Glacier National Park partially reopens amid pandemic
KALISPELL, Mont. — The western side of Glacier National Park has reopened to visitors after being closed since late March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Park officials lifted the barriers into the park Monday and reopened Going-to-the-Sun Road to Lake McDonald Lodge by 8 a.m., the Hungry Horse News reported.
The park is expected to close early each day at 4:30 p.m. until more employees return from quarantine status, park spokeswoman Gina Kerzman said. The park will not sweep trails and force people to leave, but it will stop letting more people in when the gates close, she said.
Entrance fees were originally waived, but are required for future visits and can be purchased online, Kerzman said.
Trails accessible from U.S. Highway 2 will also be open and will close at 4:30 p.m., including Walton and the Autumn Creek Trail at Marias Pass.
The Polebridge entrance to the park will remain close and the Camas Road will not be open next week to begin pavement sealing and other work as part of an effort to seal all the paved roads in the park, officials said.
Backcountry camping will also not initially be available, but could begin around June 20, the park’s website said. Campground reservations across the park are also closed, many due to staffing concerns.
The east side of the park will remain closed until the Blackfeet Tribe lifts its travel ban, which is set to expire June 30. The park has deferred to the tribe and its health concerns by closing east side roads, trails and campgrounds.
Visitors should expect plenty of mud and some flooded low-level trails due to recent heavy rains, officials said. A thunderstorm on May 31 caused a three-day power outage and knocked down numerous trees that officials are still working to clean up.
Police arrest teen in Rainier Valley double homicide case
SEATTLE — An 18-year-old man was arrested in Washington in a shooting that left two people dead last month in Rainier Beach, authorities said.
Detectives tracked the suspect to Federal Way, where he was arrested Sunday and booked into the King County jail for investigation of homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.
The U.S. Marshal’s office and Rainier Valley SWAT team assisted in the arrest, authorities said.
A large group of people had gathered in the parking lot of a Rainier Beach grocery store on May 23 before shots were fired, causing the group to scatter, police said.
The King County medical examiner’s office identified the men as Christopher Wilson Jr., 35, and Christopher Roberts Jr., 23.
The name of the suspect was not released.
Asphalt problems delay runway reopening
MOSES LAKE — A problem with the asphalt used to repave a section of the main runway at Grant County International Airport will delay the runway’s reopening until next week, according to officials with the Port of Moses Lake.
According to GCIA director Rich Mueller, the asphalt used for the top layers of the new runway, which was being resurfaced to remove a small rise in the 13,500-foot runway, had too much air in it to handle large airplanes.
In fact, Mueller said the contractor delivered roadway quality asphalt rather than runway quality.
“It has to be really, really hard to handle the impact of big airplanes,” Mueller said.
Mueller said that the top 2½ inches of the asphalt were removed and then the lengthy stretch of runway was repaved.
The Federal Aviation Administration paid for most of the $20 million project to remove the hump. The delay will not cost the port any additional money, Mueller said.
Port Executive Director Don Kersey said once the main runway repairs are completed, Boeing will likely begin a series of flight tests of its new 777-9 jumbo jet, an improved version of the 777 with composite wings and folding wingtips.
“It will not be based here at first,” he said.
Kersey said the week-long delay is also not expected to interrupt any cherry shipments to China, the first of which is expected to fly out of Moses Lake on June 18.
Police fatally shoot man after chase in northwestern Montana
KALISPELL, Mont. — Authorities fatally shot a man who opened fire after leading deputies on a chase in northwestern Montana, officials said Tuesday.
Flathead County sheriff’s deputies were investigating a possible homicide outside Kalispell when they encountered the man in a vehicle connected to the death, sheriff’s officials said.
The man led officers on a chase to the small Flathead Lake community of Woods Bay, where Lake County authorities used spike strips to stop the vehicle.
The man in the vehicle fired at Flathead County deputies and Montana Highway Patrol officers, who returned fire and killed the man, officials said.
Flathead County Sheriff Brian Heino told the Daily Inter Lake that no deputies were injured.
The man’s name has not been released and no additional details were immediately available.
Montana Department of Criminal Investigation officials were investigating. Montana Highway 35 was closed to traffic because of the shooting.
