UPDATE: The Washington State Department of Transportation reports that all lanes were open by 9 p.m.

A brush fire that erupted around 6 p.m. along westbound Highway 16 near Purdy continues to block the right lane and traffic is slow, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Gig Harbor Fire department crews responded and put the fire out but crews are still on the scene at milepost 15 at Highway 302. At one point, the traffic was backed up for two miles, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Further details were not available.

No charges were filed today against a man suspected of hitting and killing a 65-year-old woman Thursday morning in a head-on crash on State Route 162.

Prosecutors will wait for the results of the full investigation – including the analysis of a blood draw – before deciding whether to file charges against the 30-year-old man, deputy prosecutor Mark Sanchez said this afternoon. (This is fairly routine. Prosecutors generally like to see the full reports and have the toxicology information before filing charges.)

Maria Davila was killed Thursday morning when a pickup truck crossed the centerline and struck here at …

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Information about a missing 11-year-old McCleary girl has now been added to the FBI’s Web site.

Lindsey Baum’s picture, description and an overview of the circumstances of her disappearance June 26 were published on the Web site Friday.

Lindsey was last seen leaving a friend’s house the evening of June 26. No trace of her has been found since despite several searches of McCleary and widespread publicity of the case.

Tacoma-Pierce County Crime Stoppers and other sources have combined to offer a $10,000 reward for information on the girl’s whereabouts.

Find out more on a Web site …

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A 19-year-old man died early today at a Lacey home where a group of young adults gathered and consumed alcohol, the Lacey Police Department reported.

The man’s name has not yet been released.

Officers and paramedics were called to the home in the 1400 block of Diamond Road Southeast about 6:50 a.m. They found the young man unconscious and not breathing, officers reported.

Officers performed CPR. Shortly after paramedics arrived, they pronounced the man dead.

There were several 18- to 21-year-olds inside the home. Witnesses reported the man was last seen about 4 a.m.

“Officers determined that alcohol had been …

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Puyallup police are warning residents of a rash of vehicle break-ins in the south King and Pierce county areas.

Possible suspect vehicles include a green 1995 Mercedes Benz, white 1995 Infiniti J30 and a gold 1990 Chevrolet C-10 pickup. The suspect has been described as a white man and 30 to 35 years old, with brown hair.

Officers advise residents to lock their cars and to not leave valuables visible inside.

Anyone with information about the break-ins is asked to call Puyallup police.

King County sheriff’s deputies are searching for a man they believe has robbed the same SeaTac bank twice in the past two months.

The Sheriff’s Office released surveillance photos of the bank robber today in hopes that someone recognizes him and calls police.

Investigators report the man robbed the Wells Fargo bank branch located inside the Safeway store at 4011 S. 164th on June 17 and again Tuesday.

During the first robbery, the man entered the branch about 5:50 p.m. and handed a teller a robbery note. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, deputies reported.

During the second …

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Pierce County prosecutors have charged 35-year-old man in connection with  burglary at a Bonney Lake cigar store earlier this week.

Court documents provide the following information:

Bonney Lake police were called to the Cigar Store, 19641 State Route 410, on Wednesday for a burglary alarm. They found a rock had been thrown through a window and a number of cigarette cartoons stolen. A store employee responded to the scene and reported that $15,000 worth of cigarettes were taken.

A short time later, Tacoma police officers stopped a van driven by Jamelle R. Stevens for defective equipment. The van pulled over …

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I got this inquiry this morning via e-mail:

Good Morning. Any idea what was or is the cause of the smoke Near Fredrickson/Graham area? It seems to be hazy for miles around here and persistently getting Thicker.

I called Graham Fire’s deputy chief Gary Franz who explained the likely cause of the haze. There are a handful of controlled burns in the area. One is on Fort Lewis property and another is in Thurston County. The fires are cutting down on the vegetation.

The winds are likely blowing that smoke over parts of east Pierce …

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