Northwest News

The company behind a proposed coal export terminal in Grays Harbor has decided not to go ahead with the project. Ashley Ahearn reports for EarthFix.

Farming is the single biggest reason rivers are failing to meet standards set by the Clean Water Act. EarthFix Reporter Aaron Kunz visited Idaho’s Pahsimeroi Valley for our series with Investigate West on this environmental law’s 40th anniversary. It turns out the problem isn’t so much what cattle ranchers and alfalfa growers are putting into the water – it’s what they’re taking out.

Over a hundred volunteers are helping to evacuate, sort and care for animals burned or displaced by the Taylor Bridge Fire near Cle Elum in Washington State.

More than 700 employees of Oregon's fifth largest county could vote later this month to go on strike. The Marion County Employee Association says it's scheduled a strike vote for August 30.

Two high-profile elected officials are on the Olympic Peninsula Thursday, trying to sell locals on a plan to designate more wilderness there. Senator Patty Murray and Congressman Norm Dicks say their latest bill is a grand compromise, and they’re hoping to convince Olympic Peninsula communities that fought earlier versions.

Starting Friday, fresh potatoes from Idaho, Oregon and Washington can no longer be exported to South Korea. As Capital Press reported earlier this week, Korea’s export ban results from concerns over an insect-borne disease that causes light yellow potato flesh to darken and stripe — the zebra chip.

Fire officials in central Washington are investigating whether construction at a bridge near Cle Elum sparked the 23,000 acre wildfire there. Incident commanders won’t say definitively what started the fire. But they do say the blaze was human caused and it began near the bridge construction site.

Emergency managers in central Washington have started to collect damage reports from businesses and homeowners affected by this week's destructive wildfire. That's a prerequisite to apply for federal disaster assistance. State fire investigators have established that the Taylor Bridge Fire was human-caused.

Fire officials have reduced evacuation levels for several areas around the Taylor Bridge Fire. But hundreds of displaced residents in central Washington's Kittitas County are waiting and wondering if their homes still stand. Many fled just in time. More than 70 structures have burned down.

Fire officials on the Taylor Bridge blaze near the mountain town of Cle Elum, Wash., are worried about the hot weather forecast for the next few days. Correspondent Anna King reports from the scene of the fire.