Kittitas County Sheriff

10/15/2026

SUSPECT IN CLE ELUM AND SNOQUALMIE PASS BURGLARIES ARRESTED IN KING COUNTY
In the early morning hours of October 1, two men in a dark sedan broke into or attempted to burglarize three businesses on First Street in Cle Elum. A short time later, surveillance cameras recorded a burglary at a coffee shop at Snoqualmie Pass. Doors were shattered and cash, w**e, and other property were stolen.

Several businesses provided surveillance video, but the images alone did not conclusively identify the suspects. Working with Cle Elum Police, KCSO deputies compared details from those videos with vehicle information recorded by license plate reading cameras belonging to the Sheriff’s Office and the City of Cle Elum.

Those searches helped deputies identify the suspect vehicle and establish its travel from King County into Kittitas County and then to Pierce County that night. Further investigation identified Timothy Thorn, 43, of Parkland, as the suspected driver.

Deputies contacted other law enforcement agencies and learned that Thorn, who had 23 previous felony convictions, was also under investigation for burglaries in Kirkland, Mercer Island, Shoreline, Woodinville, and the Redmond area.

Kirkland Police arrested Thorn this week, and he is being held in the King County Jail. Kittitas County Superior Court has issued arrest warrants for Thorn on multiple charges of burglary, theft, and malicious mischief related to the October 1 incidents. The investigation is ongoing and the second suspect is expected to be charged when identified.

We’re grateful to Cle Elum Police and the other agencies whose cooperation helped connect these investigations across county lines. Access to ALPR records gave deputies a way to turn limited surveillance images into leads they could follow toward closing this case.

10/14/2026

Here's yet another backcountry rescue by the trained volunteers of Kittitas County Search & Rescue, with the help of the Yakima Training Center's 'Dustoff' Army Air Ambulance. The remarkable volunteer spirit of KSCR members, paired with the US Army's willingness to respond, has made a huge difference in many life- and health-threatening incidents like this in recent years. We're so grateful every time.

10/13/2026

Please join us at the Ridge Restaurant in Ellensburg from 1:00 to 2:00 pm on Thursday, November 5th, to celebrate the retirement of Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers.

10/12/2026

Come support our amazing volunteer partners at Kittitas County Search & Rescue, have a good time at Whipsaw, and (maybe?) go home with MEAT. Win/Win/Win!

🥩 WE FIND LOST HIKERS. YOU FIND DINNER. 🍻

Who’s ready to meat their next great dinner? Join us for a MEAT RAFFLE benefiting Kittitas County Search & Rescue!

Come hang out, grab a b**r, and try your luck at winning some delicious cuts of meat—all while supporting the volunteers who help bring people home safely.

📅 Saturday, November 14
⏰ 5–8 PM
📍 Whipsaw Brewing,| 704 N Wenatchee St, Ellensburg

🥩 Meat generously donated by local businesses.

10/09/2026

EVACUATION LEVELS LIFTED — THREE QUEENS, KING, AND GOAT FIRES

Evacuation Levels 1, 2, and 3 have been removed for the Three Queens, King, and Goat Fires. While this is welcome news for our communities, the removal of evacuation levels does NOT mean the public is permitted to enter Forest Service closure areas. Please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts/three-queens-fire-area-closure-reduced-cle-elum-ranger-district before entering the area.

As of today 10/9/2026, the Three Queens Fire is 45% contained and staffed with smoke jumpers and local resources. Suppression repair and rehabilitation efforts are still ongoing. Residual heat remains along the fire perimeter, with creeping and smoldering fire behavior observed in areas where firefighting personnel cannot safely access. Smoke continues to be visible despite cooler temperatures. Some precipitation fell over the fire area today, and firefighters reported that the rain provided some relief. However, conditions remain unseasonably dry, and the precipitation was insufficient to significantly influence fire behavior.

Until a season-ending weather event occurs, expect the Forest Service fire area to remain closed to the public due to ongoing safety concerns associated with the wildfire environment. Thank you to the many incident management teams and fire personnel that worked and continue to work these fires. And thank you to the community for your cooperation and support during these events.

10/06/2026

As of today, Monday, October 5th, the updated Three Queens Fire Closure Order
06-17-03-2026-45 reduces this closure area, as precipitation has moderated fire behavior and more of the repair work to roads and dozer and handlines has been completed.

This provides more access to the north end of Cle Elum Lake, areas around the north end of Kachess Lake, the Keechelus Ridge area to the east of I-90 and other popular hunting and recreation areas.

The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) continues to be closed from Ridge Lake to the Spinola Creek Trail 1310.1, with the section from the Lake Vincinte Trail #1365 to the Spinola Creek Trail now open.

No areas within the Three Queens fire perimeter are open due to hazards such as burned trees, holes due to burned roots below the ground surface and the potential for debris flows. Crews are still working within the remaining area closure order to patrol areas of smoldering fire, finish chipping and fire repair work and backhaul equipment no longer needed. Please help keep firefighters safe and expediate this work by staying out of these areas.

Enjoy the additional areas that are now open!

Current Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest closure orders can be found at https://www.fs.usda.gov/r06/okanogan-wenatchee/alerts

10/05/2026

5-YEARS OF TRAFFIC SAFETY WORK
Traffic safety has been a sustained focus of our deputies’ work. Over five operational years, total traffic enforcement actions increased from 3,287 to 6,242 per year, and DUI arrests increased from 70 to 165. That work included targeted patrols on roads and at times with known problems, supported in part by state grant-funded overtime.

Reported collisions declined over this same period. KCSO handled 147 traffic accident calls in 2025–26, compared with 201 in 2021–22. Separately, Washington State Department of Transportation recorded 1,081 collisions countywide in 2025, compared with 1,279 in 2021. These are different measures, but both ended the period lower than they began.

We can't credit deputies' work alone with this reduction, but we believe it's a contributing factor and that it's what our community wants and expects.

Our full *Priorities and Performance* report explains the numbers and the work behind them. Find it on our home-page: https://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/sheriff/

09/30/2026

SHERIFF'S OFFICE PRIORITIES & PERFORMANCE REPORT

Today we presented the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office Priorities and Performance report to the Board of County Commissioners. It looks at five years of work, from July 2021 through June 2026, and asks how that work measures against the long-term priorities shown here.

One of the clearest changes is in how the calls we handle begin. Calls sent to deputies by dispatch, such as 911 and nonemergency requests for help, remained close to 7,000 a year. Calls initiated by deputies in the field rose from 7,866 to 11,534. Traffic stops and criminal arrests increased, while several measures of crime and traffic collisions declined.

The report also examines the demands behind those numbers: service calls, visitors traveling through our county, increasingly complex investigations, and the people and support needed to do the work.

View the full report here:
https://www.co.kittitas.wa.us/uploads/documents/sheriff/PrioritiesPerformance.pdf

Over the coming weeks, we’ll share some of its findings here and explain what they mean for Kittitas County.

09/28/2026

Kittitas County Burn Ban to end September 30

Kittitas County Fire Marshal Dan Young announced that the county’s burn ban will be lifted at noon on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, when the Governor’s statewide burn ban ends.

Kittitas County bases its burn ban decisions on fire conditions, not a fixed calendar date. The Fire Marshal and local stakeholders use agreed-upon measures that include the moisture content of wildfire fuels, current and forecast weather, and relative humidity. Those measures now support lifting the county restriction on recreational fires and open burning.

Conditions improved before the statewide ban was scheduled to end. The county kept its ban in place until noon September 30 so residents would receive one clear message about when burning could resume under both county and state restrictions.

Lifting the ban does not eliminate the risk of a fire spreading. Keep fires away from combustible material, have water or other extinguishing equipment ready, and attend your fire until it is completely out. Do not burn garbage or construction debris. Open burning is prohibited when winds or gusts exceed 10 mph unless prior approval has been obtained.

The cities of Cle Elum, Roslyn, and Kittitas, and the town of South Cle Elum, will also allow recreational fires beginning at noon September 30.

Rules on public lands may differ. For questions about burning on lands managed by the Department of Natural Resources, call 509-925-8510; on Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife lands, call 360-902-2515; and on U.S. Forest Service lands, call 509-852-1100.

For questions about burning in unincorporated Kittitas County, contact the Fire Marshal’s Office at 509-962-7000.

09/25/2026

The Kittitas County Board of Commissioners is asking for your help understanding what people want to hear from the county and the best ways to communicate that message. Please consider taking a few minutes this weekend to share your thoughts in this survey.