250 firefighters sent to battle 150-acre Mount Rainier fire

About 250 firefighters were sent Monday to battle the Carbon Copy fire, a 150-acre blaze just outside Mount Rainier National Park, north of the Carbon River.

The fire was burning primarily on private land away from the park, and firefighters had constructed a fire line around the south side of the blaze. However, authorities closed the Carbon River road temporarily at Highway 165, blocking access to Coplay Lake, Summit Lake, Bearhead Trailhead and the Carbon access to the park.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. No homes were threatened, and no injuries were reported.

Seattle

Number of TB cases dips to normal levels

Active tuberculosis cases in King County have returned to average levels since a 30-year high four years ago, public-health officials said.

In 2005, 127 TB cases were diagnosed in King County, compared with the 158 cases in 2002. Officials at Public Health — Seattle & King County stepped up TB control efforts after a spurt in cases among the homeless contributed to the high levels in 2002 and 2003.

Everett

Police say body was in closet for 3 weeks

An Everett man accused of killing a woman and putting her body in a trash bin last weekend had kept the body in his closet for the previous three weeks until the smell became unbearable, according to a police document.

The 25-year-old man allegedly killed the woman because she was supposedly being belligerent and had made threats, according to an Everett police case summary.

Police said they found out about the slaying when the man's neighbor reported that he had asked her for help moving the body. The man, who has not yet been charged, was being held in Snohomish County Jail. The Snohomish County Medical Examiner has not released the slain woman's name.

Seattle

Viaduct columns inspected this week

The state Department of Transportation will be checking for damage on the Alaskan Way Viaduct columns today through Friday.

Work will be conducted between Seneca and Spring streets and Yesler Way and Columbia Street.

Between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. each day, a one-block portion of the pedestrian and bicycle path next to the viaduct will be closed and several parking spaces will be restricted for safety reasons. Officials said the work is not expected to interfere with commutes, but drivers will see a curtain hanging over one side of the viaduct.

Everett

Man who allegedly ran over cop charged

The man who allegedly ran over an Everett police officer and then eluded police for hours Friday was charged with second-degree assault and felony hit and run in Snohomish County District Court Monday.

Prosecutors allege that David Nyakas, 42, ignored officers' orders to turn off his car engine and then accelerated, injuring an Everett police officer, according to a police statement. Nyakas is being held in Snohomish County Jail.

Edmonds

Trooper crashes into car on I-5 ramp

A State Patrol trooper was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Monday morning after he crashed into another car on an Interstate 5 onramp.

Trooper Nick King, 28, was looking at another accident ahead of him on the freeway when his vehicle drifted into a car driven by Leonard Whifield, 41, of Seattle. Whifield was also taken to Harborview. Neither he nor King had life-threatening injuries.

Seattle Times staff and news services