By Bill Lucia | Editor
Primary election day is here. Voters have until 8 p.m. to get their ballots deposited in official drop boxes or turned in at election centers. Ballots postmarked by today also count. But officials recommended returning ballots by mail at least a week in advance to be on the safe side. We’ll have coverage on our site tonight as results start to roll in.
Also in today’s edition…
Firefighters are still battling wildfires that tore through the Spokane area, and police have arrested a man suspected of starting one of the blazes.
Fears grow that wildland firefighters could be at greater risk as federal officials call for them to use more aggressive tactics.
And, Democratic states urge the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a pause on President Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting.
News tips, feedback, questions? Email us: [email protected]
(Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)
By Jake Goldstein-Street
In all, 688 elected offices and 80 local measures are on primary ballots. All 98 seats in the state House and 24 in the Senate are up for grabs, as Democrats seek to widen their majorities in each chamber and Republicans hope to claw back seats. Four state Supreme Court races and all 10 of the state’s U.S. House seats are also in the mix. If you’re looking for a map of drop boxes and voting centers, you can find that here. If you still need to fill out your ballot, the state’s voter pamphlet with information on candidates is here. And you can find our voter guide with key races here.
Damaged structures in the aftermath of the Spokane fires that began Saturday, Aug. 1. (Photo courtesy of Spokane Valley Fire Department)
By Bill Lucia
The three fires burning in the Spokane area have scorched more than 10,000 acres, according to figures updated Monday night. Initial estimates indicate around 700 homes and other buildings had burned. No deaths were reported as of late Monday. Tom Clemo, incident commander with California Interagency Incident Management Team 7, said aerial imagery showed as many as 1,100 structures may have been destroyed. But he emphasized that there are “large question marks about the total” property loss.
On Monday night, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said authorities had arrested a suspect for arson in connection with the Old Trails Fire, which had burned more than 3,000 acres and destroyed structures. The 37-year-old man was arrested without incident and booked into Spokane County jail, police said.
Meanwhile, smoke has settled over western Washington. Washington Smoke Blog has the latest on air quality conditions.
By Alex Brown
Wildland fire veterans are fearful that aggressive firefighting tactics ordered by the Trump administration — coupled with extreme, fast-moving blazes — could put firefighters in danger as conditions escalate this month.
Leading up to this year’s fire season, officials with the U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department directed their wildfire crews to use a “full suppression” strategy and attack wildfires urgently. Following a hot, dry winter that left much of the West parched, federal land managers said it was imperative to contain fires before they get out of control.
But following several dangerous incidents, including the deaths of four federal firefighters in Colorado in June, some longtime wildland fire leaders are questioning that strategy. Many see it as a return to the Forest Service’s decades-old “10 a.m.” policy, which sought to suppress all fires by the morning after they were reported.
“I found it disturbing,” said Riva Duncan, a former wildland fire chief who served more than 30 years with the U.S. Forest Service. “You’ve got somebody in a suit in an office who’s never fought fires saying you’ve got to go direct attack.”
By Jacob Fischler
States do not have time before November’s midterm elections to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating overhauls of their mail-in-voting systems, two dozen Democratic state officials told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.
Justices should keep a stay pausing the order in place through Election Day, the Democrats, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, wrote.
Trump’s March 31 order directs U.S. Postal Service to collect lists of registered voters from each state and only mail ballots to registered voters, and the Department of Homeland Security to compile lists of voting-age citizens in each state.
Washington’s Nick Brown was among the attorneys general who signed onto the brief.
ICYMI
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