Lyon receives $5 million as part of the agreement A lawsuit over the 2015 Twisp River Fire was settled just before arguments were scheduled in Washington Supreme Court, awarding $5 million to firefighter Daniel Lyon, who was severely burned in the blaze. The settlement also resolved claims by federal and state agencies for fire-suppression costs […]
Twisp River Fire
Wildfire research project will examine forest fuels issues
Fire ecologist Susan Prichard of Winthrop has been studying wildfires, and their impacts on forests, for more than two decades. Even so, she was unprepared for the intensity of wildfires she witnessed in the Methow Valley and Okanogan County during 2014 and 2015.
“As a fire ecologist, I …
Risk affecting access, cost of homeowners’ insurance
Early this spring, Ed Parker and Flora Abuan received a letter from PEMCO, the decade-long insurer of their home on a hillside above Myer Creek up Twisp River.
It said an inspector was coming to look at their property, which was damaged by
DNR suit seeks OCEC reimbursement for Twisp River Fire
The Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) filed a lawsuit last fall against the Okanogan County Electric Cooperative, seeking more than $1 million to reimburse DNR’s expenses for firefighting and investigation of the 2015 Twisp River Fire.
New report cites factors leading to Twisp River Fire tragedy
A newly released report on the Twisp River Fire of 2015 doesn’t isolate any single cause of the deadly entrapment, but concludes that several factors contributed to the tragedy.
Those include a firefighting culture that …
Scattered results
A multi-year campaign to restore plants in areas disturbed when utility lines damaged by wildfires were repaired appears to be helping reestablish native grasses and crowd out invasive weeds.
For the third year in a row, volunteers organized …
Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group seeks volunteers for Make a Difference Day
The Okanogan County Long Term Recovery (OCLTRG) is seeking local volunteers for Make A Difference Day on Oct. 22. Make A Difference Day is one of the largest annual days of service nationwide. Volunteers from around the nation come together with a common mission of improving the lives of others. This goal of this one-day […]
Forest Service, community honor fallen firefighters
Firefighters, U.S. Forest Service staff and community members had an opportunity for personal and shared reflection about the lived legacy of Tom Zbyszewski, Rick Wheeler and Andrew Zajac, the three firefighters who died in the Twisp River Fire one year ago.
The U.S. Forest Service held a formal tribute on the one-year anniversary of the firefighters’ deaths that also …
Reflection site encourages quiet contemplation
On a tranquil knoll with views of three Methow Valley watersheds, the Methow Valley Ranger District has created a site for reflection and contemplation to honor the firefighters who died in the Twisp River Fire.
The living memorial — located next to the ranger district offices in Winthrop — brings together ideas from firefighters, district employees and local metal artist Jessica da Costa, who created a copper eagle …
Reflecting on Aug. 19
By Don Nelson I doubt there are many souls in the Methow who haven’t already had a thought or two — privately kept or quietly shared — about the significance of Aug. 19 in the valley’s collective consciousness. It was just a year ago this Friday that three firefighters died in the Twisp River Fire, including Methow Valley native […]
