Methow Valley

(Runtime 3:29)An important wildlife corridor – and a key access point for cross-country skiers – could be parceled out and developed. But the Methow…

It’s been more than a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. Thousands of fighters and civilians have died. With no clear end in sight, Ukrainian forces are taking all the help they can get – including from surveillance drone pilots, trained in Washington’s Methow Valley.

One family’s continuous wildfire preparation paid off this summer in North Central Washington.

Fire scorching the forests of the Methow Valley in North Central Washington has become a devastating yearly event.“It's becoming one of those things that,…

Eight people, at least two of them foreign H-2A farmworkers, have died in the county. Health officials say cases are climbing quickly with nearly 300 confirmed over the last two weeks alone. The county has seen about 800 total cases during the pandemic. Many of the recent cases are in the small town of Brewster, home to a large tree-fruit growing, packing and shipping industry.

Photos circulating on social media showed cars lining streets of downtown Winthrop and along roads on the Interstate 90 corridor. The concern is that people can bring the coronavirus into these small towns that have fewer medical resources already available.

In February, immigration agents arrested a man the federal government says is a danger to his community of Twisp in Washington’s Methow Valley. That same community fought to get their neighbor back.

Drivers and cyclists have this Memorial Day weekend to get in a full trip over Washington’s Highway 20 before a temporary closure on the east side. The state Transportation Dept. will close the full 30-mile stretch connecting Twisp and Okanogan for nine days beginning Tuesday, May 28.

The Natural Resource Management Act includes a little of everything — meant to satisfy public land interests all over the country.The land-conservation measures have received a lot of attention. But there are other provisions in the bill concerning the Northwest, among them wildfire risk, research and air quality resources, hunting on public lands, water management for the Yakima Valley.

Wildfire represents both risk and reward for some small communities in Washington. Walking the line between a "good fire" and a "bad fire" can be tricky.