Governor visits to receive briefing on wildfires
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Gov. Bob Ferguson received an on-site briefing on wildfires, on a stop in Chelan Tuesday, particularly with Douglas County Sheriff Tyler Caille.
"I wanted to make sure they knew the totality of what we were really facing, to emphasize what our community members, our friends, our family lost from this (Chelan Hills, McNeil Canyon) fire," said Caille following the visit by the Governor, Washington State Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove and local elected representatives. "It's going to take a long time to rebuild and provide them with the recovery resources that they need. What are we going to do to take care of our folks afterwards and help put them on a path of rebuilding."
"It was a good constructive conversation with all stakeholders there," added the sheriff. "We did talk about post fire recovery and what kind of resources would be available for us."
Fire Incident Command reported Wednesday that the Chelan Hills Fire has scorched an estimated 9,861 acres.
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A Chelan man was the driver of the truck that plunged off a more than 500 foot cliff in the Chelan Gorge.
Identified by the Chelan County Coroner as 58-year-old Vladimir Stepanov The coroner determined that Stepanov died from multiple injuries sustained in the crash.
Chelan County Sheriff’s Chief Ryan Moody says the pickup was found submerged in the Chelan River at the bottom of the canyon.
Sheriff’s deputies used a drone to locate and assess the scene while fire personnel established a rope rescue system to safely access the vehicle.
To assist with the recovery operation, the Chelan County PUD temporarily restricted the flow of water in the Chelan River. That allowed the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office High Angle Rope Rescue Team (HARRT) to lower personnel to the vehicle, recover the victim, and assist with the removal of the vehicle.
Toxicology results indicated that drugs and alcohol were not factors in the incident.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.