Ellensburg Community Morning Show, Thursday, August 20th

The Music in the Gardens series continues tonight at 6:30 at Brick House Gardens and Nursery.

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NEWS

The Three Queens Fire is still burning in the mountains six miles east of Snoqualmie Pass. As of the latest update from fire managers, the fire covers about three thousand seven hundred acres and is two percent contained. More than eight hundred people are working it. The fire started July 15th from lightning, and it's been moving through steep, high country above Lake Kachess, where crews are dealing with unstable slopes and rolling material. The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office has Level 1, 2, and 3 evacuations in place, and you can find the current levels on the county's live evacuation map. Fire crews say their priorities are holding the lines they have, keeping the fire away from populated areas, and building structure protection plans for Easton, Roslyn, Ronald, and Lakedale. The forecast is not helping. Hot and very dry conditions are expected today and tomorrow, with humidity dropping toward twenty percent.

Because of that fire, a large piece of the Cle Elum Ranger District is closed to the public, and will stay closed through the end of October. That includes the Rachel Lake, Pete Lake, Kachess Ridge, and Lake Lillian trails, the Pacific Crest Trail between Snoqualmie Pass and Deception Pass, and campgrounds at Salmon la Sac, Cle Elum River, Wish Poosh, Kachess, and Owhi, among others. Dozens of Forest Service roads are closed too. If you had plans up there this weekend, call the Cle Elum Ranger District at 5-0-9, 8-5-2, 1-1-0-0 before you drive. And the countywide burn ban is still in effect in unincorporated Kittitas County. No open burning, no debris piles. Propane stoves and charcoal grills are still allowed, and campfires only in approved rings at designated campgrounds.

Less than four years ago, Ellensburg’s Zoe Trudeau discovered a new sport known as wingfoil — a water-based board activity where the participant holds their sail in a way that allows them to catch some big air. Late last month, she picked up her first win on the Wingfoil World Tour at Fuerteventura, one of Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. The 16-year-old’s successful trick on her last jump propelled her past friend and training partner Viola Lippitsch from Austria, one day after Trudeau became the first woman to land a 720 in a surf-freestyle competition.

The City of Ellensburg's natural gas utility has picked up a national award. The city's Natural Gas Division earned gold-level recognition from the American Public Gas Association, which puts Ellensburg among just sixteen systems in the country currently holding gold. More than seven hundred thirty public gas systems compete for it. City Gas Engineer Darin Yusi said the award was seven years in the making, and that plenty of utilities try for gold but few get there. Ellensburg's gas system has been running for seventy years and serves more than five thousand customers over a hundred and forty miles of pipe.

The Adult Activity Center is looking for volunteers to staff the Senior Lounge at the Kittitas County Fair, September 3–7. Two-hour shifts, and volunteers get a free pass into the fair

One traffic note. The Interstate 90 westbound off-ramp and on-ramp at Exit 137, near the Vantage Bridge, is closed through today. That's the Washington State Department of Transportation. Plan an extra minute if you're headed that way.

Here's what's happening around town today.

Tonight is the last Summer Concert in the Park of the season. Ellensburg Parks and Recreation has the music going from 6:30 to 8 at North Alder Street Park, at 2400 North Alder. It's free, bring a blanket and a lawn chair. One thing to watch: last week's concert got moved indoors to the Hal Holmes Community Center because of air quality, so if the smoke settles in today, check with Parks and Recreation before you head over.

Also tonight, the Music in the Gardens series continues at 6:30 at Brick House Gardens and Nursery.

And Toastmasters International meets at 5:30 this evening at the Hal Holmes Community Center, 209 North Ruby Street.

Looking ahead to Saturday, the Ellensburg Farmers Market is downtown starting at 9 in the morning.

WEATHER                                                                                          

The forecasted high today in Ellensburg is 94 degrees with a low tonight of 63 degrees. Sunny today with a light west wind, turning partly cloudy overnight with a northwest wind around 6 miles an hour that goes calm after midnight. The sunset is at 8:04 p.m. No rain in the picture today, and there are no active National Weather Service alerts for the valley, though there's smoke in the region and haze is likely. Tomorrow looks about the same, 94 again, with a chance of showers moving in tomorrow night.

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH AT THE FISH OPEN TABLE?

The FISH Open Table lunch today is Chicken Parmesan, served with pasta and marinara, mixed vegetables, and pears. The senior lunch is open to all seniors age 60-plus from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table at 204 North Main Street, and from 11:30 to 1 at the Upper County Senior Center in Cle Elum, where the menu is a little different. Lunch is free, donations are welcome but not required, and prior registration is necessary. The community lunch for anyone needing a hot meal is from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table.