Staff Sgt. Juan M. Solorio, 32, assigned to a Fort Lewis battalion, died Friday in Mosul, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device blew up near his military vehicle. Solorio's unit also was under small-arms fire, according to an Army news release.

Solorio, who is from Dallas, was assigned to the Army's 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis.

Seattle

Man suffers burns in arson house fire

The Seattle Fire Department yesterday said arson was the cause of a Friday-night house fire that left an unidentified man with second-degree burns on 25 percent of his body. The case was turned over to Seattle police, whose spokeswoman said it is under investigation.

Fire officials received a report of smoke in the back bedroom of a split-level home in the 300 block of North 138th Street.

All occupants, at least four people, escaped. The burn victim, in his 50s, was treated at Harborview Medical Center.

The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.

Seattle

Officials identify man killed in fire

The King County Medical Examiner's Office identified a Seattle man found dead in a North Seattle house fire Thursday as Gary A. Hubert, 51.

He died from smoke inhalation in the fire, which was sparked by an electrical short in the refrigerator at the house in the 11700 block of 16th Avenue Northeast.

Vancouver, Wash.

St. Helens viewpoint expected to reopen

The U.S. Forest Service is preparing to reopen the viewpoint closest to Mount St. Helens' crater to accommodate an anticipated crush of summer tourists. May 18 marks the 25th anniversary of the volcano's catastrophic eruption.

The center has been closed since last fall, when the volcano rumbled to life again and the Forest Service evacuated visitors from the Johnston Ridge Observatory.

A final decision is expected this week, though Johnston Ridge probably would not open until the summer season begins in May, The Columbian newspaper reported.

Even so, a Forest Service official said he's inclined to reopen the observatory as long as the volcano continues its relatively placid pattern of dome-building.

"The conditions look favorable," said Cliff Ligons, manager of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Times staff and news services