Jan 2009, 11:10pm
There's a lot of police activity on East D between 84th and 96th? Do you whats going on? They have been around all night, since at least 9pm.

Fulghum filled us in:

It started just before 2200 with an attempted traffic stop and short pursuit. The suspect vehicle crash and the gang task force spent the next couple of hours searching the area for the driver, who fled on foot. We have the vehicle but the driver got away.

In case you missed it, we had a story from the Associated Press on our Web site over the weekend about other injuries at monster truck shows.

Here's the story:

Friday’s accident at the Tacoma Dome isn’t the first time spectators have been killed or injured at a monster truck show. Here’s a list of other mishaps compiled by the Associated Press in August 2007:

Aug. 9, 2007: A monster truck crash injured at least nine people – two seriously – during a demonstration in DeKalb, Ill.

July 31, 1999: Two people were injured when the monster truck "Grave Digger" slammed into the stands in Phoenix's America West Arena.

July 16, 1999: Two adults and two children injured after "Grave Digger" launched from a ramp at the Hagerstown Speedway in Hagerstown, Md., and collided with a pole, sending chunks of de-bris into the crowd. Jan. 2, 1998: In Springfield, Ill., a beefed-up Ford Bronco hit two men, killing one, at the Prai-rie Capital Convention Center. The vehicle went of control and headed into a chute between the stands that leads to the outside.

June 6, 1997: A big-wheeled truck hit a fence and overturned during a monster truck show at the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds in Blackfoot, Idaho, killing a teenager on the sidelines and in-juring two others.

May 2, 1997: In Lenoir, N.C., two boys, ages 11 and 15, were injured at Antioch Speedway when a monster truck broke free from a tow truck pulling it from a mud pit.

July 22, 1994: A monster truck lost control during an exhibition in Claremore, Okla., and crashed through hay bales and a fence, killing the driver's best friend and injuring five other spectators.

June 7, 1992: In Galesburg, Mich., a monster truck veered into the crowd during a race at Galesburg Motor Speedway, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring at least 14 people.

March 7, 1992: Officials in Niagara Falls, N.Y., said an 82-year-old spectator killed by a five-ton pickup at a monster truck show tossed a boy to safety just before the vehicle struck the bleach-ers, killing him and injuring at least seven others when the truck went out of control at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.

One lane of northbound State Route 509 in Tacoma is blocked this morning because of several crashes and spinouts on the slick roadway.

The right lane was closed about 7:30 a.m., the state Department of Transportation reported. Troopers and firefighters are on the scene.

"Fog in the area is freezing, motorists are advised to use caution on bridges and overpasses," transportation officials warn.

Traffic on SR 509 is backed up into downtown Tacoma.

UPDATE: The right lane of northbound SR 509 is now open to all cars.

Crews cleared the crashes and reopened the lane at 8:51 a.m., the state DOT reported.

Students, prevention professionals, politicians and advocates will gather in Olympia today for a rally at the Capitol rotunda.

The "Prevention Rocks!" event is scheduled to begin at noon. The goal is to "increase legislator and community awareness about the value of investing in prevention programs," Safe Streets wrote in a press release.

Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, state Attorney General and Rep. Roger Goodman will speak to the crowd. In addition, high school students from Yakima, Olympia and Tacoma will talk.

The Washington Music Mentors, a youth vocal group, will provide the entertainment.

According to Safe Streets, this year makes the 20th anniversary of the passage of a drug bill that launched a statewide effort to beef up enforcement, treatment and prevention of substance abuse and violence.

Cold temperatures and dense fog made for a slick morning commute today.

A multiple-vehicle crash blocked two lanes of southbound State Route 167 at the Highway 18 overpass for more than an hour, the state Department of Transportation reported.

The lanes were closed from 6:30 to 7:40 a.m.

UPDATE: It appears there is another crash on SR 167 in the same location. This time, two northbound lanes are blocked.

Troopers, firefighters, medical aid and transportation crews are on the scene of the crash, the DOT reported at 8:30 a.m.

UPDATE 2: All lanes of northbound SR 167 are back up after this morning's crash.

Three people were injured early Sunday in a wrong-way collision on Interstate 5 near Federal Way. The Washington State Patrol said drugs or alcohol were involved.

The crash happened when a 2004 Toyota Highlander, driven by 58-year-old man, tried to make a U-turn onto southbound I-5 and struck a 2005 Jeep Liberty, driven by a 26-year-old woman.

The crash sent the two drivers and the woman's passenger to Harborview Medical Center. Both SUVs were totaled, and the crash is still under investigation.

The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office ruled today that Sebastian Hizey died because of blunt force trauma to the head at the Monster Jam truck show at the Tacoma Dome on Friday.

The official cause of death is accidental.

The Graham Elementary kindergartener was struck in the head with a Frisbee-sized chunk of debris that flew off Natural High, a massive red-and-silver truck, while it was spinning doughnuts in the dirt. The 6-year-old died early Saturday.

Investigators are now examining pieces of the truck's drive train and drive train loop Bill Easterling, senior operations director for Feld Motor Sports of Aurora, Ill., told The Associated Press.

He said he could give no further details or description of the loose parts, including where they were found.

"I've never seen the loop or the drive shaft parts come off like this," said Easterling, whose company is the promoter of the show.

Tacoma police recently posted the November monthly reports for its four sectors and some of its specialty units. (Yes, I know what month it is.)

The full reports can be found here. Here are some of the highlights:

Sector 1: Officers grabbed the pant cuffs of a man who was trying to commit suicide Nov. 13 in the 300 block of South Ninth Street. He was hanging upside down out of a fifth-story window and officers pulled him to safety.

Sector 1 officers conducted a Tow Day operation during the month. They put impound warnings on 130 vehicles in an area from South Ninth to South 27th streets and Yakima Avenue to Sprague Avenue. Seven days later, officers returned and impounded 20 vehicles who's owners had not complied with the warnings.

A task force of city inspectors looked at a home in the 1500 block of South Grant Street that had been the location of several found runaways. They found no life safety issues but the landlord did issue the occupant a 10-day notice to halt activity.

Sector 2: Officers were conducting special patrols in the area of South Fourth and Tacoma Avenue after an increase in drug, gang and prostitution activity. The special missions will continue for three months.

Sector 3: Department of Corrections officers are working with Tacoma police officers to address issues in the sector.

There have been fencing improvements in response to continued problems in the South 47th and Oakes area.

Sector 4: Residents that belong to the First Creek community group are conducting citizen patrols and "becoming the eyes of the police department in that area."

Officers also are working to address prostitution activity along Pacific Avenue. An undercover operation in November resulted in the arrest of nine people on suspicion of soliciting and one on suspicion of promoting prostitution. One of those arrested was a 14-year-old girl, who was turned over to CPS.

Gang unit: The officers in the gang unit made 65 arrests during November. In addition, they found 29 guns and two pellet guns at the home where a felon with gang ties was living. The weapons were removed and a warrant was issued for the felon.

K-9 unit: The police dog teams made five arrests during the month and assisted with 17 arrests.

Traffic unit: Traffic officers wrote 973 traffic tickets during November. Drivers in Sector 3 received the most with 312.

The department issued 1,784 citations from the red light cameras stationed in the city.

Marine Services unit: The Marine Services Unit had a busy month. Among other things, they responded to water rescues for kite surfers off Browns Point. All were removed from the water without injury.

They found a stolen car off the Point Defiance boat ramps. The vehicle had been reported the week before and appeared to have been in the water ever since.

Officers stopped a stolen vessel based on a tip from Gig Harbor police. The operator was arrested on suspicion of first-degree possession of stolen property.

No official report yet on Friday's incident at the Tacoma Dome, but witnesses who attended the monster truck show are giving short-burst accounts of what they saw. Slight edits for punctuation and clarity.

This statement comes from everythingalaska:

I unfortunately saw the incident. Parts of the suspension and shocks seem to explode. The next thing I saw was the little boy with massive blood loss, people moving away to give room. The response was slow for help. The noise was too much and interfered with communications and treatment of the wounded. I was shocked they did't stop the show.

Another witness gave this account on KOMO-TV's web site:

I was sitting two sections away. The child was bleeding horribly and they were doing cpr until they got paramedics into the scene to get him out. I think it was very uncool that the show was not stopped as 90% of the people were more concerned with what was happening to the boy than the trucks running in circles. As for a barrier, it was non-existent. It was on the NE side of the dome. The seats start at row 1 and they were full. The seats are some 30 ft off the ground but when parts fly... 30 ft doesn't cut it.

Pierce County sheriff's investigators are trying to identify two man suspected of robbing a pharmacy earlier this week.

The men (pictured here) and an accomplice went to the Walgreens pharmacy, 11509 Canyon Road E., about 5:45 p.m. Monday. The three walked into the store and split up, deputies reported.

One suspect walked to the pharmacy counter and handed the pharmacist a robbery note demanding Oxycontin, deputies reported. He then took the pills and all three suspects ran out of the store.

The State Patrol arrested one of the suspects after they found nearly 400 Oxycontin pills during a traffic stop. He did not reveal the identities of the other two robbers, the Sheriff's Department reported.

Investigators released surveillance photographs of the other two Friday in hopes of identifying them.

One man is described as white, 20, 5 feet 8 and weighing 150 pounds. He has brown hair, deputies report. During the robbery, he work a white baseball hat, blue "Fox" hooded sweatshirt with black sleeves, a bandana and black gloves.

The second man is described as white, 20, 5 feet 8 and 150 pounds. He was wearing a black baseball hat decorated with a white pattern, a black hooded sweatshirt and a black North Face jacket.

Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959. The non-profit organization is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests and charges filed in the case.

Tipsters may remain anonymous.

This weekend, teams of volunteers will be fanning out to neighborhoods heavily damaged by last week's floods to help residents clean up their homes and properties.

Volunteers from Calvary Church of Sumner will be at the Rainier Manor Mobile Home Park off 141st Avenue East on Saturday morning. They'll meet at the clubhouse and leaders will assign tasks at 10 a.m.

A group from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints work remove skirting, wet molding and insulation from homes at the Valleybrook Village mobile home park on on 29th Street Court East off of River Road in Puyallup. They'll head to the park at 8 a.m. Saturday.

On Monday, students at White River High School and other volunteers will hit properties in South Prairie. They'll meet up with Mayor Paula Levesque at 10 a.m. at the fire station (Pierce County Fire District 20), 350 Highway 162 E. in South Prairie, then go from there.

Pierce County officials invite anyone interested in helping to join the clean-up effort.

Volunteers should bring gloves and boots and should dress appropriately. Anyone with shovels and power washers are encouraged to bring the equipment.

Pierce County law enforcement officers will be patrolling east Pierce County streets this weekend, searching for drunken drivers and parties where underage drinking is occurring.

They are going after the underage drinking parties because those can lead to deadly crashes and "contribute to future generations of alcohol-dependent adult drivers," the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force reported.

"This is a problem we are trying to get ahead of," said Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell in a press release.

Looking for the underage drinking parties is a newer approach for the task force's monthly DUI emphasis patrols. Typically, a group of officers targets a specific area for drunken drivers.

This weekend, a team of officers will patrol Lakewood for impaired drivers. Another team will respond to tips and complaints about loud parties, particularly at homes in east Pierce County. The task force has data that indicates there's been a high number of party complaints in the east part of the county for the past three years.

"Any kid breaking alcohol and drug laws will be arrested and taken to a community center where chemical dependency professionals will determine if they have an alcohol problem and if so, where they can get help," the task force reported. "When their parents come to pick them up, trained volunteer parents will be available to provide up-to-date information about teen drinking and things they can do to stop it."

In 2007, 12 impaired teenage drivers were killed on Pierce County's roads. Teenage passengers also were killed.

While people are looking to rebuild after last weeks floods, the Pierce County Master Builder's Association has issued a list of registered contractors for people across the county looking to repair water damage.

MBA-registered contractors abide by the association's code of ethics. The full list is available here.

Photo copyright TwitPic user jkrums.

TwitPic user jkrums uploaded a picture to TwitPic that he took when he was on a ferry that passed close by US Airways Flight 1549. The pilot ditched the plane into the Hudson River today and this picture has a close-up view of passengers waiting for rescue. The flight was scheduled to land at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this evening after a stop in Charlotte, N.C.

The picture has been making it around Twitter today, and as of this posting, already has more than 28,000 views.

Joe Piek, Fort Lewis spokesman, sent this statement regarding the Jan. 12 capture of Patrick Dwayne Lamp, who was charged Wednesday with the robbery of a Parkland bikini barista stand:

Late Monday evening (January 12) a vehicle being driven by Mr. Lamp
pulled up to the North Fort Main Gate - he had made a wrong turn and
accidentally ended up at that location. Rather than just say he made a
wrong turn, and could he please turn around, he tried to bluff his way
on post according to installation security officials.

Fort Lewis gate guards told him to pull over to check him out and he
sped off at a high rate of speed onto North Fort. An immediate "be on
the lookout" (BOLO) was put out to all available units with a
description of the vehicle. One of our MP units first observed the
suspect vehicle on the street by the Fort Lewis Museum and began
following him while calling it in and waiting for back-up to initiate a
stop. When back-up units responded, the lead unit attempted to make a
traffic stop on Pendleton Ave. on Main Post by Waller Hall and the
suspect vehicle fled at a high rate of speed.

The suspect stayed on Pendleton/Jackson Ave. and hit the median at the
Special Forces Compound intersection and blew out 2 or 3 tires and came
to a stop, after which Fort Lewis MP's conducted a Felony Stop and took
the suspect into custody. After taking Lamp into custody it was
determined that the vehicle was stolen and the suspect had outstanding
arrest warrants in Pierce County.

Pierce County was notified and they subsequently came to Ft Lewis and
took custody of Lamp.

Police activity is blocking the two right lanes of eastbound Highway 16 on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the state Department of Transportation reported.

The pedestrian/bicycle path also is closed.

Washington State Patrol troopers and firefighters were on the scene, dealing with a man who is threatening to jump from the bridge. Negotiators also were being called to the scene.

The incident began shortly before 9 a.m.

Drivers are slowing down on the bridge because of the activity. Traffic is backed up to the toll plaza. Drivers should expect delays.

UPDATE: As of 11:15 a.m., this situation was still on-going. It began at 8:45 a.m., the Pierce County Sheriff's Department reported.

The HOV lanes have been opened to all traffic during this incident.

Update as of 1:55 p.m.: This situation is still ongoing.

The back ups have dissipated.

3:21 p.m. update: This just reported over the police scanner: the man threatening to jump off the bridge has been detained.

Federal agents raided five residences and medical clinics, including one in Tacoma and one in Lakewood, as part of an investigation Wednesday into a Western Washington doctor.

Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle, said late Wednesday that five warrants were served on a doctor who runs clinics across Western Washington. Buildings raided included Johnson Family Clinics in Lakewood and Tacoma and the Broadway Clinic in Aberdeen, in addition to either one or two residences, one of which is in Olympia.

The FBI, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Attorney’s Office were involved in the investigation.

Jody Underwood, a spokeswoman for the DEA, said Health and Human Services was the lead on the investigation, and that her agency assisted only on the Tacoma raid.
FBI spokeswoman Robbie Burroughs would not say why the doctor was the target of the federal investigation, just that it is ongoing.

Citing sources close to the investigation, KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reported that the doctor was being investigated on suspicion of overbilling Medicare and Medicaid patients, tax evasion and inappropriately prescribing painkillers.

The state Department of Transportation sent out an update on two transportation projects on highway 169 in south King County.

Here's what the DOT is working on.

For the first time in at least 20 years, no one was killed in traffic-related deaths over the 2008 Christmas weekend, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission reported today.

Since 1990, there have been 92 traffic fatalities on Christmas weekends. That's an average of 4.8 a year, the commission reported.

"Washington had adverse road conditions this Christmas weekend because of the snowfall, which may have kept vehicle speeds and traffic volume downs," Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, said in a press release. "Nevertheless, this milestone of zero traffic deaths during a major holiday is a significant accomplishment toward our goal of Target Zero."

Over the New Year's weekend, there were four traffic deaths reported on the state's roads. That's less than the annual average of 5.53. Since 1990, there have been 105 traffic deaths in Washington, the commission reported.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crew continued work this morning on raising the levee in Pacific to prevent further flooding from the White River.

The work started under floodlights at 11 p.m. Tuesday night immediately after Pacific Mayor Rich Hildreth signed an agreement with the Corps to begin the emergency work.

The serious flooding began last Thursday night when the Corps began releasing water from the Mud Mountain Dam reservoir in to the swollen White River. The water flowed into Pacific Park as usual but then began flowing onto city streets and into the White River Estate development.

The plan calls for placing some 3,000 tons of pit run gravel on top of the existing King County levy from the park south to the King-Pierce county line, a distance of about a quarter-mile. The work should raise the levee about 18 inches.

“This will protect the city this winter,” Hildreth said Wednesday as he surveyed the work under way.

When the levy work began Tuesday night, he said the river was still running through the park. Once the river was blocked off, he said the flood water drained out of the park through stormwater channels.

This morning mud covered a good portion of the park up to 6 inches deep in some places.

The levee work was announced by Hildreth about 10:30 p.m. at the end of a 4 ½ hour town hall meeting called by the city to answer questions about the flood from angry residents. They had had no warning of the flooding.

Hildreth said Col. Anthony Wright, the commander of the Corps’ Seattle District office, came to his office Tuesday afternoon with a levee repair contract in hand.

“He said the Corps screwed up and wanted to know how best to fix it so it doesn’t happen again,” Hildreth said.

Hildreth said he and Wright had a similar plan to raise the levee after the similar sized flood in 2006, but King County wouldn’t approve putting any material on their levee.

In March 2007, he said King County officials threatened to put him in jail if laid any material on the levee.

“That work would have protected the city,” Hildreth said. “I hate to say it but I told them (King County) so.” King County flood management officials at the Town Hall meeting voiced no objections this time over raising the levee, he said.

The White River was still running high and fast by Pacific Park late Wednesday morning. Hildreth said the long-term solution is to open up another channel on the south side of the river that was closed many decades ago. King County is currently designing that multimillion project.

The new channel would create an island that could be used for passive recreation in the future.

In addition, he said debris fields and selected gravel bars need to be removed.

Hildreth reiterated his feeling that the Crops wasn’t to blame for the flooding. The Crops isn't sure why the water release caused flooding but think something has changed in the White River.

Hildreth said he blames King County for blocking the levee raising after the 2006 flood.

Steve Blaifuhs, King County’s river and flood control manager, said Tuesday that the city never presented them with a levee project.

Hildreth said that is ridiculous.

Pierce County emergency management officials are asking a couple of things from residents today.

First, residents are asked to check on their elderly and disabled neighbors in flooded areas. Assessment teams have received reports of people still sitting in their flooded-out homes, the county's Department of Emergency Management reported.

These folks are unaware of how to even begin the recovery process.

Contact the county's Aging and Disability Resource Center at 253-798-4600 for more information and to have someone contact the person in need of help.

Second, the Solid Waste division wants to remind county residents and business owners they need a voucher before bringing flood-damaged household goods to a transfer station for free disposal.

Without the voucher, you'll need to pay the regular fees.

To get a voucher, report flood-related damages to the Department of Emergency Management's Damage Assessment Center at 1-866-798-6363 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. The center is accepting calls through Friday.

You only need to call one to be eligible for debris disposal help.

In addition to the vouchers, the Solid Waste division and private garbage companies are putting collection containers in the neighborhoods with a high concentration of debris.

For more information, call the Solid Waste division at 253-798-2179, email pcsolidwaste@co.pierce.wa.us, visit www.piercecountywa.org/solidwaste, or
call the recorded information line at 253-798-4115.

Pierce County law enforcement officers ticketed 288 speeders during an emphasis patrol earlier this month.

The 36 officers from different agencies focused their attention on State Routes 7 and 512, Meridian and 176th Streets. Those streets have a significant number of speed-related crashes, the Tacoma-Pierce County DUI Task Force reported.

During the Jan. 3 emphasis, officers stopped 558 drivers. Besides the speeding tickets, they issued 183 citations for unsafe driving. That includes aggressive driving, driving with a suspended license or driving in violation of the intermediate driver's license restrictions.

Officers started their speed patrols at 8 a.m. that Saturday. The roads still had ice on them so officers initially focused on stopping drivers who were going to fast for the conditions.

"The majority of speed-related crashes involve people not adjusting their speed for inclement weather, heavy traffic or other unexpected slowdowns on the road," said Mike Mitchell, chief of the Bonney Lake Police Department, in a press release. "Many drivers were starting to get the hang of driving on slick roads...we saw a lot of careful drivers out there ... but others were driving ten and over as if there was no tomorrow."

Area law enforcement officers focused on the same section of east Pierce County in 2006 and 2007. Nearly 15,000 tickets were issued during the speed reduction project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is releasing water from the Howard Hanson Dam on the Green River near Palmer, prompting King County to open its Flood Warning Center.

Engineers discovered a depression at the dam, which required the reservoir to be brought down to investigate. Output at the dam is being raised from 5,300 cubic feet per second to 8,000 cfs. Flows at Auburn will reach about 10,500 cfs.

Higher water levels at Auburn should last until Friday. King County emergency managers do not consider this flow to be an imminent emergency, according to the Corps of Engineers.

The woman missing in Federal Way since early this morning has been found.

Maria Lopez-De-Guardado was found a friend's house in the same mobile home where she lives at about 5 p.m. Federal Way Police say the friend didn't know De-Guardado was reported missing. The woman was not injured and taken home.

The Environmental Protection Agency has banned all burning on most reservations in the Northwest because of stagnant air conditions.

There are two phases of the burn ban through mid-January. Here is the EPA's list of reservations affected.

The burn ban will be in effect for January 13 through January 19 for
the following reservations:
Burns Paiute Reservation, Oregon
Colville Reservation, Washington
Kalispel Reservation, Washington
Kootenai Reservation, Idaho
Shoshone-Bannock Reservation, Idaho
Spokane Reservation, Washington
Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon
Yakama Reservation, Washington

The burn ban will be in effect for January 14 through January 19 for
the following reservations:
Chehalis Reservation, Washington
Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Reservation, Oregon
Coquille Reservation, Oregon
Cow Creek Reservation, Oregon
Grand Ronde Reservation, Oregon
Hoh Reservation, Washington
Jamestown S’Klallam Reservation, Washington
Klamath Reservation, Oregon
Lower Elwha Reservation, Washington
Lummi Reservation, Washington
Makah Reservation, Washington
Muckleshoot Reservation, Washington
Nisqually Reservation, Washington
Nooksack Reservation, Washington
Port Gamble Reservation, Washington
Puyallup Reservation, Washington
Quileute Reservation, Washington
Sauk-Suiattle Reservation, Washington
Shoalwater Bay Reservation, Washington
Siletz Reservation, Oregon,
Skokomish Reservation, Washington
Squaxin Island Reservation, Washington
Stillaguamish Reservation, Washington
Port Madison Reservation, Washington
Swinomish Reservation, Washington
Tulalip Reservation, Washington
Upper Skagit Reservation, Washington

A man who posed as a fiance to help a woman get a visa has been sentenced in the fraud scheme.

A U.S. District Court judge sentenced Ryan Nicklaus Williams, a 28-year-old Puyallup resident, to 37 days in jail, 100 hours of community service, four months of electric home monitoring and three years of community supervision for conspiracy to commit visa fraud. Williams will receive credit for the time he's already served, the U.S. District Attorney's Office reported.

During the hearing Tuesday, Judge Ronald B. Leighton noted that visa fraud conspiracy is a "very serious offense" and hurts legitimate vise seekers.

According to federal prosecutors, Williams was one of 36 people who accepted trips and cash to go to Vietnam and pose as fiances in October 2002. They posed for photos with a woman and participated in an "engagement party." It was all an act to make it appear as those the men and fiances had relationships, the Attorney's Office reported.

Later, Williams submitted signed immigration paperwork that indicated he planned to marry and support the woman. She entered the United States on a visa and remains in the country today.

Williams never married the woman.

The participants in the scheme were recruited at Vancouver, Wash., casinos, the Attorney's Office reported.

The federal investigation, nicknamed "Operation Pit Boss," resulted in the indictment of the six main conspirators. Another 28 people were charged felonies.

As a result of this scheme, 50 to 60 Vietnamese Nationals entered the country illegally.

"According to agents with Homeland Security and the Diplomatic Security Service, it is more difficult to deport those Vietnamese aliens who have already entered the United States illegally, than it is to deport aliens from countries with whom we have shared full diplomatic relations for many years," the Attorney's Office reported. "The scheme further harmed legitimately engaged couples, because at one point the U.S. Consulate in Vietnam ceased issuing visas in order to ensure the fraud had been uncovered. These couples were kept apart for lengthy delays."

The uninsured loss reported by residents so far in Pierce County from last week’s flooding totals nearly $1.9 million, county officials reported today.

“That is sure to rise,” Steve Bailey, director of the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management, said at a press conference at the county Emergency Operations Center.

Today is the first day damage estimate teams are fanning out in the county to verify losses as the county swings into flood recovery mode.

Bailey said the county has fielded calls from 227 people who have suffered flood losses. He urged anyone - homeowners, renters, businesses, insured or uninsured – to call the county at 1-866-798-6363 with their damage estimates.

Callers are asked to have the following information available: name and address, type of insurance, description of damage, estimate of uninsured damages, and estimate of fair market value of damaged home or business.

He said the loss estimates make up the county’s part of the state’s preliminary damage estimate. The governor then decides whether to ask for a Presidential Disaster Declaration that if approved would free up federal grants and low cost loans for uninsured flood victims.

The state estimates there are 16 counties in the state that have suffered storm damage. A preliminary statewide damage estimate could take at least a week or more to collect, Bailey said.

Meanwhile local governments also are collecting estimates on damage to public infrastructure such as levees, roads and equipment.

Pierce County was hit hard in the flood last week, he said. He pointed out hard-hit spots such as Riverside where 10 homes in the Wheel In Mobile Home Park were red-tagged as uninhabitable due to flood damage.

In Puyallup, 48 units on the first floor of the Clock Tower Apartments were hit by flood waters. In Sumner, Rainier Manor Mobile Home Park also suffered flood damage.

He said a lot of the people hit hard by the flood are seniors and single-parent households who do not have flood insurance. He said the county along with local organizations is out in the hard-hit areas helping people with housing, food and clothing.

Also at the press conference was Kurt Hardin with the state Department of Emergency Management, He said it is too soon to know if there will be a federal disaster declaration but a declaration is needed before the Federal Emergency Management Agency can respond with money.

He said the flooding statewide is similar but more widespread than the flooding in 2007.

Bailey said it is important that those whose homes have suffered flood damage contact building officials in their community to get the proper permits.

“In some flood plain areas, certain repairs and rebuilding may not be allowed,” he said.

Law enforcement officers have arrested a man wanted in connection with robbing a bikini barista stand in Parkland earlier this month.

Patrick Lamp, 28, crashed through the main gate at Fort Lewis late Monday and didn't stop, Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

Fort Lewis military police pursued the white Buick Rivera about 11:45 p.m. until it crashed. Lamp was taken into custody, Troyer reported. The Rivera had been reported stolen in Tacoma.

Officers found syringes with an unknown substance inside while searching Lamp, Troyer said.

A warrant was issued for Lamp's arrest in the Jan. 3 robbery. Investigators believe Lamp, who has the figure "666" tattooed on the back of his head, is one of two people who robbed the Java Girls espresso stand at 10004 Pacific Ave. S.

He's suspected in other robberies.

Lamp was booked into the jail just after 1 a.m. on robbery and other charges.

He should make his first court appearance Wednesday.

One person was seriously injured in a three-car crash that closed down Pacific Highway South Monday night.

The crash was reported just before 10:20 p.m. at the intersection of South 260th Street and Pacific Highway South, Kent firefighters reported.

Police officers arrived and found what appeared to be a high-speed, T-bone crash between a truck and small silver import. One of the vehicles then struck another car stopped at the intersection.

The truck caught fire after the crash.

The truck driver fled on foot, firefighters reported. The driver was caught a short distance away.

The silver import's driver was "very seriously injured" and taken to a local hospital for treatment, firefighters reported.

The driver of the third vehicle was not injured.

Investigators closed the northbound lanes of Pacific Highway to look into the crash.

"According to police, alcohol is suspected as being a contributing factor," the Kent Fire Department reported.

(Photos provided by Kent fire.)

Federal Way police are searching for a 77-year-old woman who went missing Monday afternoon.

Maria Lopez-De-Guardado was last seen at her home near 3001 South 288th Street about 3 p.m. Family members realized she'd wandered away and called police, the police department reported early today.

Neighbors reported seeing Lopez-De-Guardado walking toward the area of 28900 Military Road South a short time later.

Officers and a police bloodhound searched the area but have found no sign of Lopez-De-Guardado.

She has brown eyes, long grey hair, weighs 113 pounds and was wearing a blue sweater, light blue dress and black knee-high boots.

Lopez-De-Guardado is not on any medication but has some mental health issues, police reported.

Anyone who sees Lopez-De-Guardado is asked to call 911.

A high speed chase from Lakewood onto Interstate 5 ended with an arrest on the highway just north of the Nisqually River tonight.

Police attempting to pull a white, older model Nissan Pathfinder for reckless driving were led on a chase with speeds reaching up to 80 mph on the interstate, according to scanner traffic. The driver was arrested at about 9:55 p.m.

The chase included at least Tacoma and Lakewood officers, dispatchers said. Tow trucks were called for a police cruiser and the suspect's vehicle after an officer attempted a PIT maneuver to stop the Pathfinder.

The City of Pacific will be holding a Town Hall meeting Tuesday to provide information on recovering from ongoing flooding in the city.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at Alpac Elementary School located at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Ellingson Road.

Pacific Mayor Rich Hildreth said that as of today the White River is still flowing over the levee from Pacific Park to the King County line.

The flood water, which once surrounded more than 80-homes and filled some streets, is now flowing through wetlands and re-entering the river south the county line, he said.

“The main focus is now changing from response to the flooding emergency to recovery for our city ,” Hildreth said in an e-mail Monday. “We will again have crews from Home Depot along with volunteers and groups from around the area. The American Red Cross will again be on scene with comfort kits, teams to help assess damage, mobile food kitchen and other assets.”

He urged anyone who wants to help with flood recovery to check in at the staging area at the Pacific/Algona Community Center, 100 3rd Ave SE #B. For information call 253-929-1190 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m..

Those wishing to donate money can make out checks to Pacific / Algona Community Center, Flood Relief Fund, 100 3rd Ave. SE, Pacific 98047.

The 24th Street overpass of highway 167 near Sumner is now open.

All lanes closed earlier today after a semi-truck struck the overpass at 11:25 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.

Tacoma police believe a man charged in a South End bank robbery last week is also responsible for holding up a bank across the street last month.

Pierce County prosecutors charged Michael Brandon Armstrong, 24, with two counts of first-degree robbery Friday.

Tacoma police arrested Armstrong on Thursday morning, 14 minutes after the Columbia Bank branch at 201 S. 84th St.

Court documents provide the following account.

A man later identified as Armstrong entered the bank just after 10:50 a.m., walked up to a window and pointed a gun at the teller.

"I want 20,000," the robber demanded. "You have 30 seconds."

The robber started to countdown as the teller put cash into the backpack. The robber fled the scene.

Tacoma officers tracked the suspected robber down to a gas station in the 10900 block of Portland Avenue. Armstrong was arrested at gunpoint.

Officers found the backpack in the back seat and gun in the front seat.

During the investigation, detectives tied Armstrong to a takeover-style robbery Dec. 5 at Key Bank, 8402 Pacific Ave.

In that heist, the robber entered the branch wearing a ski mask. He displayed a gun, fired one round into the ceiling and ordered everyone to the floor.

The robber went behind the teller windows and took cash from the teller drawer and a cash counting machine. He then fled on foot.

According to charging documents, Armstrong eventually told detectives he committed the crimes and provided a detailed description of his actions.

A Fort Lewis Stryker brigade soldier accused of kidnapping and torturing two women at his home remains on the loose.

A warrant was issued for staff Sgt. Nathan Ryan Smith's arrested last week. He's been charged with two counts of first-degree kidnapping, four counts of first-degree rape, attempted rape, felony harassment, destroying evidence and first-degree arson.

Read the original story about the allegations here.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to Smith's capture. Reach Crime Stoppers at 253-591-5959.

If you haven't done so already, you can file reports of your flood-related damage today to the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management.

The Damage Assessment Call Center is open today from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Home and business owners are encouraged to call the toll-free center at 1-866-798-6363.

Property owners need to have the following available when they call:

* Name and address of affected property
* Type of insurance (homeowners)
* A description of damage, even if uninsured
* A personal estimate of uninsured losses
* Estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.

You do not need a contractor's estimate at this time.

After touring the flood-ravaged City of Pacific, King County Executive Ron Sims said he has ordered an "extraordinary effort to help the people of Pacific," according to a county news release.

Engineers on Thursday released water from the Mud Mountain Dam on the White River, which quickly flooded Pacific and damaged homes. (Read Melissa Santos' story here.)

"After talking with Pacific residents who home were damaged by the flood, it was clear we needed to step in and help with the city's response," Sims said in a statement. "Unlike the Snoqualmie Valley where flooding is frequent and cities are prepared to respond, Pacific doesn't have the resources to meet the urgent need of its residents."

King County Emergency Management is working with county crews and equipment to help clean up after the flood today. King County Solid Waste trucks and King County Airport dump trucks are working with as many as 50 trucks to assist residents who are cleaning up their homes and businesses.

"The emergency order that I signed last week will help county departments deploy resources necessary for Pacific as well as make urgent repairs to roads, levees and other county structures," Sims said. "It is sobering to see the damage to so much private and public property, yet it is rewarding to see people and communities rally to help each other in time of need."

Emergency officials say the best way to assist those affected by recent flooding is to give money to a local charity that is assisting.

Pierce County Emergency Operations spokeswoman Barbara Nelson said cash donations are easier to handle and can be used most efficiently when assisting those displaced.

Here are local charities that are helping out, according to the county.

Associated Ministries
Phone: 253.383.3056
www.associatedministries.org

Salvation Army
Phone: 1.800.SAL.ARMY
www.salvationarmytacoma.org

American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund
Phone: 1.800.RED.CROSS or
Phone (Spanish): 1.800.257.7575
www.rainier-redcross.org

Things have been busy at the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center this week, but as the waters have been receding, the center has shifted gears to receiving damage reports.

Since the call center opened, operators have received almost 600 flood-related calls. As clean-up continues, the center expects to stay busy, spokeswoman Barbara Nelson said.

Anyone whose house or business was damaged should call (866) 798-6363 to report what happened and the extent of the damage.

And people who are cleaning up after the flood should be aware of the dangers and call the Operations Center or local authorities to report any hazards.

"We need people to be really careful when they're cleaning up," Nelson said.

Those who call should be prepared to tell the operators the name and address of the property, the type of insurance the caller has, a description of the damage and a personal estimate of the losses.

The state Department of Transportation plans to reopen SR 410 between Enumclaw and Greenwater at 6 p.m. today. Water and mudslides had closed the highway between mileposts 29 and 57. Crews have cleared debris, but drivers should use caution.

From reporter C.R. Roberts

A pursuit that began early Saturday on Highway 16 near the Kitsap County line ended with the arrest of two people near Gig Harbor 17 minutes later.

A Washington State Patrol trooper attempted to stop the driver of a 1995 Toyota Camry on suspicion of speeding. A dispatcher soon informed the trooper that the vehicle had been reported stolen in Shelton.

According to a State Patrol release, the driver failed to stop and led the trooper, and other law enforcement personnel, on a chase through “the back roads of Gig Harbor.”

=> Read more!

Flood victims in Pacific who were stunned by a surprise flood Friday will get a chance to meet with King County Executive Ron Sims this afternoon. Here's more from King County:

King County Executive Ron Sims will travel to Snoqualmie and Pacific this afternoon to meet with city leaders and residents as river waters recede, and the amount of damage becomes more clear. The difficult clean up effort is underway for people in flooded communities as they are able to get back to their homes.

"The personal and financial losses flood victims have suffered are extensive," said Executive Sims. "While no words can effectively ease the pain that so many people feel now, King County is ready to support clean up efforts and provide resources for residents to report damages."

Approximate times of Executive Sims' scheduled visits

City of Snoqualmie: 1:00 p.m. at Emergency Operations Center
37600 S.E. Snoqualmie Parkway

City of Pacific: 2:30 pm or 3:00 pm at Emergency Operations Center
133 3rd Ave. S.E.

To help with clean up, cities of Snoqualmie and North Bend have established collection programs for flood damage material and King County is finalizing plans to provide free debris disposal sites by the end of next week for interested cities and unincorporated King County.

King County will open a preliminary damage reporting hotline early next week for individual property and business owners to report losses. Specific telephone numbers, dates and times will be released within the next couple of days.

The Green River remains at a phase III flood alert due to further releases planned from Howard Hansen dam. More from King County:

Emergency repairs under way
to flood-damaged levees

Safety information available for citizens returning to damaged homes

King County is mobilizing today to make emergency repairs to levees and other flood-prevention structures that were damaged by this week’s record flooding. King County Executive Ron Sims is again heading out to affected communities to speak with elected local leaders and meet with residents whose lives have been affected by floods

At first light on Saturday morning, King County was assembling crews to repair two heavily damage levees along the Tolt River, approximately one mile upstream from the confluence of the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers near the City of Carnation.

=> Read more!

UPDATED:
Phone service has been restored.

From Pierce County:

"The Greenwater area has lost phone service. Citizen who need to make 911 calls are directed to go to the Greenwater Fire Department at 59705 State Route 410 E.

Qwest will notifiy residents when service has been restored."

Here's a press release from Pierce County Department of Emergency Management of interest to residents of the Orting Valley.

EOC sending assessment teams to Orting area

Tacoma, WA - January 10, 2009 -
The Pierce County Emergency Operations Center is open today from 8 am to 8
pm to support recovery efforts from the recent flooding. Emergency
management personnel are coordinating with the Washington National Guards
and sending teams to the Orting valley today to check on citizens and to
assess damages.

The Pierce County Damage Assessment Center is also continuing to collect
damage information directly from homeowners and business owners affected by
the flooding. Residents and business owners in the City of Tacoma and Pierce
County that suffered damage should call the Department of Emergency
Management Damage call center at 1-866-798-6363 (toll free) between the
hours of 8 am and 5 pm.

Callers should have the following information available:
* Name and address of affected property
* Type of insurance (homeowners)
* A description of damage, even if uninsured
* A personal estimate of uninsured losses
* Estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.

At this time it is not necessary for property owners to have a contractor's
estimate.

BY DAVID WICKERT
The News Tribune

His furniture was soggy, his carpet a mess. His Geo Metro sat mud-splattered up to the windshield. The $300 in groceries he’d just bought went to waste.

“Everything’s gone. Clothing. Furniture,” Walt Dyches said Friday morning. He ticked off his losses as his son Josh and a friend helped him clean the mobile home that two days earlier took on 8 inches of water.

The water has receded, leaving a film of muck on the walls and furniture of his home at the Wheel In mobile home park on River Road between Tacoma and Puyallup. Now Dyches must decide whether the home itself is worth saving.

Dyches isn’t alone. Dozens of residents in the River Road area were cleaning up Friday after the worst flooding in more than a decade. Many lived in mobile home parks in the low-lying area near the Puyallup River and Clear Creek.

=> Read more!

As the Friday evening commute begins, commuters should be aware that that Stewart Road (8th Street) is still closed in Sumner from 138th Avenue on the west to the East Valley Highway on the east. This is the main link from Highway 167 to the Lakeland Hills/Lake Tapps area. Motorists will need to use alternate routes.

Don't have time right now to do much more than post this CrimeStoppers flyer. But look for a longer story soon.

A reader commenting on the flooding Friday in the town of Pacific asked why some of the excess water in the White River couldn’t be diverted into Lake Tapps via Puget Sound Energy’s diversion dam at Enumclaw.
Good question.
PSE’s Roger Thompson said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers called them a couple days ago to ask if the company could take some of the water they were dumping into the White River from Mud Mountain Dam.
PSE usually reduces water flow into the lake during the winter.
He said they agreed to take 400 to 500 cubic feet per second into the lake. Though authorized for 2,000 cfs, he said problems with a wooden section of the diversion flume to the lake prevented taking higher volumes. He said they didn’t want a blowout to occur and cause flooding on the eastside of Lake Tapps.
The amount of water is small compared to the nearly 11,000 cfs coming down the White River below the dam but every little bit helps.

This just in from the Department of Social and Health Services:

Clients currently receiving food assistance through the state Department of Social and Health Services may be eligible to receive replacement food allotments if they’ve lost food because of flood damage, power outages or other household disasters.

Clients requesting replacement benefits must:

Report the loss to their local Community Services Office (CSO) or Home and Community Services Office
Make their report within 10 days of the initial loss

Reports can be made by calling the local office and do not require an in-person meeting.

This benefit applies to current clients located anywhere in the state who have lost food due to conditions beyond their control. Any replacement is limited to the value of the food that was lost and may not exceed the monthly basic food benefit allotment.

People not currently receiving food benefits through DSHS are encouraged to visit www.foodhelp.wa.gov or call 1-877-514-FOOD (3663) for more information about the Basic Food program and to see if they qualify.

Pierce County authorities are searching for 28-year-old Patrick Lamp, for whom they've obtained an arrest warrant related to a Jan. 3 robbery of a bikini barista at gunpoint.

Lamp, who has '666' tattooed on the back of his head, is also suspected in other robberies.

Here's the wanted poster sent out by Crime Stoppers.

Records waterflow on the Tolt River near Carnation might have resulted in "severe" damage to two levees.

Here's the press release from King County.

Record water flows on rivers across the region are causing significant flooding, including possible damage to two levees along the Tolt River near the City of Carnation. Flood waters are also causing significant road damage across King County.
 

=> Read more!

This warning about a police impersonator was forwarded to us:

Forwarded message from Quinn Dahlstrom, publisher of "Welcome to Bonney Lake":

Date: Wed, Jan 7, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Subject: 1-7 Be Aware
Someone is posing as a police officer and pulls people over --then walks up to the car and pops the person in the face and steals their purse--- has flashing red lights about 30 years old and has on a blue uniform.

The one reported happened at 204th and 193rd-- sounds like Cedar view Area but could be in the county since the police are notifying the county.

Click the county for an updated list:

KING

PIERCE

The state Department of Transportation reports that SR 165 in Wilkeson has reopened to one-way, alternating traffic. The road had been closed because of water over the roadway.

Go to the WSDOT Web site for more road updates.

The state Department of Transportation has flickr page dedicated to their photos of storm damage and flooding.

You can see it by following this link.

U.S. Rep. Adam Smith today in a press release lauded the flooding response:

Rep. Smith Applauds Local Leaders and Emergency Personnel’s Response to Flooding; Urges President to Act Quickly

Washington – Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09) released the following statement applauding the efforts of local leaders and first responders in Washington State and urging the President to take prompt action to provide Federal support:

“As we continue to grapple with the unprecedented flooding in Washington state, with thousands of people forced to evacuate their homes, I will continue to work with the Governor, local officials and the federal government to ensure Washington state’s needs are met.

=> Read more!

While floodwaters are receding throughout the central Puget Sound region, the small community of Pacific began flooding Thursday evening.

“It’s still rising,” Mark Wentworth, a spokesman for the Pacific Police Department, said this morning.

More than 80 homes are surrounded by water in the southeast part of the city as water from the White River overflowed its banks.

A boat from the Valley Regional Fire Authority is going door to door to see if people need help, Wentworth said.

City Clerk Sandy Paul said a number of people have come to a warming shelter at City Hall.

Pacific straddles the King-Pierce county lines next to Auburn.
Mayor Rich Hildreth activated the city’s Emergency Operations Center at 7:30 a.m., Wentworth said, adding that no one has been injured.

He explained the flooding is due to water being dumped into the White River to relieve pressure at the Corps of Engineer’s Mud Mountain Dam upstream east of Enumclaw.

The problem, he said, is that the White River, which empties into the Puyallup River, can’t empty any more water in to the swollen Puyallup River.

Wentworth said the water began overflowing the bank into City Park about 6 p.m. Wednesday and then began spreading onto nearby streets and into homes.

He said water is at least knee high around two apartment buildings.

We're getting reports of extensive flooding problems in Pacific.

We're on it and will provide an update as soon as possible.

Our news partners at KIRO just posted a story:

Flooding In Pacific Causing Controversy, Confusion

Friday, January 9, 2009 – updated: 9:28 am PST January 9, 2009
PACIFIC, Wash. -- Residents and government in the town of Pacific are in an uproar after the town was flooded by water pouring into the town from the White River.

Water began pouring into the town at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday night at about 2 inches per hour, flooding homes with several feet of water.

Pacific Mayor Richard Hildreth said a levee on the river broke and blamed King County government for not protecting the town.

Until you check the rules, the state Department of Ecology says...

OLYMPIA - Washington residents who want to burn debris from
recent floods and storms should contact the Washington Department of
Ecology (Ecology) or their local clean air agency for rules and permit
information.

In counties where a state of emergency has been declared, permits
can be issued so residents can burn natural vegetation left on the land
by storms or floods. Debris must be burned by the property owner or a
designee on the same land where it was deposited, according to
Washington law.

=> Read more!

Teams from the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center will be checking on residents and assessing damage starting today. The Washington National Guard will be helping them.

Here's the information on what those who suffered damage should do:

Residents and business owners in the City of Tacoma and Pierce County that suffered damage should call the Department of Emergency Management Damage call center at 1-866-798-6363 (toll free) between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5 PM.

Callers should have the following information available:
* Name and address of affected property
* Type of insurance (homeowners)
* A description of damage, even if uninsured
* A personal estimate of uninsured losses
* Estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.

At this time it is not necessary for property owners to have a contractor's estimate.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is scheduled to tour flood damage in Orting and Chehalis this afternoon, her office announced.

She will be joined by U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters.

1:30 p.m. Gov. Gregoire, Sen. Murray, Sen. Cantwell, US Transportation Sec. Mary Peters to tour flood damage in Orting

2:30 p.m. Gov. Gregoire, Sen. Murray, Sen. Cantwell, US Transportation Sec. Mary Peters to tour flood damage in Lewis County

All lanes of Highway 162 in Orting reopened a little after 4 a.m., state officials said. A six-mile stretch of road had been closed since Wednesday due to flooding.

You may want to also check out the state Department of Transportation's interactive map of road closures and traffic alerts.

Here are some additional updates on condition across the region:

OLYMPIA - Floodwaters are subsiding in many areas and WSDOT continues
working toward opening vital freight and travel routes across the state.

As of 4:30 a.m., 68 sections of state highway have reopened. There are
49 sections still closed and 18 restricted. I-5 through Lewis County and
I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass remain closed at this hour. I-90 remains
closed from milepost 33 near North Bend to milepost 106 near Ellensburg.
WSDOT will assess I-90 roadway conditions later this morning and we are
hopeful to open the pass this afternoon. WSDOT and emergency contractor
crew Scarsella Brothers are working around the clock to redirect water
into ditches, as well as remove snow and debris from the roadway. There
are still areas of water on the roadway.

Crews will also be out assessing the flood situation on I-5 early today.
I-5 remains closed from exit 68 (11 miles south of Chehalis) to exit 88
(about 20 miles south of Olympia). Water has begun to recede on the
highway, but crews need to assess highway conditions as well as levels
at the Airport Road dike during daylight hours.

US 2 has reopened to traffic after a two day closure caused by flooding
and avalanche danger. The pass reopened at approximately 4:00 p.m.
Thursday.

US 12 White Pass is not a viable east-west route at this time due to
flooding at Randle (mile post 116) and a large washout near Glenoma
(mile post 108) There is currently no access to a viable detour via US
12. To avoid trucks stacking up where there is limited parking, WSDOT is
holding westbound commercial vehicles at Naches. WSDOT has cleared
multiple mudslides on US 12 between Packwood in Lewis County (mile post
131) and Naches (mile post 189) in Yakima County. WSDOT is allowing
local traffic only to travel in both directions within this previously
closed area.

Due to extreme weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest, Amtrak
service throughout portions of the region continues to be disrupted
through Saturday, January 10.

Westbound highway 12 at White Pass is open at highway 410 near Packwood.

No traffic may proceed beyond Packwood, the state Department of Transportation said, and traction tires are advised. There is snow and slush on the road.

Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass will stay closed until at least Friday morning. Highway 2 at Stevens Pass closed earlier today.

Communities hit hard by overflowing rivers have some good news: Schools will be open and operating as usual in Orting, Puyallup, Sumner and White River school districts.

Each of those districts had at least one or all of their schools closed on Thursday.

There will, however, be minor changes awaiting students in several districts.

In White River’s Wilkeson Elementary, the main building will be open but portable buildings, which are closest to a creek, will be off limits to students.

In Sumner, there will be no school bus transportation on McCutcheon Road, West Valley Highway or in the Bowman-Hilton Mobile Home Park, In Orting, there will be no school bus transportation on Highway 162, south of Patterson Road to South Prairie, or at 177th, Keating and Elk Heights.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by News Tribune staff writer Debby Abe)

Update: There is no school Friday in the Carbonado School District.

Report from the flood zone:

"That's a six-foot fence we just went over," said Keith Chadd, paddling a canoe onto his 15-acre "Dancing Nanny Farm" off River Road.

Chadd's entire farm is a lake, inundated when the flood gates on the Puyallup River automatically closed Thursday, backing up Swan Creek.

His orchard and grapes are under water, his 100-cord woodpile collapsed and floated away; and water is flowing through his barn. About $10,000 worth of dahlias, which he sells at the Puyallup Farmers' Market, are under water and ruined.

"The good thing is, our house didn't get flooded," Chadd said, pointing with his paddle.

Water surrounds the house but stops just short of the floorboards. A half dozen turkeys have taken refuge on the porch and are roosting on the railings.

When the water started rising Wednesday, Chadd said, he and two neighbor farmers helped each other evacuate livestock. They used a horse trailer to move Chadd's sheep –12 pregnant ewes - to higher ground. He let his heirloom turkeys out of their pen. All survived the flood but one, which was on the woodpile when it collapsed.

All things considered, Chadd is in a remarkably good mood.

"This is not going to get me down," he said. "Our house is not flooded. I have a place to live. A lot of our neighbors have it a lot worse."

He paddles the canoe to the house next door. Water is up to the doorknob. Inside, the refrigerator has tipped over and is bobbing up and down in the kitchen. Chadd rescued them in his canoe Wednesday night.

"They lost everything," Chadd said. "After seeing my neighbors, seeing they have nothing left, how can I complain? If i were to complain after that, I wouldn’t be much of a guy."

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Rob Carson)

Orting emergency management officials have given the all-clear and say Orting residents may immediately return to their homes.

Utility workers are still checking sewer and water systems, but no danger exists for residents, officials say.

All of the levees around the city held up to the flooding, officials said, with the exception of minor damage to areas behind Orting Elementary and Ptarmigan Ridge School and the Conestoga ball field.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Rob Carson)

Auburn is experiencing some minor flooding. Here's an update from city officials.

Current Road Closures:

-37th @ Mill Creek - 1 lane in each direction -Peasley Canyon Road - 1 lane closed -West Valley @ Peasley - 1 lane closed -West Valley closed through all of Pacific

River Information:

Water is currently being discharged from Howard Hanson dam into the Green River. River levels will continue to rise through Monday but will be closely monitored by the Army Corps of Engineers. Auburn's rivers (Green and White) are controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers.

White River volumes are increasing, with flood warnings issued for Buckley.

Other Significant Area Incidents:

*100 Mt. View Drive - Public Works is monitoring slope movement. The road is open at this time.
*Lea Hill - A private residence has had 15 feet of their backyard slide away, with cracks having now appeared approximately 8 feet from the residence. Engineering and Building Officials are inspecting.

Further questions can be directed to Auburn's Office of Emergency Management at 253-876-1925 during normal business hours (which may be extended in the event of a disaster). In the case of an emergency, call 911.

Sounder train service between Tacoma and Seattle is expected to be back on schedule for the morning commute.

BNSF crews are inspecting the railroad tracks and reopening them, Sound Transit reported.

Commuters are encouraged to check Sound Transit's Web site in the morning for the latest information.

The Salvation Army is stepping into help those in flood-ravaged areas.

The organization has clean-up kits ready to be delivered to Orting and is helping local businesses stack sandbags and feed volunteers in Puyallup.

Here's information from Salvation Army about what they are doing in other counties:

Lewis:

- Two shelters open, actively feeding and housing displaced residents

The Salvation Army Corps Destiny Christian Church
303 N. Gold St. 413 N. Tower Ave.
Centralia, WA 98531 Centralia, WA 98531

- Cooking meals to be delivered to all Red Cross Shelters in the area

- People interested in filling sandbags should go to the following locations:

Centralia: Destiny Christian Church, Reynolds Road Public Works Dept.
Chehalis: Lewis County Public Works (located on Kreskee Road)

- A Canteen is currently headed to Lewis County from Tacoma to for cooking and mobile feeding

Note: Based on staff reports from the scene, it is expected that three times the amount of homes from last year, will be affected. Approximately 500 last year and possibly 1500 damaged this year.

Snohomish:

- A disaster relief canteen is at the Stanwood sandbag staging area (Stanwood-Camano Village Shopping Center, Rt 532 at 72nd Ave NW) feeding volunteers

Clark:

- The fairgrounds are open for truckers to park because of the I-5 closure. 1,000 trucks are expected to park there during the next two days. The Salvation Army is feeding the drivers.

Cowlitz County:

- 3,000 residents are starting to return to their homes after the mandatory evacuation was lifted. The Longview/Kelso Corps continues to be on stand-by to serve as a shelter.
- Continuing to feed meals to those in need

Grays Harbor:

- We have sheltered displaced families in a local motel until other shelter can be provided.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the White River near Buckley.

High flows on the river are passing through Mud Mountain Dam and are expected to raise the river above flood stage, the service reported this afternoon.

The flow at 1 p.m. was 8,188 cubic feet per second. The flood flow is 10,000 cfs. The weather service forecasts minor flooding above and below the dam after the river rises above flood flow at 3 p.m. today.

The river is expected to crest near 11,500 CFS about 10 p.m. today.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service canceled the flood warning for the Carbon River near Fairfax in Pierce County.

Report from the flood zone:

Some Wilkeson residents were cleaning up Thursday afternoon after a swollen Gale Creek washed out of its banks.

Jim Graham shoveled more than a foot of sand from around his garage door, some 50 feet from the receding but still roiling creek. He said the flooding began late Wednesday and continued until early this morning.

At one point, Graham said he had 16 inches of water in his basement. He's not sure whether his washer, dryer and water heater will survive.

Further up Gale Creek, Jim Peloli lost a three-car garage to rising water, despite the efforts of about 70 people who worked to protect his home.

His daughter, Lina Randall, said friends filled sandbags and dumped five truckloads of boulders on Peloli's property in an effort to shore up the creek banks. But the water kept rising, wiping out the garage's foundation, a sidewalk and 10 to 12 feet of Peloli's back yard.

On Thursday, Randall surveyed what was left of the garage and the belongings still there. Though the effort failed, she was proud of the work of her dad's friends and neighbors.

"We had a lot of help," she said. "It just wasn't enough."

One of those who helped was Bambi Thawsh. She returned to her own home on Railroad Avenue late Wednesday. When the furnace kicked on, she heard a gurgling sound. Water had seeped up from the ground, flooding her yard and filling her heating vents.

Early this afternoon, Thawsh's yard was still flooded, and she had two and a half feet of water in the crawl space under her home.

She's lived in Wilkeson 52 years.

"I have never seen this bad," she said.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Dave Wickert)

This is a transportation update from the Sumner School District:

After school bus service will be provided to to Rivergrove, Riverwalk, Southfork and Riverbend areas, and along Riverside Road. No transportation to Bowman-Hilton, along McCutcheon Road or on the West Valley Highway. Expect some delays on afternoon

Report from the flood zone:

The Puyallup School District is catching its breath today after a busy night moving buses, sandbagging schools and keeping a watch over lowland district buildings amid changing flood conditions.

Drivers moved heavy equipment and 185 buses from the district's downtown bus lot to higher ground at its South Hill transportation center, district spokeswoman Karen Hansen said.

Other workers placed sandbags around schools in the recommended evacuation zones. That included Karshner, Stewart and Shaw Road elementary schools and Riverside Elementary, which no longer is used as a school.

The efforts may have helped buffet schools against overflowing rivers. So far staff have found only minor damage to buildings.

But the district will have extra costs to pay the staff who worked overtime to do the driving and bagging. Administrators will be figuring he tab.

Meanwhile, schools are closed today but the district plans to open them Friday.

If there's no water around your kids' school and you're wondering why the district decided to close them all, here are a few of the factors officials cite.

Last night, every section of the district had at least some roads closed. It wasn't known how bad conditions would be today or whether all staff and substitutes could reach schools. Plus, there were already those three schools in the recommended evacuation zone.

"We were just really lucky the rivers didn't breach the levees as was originally predicted," Hansen said.

The district is still deciding when to make up today's lost school day.

It's the fourth lost day of school, counting the three due to snow and ice last month, Hansen said. Though the school calendar lists June 17, 18, and 19 as possible make-up days, administrators will work with employee unions to set the exact days.

Here’s an update from the Puyallup Schools Emergency Operations Center (EOC) that was sent this morning.

This is an update from Puyallup Schools Emergency Operations Center (EOC) regarding the flooding of the Puyallup River and how it is affecting our community and schools.

Thank you for your patience during this emergency. As always, the safety of our students and staff was the primary consideration in the decision to close schools today and to delay the arrival of 12-month employees. Although the emergency flooding was localized, it was nevertheless severe in those areas. For the first time in recent history, we received orders from Pierce County EOC and City of Puyallup EOC to evacuate three areas within the school district boundaries.

There is good news: The river did not breach its levees as projected by Pierce County and the City of Puyallup EOCs. It crested 6 inches below the levee just after midnight (rather than the predicted 4-6 feet over the levee which was expected at 10 am today). However, it was the seventh highest water level ever recorded for the Puyallup River.

Assessment reports from Facilities are indicating minimal damage to our schools--mainly roof leaks and standing water in several schools. In addition, the City of Puyallup EOC has notified us that evacuees in the City of Puyallup may now return to their homes although there are road closures in the Pioneer Way E and River Road areas. Tune in to your local news station for specific road closures.

Based on national and local weather forecasts at this time, we expect schools to be on normal schedule on Friday, January 9, 2009. Any updates will be posted on the District Web site and will be communicated through radio and television stations.

(Submitted by News Tribune staff writer Debby Abe)

Now that the flood waters are starting to recede, Pierce County emergency management officials want residents to start reporting their flood damage.

The county's Emergency Operations Center is now available to collect the information from home and business owners.

Anyone in the City of Tacoma and Pierce County can call the center toll free at 866-798-6363 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. to report damage.

Property owners should have the following information available when they call:

* Name and address of affected property

* Type of insurance (homeowners)

* A description of damage, even if uninsured

* A personal estimate of uninsured losses

* Estimate of the fair market value of the damaged home or business.

Impacted property owners do not need to have a contractor's estimate for flood-related repairs.

These reports will be sent to the governor's office so Gov. Chris Gregoire can request a disaster declaration and federal disaster assistance from the President. That process could take a couple of weeks or more.

Federal disaster assistance only covers uninsured losses.

The need for shelter is declining in Pierce County, according to Gill Bahnsen, director of the Disaster Response Program for Associated Ministries.

More than 325 people stayed at six shelters overnight. Small animals and livestock also were sheltered, Bahnsen reported.

"As of noon today the numbers of people in shelters should be about half (or less) of what they were," he said.

Bahnsen thanked the churches, other shelters and volunteers who helped in the shelters.

Anyone who lives in Pierce County and wants to help with the recovery process can contact the Associated Ministries' Care Team program.

Donations can be made to Associated Ministries, 1224 So. I Street, Tacoma, WA 98405. Indicate that the funds are for PC Flood Relief.

This isn't weather-related, but I am taking a preemptive strike before my Inbox is inundated with questions about police cars and firetrucks at Point Defiance Park.

First responders responded to the park this morning for an apparent suicide in the parking lot in the 5400 block of North Pearl Street, Tacoma police spokesman Mark Fulghum said.

Also, police officers chased a bank robber and arrested him on Portland Avenue in the county. I am waiting for some information on that and will have a story on the homepage soon. The bank robbery was in the South End of the city.

UPDATE: The story about the bank robbery is now on the homepage and can be found here.

Water over roadways and other weather-related issues wreaked havoc with Bethel School District buses, staff members and parents working to get kids to school this morning - even though classes began two hours late.

Here's an e-mailed report from Bethel School District spokeswoman Krista Carlson:

• Southwood @ 219th and 50th - water over road

• Kapowsin Hwy from Meridian to 113th - not traveling now, but will recheck later this afternoon

• Orting-Kapowsin Hwy from 274th to 284th - closed

• Southbound Meridian from 304th to Eatonville – closed

She said the district had no major problems with schools as a result of the heavy rains.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Kris Sherman)

Apparently, the floods, landslides and closed roads are taking a hit on mail delivery.

Postal workers were unable to deliver mail to more than 10,000 addresses Wednesday because of the weather problems, the U.S. Postal Service reported today.

They anticipate today will be even worse.

"There are 45 post offices in the Seattle District that are inaccessible because of closed roads," Seattle District Manager Katherine S. Nash said in a press release. "That means we can't get mail into them for delivery nor can we get mail out of those offices.

The mountain pass closures also is impacting the mail delivery. The Postal Service uses the passes to transfer mail every day.

In a press release, Nash asked customers be understanding.

"We had delivery issues during the snow and ice conditions in December," Nash said. "Now this comes on top of that. I want to assure all of our customers that we will attempt to deliver their mail as conditions allow. However, we cannot put our employees' safety at jeopardy."

Here's a link to the list of road closures in King County as of 11 a.m.

Highway 99 at the King-Pierce County line is done to one southbound lane so crews can try to remove water from the roadway.

Motorists should expect delays through the area.

UPDATE as of 12:33 p.m.: Highway 99 has reopened to traffic.

The lanes were opened at 11:45 a.m.

Report from the flood zone:

Morning light brought good news to Orting as the flooding from the Puyallup and Carbon Rivers apparently was not as bad as had been feared.

City officials remained cautious and were surveying the town for damage this morning. But Police Chief Bill Drake said the department had received no reports of deaths or injuries from the storm. And Mayor Cheryl Temple hoped that by this afternoon city officials might tell residents who evacuated that it's safe to return.

"We dodged a bullet," added City Councilman Joachim Pestinger.

Pestinger said an estimated 40 percent of Orting's 6,000 residents evacuated at the urging of emergency management officials. The evacuation order was not mandatory.

Pestinger led a band of volunteers that monitored river levels and patrolled Orting neighborhoods Wednesday night to prevent burglaries. He reported no problems.

Orting schools were closed today. But this morning most businesses appeared to be open.

The water and sewer systems are working with no problems. City officials report levy damage behind Ptarmigan Elementary School. The Calistoga ball field also suffered water damage.

Some yards near the rivers filled with water, and sandbags still circled some homes and businesses. But the flooding did not appear to be as serious as many initially feared it might be.

Not everyone was lucky. Where Orting-Kaposwin Highway crosses the Puyallup River, 16-year-old Kayla Rose's home began taking on water Wednesday. This morning her parents were scrambling to pump their yard and house.

Kayla watched a younger brother boat around their yard. He held a hand-made sign posted on a rake with a one-word expression of frustration: "Crap."

(Submitted by News Tribune staff David Wickert)

Officials are evacuating three to four mobile home parks along 3800 block of River Road this morning.

The evacuations are occurring now, sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said.

According to police scanner chatter, there are requesting deputies to block the road as well. Cars are trying to get through the deep water.

Mount Rainier officials have reopened the Nisqually entrance into the park.

The entrance was closed Wednesday evening as a precautionary measure.

Officials were concerned about flooding, which didn't develop overnight.

The road between Longmire and Paradise is closed for snow removal.

The National Park Inn at Longmire is open.

The massive flooding throughout the region is causing damage, altering travel plans and prompting neighbors to ban together to keep the rising waters away from property.

The ski resorts are closed. The passes remain closed and a stretch of Interstate 5 is halted travel between Seattle and Portland.

We want to hear from you. How are you surviving the flooding? Has your property or business been damaged? Have you lost animals or personal belongings?

Have the road closures changed your travel plans?

We'd also like to hear the "good stories" - those of civic heroism, neighbors helping neighbors. Did a neighbor ferry you out of your home by boat? Did someone take you in?

Submit your stories here or via e-mail at newstips@thenewstribune.com.

Tacoma city crews will close Lincoln Avenue Bridge for six hours today to debris brought downriver by Wednesday's flooding.

The bridge in the Tideflats will be closed at 10:30 a.m.

Crews estimate they need six hours to remove debris that's backed up in the Puyallup River at the base of the bridge, the City of Tacoma reported.

As we've reported earlier this morning, some of the local rivers have crested and started to fall.

The National Weather Service has lifted the flood warning at Puyallup River in Puyallup.

Here's a look at the other rivers from the National Weather Service in Seattle.

Nisqually River at McKenna: The river was at 10.3 feet at 3 a.m. today. Flood stage is 10 feet. Minor flooding is occurring.

The river crested at 10.5 feet at midnight. It will continue to fall.

Carbon River near Fairfax: The river was at 14 feet as of 3 a.m. today. Flood stage is 13.5 feet and minor flooding was occurred.

The river crested near 15.8 feet Wednesday afternoon. The river is now failing.

Puyallup River near Orting: The flood warning on the river continues until late tonight. As of 3 a.m. today, the river was flowing at 8,988 cubic feet per second. Flood flow is 4,500 CFS.

Minor flooding is occurring. The river crested Wednesday afternoon near 16,500 CFS and is receding even though its still above flood flow.

Nisqually River near National: The flood warning continues through Friday morning.

At 3 a.m. today, the river was at 12.2 feet, well above the flood stage of 10 feet. Major flooding is occurring.

The river crested at 12.7 feet at 10 p.m. Wednesday. It will continue to fall to below flood stage early Friday.

UPDATE at 1:30 p.m.: Pierce County's emergency management folks updated the road closure list.

The list was updated at 11:40 a.m. and can be found here.

Earlier post:
This is from Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. This list is good as of 9:35 a.m.

Riverside east at 96th St.-impassable 8-12inches water over road-barricaded (12” log blocking eastbound lane needs removed)

96th St. at McCutcheon Rd.-impassable12-24-36 inches of water over road (two blocks long) to Rhoades Lake Rd.

SR162 at 177th St to VFW-impassable up to 2 ft water over road (impasse runs 2 blocks long) blockade in place

Spring Site Rd. at SR 162-impassable up to 2ft of water over road

SR162 at VFW Hall-Impassable up to 2 ft water over road (impasse runs 2 blocks long)

Carbon River So. Prairie Rd. west of Keating Rd.-impassable 1ft water over road

So. Prairie Rd. at SR 162 to 248th Ave-impassable 24” water over road-barricaded

Johns Rd. at Wilson Creek bridge-bridge closed both directions by PW until evaluated-barricaded

SR 165 at Wilkeson Gale Creek bridge-closed 12” fast moving water-barricaded

SR165 south of Fairfax Bridge-mud/hill slide-impassable large trees over road

Interstate 90 will not reopen today over Snoqualmie Pass because of continued hazardous conditions.

The highway has been closed from North Bend to Ellensburg since late Tuesday.

The avalanche danger remains high. There are unstable slopes, water over the highway and roadway erosion through the pass, the state Department of Transportation reported this morning.

The pass is one of three major east-west routes across the Cascade Mountains that is closed.

In addition, a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in Lewis County remains closed because of flooding and there's no estimated time for it to reopen.

UPDATE: Transportation officials had a press conference 90 minutes ago and here's a recap.

Transportation crews are working to assess the road conditions and to set up detour routes given that all three mountain passes and a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 is closed.

No detours are available at this time.

"Motorists and freight shippers should anticipate additional travel delays and road closures," the agency reported. "Both I-5 and I-90 will remain closed until water levels have dropped and the roadway is determined to be suitable for traffic. It is too early to estimate the time for these openings. "

Find a list of state road closures as of 10 a.m. below.

=> Read more!

Crews from Metro Parks remove debris from a landslide near the ferry dock at Point Defiance Park Thursday morning. The Park has experienced several small slides in the last 24 hours.
JOE BARRENTINE/The News Tribune

Update: Photographer Joe Barrentine has created a video of the landslide at Point Defiance. Go here to watch it.

Traffic passes the flooded area of Interstate 5 near the King County and Pierce County line in Fife, Wash., on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009. Traffic heading south on Interstate 5 was backed-up due to the closure of two lanes by flood waters. (Lui Kit Wong/The News Tribune)

Transportation officials report that three lanes of Interstate 5 near Porter Way in the Fife area are closed because of water.

The left northbound lane and two right southbound lanes are closed, DOT reported at 9:16 a.m.

UPDATE as of 1:15 p.m.: The three lanes near Porter Way remained blocked by water over the roadway.

Drivers can get by using the three right northbound lanes and the two left southbound lanes.

Southbound traffic is backed up for five miles to South 320th Street in Federal Way.

About 100 homes along Marine View Drive are without electricity this morning and could be without power for several hours.

A mudslide near the 4200 block of Marine View Drive has knocked out power to that area and near the 4700 block of Browns Point Boulevard, Tacoma Power reported this morning.

The slide damaged two power poles and a power line.

Crews anticipate they can't get power restored today. There's no estimate on when the lights will be back on, the utility reported.

Fife and Tacoma schools are operating as announced today.

There have been some students late to Stadium High School because of road closures but no other problems have been reported.

Jeff Short, a spokesman for Fife School District, said schools were still two hours late. They are having to work around some road closures but everything else was going well.

There's been no reports of flood-related damage at the schools.

Short said officials hope the worst is behind them.

(Staff writer Kris Sherman provided information for this report.)

Report from the flood zone:

Joe Horan watched out a picture window as water crept up the driveway of his Gay Road home this morning.

The home, near River Road, on the south side of the Puyallup River, was still decorated with Christmas lights. It was surrounded on three sides by water from an overflowing Clear Creek.

Horan's view included the "Road Closed to Thru Traffic" sign in front of his house. Neighbors huddled by the sign, which marked what they hoped was the high water mark.

Horan's front yard was flooded, but the water remained about 50 feet from his house. He'd placed a board in his driveway to mark the water's progress.

Across the street, neighbor Darleen Price snapped photographs. Ducks swam in her back yard. Her detached garage was flooded. And though she did not have water in her home, it had crept beneath it. She feared it was soaking the insulation.

Still, Price kept a good attitude.

"It's not raining and the skies are blue," she said. "And I'm not going to look at that black cloud."

Horan also was optimistic. He's seen worse.

In the mid-90s he said the water got higher during a big storm. So he didn't leave Wednesday night when an evacuation warning came by automated telephone call.

Instead, he and his neighbors kept watch. They patrolled River Road overnight to see whether the Puyallup would overflow its banks, cutting off their escape.

And Horan packed his bags, just in case.

"It's still creeping," he said Wednesday morning, eyeing the board in his driveway.

(Submitted by News Tribune staff David Wickert)

I just checked in with a handful of communities in east Pierce County and here what dispatchers had to say.

Remarkably, no injuries and no weather-related deaths have been reported.

SUMNER: Evacuations and road closures remain in effect.

West Valley Highway is closed from Sumner Heights Drive to 24th Street, at least. Highway 410 is blocked from Traffic Avenue to Valley Avenue.

Officials are hoping the river has crested as emergency management crews have said.

Nevertheless, the water remains high and dangerous. Evacuation recommendations are still in place for Rainier Manor, Rivergrove Apartments,Riverwalk, residents off 29th Street in the north area of Sumner and residents of the Rivergrove area west of 147th Avenue East.

Police officers are in the Rivergrove area, making sure no one is going in that shouldn't be in there.

BUCKLEY/WILKESON: Buckley is fine but Wilkeson is not in good shape, a police dispatcher said.

PUYALLUP: The situation is getting better and the water is starting to recede.

The river did not top its banks as officials originally feared.

"It's not getting any worse," a dispatcher said this morning.

Levee Road at North Meridian is still closed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is checking out the road, Fife police reported.

FIFE: The evacuation recommendations have been lifted.

Crews have reopened the two southbound lanes of Interstate 5 near Porter Way that had been closed because of water over the roadway. DOT just reported that two southbound lanes and one northbound lane is of I-5 near Porter Way are blocked.

However, other roads remained blocked.

That includes the northbound lanes of State Route 7 (Pacific Avenue) at 132nd Street in Spanaway. (When I went through at 6:50 or so, the northbound drivers were getting around the massive puddle of water by driving in the median turn lane.)

Southbound traffic is unaffected.

Traffic at Meridian at 304th Street is being diverted onto Webster because of water over the roadway.

Kent has a handful of road closures this morning.

Find the list here.

Parts of the Puyallup area are experiencing new flooding this morning.

Creeks are overflowing their banks in the area between River Road, Pioneer and 44th Street East, the county's Department of Emergency Management reported this morning.

"A backwater valve designed to close when the Puyallup River reaches a certain height, prevents the river from emptying into the area," the county reported. "However, it also prevents the creeks from emptying into the river. It is like a bathtub. There is nothing that can be done until the river drops down and the valve can open up again. This may take many hours to happen."

Residents in this area received a reverse 911 call advising them to evacuate Wednesday. About 150 homes are in the impacted area.

Sheriff's deputies and firefighters are trying to determine how many people might be trapped in their homes. They've been going door to door but have found that many people left.

Here's a link to the list.

Sixty sections of state roads remained closed this morning after yesterday's heavy rain and flooding.

More than 1,200 transportation crews, National Guard members and Washington State Patrol troopers are working to monitor those roadways and keep drivers safe.

However, the closures will disrupt commerce and travelers.

All three major east-west passes over the Cascade Mountains remain closed.

In addition, a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 5 in Lewis County is closed because of flooding. The water is still rising in Chehalis at nearly a foot an hour, the state DOT officials reported. No detours are available.

Transportation officials say I-5 and Interstate 90 will remain closed to traffic until the water levels drop and the roadway is determined safe for travel.

The stretch of I-5will be closed for at least 24 hours, officials have said. There is no estimated time for its reopening.

Snoqualmie Pass might reopen today, according to transportation officials.

The closures will no doubt impact commerce. Nearly 40,000 drivers - including 7,000 trucks - cross the passes each day. Another 55,000 drivers - including 10,000 trucks - pass through Lewis County on I-5 each day.

Amtrak Cascades has canceled service today because the main north-south rail lines along I-5 are covered in water.

UPDATE at of 9:20 a.m.: DOT officials are now reporting that Snoqualmie Pass WILL NOT likely reopen today.

A number of roads remain closed this morning in Tacoma. The roads will reopen as the water subsides and mudslides are cleared away.

The flood warning for the Puyallup River has been canceled. Tacoma crews plan to temporarily close the Lincoln Avenue Bridge in the Tideflats at 8 a.m. to remove debris.

Here's the list of closures as of 5:30 a.m.:

Southbound Schuster Parkway
East 88th Street between A and B streets
East 84th Street between B and Sherwood streets
McKinley Avenue between 90th and 96th streets
Ruston Way between McCarver Street and Alder Way
South Orchard Street between 6th and 12th streets
South 74th Street between South Tacoma Way and Tyler Street
North Ferdinand Street at Waterview Hill
South Hosmer Street between 86th and 96th streets
Marine View Drive in approximately the 5400 block

UPDATE: Earlier this morning, Tacoma police Lt. Bob Ruiz reported that, despite the road closures and mudslides, there have been no injuries and no power outages.

A mudslide has blocked the 5600 block of Marine View Drive. Trees, mud, debris and downed telephone lines were taken down with the slide and block the roadway.

A few homes in Northeast Tacoma were evacuated Tuesday night. Residents were asked to leave in the 5600 block of Kennedy Drive N.E. after their back yards were washed out;.

A caller reported a mudslide at the Point Defiance ferry dock. The debris is covering a couple of parked cars but the ferry is operating normally.

"Everything is fine, it's just messy," the woman said.

UPDATE at 8 a.m.: Schuster Parkway has reopened. South Orchard Street between South Sixth and 12 streets also has reopened.

UPDATE at 9:20 a.m.: Ruston Way from McCarver to Alder is reopened, according to the City of Tacoma.

The worst is over.

At least on the weather side of things.

"The heavy rainfall has come to an end," said Dustin Guy, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.

That is good news for flood and heavy precipitation weary residents of the South Sound. There will just some scattered showers.

However, there is a lag between the decline of precipitation and the slowing of flooding, so raging waters are still a danger today.

Guy said both the Carbon and Puyallup rivers have already crested and the levels area dropping. Things were not as bad as predicted. In fact, the flood watch was canceled for the Puyallup River in Puyallup, even though residents still face high waters. That river crested just short of flood stage.

But both rivers are still above the flood stage in the Orting area.

"There is still major flooding on both the Carbon and Puyallup," Guy said.

But at least on the weather side, things will be better. The last major front moved through overnight, leaving lingering precipitation in the South Sound.

There will be scattered showers through the day, but nothing like the beads of water that pelted everyone on Wednesday. And as the day goes along, the showers will become more scattered, before giving way to partly cloudy skies by nightfall.

I took off from the incident command center about a half an hour ago, and other than everyone being exhausted, things seemed to be going well.

The scanners were eerily quiet and there was no news coming into the center through most of the night. Waters have been receding slowly at the Carbon and Puyallup rivers and there were no levee breaks or serious rescues overnight.

The Carbon River is still a few inches above flood levels, but is receding, along with the Puyallup River in the Orting area. When waters fall below flood levels, engineers will release water from the Mud Mountain Dam to ease pressure before more rain comes on Friday.

Crews were finishing up their plans for Thursday morning, and as long as the levees hold, they should be pared-down versions of Wednesday's activities.

If flooding continues today and more evacuations occur, here is the list of Red Cross shelters in the area.

King County

Red Cross Shelter at Preston Park Community Center
8625 310th Avenue SE, Preston, WA 98050

Red Cross Shelter at Saint Matthew’s Lutheran Church
1700 Edmonds Avenue NE, Renton, WA 98056

Pierce County

Red Cross Shelter at Buckley Hall
127 North River Avenue, Buckley, WA 98321

Red Cross Shelter at Calvary Community Church
15116 Gary Street East, Sumner, WA 98390

Red Cross Shelter at Mountain View Lutheran Church
3505 122nd Avenue East, Edgewood, WA 98372

Thurston County

Red Cross Shelter at Rochester LDS Church
18501 Paulson SW, Rochester, WA 98579

Red Cross Shelter at New Day Christian Centre
17110 Violet Prairie Road, Tenino, WA 98589

Mason County

Red Cross Shelter at Mason County Public Utility District 3
307 West Cota Street, Shelton, WA 98584

Lewis County

Red Cross Shelter at Westminster Presbyterian Church
349 North Market Blvd, Chehalis, WA 98532

Red Cross Shelter at Centralia LDS Church
2801 Mount Vista, Centralia, WA 98531

Red Cross Shelter at Oakview Grange
2715 North Pearl, Centralia, WA 98531

Red Cross Shelter at Napavine Elementary
209 East Park Street, Napavine, WA 98356

Red Cross Shelter at Morton Elementary School
427 Main Street, Morton, WA 98356

Red Cross Shelter at Packwood Community Presbyterian Church
13096 US Highway 12, Packwood, WA 98361

Snohomish County

Red Cross Shelter at the Rock Church
16891 146th Street SE, Monroe, WA 98272

Red Cross Shelter at Arlington Free Methodist Church
730 East Highland Drive, Arlington, WA

Red Cross Shelter at New View Church
8028 272nd Street NW, Stanwood, WA

Skagit County

Red Cross Shelter at St. Catherine Catholic Mission
45603 Limestone Street, Concrete, WA

All Burlington Northern rail lines from Tacoma to Portland are closed because of weather.

The Sounder shuttle already closed Wednesday night, and a memo to emergency officials early this morning announced the Burlington Northern closure.

The flooding has had a heavy impact on Pierce Transit service for Thursday.

Here's what is canceled/delayed:

Here's the most recent list of highway closures from the state Department of Transportation.

Pierce County

I-5 - The right two southbound lanes of I-5 near Fife are closed due to water over the roadway. Two southbound lanes remain open. Northbound I-5 is not affected in the area and remains open. Note total I-5 closure listed below in Thurston County.
A seven-mile stretch of SR 162 is closed from Orville Road to just outside the town limits of South Prairie (milepost 11 to 17.5).

SR 165 near Church Street in Wilkeson is closed due to flood waters.
Standing water on I-5, SR 16, and SR 512 is creating potentially hazardous conditions for motorists.

SR 410 at Traffic Avenue in Sumner is closed due to water over the roadway.

SR 161 northbound is closed at 317th Street E and SR 161 southbound at 304th Street E due to water over the roadway. No detour available.

SR 7 southbound is closed at Elbe. This is a manned closure, local traffic only south of Elbe on SR 7.

Thurston County

I-5, Closed in both directions between US 12 junction and Grand Mound (milepost 68-88)
Both directions of I-5 is closed due to severe flooding over the roadway.

Kitsap County

SR 166 closed in both directions between mileposts 0 and 3 in the Port Orchard vicinity due to a mudslide. The eastbound SR 16 exit to SR 166 is also closed..

A list of all roads closed in Pierce County is available here.

With so much water rolling up to Orting homes, it seems fairly surprising that there is no one in area emergency shelters, officials said at the incident command center in Graham.

Both the Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Graham and the Orting Valley Senior Center in downtown Orting are open to anyone who has evacuated, but with nowhere to go. The senior center is housing members of the National Guard and the county swiftwater rescue team until the morning.

However, there are some people reportedly staying in shelters in both Bonney Lake and Buckley, officials said.

Officials at the incident command center in Graham tell me they have received at least 300 emergency calls related to flooding in the Orting area.

Crews have been going home through the night in preparation for a busy morning as people wake up and water levels change.

The two major rivers in the Orting Valley are still raging and above flood level, but they seem to be leveling off and aren't flooding as bad as some had anticipated.

The Carbon River near Fairfax is at about 14.21 feet, just above flood level and is projected to stay above flood level through the morning, according to the National Weather Service Northwest River Forecast Center.

The Puyallup River at Orting sits at 9.57 feet, above the flood level of 7.31 feet. The Puyallup River at Puyallup is leveling off at 29.31 feet, just below the 30 feet flood level. It is still projected to be above flood level at that location, but forecasters still aren't sure of all the snow melt has flowed into the river.

It was tough to think things had been improving.

Rain pelted the windshield as the wipers were not able to keep up. I had to keep rolling down the window or squinting at the windshield to see where we were.

Nevertheless, Sgt. Bill Colberg of the Gig Harbor Police said, it is getting better. Even if it is a marginal improvement, it is still an improvement.

"Hopefully we dodged a bullet," Colberg said.

Colberg is one of the about a dozen remaining emergency officials working at the incident command center in Graham, the headquarters of all activity in the Orting Valley.

Colberg's job is to cruise around in a Gig Harbor Fire Department SUV and do a "windshield survey" -- drive around and look to see if things are getting worse.

I went out with him at about 11 p.m. to drive around. The rivers were reportedly about to crest, and he wanted to see what has changed in the hour and a half since he got back from his last trip.

There were projections of water levels jumping rapidly.

We pulled over in a development north of Orting to see the raging Puyallup River that runs within 20 yards of houses, most of which still had its residents inside.

The river was fierce, and the rain pelted down (drenching my stupidly uncovered head). But Colberg said the water seemed to recede a foot or two in this area, along with a couple other places where the water seemed dangerous.

There was still more than a foot of standing water in downtown Orting, and portions of highway 162 were closed with massive amounts of water on it. But by this unscientific survey, the water seemed to recede and maybe things were improving.

"I was expecting to see more issues at midnight," Colberg said as he turned back to Graham. "I'm glad we didn't."

There's about to be a briefing at the incident command center, so I'll update as soon as I can.

About 40 percent of the residents of the Orting Valley have left, officials said, and now a major concern is protecting their property for the looters who come out to prowl on emptied homes.

"We are doing our best to look after the property of those who have evacuated," said Bill Drake, chief of the Orting Police Department.

Looters were a problem in the 2006 floods. Randy Shelton, chief of Orting Valley Fire & Rescue, said he was driving around flooded areas when he saw someone in a pickup truck who had just looted and abandoned residence. When he pulled over, the looter tried to run the chief down.

This time around, the authorities in the area will not tolerate looters. Orting Police and other volunteer authorities are patrolling the area.

A group of citizens have even gotten together to drive around and monitor Orting neighborhoods.

"If you attempt to come into Orting and try to steal, you will be caught and punished," Shelton said. "We will not tolerate it."

I am finally able to access the Internet, so hopefully I'll be updating the blog through the night.

I have been staying at the incident command center for the flooding in the Orting Valley, which is headquartered at the Graham Fire Department, safely up the hill from Orting.

Earlier tonight, Chief Randy Shelton of the Orting Valley Fire & Rescue was able to let some crews go home after working all day, some since 3 a.m. when flooding began. He said he didn't think there would be much activity over night, but some more flooding could occur in the morning as pressure lets off the levees around the Orting Valley.

But the high waters were intimidating through the day, and will continue through the night.

"This is beyond us," Shelton said earlier this evening.

The incident command center is made up of crews from across Pierce County, many volunteering to help out. There are representatives of Tacoma Police, Gig Harbor Police, Gig Harbor Fire, University Place Fire and others, among the local agencies. There were more than two dozens representatives here earlier tonight, controlling response plans in between bites of lasagna.

The representatives of the various agencies are here to stay on top of the floods and control responses throughout the night so local agencies can still respond to routine calls.

Even more crews are at the Orting Valley Fire & Rescue station 40 in downtown Orting, with fire and medic crews, water rescue teams and National Guard members ready to help out.

The volunteers in uniform are impressive Shelton said, because the Washington National Guard is aleady stretched so thin.

"I am honored to welcome them in our community," Shelton said.

So far I've seen mentions of "Floodpocalypse" and "Floodmageddon."

Any ideas?

Stay safe out there.

A check with the State Patrol at 11:45 p.m. shows Interstate 5 at Fife remained open, although the Puyallup River has yet to crest.

The City of Tacoma, however, has closed the following streets:

• Marine View Drive.

• Schuster Parkway due to another multiple mudslides.

• South Orchard Street from South Sixth to South 12th.

• McKinley Avenue from South 90th Street to South 96th Street.

• North Ferdinand at Waterview Hill.

• Ruston Way from McCarver Street to Alder Way.

Meanwhile, Tacoma firefighters are helping evacuate about eight homes in the Leach Creek drainage just outside the west-central part of the city.

A large pool of standing water at South 88th and Hosmer was growing and expected to make the intersection impassable in about an hour.

Post a comment here if you see other streets closed or a car-swallowing puddle of water.

To report stormwater flooding or sewage backups, call 253-591-5585. To report blockages in the road from flooding, landslides or other debris, call 253-591-5495.

Due to flooding, all morning and afternoon Sounder trains running between Tacoma and Seattle will not operate Thursday, Sound Transit reports.

Sounder trains running between Seattle and Everett aren't affected and will operate as scheduled.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer warns burglars that deputies will be patrolling evacuated areas.

“We have teams of people out specifically for that,” Troyer said tonight. “If anybody gets caught stealing or burglarizing a house, or they're in a neighborhood they shouldn’t be in, we’re making room in the jail for them.”

It just came over the scanner that there's a mudslide blocking both lanes in the 400 block of South Schuster Parkway in Tacoma, near the grain elevators. Earlier it sounded like water was flowing out of manhole covers in that area.

The City of Tacoma also has closed Ruston Way from McCarver Street to Alder Way because of street flooding.

Erin Ewald, the small farm planner with Pierce Conservation District had this advice for people who are not evacuating their livestock, even though there's a good deal of water around.

Animals do not like wet feet. They will head for high ground on their own to get out of the water.

If you do not have any high ground, but a neighbor does, ask permission to let your animals into that field.

If you keep your animals in a barn, consider leaving the door open so they can get out and reach high ground.

If you must keep several animals in the barn, secure them in different sections. They will compete for any dry surface in the barn, and this will keep them from trampling each other.

After this water goes away, cooperate with neighbors on a plan that will allow as many animals as possible to make it to high ground.

Consider building a "critter pad." It's a mound of fairly solid fill that's high enough to give livestock a dry place to stand.

Remember that Pierce County has two emergency shelters for livestock: The Puyallup Fairgrounds and Frontier Park at 21718 Meridian Ave. E., in Graham.

If you need help evacuating your livestock, call Pierce County Emergency Management at (253)798-7470, or Greta Cook at Washington State Animal response Team, (1-253)569-7799.

Associated Ministries has become a partner in dealing with emergencies. In addition to training responders and lining up resources, it helps muster and deploy volunteers and donations.

Gill Bahnsen has issued this call:

Current Flooding Situation

Severe flooding has initiated evacuations from Orting, Sumner, Puyallup, Fife and other areas. Shelters have been opened. However, the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management will need additional staffing at these shelters.

These links provide up-to-date information regarding the flooding in Pierce County. http://matterhorn9.co.pierce.wa.us/floodMonitor/floodforecast.jsp and http://columbia.co.pierce.wa.us/crisiscom/index.htm# Click on the Disaster Info link for more detailed reports

If you are available to help, please contact David Alger at davida@associatedministries.org (253) 376-8314 cell or Gill Bahnsen at gillb@associatedministries.org or (253) 275-0005 cell.
Your name and contact information will be put on a list and forwarded to the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center Shelter Coordinator, Daucy Wilson.

The State Patrol and Department of Transportation are monitoring Interstate 5 through Fife for possible closure. Here is the release from the Washington Emergency Management Division.

Potential Exists for I-5 Closure in Fife
CAMP MURRAY, WASH. – Current river forecasts indicate the potential for flooding in the Fife area that would require the closure of Interstate-5 in the area north of the Puyallup River Bridge.

Precise timing is difficult to predict, but computer models indicate that the freeway and surrounding areas might flood within the next few hours. There is potential for the freeway to be closed prior to the conclusion of this afternoon’s rush hour.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Washington State Patrol (WSP) are closely monitoring the Puyallup River to determine the proper timing. Along with computer modeling and river gauges, the Washington State Patrol has assigned troopers to visually monitor river levels and provide warning.

Alternate routes are limited, with State Routes 167 and 512 being the most likely options for drivers. WSP and WSDOT are still determining the appropriate closure points.

“Closing a major freeway in such a highly-populated, urban area is not something we take lightly,” said Assistant Chief Les Young of WSP’s Field Operations Bureau. “Our priority is to close the freeway early enough that we don’t put anyone in harm’s way.”

Residents should monitor local news, highway signage and the WSDOT website (www.wsdot.wa.gov) to learn of further developments.
It is not clear how long the freeway and surrounding areas will be under water. Once the water recedes it will be necessary for engineers to check the roadbed for safety and make any needed repairs before reopening.

Road Closures

Washington State Patrol (WSP) & Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) report Blewett, Snoqualmie, Stevens and White Passes closed.

Major highway road closures reported include SR 106, SR 410, SR 539, SR 9, SR 546, SR 202, SR 162, SR 112, SR 165, SR 10, SR 8 and SR 20 due to mudslides, water over roadway, roadcuts and safety concerns. Please check with the WSDOT for closures and approximate reopening times at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts/.

# # # #
Washington Military Department
Washington Emergency Management Division
Camp Murray, Washington
www.emd.wa.gov</blockquote>

From the news release:

The U.S Army Corps of Engineers has predicted the Puyallup River may overflow its banks early Thursday morning. As a result of this prediction, Tacoma’s Mayor Bill Baarsma and City Manager Eric Anderson issued a proclamation that the City of Tacoma is in a state of civil emergency.

The declaration was made based on flooding risks to the City’s Central Wastewater Treatment Plant, which could pose a risk to public health.

The City’s Emergency Operations Center will open at 6 p.m. tonight and will remain open for the duration of the emergency.

The City’s surface water crews have switched to a 24-hour work schedule to attempt to keep the more than 22,000 public storm drains clean in Tacoma. Drains near street corners and in low areas of streets and parking lots are the main concern. Drivers navigating Tacoma’s rain-logged streets or in areas that are prone to slides, such as Schuster Parkway and Marine View Drive, are encouraged to drive with caution. Remember that it is not safe to walk or drive through flooded areas.

For the latest about potential flooding and street closure information, visit www.cityoftacoma.org. To report stormwater flooding or sewage backups, call 253-591-5585. To report blockages in the road from flooding, landslides or other debris, call 253-591-5495.

Amtrak has suspended train service between Portland and Seattle due to mudslides.

Amtrak says there will be no train service between Seattle and Portland from Thursday through Saturday.

Amtrak has also canceled service between Spokane and Seattle tonight.

Train service north of Seattle is suspended, with alternate transportation available.

– The Associated Press

Chief Leschi schools in Puyallup will be closed Thursday due to weather, too.

A deep pool of water on South 88th Street forced detours this afternoon for parents picking up students from Tacoma’s Larchmont Elementary, the school district said this afternoon.

Crews from the city and the Tacoma School District were unable to clear the roadway between East A and East B streets “because of high groundwater levels,” a message to parents and families said.

Tacoma police closed the street.

Parents were asked to head to Larchmont from East 96th Street on East B Street.

Buses were running at normal times, school district officials said.

They reported no other issues due to flooding today.

Peter Haley/The News Tribune

For the first time, Pierce County's emergency plan includes free, secure shelter for livestock.

Frontier Park at 21718 Meridian Ave. E. in Graham and the Puyallup Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. S.W., in Puyallup have ample barn space for horses, cows, goats, sheep, llamas and alpacas threatened by the flooding.

Frontier Park, the site of the Pierce County Fair, also has space for rabbits and cats. Animal owners are welcome to stay on the grounds in travel trailers, or to spend the night in the park's lodge, which will be equipped with cots. They are not required to stay with the animals.

Frontier Park manager Erin Benedict said he has stall space for about 80 horses, and 53 already are occupied. He has corrals ready for additional horses.

At the Puyallup Fairgrounds, livestock owners are welcome to sleep near their animals, as 4-H exhibitors often do during the fair. Again, they are not required to stay in the barns.

Facilities manager Alan Baker said five horses had been brought in by Wednesday afternoon, with stalls available for scores more. The cattle, sheep and goat barns also are ready.

Owners do not have to call in advance. They need only arrive at the parks with their animals on leads. They also are encouraged to bring feed for their animals.

Sheri Badger of Pierce County's emergency management team said it included a livestock evacuation plan to prevent losses like those suffered in last winter's Chehalis River flood.

Classes will begin two hours late Thursday in the Bethel School District.

Continued rain, flooding and water over roadways prompted school officials to make that call this afternoon, spokeswoman Krista Carlson said.

The two-hour-late start in the 17,500-student Spanaway-based school district means there will be no half-day kindergarten, no Head Start, no preschool classes, no early childhood programs and no out-of-district transportation, Carlson said.

State Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond expects floodwaters will close Interstate 5 at Centralia.

She told KOMO Radio that the northbound lanes would probably go under first this afternoon and the rest of the freeway tonight.

Centralia is at I-5 milepost 82 in Lewis County, about 51 miles south of Tacoma.

With the major highway passes in the Cascades also closed by avalanche danger, Hammond says it looks as if traffic to Western Washington will be cut off. She calls it the “worst of the worst” situation.

Hammond says Stevens Pass has the best chance of opening first.

High water and slides have closed 62 highways statewide.

Crews are monitoring the I-5 corridor and ready to take action if the freeway becomes unsafe to pass, the agency reported this morning.

A 20-mile stretch of I-5 in Centralia through Lewis County was closed for four days in December 2007 after the Chehalis River broke its banks. The river crested at nearly 10 feet above flood stage. An estimated $4 million was lost in business.

Wilkeson Elementary School in Wilkeson will be closed Thursday and district officials are weighing whether to cancel class for the rest of the White River School District, as well, district Superintendent Tom Lockyer said this afternoon.

Classes already were canceled this morning at Wilkeson Elementary. School buses were arriving at the school around 8 a.m. when emergency authorities told the school to evacuate. Staff notified parents to pick up their children, and youngsters whose parents couldn’t be contacted were transported to Glacier Middle School. By 1 p.m., parents had picked up all Wilkeson students, Lockyer said.

As far as Lockyer knows, Wilkeson Elementary’s main building is safe from flooding, but there might be damage to portable buildings on the campus.

Lockyer couldn’t get out to Wilkeson to inspect. His home on a hill on South Prairie Road in Buckley is fine, but the portion of that road that he must travel to get to work is flooded out.

“I’ve been conducting business from my home,” he said.

– Debby Abe, The News Tribune

Officials at Mount Rainier National Park officials have decided to close the Nisqually Entrance gate tonight.

It's a precautionary measure because of the uncertainty of the rising rivers.

"This step is being taken due to concerns for visitor and employee safety, given the current forecast for flooding and the unpredictability of the Nisqually River, Tahoma and Kautz Creeks, which run along and across the main road between the Nisqually Entrance and Longmire," park officials reported.

No major damage has been found at this point. However, officials say both Tahoma and Kautz Creeks continue to rise.

Park officials will reassess the situation in the morning.

Pierce Co. (Wash.) Sheriff Paul Pastor walks up a flooded road after meeting with rescue workers who were evacuating residents from a flooded neighborhood along McCutcheon Rd. near Orting, Wash. Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009. The rapidly rising Puyallup River forced hundreds of people in the area from their homes. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

The heavy rain behind some of the worst flooding to hit Washington in 20 years will continue into the night, but is expected to end by Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said this afternoon.

Flooding is expected to continue through Friday, however, and avalanches and landslides will continue to pose threats through Friday as well, said Ted Buehner, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle.

Some 22 rivers are at or above flood stage this afternoon and 19 are forecast to reach “major flood category,” Buehner said.

The weather service has issued a flood warning for the Puyallup River, which is expected to rise above flood stage around 4 p.m. this afternoon and crest near 34.5 feet about 4 a.m. Thursday. Flood stage is 30 feet

It’s expected to fall below flood stage Thursday afternoon.

Mostly dry weather is forecast for the next several days once the rain stops early Thursday, with only some light rain predicted Saturday morning.

Parts of Interstate 5 in Lewis County and Highway 167 between Tacoma and Puyallup could soon go under water, Buehner said.

"This is one of the most significant flooding events in the last 20 years," he said.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Jason Hagey)

Frank Buchiere has lived in Orting for 22 years and said he was not evacuating at this point.

"I have no where to go," he said while standing on his porch. He lives in the southeast part of town, which is older and on higher ground.

Buchiere said it's rare that there would be flooding in his neighborhood.

He noted a few people have left from his neighborhood, which is on the Carbon River side of town.

In 1996, there was water up to people's calves on the Puyallup River side of town. Buchiere said he moved to his neighborhood to get to a higher part of town.

A neighbor, Robin Martin, sent her two children to stay with their dad on high ground. She stayed behind with the German Shepherd and the goat.

"I am not worried," Martin said. "The only thing that will take the house down is the mountain."

She pointed to old house that was the old Orting hotel, which was built on high ground.

"One hundred years ago, they knew what to do," Martin said.

Two Orting valley fire paramedics were called to Timothy House, a relatively new adult care home for the elderly.

They are taking four people living there to stay at the owner's house in Graham

Angela Bronson, the owner, said they have plenty of provisions in the house but didn't want to be without medical care because of high water.

She wanted to keep them all together. A Pierce Transit Access bus was taking all four to Bronson's house up on the hill.

Tyler Bresnahan, 22, was carrying clothes out to his car. He said he was not worried about the high water but didn't want to get stuck.

He's living there with his mother, who is also leaving.

Here's the list of Pierce County road closures and restrictions.

This list is good as of 2:10 p.m.

Due to potential flooding conditions, Puyallup schools canceled all after-school and evening activities originally scheduled for today.

However, Communities In Schools after-school activities will be dismissed at their regular time. For more information on schedule changes, check the district Web site at www.puyallup.k12.wa.us.

Bethel schools also canceled after-school and athletic activities.

(Submitted by staff writer Debby Abe)

Flood warnings continue on the Pierce County rivers.

Here's the most recent data from the National Weather Service:

Puyallup River at Puyallup: At 12:45 p.m., the river was at 26.3 feet. Flood stage is 30 feet.

Moderate flooding is happening now and near record flooding is forecasted. The river is expected to crest near 34.5 feet about 4 a.m. Thursday, then fall below flood stage.

Carbon River near Fairfax: At 1 p.m. today, the river was at 15.1 feet, already above flood stage. Flood stage is 13.5 feet. Major flooding is occurring now.

The river is expected to crest near 16.6 feet around 4 a.m. Thursday, then fall below flood stage by Thursday evening.

Puyallup River near Orting: The river was flowing at 15,667 cubic feet per second at 11 a.m. today. That's well above the flood flow of 4,500 CFS.

Major flooding was anticipated from Orting through McMillan and into Sumner.

Nisqually River near National: As of 1 p.m., the river was at 11.3 feet, above the flood stage of 10 feet. Moderate flooding has been occurring.

The river is expected to crest near 13.3 feet around 4 a.m. Thursday, then fall below flood stage early Friday afternoon.

Any Orting residents who need help or have questions are urged to call the Pierce County Emergency Operations Center at 866-972-2362.

Tacoma Power is reporting that most of the Salmon Beach customers who have been without power since early this morning because of a landslide will soon have electricity.

Crews say they can safely isolate the north line, and turn on the power for about 80 customers, spokeswoman Chris Gleason said. That will leave about 20 customers still without power.

The utility is reporting now that about 100 customers have been without power since a landslide knocked a tree into a power line, up from a previous estimate of 50.

No word yet on when the remaining 20 customers will get their power restored. “We will be formulating a plan for the remaining repairs as soon as possible,” Gleason said.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Jason Hagey)

The Olympian is reporting that Amtrak trains are stopped because of downed trees and mudslides.

Here's their report.

School is canceled in the Orting School District on Thursday.

UPDATE: Orting schools Superintendent Jeff Davis reports none of his district’s schools were flooding as of early this afternoon, but he decided to cancel classes Thursday as a precaution. He already had decided to cut short this morning’s classes.

The district has placed sand bags around Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary School, the one school most in danger of encountering flood waters.

So why close schools tomorrow?

"The road conditions, potential for flooding and the fact that many of our citizens have already evacuated," he said in a phone message to The News Tribune.

"We're just hoping we can survive the cresting of the river tonight."

Many officials are comparing this flooding event to the high waters of 1996.

Nearly 13 years ago, floodwaters spilled over several rivers and caused millions of dollars in damage statewide that February.

In Pierce County alone, the initial damage estimates topped $34.5 million. That broke down to $15.5 million in damage to dikes and levees, and $14.5 million to roads, according to News Tribune stories at the time. The remaining $4.5 million in costs were from clearing debris, protective measures and damage to public buildings, public utilities and parks.

Some of the hardest hit areas of the county were along the Puyallup River near Sumner.

Three riverside mobile home parks looked like battle zones, with the insides of homes piled outside waiting to be hauled off to the dump. At Rainier Manor mobile home park just south of Sumner, only 12 of 71 mobile homes survived the flood without damage.

President Clinton toured flood-damaged areas in Southwest Washington and Oregon.

Amid all the chaos of the floodpocalypse, I thought I'd make our readers aware of something that appeared on The Stranger's blog today.

Eleven gay bars have received threats to poison their customers with the toxin ricin, which is made from castor beans.

Eleven gay bars in Seattle received letters today addressed to the "Owner/Manager" from someone claiming to be in the possession of ricin, a deadly poison. "Your establishment has been targeted," the letter begins. "I have in my possession approximately 67 grams of ricin with which I will indiscriminately target at least five of your clients."

Follow the link above for the full story.

Pierce County emergency management officials have recommended that 26,000 residents in the Orting Valley evacuate immediately.

The notice was sent out via the county's reverse 911 call system this afternoon. About 6,000 residents in Orting and 20,000 in the Orting Valley were urged to get to higher ground.

"Due to the dangerous nature of this situation, citizens should stay away from the river and stay off the levees," the county's Department of Emergency Management reported. "Only call 9-1-1 for life threatening emergencies."

"They expect the Town of Orting to go underwater," Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said. "This is going to be worst than 1996."

The Puyallup River is expected to crest around 20 feet at 10 p.m., Orting officials reported this afternoon. That's a foot below the record and several feet below the 2006 flood level of 12 feet.

Orting Mayor Cheryl Temple said officials haven't make an evacuation recommendation like they did today in 22 years.

City officials were anticipating the floodwater to hit Orting any time now.

Firefighters and other officials have been announcing the orders via bull horns and loud speakers in the town and surrounding communities.

"They'll be hearing fire department personnel," Troyer said.

Teams of swiftwater rescuers were staging in the area. King County's Guardian One helicopter just lifted off to do an assessment of the river.

"We're all staging at this point," Troyer said.

Meanwhile, Pierce County Executive Pat McCarthy has declared a state of emergency in Pierce County.

The proclamation is based on the current and projected flood warnings for the Puyallup, Nisqually and Carbon rivers, according to a county press release.

"The proclamation allows Pierce County departments and Emergency Management to take emergency actions and provide emergency services to protect health and safety of persons and properties," the county reported.

UPDATE: Flooded roadways are prompting Sumner middle and high schools to be dismissed one hour early this afternoon.

Since portions of Highway 410 are closed, school buses need to be rerouted and it will take longer for students to get home, Sumner School District spokeswoman Ann Cook said.

In addition, all district afternoon and evening activities have been canceled. For more updates on Sumner schools, call the district hotline at 253-891-6001 or check sumner.wednet.edu.

UPDATE 2: Officials have halted sandbagging efforts in Orting.

"It's too dangerous," Troyer said. "The water is coming over the top of the sandbags."

Rescuers also are headed to River Road to help a mom and two children who reportedly are trapped in moving water. A bystander helped get the woman and children out of the area before rescuers arrived, Troyer said.

UPDATE 3: Yelm schools have sent students at Lackamas Elementary home early today because of concerns that Lackamas Creek will flood Bald Hills Road.

UPDATE 4: Officials went door-to-door in the Village Green and White Hawk Prairie subdivisions to tell residents of the evacuation recommendations.

UPDATE 5: No injuries have been reported yet. There have been about a dozen calls for rescues, which is more than in 2006.

UPDATED: There's another mudslide along Schuster Parkway in Tacoma.

The road is blocked in the 600 block, according to police and city officials.

There was a slide along Schuster this morning.

Below is a list of the state highways that are closed because of high water.

The DOT sent this list just after noon:

Pierce County

· A seven-mile stretch of SR 162 is closed from Orville Road to just outside the town limits of South Prairie (milepost 11 to 17.5).

· SR 165 near Church Street in Wilkeson is closed due to flood waters.

· WSDOT and WSP have closed SR 410 at Traffic Avenue in Sumner due to water over the roadway.

· Standing water on I-5, SR 16, and SR 512 is creating potentially hazardous conditions for motorists.

Thurston County

· Water and debris has closed SR 8 at the US 101 Junction.

Clallam County

· Water over the roadway has closed sections of SR 112 in Clallam Bay near Hoko-Ozette Road and the Green Creek Bridge. SR 112 is also closed at US 101 near the town of Joyce.

· SR 110 near Ballard Road is closed in Forks due to flooding.

State transportation crews are keeping a close eye on Interstate 5 in Lewis County and predict portions of the major highway could be underwater by this afternoon.

Crews are monitoring the corridor and ready to take action if the freeway becomes unsafe to pass, the agency reported this morning.

Transportation officials are drawing up emergency closure plans and routing information in case the north-south highway has to be closed down.

To complicate matters, all three major east-west highways crossing the Cascade Mountains are closed because of mudslides and the high avalanche danger.

A 20-mile stretch of I-5 in Centralia through Lewis County was closed for four days in December 2007 after the Chehalis River broke its banks. The river crested at nearly 10 feet above flood stage. An estimated $4 million was lost in business.

Tacoma city crews are closing East 88th Street between A and B streets in Tacoma due to street flooding.

Detours are in place.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff writer Jason Hagey)

UPDATE: The Kings are now trapped in their home.

Dottie King said she was minutes away from leaving when her neighbor reported their road was closed.

"They have road blocks on both ends of our street," Dottie said. "We have no other road out."

Dottie and her husband, Terry, have four dogs and several birds. If they get desperate, Dottie said they'll head for higher ground.

Until then ...

"I guess we'll have to sit," Dottie said. "There's not much we can do."

PREVIOUS POST: The Kings are again preparing for flood waters to damage their property.

Dottie and Terry King live on 177th Street South, about a mile off Highway 162, along the Carbon River. She left in November when the river rose above flood stage.

Two years ago, a garage and apartment attached to their elevated home were damaged by the floodwaters.

Now, they are getting ready for another wallop and trying to save what they can. Terry King was moving the couple's washing machine this morning.

Meanwhile, Dottie packed her medicines and got their dogs ready to go. She plans to leave their home to stay with their daughter in Orting in the next few hours.

"I am trying to save my washing machine," Dottie said. "I lost my machine in '06 due to flooding."

Terry King plans to stay on their property because he's worried about thieves and looters. Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said deputies will be keeping an eye out on the evacuated neighborhoods for thieves.

The Kings live on one of eight properties slated to be purchased by the county after the 2006 floods.

"This could have been prevented if the county would buy us out as planned," Dottie said. "Everybody is pointing the finger at somebody else. I understand red tape but this is going on three years."

Asked if she wanted to stay on the property, Dottie said, "I want out. If God wants this land back, he can have it. We both want out."

The Kings' next door neighbor, Eileen Diaz, was monitoring the level of the river. If the water rises another another couple feet, she'll be leaving too.

The brown, muddy water of the Carbon River is carrying trees that are banging into the levy. The water is only a couple of feet below the levy.

A county truck drives up the river every hour to check on its level.

The Kent Fire Department offers these tips for getting around in this nasty weather.

Drive with your headlights on – even during the day, to help you be seen and to assist in seeing hidden dangers.

Travel with a cell phone, flashlight, food, water, and warm clothes.

Let others know where you are going and when you expect to arrive.

Avoid traveling through standing or running water on streets. Walking or driving into such bodies of water can result in injury or death. There is no way to accurately gauge the depth of the water, know of possible road washouts, or where ditches are located.

Obey all temporary street signs warning of road closures. Never drive around or ignore these warnings, which are posted for the public’s safety.

If you become trapped in water while driving, remain in your vehicle if possible and call

9-1-1. If you have to abandon your vehicle, walk, following the same path that you drove until you reach dry ground.

Check with local city and county websites or local news stations prior to departing to get updated information on flood conditions in your area.

The Puyallup School District placed sandbags around Riverside Elementary School as a precautionary measure, but the nearby Puyallup River wasn't causing problems yet, district spokeswoman Karen Hansen said.

The district closed Riverside as an elementary school in June 2007 because of declining enrollment.

(Submitted to Lights & Sirens by staff reporter Debby Abe.)

Our outdoors editor has posted an update about the situation at the national parks as well as some stream flows.

Find his update here.

Tacoma Power cut electricity to Salmon Beach early this morning after a mudslide knocked a tree into a power line.

The outage affects about 50 people in the secluded waterfront community slightly south of Point Defiance in Tacoma.

Utility officials have not gone into the area to assess the damage because of safety concerns, spokeswoman Chris Gleason said.

“It’s continuing to rain and the situation could be tenuous,” Gleason said. “We won’t send our crews in there until we feel it is safe to be there.”

The Tacoma Fire Department contacted Tacoma Power at about 5:20 a.m. and requested that the power be cut. A tree was making contact with a primary line and arcing, Gleason said.

Fire officials evacuated two houses, she said.

(Staff writer Jason Hagey submitted this report.)

The Orting School District will be releasing all schools at 11:30 a.m. today because of the rising water.

Officials have or are closing Highway 410 and West Valley Highway in Sumner because of the flood waters.

Highway 410 will be closed from Traffic Avenue to Valley Avenue. starting about 11 a.m. (State transportation officials also have closed Highway 410 from Greenwater to Enumclaw because of mudslides.)

West Valley Highway is closed from the 24th Street Interchange to the Sumner Heights Drive because of the landslide danger.

Reporter Mike Archbold went down to Voight Creek Hatchery, 19112 Pioneer Way E., and talked to fish technician Sherman Davis and hatchery manager Jill Phillips.

They said the flooding looks worse that 1996. Employees at the hatchery were evacuated by the fire department this morning.

The hatchery, which has 3 1/2 feet of water in the building, already has lost about 60,000 chinook fingerlings because of mud in their trays.

Davis and Phillips worried the hatchery could lose all 3.3 million fingerlings and yearlings chinook, cohoe and winter steelehead.

Almost in tears, Phillips said, "We are so helpless."

The rising water has already covered the electrical boxes for the pumps.

Report from Mike Archbold, who is out in the field:

Orting Valley Fire & Rescue Chief Randy Shelton has had a busy morning.

Firefighters have been knocking on doors and checking out flooding conditions since the pre-dawn hours. They've evacuated seven residents along 177th Street South and Neadham Road area as well as employees at the fish hatchery near Orting.

"We still have an imminent threat," Shelton said. "Water is still rising."

Shelton also shut down Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary School because of the rising flood waters.

There's been no decision on a valley-wide evacuation, which would impact residents from south Orting to Sumner.

"I would only do that if I feel the situation gets grave enough to threaten the loss of life," Shelton said.

The list of road closures and restrictions in Pierce County is growing.

Here's the list as of 9:30 a.m.

Like Sumner and Orting, Puyallup officials are warning its residents and business owners to be prepared for the flooding.

The Puyallup River is expected to rise to more than 30 feet by 4 a.m. Thursday so homes and businesses along its banks should be prepared.

"It gives the city barely enough time to prepare for a flood in the magnitude of the 1996 Inaugural Day Storm," a city press release says.

"People who were here during that storm will remember how high the Puyallup River rose and should take necessary precautions now," Merle Frank, the city's emergency management director, said in a press release. "We don't want them to get caught off guard as they were in '96."

Puyallup opened its Emergency Operations Center at 8 a.m. Crews are deploying the city's flood diversion tubes.

"People are going to see fire trucks and public works on the circle drive underneath the bridge beginning at 8:30 a.m. and we'll begin filling the tubes at 1 p.m. so we want to warn motorists about the activity," Frank said.

Sandbags are available to residents on a first come, first serve basis at the Puyallup Corporate Yards, 1200 39th Ave. S.E.

Puyallup police officers will be going door-to-door along East Main to the Puyallup River Bridge, notifying residents and business owners of the anticipated flooding.

Evergreen Presbyterian Church in Graham opened this morning for Pierce County residents displaced by the floodwaters.

The church is located at 10118 249th St. E.

UPDATE at noon: More shelters have opened for flood victims

The county has opened two emergency livestock shelters.

Four-legged livestock can be brought to Frontier Park, 21718 Meridian Ave. E., in Graham and Puyallup Fairgrounds, 110 9th Ave. S.W., in Puyallup. Owners should bring leads and food, if possible.

Another shelter for displaced residents and their pets is open at Prairie Ridge Community Center, 14205 215th Ave. E., in Bonney Lake. Pets should be crated. Owners should bring leashes and food, if possible.

The Sumner Veterinary Hospital, 15215 Main St. E., in Sumner has 120 kennels available for those in need. The hospital is offering a 50-percent discount to flood victims.

UPDATE: A few more shelters have opened. In addition to the ones listed above, now open are:

Bonney Lake Senior Center, 19304 Bonney Lake Blvd., Bonney Lake.

Puyallup Bethany Baptist, 713 South Hill Park Dr., in Puyallup

Nazarene Church, 1026 7th Ave. SW.

Edgewood Community Church, 1720 Meridian Ave. E., Edgewood.

The state activated its Emergency Operations Center at 8 a.m.

Thurston and Whatcom counties already have declared states of emergency because of flooding and mudslides.

UPDATE: Folks in Lewis County should be prepared for flooding as well.

Here's a press release from the Lewis County Sheriff's Office:

Lewis County Department of Emergency Management has raised the activation level of the Emergency Operations Center to a level 2 in preparation for impending flooding in Lewis County. Information from National Weather Service advises that citizens have approximately 12 hours until the Chehalis River at Mellen Street, and the Skookumchuck River reach flood levels. River waters will begin impacting roadways and limiting access at approximately 8 p.m. this evening.

Rescue personnel, including the Lewis County Dive Team, are on call and have started responding to
calls from citizens needing assistance in leaving their residences due to rising water in the east end of the county.

The EOC has received reports of several mud slides in Lewis County, the latest being on US HWY 12 near Mossyrock. Another mudslide just west of Randle has Hwy 12 closed as well. The road is closed both east and west bound in both locations.

Citizens are advised to take precaution and leave any area with dangerous rising water, prior to needing to be physically rescued.

Community members living in flood prone areas should move their animals prior to the water rising to a dangerous level. Anyone needing assistance with animal removal can call 508-0151 for assistance.

Motorists are advised not to drive through deep standing water.

Sand bags for private residences can be purchased at Martin Sand and Gravel, Glazier, and Sunbirds.

Winter storm event conditions can change rapidly. Monitor local radio stations for event updates.

UPDATE: King County now has opened its Emergency Operations Center.

Here's an up-to-date list of state road closures from the state Department of Transportation.

For a list of Pierce County road closures, go here.

These roads are closed as of 8 a.m.:

Pierce County

* A seven-mile stretch of SR 162 is closed from Orville Road to
just outside the town limits of South Prairie (milepost 11 to 17.5).

* SR 165 near Church Street in Wilkeson is closed due to flood
waters.

* Standing water on I-5, SR 16, and SR 512 is creating
potentially hazardous conditions for motorists.

Thurston County

* Water and debris has closed SR 8 at the US 101 Junction.

* Southbound US 101 at Shaker Church Road is closed due to
standing water over the roadway

Clallam County

* Water over the roadway has closed sections of SR 112 in
Clallam Bay near Hoko-Ozette Road and the Green Creek Bridge. SR 112 is
also closed at US 101 near the town of Joyce.

* SR 110 near Ballard Road is closed in Forks due to flooding.

Grays Harbor

* Harbor residents trying to reach Olympia need to use US 12

Mason County

* Eastbound SR 106 near Union is closed due to water over the
roadway.

Sumner officials are recommending that roughly 400 residents get to higher ground.

They've recommended residents who live in Rainier Manor, Rivergrove Apartments and the units of Riverwalk adjacent to the Puyallup River evacuate, the city reported just after 8 a.m.

"All other residents in the Rivergrove area are asked to remain alert," a city press release states.

Evacuating residents should bring with them warm clothes, medications, personal hygiene items, personal identification, health insurance cards and water and food.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has activated its District Emergency Operations Center and alerted flood teams as the rivers rise in western Washington.

The center began 24-hour operation Tuesday.

"The reservoirs behind dams the Corps operates are all down at low levels ready to hold back anticipated high flows," the Corps reported this morning.

The agency operates the dams in the White/Puyallup, Green/Duwamish, Skagit and Wynoochee basins.

The flood teams are ready to help local governments and headed out to the river basins early today to check on them.

State transportation officials have canceled today's ceremonial groundbreaking for the Nalley Valley project because of the weather and road conditions.

The event was scheduled for this morning.

Crews began working this week to rebuild the westbound portion of the Highway 16 Nalley Valley viaduct. The $184 million project will eliminate the weave of traffic. Officials also predict it will reduce collisions.

Find more information on the project here.

Here's the evacuation order for 750 homes in the Orting area. Pierce County Emergency Management issued this just after 6 a.m.

There has been an evacuation order for the Orting area along the Oroville Rd. up to Kapowsin along the Puyallup River and SR 162 along the Carbon River and South Prairie Creek, including 177th St. E (Allward Rd.). Residents have been asked to evacuate due to imminent flooding. Local law enforcement has been going door-to-door to notify households, and phone messages with the evacuation request went to approximately 750 homes in the area.

Residents were urged to evacuate at the request of the Orting Fire Department.

Here's a list of road closures from Pierce County.

SR 161 in Pierce County is closed northbound at 224th St

SR 162 at the Bowman Hilton Road Junction

South Prairie Road at 162nd St.

SR 165 from Ash St. to Church St. From milepost 16 to milepost 17

In addition, both directions of Highway 410 from Greenwater to Enumclaw are closed because of mudslides and water over the roadway, the state DOT reported at 7:40 a.m.

This is not a complete list. Let us know if you come across other road closures.

There's a good amount of water over Canyon Road around 90th but it was not closed as of an hour ago.

Ptarmigan Ridge Elementary School and Partnership School in Orting is closed today because of the rising water. All other schools in the Orting School District are open.

However, the district reports there will be no bus service along Highway 162 between Orville Road and South Prairie and Brooks Road because both are closed.

Students can meet the bus at Orville Road and Brooks Road.

In Lakewood, Lake Louise Elementary School is closed because of a power outage.

UPDATE: In Sumner, public school bus transportation into neighborhoods near the Puyallup River might be canceled or rerouted because of the high water.

And so it begins ...

Transportation officials have closed a six-mile stretch of State Route 162 in Orting because of water over the roadway.

The road is closed from Orville Road to just outside of South Prairie.

Troopers and transportation officials were on the scene.

Part of SR 165 in Wilkeson also is closed for flooding.

Pierce County opened its Emergency Operations Center this morning in preparation for predicted flooding on three local rivers.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning for the rivers in western Washington, including the Puyallup, Carbon and Nisqually rivers in Pierce County.

A weather system has brought heavy winds and rain to the area. The nasty weather is not expected to let up until Thursday evening. The flood warning is in effect until 10:45 a.m. Thursday.

At 2 a.m. today, the Nisqually River near National was at 7.9 feet. The flood stage is 10 feet. Forecasters are predicting major flooding, with the river rising above flood stage about 11 a.m. today and crest near 12.3 feet about 4 a.m. Thursday.

The Carbon River at Fairfax was at 12.5 feet early today. Flood stage for the river is 13.5 feet. Forecasters predict moderate flooding. The river will rise above flood stage this morning and crest near 14.7 feet about 10 p.m. tonight.

Forecasters are predicting record flooding along the Puyallup River near Orting. The flow was 4,078 cubic feet per second at 11 p.m. Tuesday. The flood flow is 4,500 CFS. The rise was expected to rise to flood stage at 1 a.m. today and crest near 15,960 CFS around 10 p.m. tonight.

The county’s emergency management officials advise residents in flood-prone areas to call their local fire stations if they need sandbags.

Residents should respect road closures, be aware of potential landslides, stay away from moving water and don’t walk or drive through flooded areas, the county reported.

Residents also are asked not to call 911 to report flooding.

Flooding isn't the only major concern with the storm that is hitting Western Washington.

Avalanche control will continue throughout the Cascades, and the state Department of Transportation is warning passengers to be prepared for winter driving conditions at high elevations.

Highway 2 at Stevens Pass and Highway 20 near Newhalem are both closed because of snow slides, and crews are expected to close lanes of Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie Pass for avalanche control overnight.

"We are working in the mountains to get ahead of the storm and crews are closely watching the rivers, but motorists need to plan for winter weather and the potential for lengthy delays on some major interstate routes," state Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond said in a news release.

If you live in Thurston County, be prepared for floods.

Heavy rainfall and melting snow means flood dangers. The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for the South Sound, and Thurston County Emergency Manager Kathy Estes wants those who live in river basins to be prepared for evacuation.

"We don't know how serious the flooding might become, but the projections show possible significant flooding along the Chehalis, Deschutes and Skookumchuk Rivers," Estes said in a statement. "That means area residents should be prepared to leave their homes on short notice."

The Thurston County Emergency Operations Center is working with fire departments to make sand bags available. If you need sand bags, call the Emergency Operations Center at (360) 754-3360.

Also, people who have flat roofs on their homes should remove the snow if possible to protect against possible collapse. Also, drivers should be aware of standing water on roads and not driver through large amounts of water on the roadway.

A survey of seat belt use in Washington shows more drivers are using safety restraints for the fifth year in a row.

The state Traffic Safety Commission surveyed 98,572 drivers and passengers statewide and found that 96.5 percent of those who responded use seat belts. Last year 96.4 percent of respondents said they used safety restraints.

"Washington has come a long way," said John Moffat, regional administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 10.

In 1986, only 36 percent of drivers and passengers said they used seat belts. Washington's primary seat belt law went into effect in 2002, and Washington has since climbed into one of the top three states in the nation for seat belt use, Moffat said in a news release.

Crews are beginning yet another round of avalanche control work on Interstate 90 at Snoqualmie pass, so if you are coming back to the West Side, expect to be waiting for a while.

The state Department of Transportation said avalanche control work will begin at 2:30 p.m. for westbound I-90 at milepost 52. Eastbound traffic will not be affected.

"Due to the nature of this type of work, we cannot estimate the re-opening time until after the avalanche control effort is completed," the DOT said. "Once WSDOT crews assess the snow volumes brought down by the avalanche control, WSDOT can provide an estimated time of opening."

UPDATE 3:00 PM: That wasn't so bad. Crews completed the avalanche work as of 2:55 p.m. and all lanes are open.

Nothing gets by Lights & Sirens readers. Nothing.

Over the last couple days I've had several posts that draw on our ability to go into our blog software and look at the search terms people are entering to find our Web site. (We even got a shout out on the Miami Herald's police blog this morning as a result.)

Well, a few of our techno-savvy readers have started leaving little messages for us to find by searching for things like "lights and sirens we love searching for you."

The Texas Border Sheriff's Coalition has joined a public-private coalition that is letting people log into video cameras aimed at remote border crossing areas.

Citizens can sign up as Virtual Texas Deputies(SM) to participate in border surveillance through this social network. Virtual Texas Deputies(SM) from around the country will monitor the streaming video from these cameras 24/7 and report any suspicious activities directly to the Border Sheriffs via email. All emails regarding suspicious activity will be submitted anonymously.

For example, you could click on Camera 64 -- "This is a known drug traffic area. If you see people or vehicles in this area please report this activity."

You can follow the link to their site at www.blueservo.net.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several area rivers from this evening through Friday afternoon.

Several counties are listed, including Pierce and Thurston.

Thurston County officials sent out the following information about the flood watch:

A series of warm fronts will bring heavy rain to the region through Thursday night and is expected to result in major flooding on the Deschutes, Chehalis and Skookumchuck rivers. People along these rivers should prepare for flooding and be ready to act quickly when the National Weather Service issues a flood warning.

Deschutes River: The NWS predicts that the Deschutes River will reach flood stage of 11 feet near Rainier on Wednesday morning and is projected to crest around 16.5 feet overnight Wednesday. The river is forecasted to drop below flood stage Thursday night. Typically this level of flooding can result in widespread flooding of roads and structures.

Chehalis River: The Chehalis River is predicted to reach flood stage of 14 feet at the Grand Mound gage midday Wednesday and crest just below 20 feet late Thursday night. Typically this level of flooding results in the closure of local roads and Highway 12.

Skookumchuck River: The NWS predicts that the Skookumchuck River will reach flood stage of 13.5 feet near Bucoda Wednesday afternoon, and crest around 17.5 feet on Thursday morning, dropping below flood stage on Friday.

Residents are advised to take steps to safeguard life and property and be prepared to leave on short notice. Livestock should be moved to higher ground, and plans should be made for the safe transfer and housing of household pets. River residents are reminded that conditions can change rapidly and are urged to keep an eye on their rivers and to listen to local media for updates.

Pierce County prosecutors filed charges Monday against a 32-year-old man accused of leading deputies on a chase throughout the county and part of Tacoma on Saturday afternoon.

Charging documents give the following account:

A deputy working a speed emphasis stopped a vehicle for speeding just after 3:10 p.m. at 128th Street East and Vickery Avenue. The driver pulled over.

As the deputy walked up to the vehicle, the driver revved his engine and took off. The deputy jumped back in his patrol car and started to chase the driver.

The driver slowed to 30 mph and ran a red light at 112th Street. He sped up to 60 mph and ran stop signs at 104th and 96th streets. Investigators estimate the driver accelerated to 80 mph as he approached 72nd Street East, then slowed to 70 mph.

"The defendant briefly went airborne as he crossed 72nd Street and nearly lost control as he landed in the oncoming lanes of travel," court documents state. "The defendant's vehicle began to smoke as he continued northbound, again reaching speeds of 70 mph."

The driver went onto Waller Road, passing several cars and driving into oncoming lanes. He ran lights at Pioneer and River Road, then turned onto Bay Street.

Several Tacoma police officers blocked off major intersections and a sheriff's deputy executed a maneuver to stop the vehicle at South 38th and Pacific. The driver's vehicle spun into the curb

The driver got out and ran. Officers cornered the man in a back yard and he was taken into custody.

Officers found a smoking pipe on the man. He had a warrant for failure to register as a sex offender and a Department of Corrections escape warrant.

The man told officers he fled because he had a warrant and didn't want to go back to jail.

Prosecutors have charged the man with attempting to elude a police vehicle, obstructing a law enforcement officer and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

The man remains in Pierce County Jail, awaiting trial in the case.

This isn't a local story, but if it can happen elsewhere, it can happen here.

Maryland teens have made a game of getting traffic tickets sent to unwitting dupes:

As a prank, students from local high schools have been taking advantage of the county's Speed Camera Program in order to exact revenge on people who they believe have wronged them in the past, including other students and even teachers.

Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera "Pimping" game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools.

Originating from Wootton High School, the parent said, students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that "mimic" those on Maryland license plates. They tape the duplicate plate over the existing plate on the back of their car and purposefully speed through a speed camera, the parent said. The victim then receives a citation in the mail days later.

Follow the link to read the full article.

This tale comes from a probable cause affidavit from a recent University Place Police case:

On Jan. 3, a Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy stopped a vehicle on Bridgeport Way because it had a broken tail light.

LESA Records advised that there was an officer safety alert out for the defendant, indicating that the defendant told his counselor he had resentment towards law enforcement. The safety bulletin stated that the defendant had kept explosives in his car and would blow himself up as well as police if he was pulled over. The bulletin also stated that the defendant might try to commit “suicide by cop.”

The man had a large folding knife on him and a machete-like knife was found in the car.

The same deputy recovered an item from the driver’s console (within driver’s reach), that was wrapped in brown tape and cloth. There was a fuse at the end of it that was approximately 5-7 inches in length. The defendant said the item was a firecracker that he found a few years ago on the road and he was keeping it in his car to set if off someday.

The guy said he had also recently smoke some methamphetamine.

The bomb squad came out to "render the device safe," but their efforts set off the device -- "A small crater was left in the blacktop approximately five inches across and a half inch deep."

Apparently, last Friday was a day to try to outrun local law enforcement.

For four men, their attempts failed. Now, they're charged in Pierce County Superior Court in connection with the police pursuits and other crimes.

The four cases from Jan. 2 involve different law enforcement agencies. Here's a brief recap of each taken from charging documents.

* Tacoma police tried to stop a car for speeding and expired tabs in the 1200 block of South Sprague Street just before 2 a.m. Friday. The driver took off. The pursuit wound from South Sprague to Sixth Avenue.

At one point, the driver changed lanes without signaling and drove through a red light at South 19th and Sprague streets, forcing two other vehicles to slam on their brakes.

Later, the driver hit another vehicle, then stopped near a store in the 5600 block of Sixth Avenue. The driver ran but was caught and arrested.

The 27-year-old is now charged with hit and run and eluding a police vehicle.

* Bonney Lake officers tried to stop a car for improper headlights in the 21000 block of Highway 410 about 2:45 a.m. Friday. The car, which records showed was stolen, didn't stop and the pursuit began.

At one point, an officer conducted a PIT maneuver on the suspect's car. The driver drove at the patrol car and rammmed it three times. The car got back onto the roadway and fled.

The driver hit another car and then fled, ending a 17-minute vehicle pursuit. Officers quickly caught up the driver and arrested him. The driver told officers he "needed a few more minutes with my girl," court documents state.

Prosecutors have charged the 28-year-old driver with two counts of second-degree assault and one count each of unlawful possession of stolen property and attempting to elude a pursing police vehicle.

* Pierce County sheriff's deputies were on patrol, going north on Canyon Road shortly after 1:10 a.m. Friday when they spotted a pickup truck turn from 144th Street onto Canyon. The truck did not have a front license plate and the deputies turned around to contact the truck driver.

Deputies caught up to the truck and activated their lights. The driver slowed, then took off. The truck reportedly crossed the median five times, forcing other cars to swerve to the shoulder to avoid head-on crashes. The truck drove south on Canyon as speeds up to 80 mph, then turned onto 38th Avenue.

The driver went on several streets and made his way onto Mountain Highway East, where he was greeted by snow and slippery roadways.

"As deputies slowed to the speed limit and continued southbound they noticed taillights come on up ahead of them and the lights appeared to go airborne, then out of sight," court documents state. "As they approached the curve at 260th and Mountain Highway, they saw that the truck failed to negotiate the curve and went southbound through the ditch and into a field."

The truck came to rest sideways against a batch of trees. Deputies found a woman in the truck. A police dog found the driver about 20 feet up in the trees, court documents state.

The 34-year-old driver was arrested. Deputies found two syringes and brass knuckles on the man. He also had a suspended driver's license and warrant out for his arrest. Prosecutors charged him with attempting to elude police, obstructing a public servant, unlawful possession of dangerous weapons, driving with a suspended license and possession of drug paraphernalia.

* Sheriff's deputies also arrested a man who tried to elude officers in a pickup truck. The man had been identified as a suspect in an espresso stand robbery and deputies went to a location where he was expected to be.

The man pulled up in a truck just after 6 p.m., then left and attempted to cut over the opposite lane of travel, court documents state.

A deputy rammed the truck with his patrol car and pushed it into a ditch on the east shoulder of 50th Avenue. The driver ran. Four deputies chased him.

The driver ran through two yards before he was caught.

Deputies later found out the truck he was driving was stolen.

Prosecutors charged the 24-year-old with attempting to elude a police vehicle and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle.

Back in September I wrote a story about the spike in the number of autopsies the Pierce County Medical Examiner was conducting.

At that time, autopsies were up 45 percent from the year before and we were on track to hit 640 by year’s end (with no increase in staffing for the ME’s office).

Well, Medical Examiner Eric Kiesel has just sent me the final numbers for 2008.

The office conducted a total of 589 autopsies, or 26 percent more than the year before. So it looks like things slowed down a bit in the last quarter of the year.

At the same time, they responded to more than 46 percent more potential crime scenes and did three times as many external-only examinations.

As I wrote previously, the increase was due to a couple of factors, including more exacting investigations under Kiesel’s leadership and shifts in the types of cases.

"We're doing the job that the citizens of Pierce County would want done," he said back in September. "I haven't seen any autopsies that we shouldn't have done - and, under ideal circumstances, we could have done a few more."

Data from the first half of the year showed an increase in accidental overdoses, fatal falls, suicides and traffic deaths. A breakdown of the types of deaths for all of 2008 wasn’t yet available.

Westbound lanes of Interstate 90 should be open now, after being closed all day because of avalanche control and snow drifts.

The state Department of Transportation closed the pass because of heavy snow and avalanche danger. Eastbound lanes opened this afternoon, and work should be done at about 8 p.m. on westbound lanes.

Both Stevens Pass and White Pass are open in both directions, but DOT says drivers should expect slow travel on these passes.

Investigators are still looking for the man who robbed a bikini barista stand in Parkland over the weekend.

It's another in a rash of burglaries that have hit the espresso stands in the area, after a man described with bad teeth robbed eight espresso stands within the last month in south King County.

Our news partners over at KIRO 7 Eyewitness News have the security video of the most recent robbery at Java Girls on Pacific Avenue, which is available at http://www.kirotv.com/news/18413642/detail.html

Anyone with information should contact the Pierce County Sheriff's Office.

I've written before that our blog software lets us see the terms entered into search engines that bring people to our site. It also keeps track of those people's IP addresses. And there are easy search tools that one can use to see where those IP addresses lead back to.

Here's one that made me chuckle:

There was a search on the morning of Jan. 5 for "How to set up a police +perimter" (I'm guessing that's supposed to be 'perimeter').

The IP address (65.87.105.8) came back to the Miami-Dade County government network -- though it doesn't show for sure whether it came from the police.

Update: Here's another odd one I found this morning.

"birds of a feather puyallup police" comes back to (131.191.180.76) the city of Tacoma government network. The article that person looked at was about a retired cop's sex case going before the state Supreme Court.

The "birds of a feather" quip comes in the comments section, "Not showing them, with all the privacy and professionallism possible, just tells me that the perv sect still has its hands in government-in general. I don't see it as a matter of cops protecting cops just for the sake of. The men (pardon-and women) who do these types of things have friends. Birds of a feather..."

And another:

Someone is the military has been looking for information on Roy Police Chief Pedro Rosario (who is currently deployed with the Army Reserves).

"chief of police pedro rosario city of roy king 5 news" comes back to the DoD [Department of Defense] Network Information Center.

The Shell gas station at 1401 S. Sprague Ave. can't sell liquor for a month.

The state Liquor Control Board suspended the store's liquor license for 30 days, the agency announced Monday. The suspension goes from 10 a.m. Tuesday to 10 a.m. Feb. 5.

The board suspended the Sprague Avenue Shell station's license after its third "public safety violation" in two years. The violations were for selling or furnishing alcohol to underage customers.

The store can sell nonalcoholic products during the suspension.

Just five days into the new year and former sheriff candidate Robert "The Traveller" Hill is back in jail.

My understanding is that they raised the bail on charges stemming from the incident at the courthouse where he allegedly pointed a fake gun at a security guard to $75,000 due to the Dec. 18 incident in Fife when Hill appeared to be trying to retrieve a realistic-looking pellet rifle with a hunting scope from a friend's impounded car.

While 2008 was a banner year for the would-be law enforcer -- winning 20 percent of the vote in the sheriff's race, seven local arrests and a felony forgery conviction for scrawling a judge's signature on an order of protection -- 2009 is already off to a quick start.

According to online court records, he's currently being held on charges of:

Fourth-degree assault, displaying a weapon, failing to appear on a Tacoma Municipal Court charge of disrupting a public meeting and ditto on driving without a valid license.

The Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence released a review today of domestic violence homicides in the state.

They looked at the 68 deaths in the past two years.

The coalition research found, among other things, that many of the abusers had no prior arrests for their violence and many victims filed for protection orders before their deaths but few received needed help.

Among the coalition's recommendations:

1. Ethnic community organizations and domestic violence programs should work together to share information and develop strategies for how community members can stay safe while supporting domestic violence victims. Ethnic community organizations should also create opportunities to engage their communities in dialogue about violence against women.

2. Domestic violence advocates should become familiar with Child Protective Services (CPS) practices and engage with local CPS staff in order to effectively advocate for domestic violence victims involved with CPS.

3. Whenever law enforcement officers advise domestic violence victims to obtain a Protection Order, they should always refer victims to a trained domestic violence victim advocate for safety planning as well.

4. All courts issuing civil Protection Orders should have domestic violence advocates available on-site to meet with victims when they first petition for a Domestic Violence Protection Order.

5. Health care organizations should consider contracting with local domestic violence programs to provide on-site advocacy and safety planning for patients who are surviving domestic violence.

6. Local housing authorities should establish preference policies for domestic violence victims.

7. The Division of Child Support (DCS) and the Community Services Division of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) should evaluate their processes for informing participants of the good cause option for non-cooperation with child support collection.

8. Domestic violence programs and batterer’s intervention programs should make connections with juvenile probation officers, juvenile offender treatment providers, and professionals conducting assessments of juvenile offenders to provide training about domestic violence and how to identify intimate partner violence in screening, and to facilitate referrals when intimate partner abuse is identified.

You can read the full 100-page report or the 32-page executive summary here.

Students in two Pierce County school districts will start late today.

Peninsula and Eatonville school districts have announced a two-hour late start for the first day after winter break.

In addition, students in Yelm schools will need to report two hours late.

Tonight's snow storm has already caused some school districts to announce delays.

Eatonville School District announced this evening that school will start two hours late, with no morning or afternoon preschool.

A list of closures is available at http://www.schoolreport.org .

Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is closed tonight because of the snow.

The display will reopen on Friday. It was repeatedly closed during the December storms, so officials decided to keep it open later to give families more time to come out.

The garbage