Northwest Briefs February 27, 2012
Snow causes crashes in region
A winter storm dropped 3 to 8 inches of snow on eastern Washington and North Idaho on Saturday, closing some highways and causing numerous traffic accidents.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office said 125 collisions were reported in the county between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. None of the wrecks involved serious injuries.
Drivers who weren't involved in crashes were nonetheless delayed on many roads, including the state highway to Mt. Spokane State Park. Both lanes of that road were temporarily closed because of downed trees.
Fourth of July Pass on Interstate 90; Highway 195 between Spangle and Plaza; Highway 195 from Colfax to the Idaho state line; and northbound Highway 395 also were closed for several hours Saturday because of accidents and bad conditions.
In Spokane, Mayor David Condon declared a "stage 1" snow condition, meaning crews would be working around the clock to clear city streets.
The Idaho State Police also reported a high volume of crashes and slide-offs in North Idaho due to Saturday's "treacherous winter road conditions." The agency asked motorists to restrict travel on North Idaho highways to emergencies only.
Meteorologist Matt Fugazzi with the National Weather Service said eastern Washington and the Idaho panhandle saw "very localized but very intense snow showers move through," with 3 to 8 inches of snow falling from Spokane to Coeur d'Alene.
Meanwhile, western Washington saw snow dustings in some lowland areas, and the Cascades were weathering snow showers.
Mussel-infested boats stopped
COEUR d'ALENE - Opening a mandatory boat inspection station on Interstate 90 near Wallace six weeks early stopped two boats carrying invasive mussels from the Great Lakes, officials said.
About 20 boats have been inspected since the station's Feb. 3 opening.
"We've had two hits - that's 10 percent," said Matt Voile, the department's section manager for invasive species and noxious weeds.
He said both boats were being transported by commercial haulers to waters on the Washington coast, and both were taken to decontamination centers in Washington.
Non-native zebra and quagga mussels have many western states taking preventative steps because the mussels multiply quickly and can destroy food chains, threaten waterways and harm fisheries.
On Thursday, six more boat inspection stations are scheduled to open in southern Idaho. In May, stations in Sandpoint and Samuels, as well as stations in southeastern Idaho, will start doing inspections.
Idaho started its inspection program in 2009, and so far has inspected more than 100,000 boats. Officials said 38 boats carrying mussels have been found before they could be launched in waterways.
Voile said information gleaned from the checkpoints led officials to learn that boats were being moved during parts of the year not considered traditional boating months. He said that's why the station near Wallace opened early this year.
- The Associated Press