Woman injured in surpriseencounter with moose in Montana
VIRGINIA CITY, Mont. — Montana wildlife officials say a woman was injured over the weekend when she was knocked to the ground in a surprise encounter with a moose.
The 66-year-old woman broke her wrist when the cow moose charged at her from a patch of willow trees and struck her as she was walking her dog in Virginia City on Friday, said Morgan Jacobson with Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks.
The woman told a game warden that the moose was accompanied by a yearling calf. It was unclear if the woman was injured when the moose made contact with her or when she struck the ground, Jacobson said.
State officials say moose can be defensive and dangerous in surprise encounters, particularly if they are with a calf. They advise anyone charged by a moose to take cover behind a tree or other solid object.
A cow moose can weigh as much as 800 pounds and a bull moose up to 1,200 pounds.
About 25 percent of Idaho in drought; 1 area in extreme drought
BOISE — About a quarter of Idaho is experiencing some degree of drought, with one pocket in the south central part of the state in extreme drought.
The area in extreme drought is in the Pioneer Mountains, which straddles Blaine County and Custer County, Boise State Public Radio reported Monday during a water supply meeting.
“This is an ongoing, long-term drought that started back in the fall of 2019, and we just haven’t seen any kind of recovery there yet,” David Hoekema, a hydrologist for the Idaho Department of Water Resources, said Friday.
About 40 percent of the American West is experiencing extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The part of Idaho in extreme drought means there is a high likelihood that there will be water shortages for some agricultural producers in the area, the outlet reported.
Outside of that area, snowpack is better than expected, especially in northern Idaho where basins are near or slightly above normal levels. That means most of Idaho’s reservoirs are expected to fill.
But in south central Idaho, snowpack is at about 60 percent to 70 percent of normal levels.
Blaine County requested a drought declaration last week, which Republican Gov. Brad Little must approve.
Two people survive small plane crash near San Juan Island
FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash. — Two people survived after their small plane crashed into the water near the San Juan Islands Sunday evening, according to the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office.
Emergency managers and the Coast Guard were sent to the south end of Blakley Island after receiving a report of the crash. But when they arrived they found the two on board had managed to make it back to shore, KOMO reported.
It’s unclear if the two suffered any injuries but a medical helicopter was at the scene on standby, deputies said.
Investigators are still looking into what caused the crash and were assessing the crash scene for any environmental impacts from the fuel on board.
Diner with two locations fined $35,000 over COVID-19 rules
BEND, Ore. — A diner with locations in Bend and Redmond has been fined $35,000 for allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions.
The Black Bear Diner locations allowed indoor dining when Deschutes County was in the extreme risk category because of high coronavirus caseloads, The Bulletin reported.
Oregon Occupational Safety and Health officials said the restaurants “willfully” continue to potentially expose workers to the virus, despite a public health order of limited or zero indoor dining.
Kathy Degree, the owner of the two Black Bear diners, has hired Salem-based Kevin L. Mannix law firm to appeal the penalty.
She believes she was properly adhering to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rules and regulations for businesses that were permitted to be open at the time.
“We felt that we were following all the CDC guidelines of social distancing, face masks, sanitation as all businesses that were open,” said Degree by phone. “We felt we were entitled to those same parameters. We took the safety of our employees to the highest priority, and the records will show that no employee tested positive for COVID.”
Toddler remains in critical condition after Seattle shooting
SEATTLE — A Seattle toddler remained in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center Monday after she was shot along with three others in a Central District parking lot Sunday.
The 2-year-old girl was taken to the hospital in a private car after police say at least two people came around a corner and opened fire on cars and people outside an AutoZone and Starbucks, The Seattle Times reported. Police have made no arrests.
Detective Patrick Michaud on Monday said detectives “are keeping this one close” and have released little information.
He would not say whether the shooting was captured on surveillance video or traffic cameras, or provide details about the gunfire.
The shooting was reported Sunday by multiple callers at 3:22 p.m. Police found the victims all had been taken or driven to local hospitals.
Susan Gregg, a spokesperson at Harborview, said the three adult male victims had been treated and released as of Monday afternoon. She said the toddler’s condition remained unchanged.
