North Cascades Hw. 20

Hi all,
Our Avalanche Control Team and the Twisp Maintenance Superintendent were planning to do the assessment of the North Cascades Highway on Tuesday and then it was postponed to Wednesday and now the trip is postponed until next week. 
We've got mountain snow forecast through Thursday and the Avalanche crew can't be in two places at once, so they're going to have to stay at Stevens handling the avalanche control there for the rest of the week.  (We did control work from 2 to 6 a.m. this morning and brought down a lot of snow, but there was a lot to bring down - We got 32" of new from 6 a.m. yesterday to 6 a.m. today.)  You may also be aware, it's still snowing along the entire west slope of the Cascades - as I'm writing, Snoqualmie is still closed for avalanche control. (They've been getting more snow than Stevens today as the storm track is heavier to the south and coming in low - Snoqualmie is a 1,000' lower than Stevens, too).
When the assessment happens isn't that critical - as a matter of fact, the later it's done, the more accurately Mike and his snow wizards can make their predictions.  The assessment trip is to determine how soon the clearing can begin and what resources (people and equipment) are going to be needed. 
Oh, in answer to the question you didn't ask - it has been costing around $250,000 for the spring reopening effort.  We are hoping we won't have to rent a lot of the big caterpillars (which WSDOT doesn't own) to keep the price down, but the reopening budget is secure.  Despite the budget cutting the Governor and the legislature have done (are doing) - they all said no to any cuts to winter highway maintenance.
I'll let you know when the assessment trip is rescheduled and then what they found and what it means.
Later!
Jeff Adamson adamsoj@wsdot.wa.gov 509.667.2815

Man shot dead after attacking sheriff's deputy

Suspect killed, sheriff's deputy injured during arrest north of Lynden

THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

A mentally ill man who hit a Whatcom County Sheriff's deputy in the head with an object was shot to death by law enforcement at a home on Clay Road northeast of Lynden Monday morning, Feb. 28.

The deputy, who has not been named, was hit in the head but survived.

"He's conscious and talking," Undersheriff Jeff Parks said of the deputy, who was taken to St. Joseph hospital for treatment.

PHILIP A. DWYER | THE BELLINGHAM HERALD - Officers guard the scene at a house on Clay Road, just northeast of Lynden where a Whatcom County sheriff's deputy was wounded and a man was killed after law enforcement responded to reports of an out-of-control man breaking windows Monday morning, Feb. 28, 2011.

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• Clay Road Shooting

The man, identified as 30-year-old Alejandro P. Martinez, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sheriff Bill Elfo said another deputy and a U.S. Border Patrol agent fired live rounds at Martinez after he struck the deputy in the head with the object. The injured deputy did not fire at Martinez, Elfo said.

Law enforcement had attempted to use a Taser to subdue Martinez, but that was ineffective, Elfo said. He would not identify who used the Taser.

Elfo also declined to identify the deputy who fired the shots or say how many shots were fired. He said the Bellingham Police Department will investigate the shooting in conjunction with the Whatcom County Prosecutor's Office.

"The investigation will continue," Elfo said. "There's a lot of details we need to find out about."

Martinez's family and police gave conflicting accounts of what happened.

The incident began when family members called 911 about 9:17 a.m. to report Martinez being out of control and breaking windows in the home he shared with his brother and father.

More than a decade ago, Martinez had been ambushed by a man with a bat after a fight and was seriously injured by a blow to the head, said his brother, Jorge Martinez.

Since then, Alejandro had been on medication because he sometimes got loud and appeared aggressive. He'd also had in-patient mental health treatment, Jorge said.

By the time two deputies and a Border Patrol agent arrived about 9:35 a.m., Alejandro had calmed down, his brother said.

The deputies ordered Alejandro to come out of the home. Jorge said he and his father made it clear to deputies that there were no guns or weapons.

Alejandro came out of the home with what Jorge said was a flashlight; Elfo identified the object as a hammer.

"That's when things got aggressive," Jorge said.

A deputy grabbed Alejandro to detain him. Alejandro reacted by hitting the deputy, Jorge said.

"All of the sudden, the cops started shooting him," Jorge said of his brother. He heard multiple gunshots, but didn't know how many shots were fired.

Elfo said Martinez attacked the deputy in a carport adjacent the home; the attack occurred within a few minutes after they arrived at the home. Elfo would not say if his deputies or the Border Patrol agents issued verbal commands to Martinez before they resorted to using force.

Elfo would not say how many times Martinez struck the deputy or where he hit him. He said he visited the deputy in the hospital Monday and confirmed he was conscious, alert and talking. He wasn't sure if the deputy would be released from the hospital that night.

Elfo said the deputy was hired by the Sheriff's Office in 2008, but had 10 years of prior law-enforcement experience with an agency in Skagit County.

"I just thank God our deputy survived this attack," Elfo said. "In 37 years of law enforcement I’ve seen what a hammer can do. I’ve seen a lot of dead bodies because of hammer attacks."

Initial reports were that those on scene were performing CPR, but Jorge said that also was false.

"When I tried to help him (Alejandro) out, they told me to get away from him," Jorge said.

The deputies only rolled him over and handcuffed him, Jorge said.

When the medics arrived, they just checked his pulse and covered him with a blanket, Jorge said.

Jorge said he was sorry his brother hit the deputy, but he doesn't understand why they shot his brother when they knew he didn't have a gun.

Read more:  http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/28/1890561/officer-injured-during-arrest.html#ixzz1FIwchNv1

Third Structure Fire of the Week

Last night I was able to photograph another structure fire in progress. This time it was a barn fire on the Everson Goshen Road. When I first rolled up it was called out as a second alarm fire, but was quickly reduced to a smoldering hay fire. Firefighters spent hours sifting through the hay taking care of hot spots.

Firefighters face difficult blaze at house on East Pole Road

Yesterday I got a chance to perform a different type of photography than I am used to. I work as a freelance photographer capturing the natural world. On friday I found myself on the scene of a house fire. I know several of the firefighters in my area so I pulled over and grabbed my camera.

Here is  the report generated from this fire.

A fire quickly raced through the roof of a home in the 1000 block of East Pole Road Friday afternoon, Feb. 25, but no one was injured.

Three residents were inside when they noticed light smoke coming from the ceiling, said Will Anderson, a fire investigator with the Whatcom County Fire Marshal’s Office.

They evacuated and called 911 at about 12:30 p.m., but the fire spread quickly, due to the strong winds that were blowing and to the fire’s location between a false ceiling and the roof, said Fire Chief Tom Fields of North Whatcom Fire and Rescue. Anderson said the cause was under investigation.

Fields said firefighters with North Whatcom, Lynden Fire Department, and Whatcom County Fire districts 4 and 7 had difficulty fighting the fire because of the strong winds and because the roof was too unstable for them to enter the home.

The house was owned by Northwest Berry Co-op, which rented it to the residents, Anderson said.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/02/26/1886034/firefighters-battle-house-blaze.html#ixzz1F7QkspBz