Oyster-growing areas closed

Two oyster-growing areas at the tip of Hood Canal have been closed after six people in California contracted an intestinal disease from oysters harvested there, state health officials said.

The Department of Health closed shellfish beaches in Mason County from Miller Creek (north of Hoodsport) south and east to Sunset Beach and across to Stimson Creek. The closed areas include both Potlatch and Twanoh state parks.

State officials are asking the shellfish industry to recall oysters from these growing areas. Consumers who may have purchased oysters from these areas should check with the place of purchase to see if they were harvested from the affected growing areas.

The disease, called vibriosis, is caused by a naturally occurring bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, headache, fever and chills, and usually appear about 12 hours after eating infected shellfish. The illness is usually mild to moderate and lasts for two to seven days, but can be life-threatening to people with immune dysfunction or chronic liver disease. Unseasonably warm temperatures and afternoon low tides are thought to be major contributors to this outbreak.

The bacteria are killed when oysters are cooked to 145 degrees.

For more information, consult the Department of Health recreational shellfish map Web site (www.doh.wa.gov/biotoxinmaps.htm), state shellfish program (360-236-3330) or local health agencies.

Seattle

Ferry workers told to be on lookout

Washington state ferry employees have been told to watch for suspicious passengers after an incident in which someone took some out-of-the-ordinary photos.

Washington State Patrol spokesman Bob Calkins in Olympia says the incident took place last month and he can't disclose details because it's still under investigation. He says it led to an internal memo to ferry employees asking them to be more alert.

Calkins says the photo-takers drew attention because they were behaving a little differently than commuters or tourists. He says no officer was available at the time to check them out, so the memo was sent. He says it's not a warning.

Any tips will be analyzed by the Washington Joint Analytical Center, a multiagency center at the Seattle FBI office, that gathers information to look for security threats.

Calkins says the patrol and Coast Guard already provide security for state ferries because they could be targets for terrorism.

Tukwila

Firefighter hurt when ceiling falls

A firefighter was injured while putting out a fire at a condo building in Tukwila on Thursday afternoon, Tukwila fire officials said.

His non-life-threatening injuries resulted when a ceiling collapsed. Other firefighters were grazed by the falling ceiling but did not get hurt.

The injured firefighter was taken to the hospital and later released.

Fire officials were called to Crystal Ridge Condominiums at 15330 Sunwood Blvd. at about 12:45 p.m. Flames damaged at least two units, and activated sprinklers caused water damage in four other units, fire officials said.

No residents were injured.

The cause of the fire is unknown, but the Tukwila Fire Department said no one was at home in the unit where the fire started.

Total estimated loss is estimated at $300,000, fire officials said.

Cle Elum

Man arrested in woman's assault

Police have arrested a man in connection with the abduction and assault of a West Seattle woman earlier this week.

The man was booked into King County Jail after being arrested in Cle Elum on Friday, according to Seattle police. The 56-year-old West Seattle woman was dropped off at a Cle Elum hospital Thursday after disappearing Wednesday. She suffered injuries from an assault but has been released from the hospital.

Everett

Resurfacing begins on 3 miles of I-5

Beginning Monday, construction crews working on the state Department of Transportation's I-5 Everett HOV freeway expansion project will begin work to resurface about three miles of the freeway in south Everett.

This repaving work is in addition to efforts under way to add HOV lanes between Route 526 and the Snohomish River. Depending on the weather, the resurfacing work is expected to last up to three months.

Up to three lanes of the freeway will be closed 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Crews will begin by grinding off layers of pavement on northbound Interstate 5 starting in the vicinity of Route 526 and make their way northward to the vicinity of 41st Street. When they are finished with the northbound lanes, crews will begin working on southbound lanes.

The DOT is using $263 million from the 2003 nickel gas tax and 2005 gas tax fund to add lanes and make other improvements to I-5 through Everett, Snohomish County's most notorious choke point.

Stevenson, Skamania County

8,000 pot plants seized in raid

About 8,000 marijuana plants have been seized in one of the largest pot raids in the Northwest this year, and three people have been arrested, Skamania County sheriff's deputies said.

Deputies found the marijuana growing Wednesday near a steep hillside in the Columbia River Gorge about 10 miles east of town. No houses were in the area, but items found at the site indicated people had been living there and tending the plants, deputies and members of the Clark-Skamania Drug Task Force said.

As many as six people in camouflage clothing were spotted from a Drug Enforcement Administration aircraft. One was arrested soon afterward about a mile away and two more were taken into custody Wednesday night near Route 14, all for investigation of manufacturing marijuana, deputies said.

Because of the steep terrain, the pot plants had to be airlifted from the site.

Late last month, in neighboring Clark County, sheriff's deputies found more than 3,700 marijuana plants worth an estimated $750,000 in a remote forested area about two miles south of Lake Merwin.

On July 7, Oregon State Police reported the seizure of about 7,500 pot plants 2 to 4 feet tall on U.S. Forest Service land northwest of Lakeview in south-central Oregon.

Spokane Valley

Man arrested, accused in rapes

A Spokane Valley man was arrested for investigation into kidnapping and raping prostitutes he took home from the East Sprague Avenue area of Spokane.

Pierre D. West, 46, was booked Thursday into the Spokane County Jail for investigation of five counts of kidnapping, five counts of first-degree rape and two counts of second-degree assault. He was being held Friday on $500,000 bond.

Detectives say he solicited women, refused to pay them and forced them to go to his Spokane Valley home, where sexual acts were performed under threat of violence.

The rapes allegedly occurred from 2005 until last month.

Police got a break in the case when one woman escaped naked from West's house and later contacted authorities.

West is a Level III sex offender who was convicted twice in the 1980s in Pierce County, including for the rape of a minor, Spokane County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Dave Reagan said Thursday.

Portland

Drivers urged to check tires

Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers is urging motorists to check their cars for tires that may be faulty.

In June, a U.S. tire importer reported to federal officials that the tires may not meet standard requirements. An estimated 450,000 tires that it brought from China and sold in the United States are estimated to be at risk. The Union, N.J.-based importer, Foreign Tire Sales Inc., and the Chinese government have denied that the tires are dangerous.

The faulty tires — sold under brand names Westlake, Compass and YKS — have insufficient "gum strips" that could lead to early tread separation, the federal complaint says.

An estimated 11,000 tires were distributed to more than 60 Oregon tire dealers, Myers' office said. The potentially dangerous tires were manufactured between 2002 to 2006 for light trucks, sports utility vehicles and vans.

Because there has been no recall notice, dealers are not required to inspect the tires at no charge.

Myers advises consumers to keep their receipts for any charges for possible reimbursement.

Consumers should not drive their vehicles for long distances on hot roads and not overload vehicles.

The tires in question all bear the letters "LT" for the tire size, plus numbers starting with "7D" and ending in "02," "03," "04" or "05." The tires were manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co.

Seattle Times staff and news services