Planning a cookout for Memorial Day? Be sure to check out our complete local forecast.
Here are some of the stories that grabbed our readers’ attention this week.
HOOD RIVER, Ore. — A Vancouver teenager who started a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon has been ordered to pay restitution for at least the next decade, though it’s unlikely the boy will ever cover his nearly $37 million bill.
Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson issued the opinion on Monday, awarding the restitution totaling $36,618,330.24 to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes. Victims include the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Transportation.
The 15-year-old from Vancouver earlier this year acknowledged wrongdoing and said he threw two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2 where flames spread quickly. The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction. Anger at the boy was so intense that authorities withheld his name to protect his safety. He’s listed in court papers as A.B.
The judge’s order notes that the boy can set up a payment plan, though payments can be halted after 10 years as long as he complies, completes probation and doesn’t commit other crimes.
Clark Public Utilities customers can expect a one-time dip in their power bills this summer, after a $10 million credit is applied to users districtwide.
The credit will equate to about 29 percent of the average of January and February combined power usage — not the bills received during those months, but the consumption read at the meter during those months.
The utility announced on Wednesday that the credit will be applied to the June bill, which might not be the same month customers actually receive their bills.
The utility gave its customers a similar credit on their March 2017 bills. That $10 million credit came on the heels of a particularly cold winter.
Your feelings on fireworks could likely depend on where you live in Clark County.
That’s one of the central takeaways from an opinion survey conducted by Clark County of 7,628 residents. The results, released last week, show that generally residents in more rural areas are more likely to include fireworks in their Fourth of July celebration and are less worried about their accompanying fire hazard than their more urban counterparts.
The survey’s results come at a time when various jurisdictions have modified or are considering updates to their fireworks regulations.
Ridgefield is the fastest-growing city in the state once again.
According to U.S. Census Bureau information put out on Thursday, Ridgefield’s population grew 13 percent between 2016 and 2017, the highest rate of any city in Washington. The city also claimed the fastest-growing crown from 2013 to 2014.
The city’s population increased from 7,041 in 2016 to 7,959 in 2017, according to the Census data. The only other city in the state with double digit percentage growth over that time was Nespelem, which increased 11.8 percent, from 280 residents in 2016 to 313 in 2017.
The state’s growth wasn’t just limited to Ridgefield, of course. Seattle was named the country’s fastest growing of the country’s 50 largest cities this decade, increasing its population 18.7 percent since 2010, according to the Seattle Times.
