October 11, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
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Journal photos by Natalie Johnson
The 229-acre Powerline
2 Fire started as a
5-acre brush fire near
Rainbow Lake on
Thursday. At right,
Dave LaFave, incident
commander with
Washington Incident
Management Team 3,
shows the progression
of the fire on Saturday
evening at a public
meeting on the fire at
Mason County PUD 3.
Fire
Continued from page A-1
to the fire.
The Mason County
Sheriff's office advised .... The team brought in
residents of about 25 201 people, 35 engines
homes near Rainbow Lake from throughout the state,
to evacuate Thursday. one bulldozer, two water
The American Red tenders and two helicop-
Cross opened a shelter ters.
for evacuees at the Mason By Saturday, the fire
County PUD 3 building onhad grown to 229 acres.
Johns Prairie Road. That night, members of
By Friday morning the the public were invited to
fire had grown to 150 attend a public meeting at
acres and the manage- the Mason County PUD 3
ment team took over ef- building on Johns Prairie
forts to control the fire. Road, to discuss fire sup-
pression effb~ts ......
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g
time we held a public meet-
ing where we can point out
the window and say, 'Look,
there's the fire,'" said Dale
Warriner, public informa-
tion officer for the man-
agement team.
LaFave said the fire
moved quickly and was
driven by wind as well as
very dry conditions.
"The work we have to
do here isn't over by any
means," he said.
On Saturday evening,
the fire was 70 percent
contained. By Monday
morning, that number was
up to 85 percent.
On Sunday night, crews
used an infrared heat-de-
tecting device to identify
areas still smoldering.
The DNR's Work
Camp Program brought
55 adult and 10 juvenile
offenders to the area to
work 14-16 hour shifts
on the fire line. They also
worked to cook meals for
the more than 200 fire-
fighters who worked to
extinguish the fire since
Oct. 4.
In addition to~ Mason
County fire districts and
the DNR, Thurston and
Grays Harbor counties
also sent firefighters to
fight the fire. The Bonn-
eville Power Administra-
tion, the Green Diamond
Resource Company and
Manke Timber Company
also sent personnel to help
control the fire.
LaFave praised these
initial responders during
Saturday's meeting.
"This fire could have
been a lot bigger ... it
could have caused a lot
more damage," he said.
"If you're going to thank
somebody, let's make
sure and thank the lo-
cal firefighters that are
here."
LaFave gave Central
Mason Fire & EMS chief
Tim McKern a plaque
for "recognition of excel-
lence" for the district's
response.
"What they did was a
hell of a job," LaFave said.
The cause and exact ori-
gin of the fire is under in-
vestigation.
Journal photo by Natalie Johnson
Judge James Dixon of Thurston County
Superior Court sentenced Stephan R.C.
Churchill, 29, to261 months, or 21.75
years in prison.
Sentenced
Continued from page A-1
the true impact of what you did and what you put me
through," she said.
Oppelt urged Churchill to take responsibility for his
actions and find a personal faith in God while in prison.
Morrow's father, JeffMorrow, also spoke during the
hearing.
"He was my only child," he said. '~rhe Morrow fam-
ily ends with me now when I die."
Morrow said his son was starting to overcome his
addictions and make a fresh start.
"He was starting to see the light at the end of the
tunnel," he said. '~ou took a baseball bat to what
should have been a fistfight."
Churchill's attorney Brian Hershman, of Tacoma,
spoke on behalf of his client.
"I want you to know who we're sentencing,', he said.
Hershman said Churchill is not a "remorseless so-
ciopath," and felt truly sorry for what he had done.
He said hi~ client's actions were largely the result of
an addiction to opiates and heroin.
"I had an opportunity to get involved in this case soon
after it happened. I got to see a young man detoxing,"
he said. '%Ie's a good boy. He did something horrible."
Churchill also made a brief statement to the court,
in which he apologized to Morrow's family.
"I cannot and will not make excuses for my actions,"
he said. "I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. I never
meant to take somebody's life."
Churchill said he pleaded guilty because of Oppelt's
letter to him.
"Ill try to make the best of my life when and if I'm
released from prison," he said.
Judge James Dixon of Thurston County presided
over the hearing. Mason County Superior Court Judg-
es Amber Finlay and Toni Sheldon recused themselves
from the case. After Churchill's statement, Dixon was
silent for several minutes.
"It was my intention before I took the bench this
morning to remind you or tell you a 10t of things that
needed to be said," he said. "I'm not going to do that
because Ms. Oppelt and Mr. Morrow did it for me."
Dixon said he had never heard a more "reasoned
and articulate statement" in a sentencing hearing than
Oppelt's.
Dixon imposed a sentence of 261 months, with an
additional 36 months of comm/mity custody, as was
recommended by both Mason County Prosecutor Mike
Dorcy and Hershman.
'This small-town community is a victim of your
crime," he said.
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Shelton-Mason County Journal -Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 - Page A.7