Anna King

About 900 firefighters are trying to contain the Taylor Bridge fire before it destroys more homes. It’s burning in central Washington near the town of Cle Elum.

The Taylor Bridge fire in central Washington is still keeping about 450 people from their homes near the town of Cle Elum. Some residents have remained, despite the heavy smoke from a fire that’s consumed 28,000 acres.

The Hanford Nuclear Reservation’s so-called “black cells” are getting another look from a new high-level group of experts. The announcement today from the U.S. Department of Energy comes just as the southeast Washington nuclear site implements new safety standards for non-radioactive risks.

Washington environmental regulators are hoping that crews at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation will clean out three more aging tanks of radioactive waste by the end of summer. A federal judge has ordered that ten tanks in an area known as “C-Farm” have to be closed by September of 2014.

Northwest agriculture researchers say they are finding more cases of a zebra chip disease in the region’s potatoes. The malady mars spuds with dark streaks, making them unsuitable for sale. The latest case cropped up near Hermiston, Ore.

Drought that’s sizzling the rest of the nation has largely left the Northwest states alone. Furthermore, the Midwest’s farmers’ misfortune is actually benefiting farmers here. That’s because grain prices are raising because of the Heartland’s decimated yields. Correspondent Anna King has this report from central Washington’s grain country.

Wheat stubble, grain elevators and whole lot of wide open – that’s Connell, Washington.

Drought that’s sizzling the rest of the nation has largely left the Northwest states alone. Furthermore, the Midwest’s farmers’ misfortune is actually benefiting farmers here. That’s because grain prices are going up because of the Heartland’s decimated yields. Meanwhile, many Northwest farmers crops are above average.

Helix, Ore., residents have most of their summer programs back online and many buildings back in service after a massive mud flow ripped through much of downtown. A storm sent rivers of mud down early the morning of July 16.

A new federal report says managers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation respond appropriately to most concerns brought up by employees. But the study says sometimes officials at the southeast Washington site don’t explain well enough to employees how they resolve each concern. The report also says initial interviews with concerned employees were often incomplete or too abbreviated to do a proper investigation later.