Bridge over I-90 to open in mid-August

The new Government Way Bridge that spans Interstate 90 is expected to open in mid-August.

The bridge, part of a main north-south route that connects Coeur d’Alene, has been closed for a year while the Idaho Department of Transportation builds a new, taller and wider overpass.

On Wednesday, crews poured 50 yards of concrete for the new steel-girder bridge, department spokeswoman Barbra Babic said.

“There’s no delay,” Babic said, adding that the $2.7 million reconstruction project is actually ahead of schedule. The initial completion date was slated for September or October.

The old bridge, built in 1958, was deteriorating and no longer met interstate standards, Babic said. One lane had been closed for about a year prior to the start of the reconstruction project because of safety concerns after trucks smashed into the bridge.

The new overpass is 17 feet high, about 2 feet taller than the old one. It’s four lanes wide and includes sidewalks.

Once open, Government Way will be four lanes from Harrison Avenue to Dalton Avenue.

– Erica Curless

Wenatchee

Weather helps crews tackle wildfire

Firefighters began building lines Thursday around a wildfire burning in dense, beetle-killed trees near Winthrop.

The Spur Peak fire had been burning uncontrolled a day earlier, but cooler temperatures and rain Thursday allowed firefighters to begin a direct attack on the blaze about 15 miles north of Winthrop, said Robin DeMario, spokeswoman for the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forests.

The fire was estimated at 300 acres.

About 165 firefighters were assigned to the fire. No structures were threatened, and no injuries were reported.

The Forest Service closed several roads and trails in the area to protect public safety.

Severe thunderstorms have swept through Eastern Washington this week, with lightning sparking dozens of fires in the region.

– Associated Press

ANCHORAGE, Alaska

Hiker flown to Seattle after bear attack

A Hawaii woman was being treated in a Seattle hospital Thursday after she was mauled by a brown bear in southeast Alaska.

Ann Scheller, 57, suffered head, neck and leg wounds in the attack Sunday in Berg Bay, about 20 miles east of Wrangell.

Scheller, of Mililani, said she was briefly separated from two hikers on a trail when she got between the female bear and its cubs. The bears left the area after the mauling.

“I was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Scheller said. “She sent out the warnings and I was just trying to move on.”

Scheller, an emergency room nurse, said she was discovered by her friends about an hour after the attack.

She was flown first to a Ketchikan hospital, then to Seattle. She was in satisfactory condition Thursday at Harborview Medical Center, said Susan Gregg-Hanson, a hospital spokeswoman.

– Associated Press