Cecelia B. (Jaschke) Yaksich, 92, of Westland, formerly of Monroe, died Aug. 1. A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 22 at St. Theodore Catholic Church, Westland.

Sandra J. Cardwell, 68, of Monroe died Friday at Beaumont Hospital, Dearborn. No services are planned. Rupp Funeral Home is assisting the family with cremation arrangements.

Kenneth P. Tibai, 58, of Toledo died Friday at Hospice of Northwest Ohio. Arrangements are pending with Allore Chapel-Martenson Family of Funeral Homes.

Gladys A. Curtis, 90 of Toledo, OH and formerly of Reading, MI, died Friday, August 14, 2015, at Franciscan Care Center. Born September 5, 1924, in Carrie, KY, she was the daughter of Arthur and Edna (Hoskins) Spivey. She married Willard L. Curtis on February 15, 1946 in Toledo, OH. He preceded her in death on August 29, 1993.

She was a cutter for Jobst Vascular Institute for 11 years, retiring in 1984. Prior, Gladys was the owner and operator of Brownie Weavers and Premier Dry Cleaners, both in Toledo, OH. She enjoyed quilting and volunteering at the Lion’s Den in Temperance, MI.

Gladys is survived by her loving children, Betty (Harry) Lotozynski and Frank (Dianna) Curtis; grandchildren, Harry Lotozynski, Amy Tober, Angela Curtis and 4 great-grandchildren. She was also preceded in death by 2 sisters, Edith Grogan, Ruth Rowlett and grandson, Bradley Lotozynski.

Visitation will be from 4-8 pm, Monday, August 17, 2015, at the Michael W. Pawlak Funeral Home, 1640 Smith Rd. (at Jackman) Temperance, MI, where funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Tuesday, August 18, 2015. Interment will follow at Ottawa Hills Memorial Park. Memorials may be made to Bittersweet Farms, Whitehouse, Ohio. www.pawlakfuneralhome.com.

Scott K. Crail, 51, of Monroe, passed away Wednesday at 5:07 a.m. at ProMedica Monroe Regional Hospital’s Emergency Room.

Friends may call from 4 until services at 7 p.m Tuesday at Rupp Funeral Home. Rev. Larry Detruf will officiate.

Scott was born July 27, 1964 in Madison Heights.

He was a Hi lo driver for CSDD.

Scott was a outspoken person. He enjoyed music, baseball, playing Yahtzee with friends, eating at TA, fishing in Bolles Harbor and he especially liked playing video games on his Wii.

He is survived by his companion of 19 years Marie Standifer of Monroe; his foster mother, Sandra Vaive of Madison Heights; two foster brothers, John (Naomi) Vaive of Maybee and Michael Vaive of Madison Heights; a foster sister Gloria Ticknor of Tennessee; nieces and nephews, Phoenix, Victor, Vega, Myron and Adeline. He is also survived by Marie’s children, Wanda McKelvey, Norman McKelvey and Ruth (Clyde) Robbins; grandchildren, Jarrell, Britianey, Norman, Jr., Coty, Clyde, II “BJ”, Whitney, Michael and Zachary and several great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his foster father, Willard Vaive.

Online condolences may be sent through www.rupp-funeralhomeinc.com.

George R. “Pudge” O’Brien, age 84 of Trenton, formerly of Dundee, Temperance and Monroe, died 10:40 p.m. Sunday, August 9th at Beaumont Hospital, Trenton. He had been in poor health for a year.

Born November 7, 1930 in New Boston, he was the son of the late Thomas and Lucille (Porzondek) O’Brien. He married Helene J. Bruckner on January 9, 1954 in Dundee. She preceded him in death on May 14, 1992.

Pudge served his country during the Korean War in the United States Army from September 4, 1951 to September 1, 1953. He was employed by Ford Motor Company in Saline for over 25 years.

Pudge was a member of American Legion Post 72, Dundee, and enjoyed golfing, hunting, and playing cards.

He is survived by three children, Kathleen (Gerald) Eby of Chicago, Illinois, Gerald Henry of Dundee, and Laura (Owen Potter) Skehan of Brownstown; a brother, Patrick O’Brien of Dundee; five grandchildren, Jerry Eby, Jim Eby, Matthew Henry, Michael Skehan, and Tyler Skehan; five great-grandchildren, Alyssa Eby, Sydney Eby, Breanna Henry, Sarah Eby, and Shiloh Henry.

In addition to his wife and parents, Pudge was also preceded by three brothers, Edward, Norman, and Richard O’Brien.

Cremation has taken place in accordance with his wishes. The family will receive visitors from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Rupp Funeral Home where services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday. Rev. Lawrence Detruf will officiate. A procession will follow to St. Joseph Cemetery, Monroe, where committal services and military honors will be provided by American Legion Post 72, Dundee.Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Online condolences can be sent through www.rupp-funeralhomeinc.com.

Mary L. Lucio, 74, of Toledo, OH, passed away Tuesday, August 11, 2015. After a long fight and battle with breast cancer, our miracle mom, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving children and long-term boyfriend, Wallace “Wally” Timmons.

Mary was born August 4, 1941 in Erie, MI to the late Chester and Irene (Kraus) Perry.

She was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Erie, MI and a member of the Lioness Club.

She enjoyed her time bowling, reading, watching NASCAR #24, traveling, and especially her Michigan Wolverines. Mary was a devoted and loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

She is survived by her son, Peter (Cheri) Lucio, Jr.; daughters,Vicki (Tim) Malkuian, Tina (Ken) Futey, Denise (Denny Czesak) Hooven, and Paulette (Rick) Sturdevant; friend, Wally Timmons and their extended Maryland family; 15 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; brothers Robert (Dottie), Richard (Carol), Jimmy (Joyce), and Thomas (Lisa) Perry; sisters, Betty Zettler, Judy (Richard) Allen, and Joyce Day; nieces, nephews, and longtime best friend, Judy Rhoades.

There will be no visitation scheduled. A memorial mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, 5153 N. Summit St., Toledo, OH 43611. Fr. David J. Cirata will be officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Susan G. Komen Foundation or Hospice of Northwest Ohio.

Online expressions of sympathy, fond memories or photos may be shared by visiting www.jasinfuneralhome.com.

Sarah Louvernia Vandercook went home to be with the Lord August 15, 2015 at 12:09 a.m. surrounded by her family under the care of hospice.

Sarah known as Aunt Sis by her nieces and nephews will be greatly missed by the entire family. She loved watching the Tigers and Red Wings on TV. She was a wonderful caregiver to those that went on before her, always putting others first.

She was born November 28, 1937 from the union of Elmer and Lucy Mae (Bussell) Adams in Arthur, Tennessee.

Sarah married John Charles Vandercook March 26, 1993.

She is preceded in death by her mother, Lucy Mae Bussell-Adams-Russeau, father, Elmer Adams in 1957, step-father, Roy Russeau, sister Mildred June Adams, her husband, John Vandercook, many sisters and brothers-in-law and grandparents, Sarah and Henry Bussell and Oliver and Nellie Adams.

Survived by a son, Charles “Ray” (Thea) Vandercook and daughter Tina (AJ) Arnold; step-sons, Jeffery (Barbara) Vandercook and John Vandercook; step-daughter, Sherri Vandercook-Martin; grandchildren, Anthony and Amy Voyles, Shawn (Brittany Cousino) Voyles, JD and Ashley Lugari, Ashley Lugari and Dustin Gvist of Kentucky, Jeff and Adrianna Vandercook of Texas and Mark and Sierra Wright of Florida; great-grandchildren, Jase Voyles, Ariana and Alexia Lugari, Cole and Noah Wright and Jacob Vandercook; four brothers, John Olin Bussell, Houston “Bud” Adams, Ben Adams and Cyle (Barb) Adams; eight nieces, Reccia, Marion, Eileen, Mildred, Lisa, Amy, Regina and Connie; five nephews, Bill, Dan, Bobby, Scott and John and many great- and great-great-nieces and nephews. She is also survived by aunts, Bertha Cole and Lorene (Estil) McBee and uncle, Ulus (Judy) Bussell.

Sarah worked at A&W (Monroe’s Original Hotdogs) in the late 50s, then worked for George Spillson, Mclouth Steel and Fermi in food service and finally retired from Holiday Inn.

Friends may call from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and from 10 a.m. until funeral services at 12 noon Wednesday at Rupp Funeral Home. Rev. Roy Southerland, pastor of Monroe Missionary Baptist Church, will officiate. Burial will follow at Roselawn Memorial Park, LaSalle.

The family would like to thank the caregivers from ProMedica Hospice for all of their support during this difficult time. The family also suggests that contributions be made to hospice.

Online condolences may be sent through www.rupp-funeralhomeionc.com.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Technical problems at an air traffic control center in Virginia left passengers stranded as hundreds of flights to and from airports throughout a large swath of the Northeast were delayed or canceled.

Miller Roberts of Dallas was trying to fly from Baltimore to Kansas City to set up a robotics display at the Missouri State Fair but was caught in a flight delay for more than four hours.

Roberts, 40, said he boarded a Southwest Airlines flight Saturday that was supposed to take off at 10 a.m., but he was still sitting on the plane, waiting after 2 p.m. But he said his fellow passengers were taking the delay in stride.

"I think everyone realizes this is out of our control," he said.

The FAA blamed the problem on "technical issues" at an air traffic control center in Leesburg, Va. Around 4 p.m., the agency said the problem had been resolved, and that officials were working to lift any remaining orders to hold planes on the ground.

Delays began building about 9:45 a.m., according to FlightRadar24, a flight monitoring website. Flights bound for airports in the Washington area were some of the most affected, including Washington's Reagan National Airport and Dulles International, as well as Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in North Carolina.

By midafternoon, 50 percent of inbound flights and 42 percent of outbound flights had been cancelled at Reagan National, and delays were averaging about three hours, according to FlightRadar24. In Baltimore, 58 percent of inbound flights and 36 of outbound flights had been cancelled, and delays were averaging over an hour.

Flights departing from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports in New York that normally flight over the Washington region as they head southward were also affected, although the FAA had said it was trying to route the flights around the affected area.

FAA officials said in a statement that the snarl was the result of an "automation problem" at the Leesburg center. The center handles high-altitude air traffic for the affected region. The problem wasn't believed to be caused by any accident or hacking.

Information posted online by the FAA indicated there was a problem with the En Route Automation Modernization computer system, also known as ERAM, at the Leesburg center.

The FAA finished installing the troubled computer system in the last of 20 high-altitude traffic control centers earlier this year. The completion was years behind schedule.

"The FAA is continuing its root cause analysis to determine what caused the problem," the agency said in a statement.

Kate Smith, of Bethesda, Maryland, was sitting on a JetBlue plane at Boston's Logan International Airport, trying to get home to her two cats after a vacation in Boston and Maine. Her flight was supposed to leave at 12:45 p.m., but the delays persisted by 2:30 p.m.

The pilot first announced the plane would be able to take off and fly at a lower altitude. But later, the pilot said there were too many flights at the lower altitudes and they would have to wait.

Smith said JetBlue was keeping passengers comfortable by providing snacks and drinks.

By 9:30 p.m. general arrival and departure delays were 15 minutes or less, according to the Federal Aviation Administration's Flight Delay Information site. The information on the site reports general airport conditions and is not flight-specific.

Follow Joan Lowy at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Julian Bond, a civil rights activist and longtime board chairman of the NAACP, died Saturday night, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

He was 75.

Bond died in Fort Walton Beach, Florida after a brief illness, the SPLC said in a statement released Sunday morning.

The Nashville, Tenn. native was considered a symbol and icon of the 1960s civil rights movement. As a Morehouse College student, Bond helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and as its communications director, he was on the front lines of protests that led to the nation's landmark civil rights laws.

Bond later served as board chairman of the 500,000-member NAACP for 10 years but declined to run again for another one-year term in 2010.

The SPLC said Bond was a "visionary" and "tireless champion" for civil and human rights.

"With Julian's passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice," SPLC co-founder Morris Dees said in a statement. "He advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all."

Bond also served in the Georgia state legislature and was a professor at American University and the University of Virginia.

Bond is survived by his wife, Pamela Horowitz, a former SPLC staff attorney; his five children, Phyllis Jane Bond-McMillan, Horace Mann Bond II, Michael Julian Bond, Jeffrey Alvin Bond, and Julia Louise Bond; his brother, James Bond; and his sister, Jane Bond Moore.

GIDDINGS, Texas (AP) - Doug Hutchison wears a badge and carries a gun but his most effective weapon in the pursuit of livestock thieves in the nation's largest cattle-producing territory may be his smartphone.

With it, Hutchison, one of 30 Special Rangers with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, photographs suspected stolen livestock, accesses the association's databases of livestock brands and reports of missing animals and consults with sheriff's offices.

"I think it's one of the greatest tools in the world," said Hutchison, wearing a cowboy hat and jeans, his boots mired in the mud and manure of noisy auction stockyard corrals filled with nervous cattle.

Cattle prices have been at record levels, and reports of missing or stolen cattle have followed. The nearly 5,800 livestock reported as such in Texas in 2014 was the most in five years, and the value of the animals in excess of $5.7 million the most in a decade.

"Any time you see the price of any commodity go up, you see the theft of that commodity rise," says Larry Gray, executive director of law enforcement for the association founded in 1877.

There were nearly 90 million head of cattle and calves in the U.S. at the beginning of 2015, the fewest in some six decades. Texas, where drought forced ranchers to trim herds, had just under 12 million, nearly double the next largest beef-producing states of Nebraska and Kansas.

The Special Rangers cover 76 million acres in Texas and Oklahoma. Through July this year, they've worked nearly 400 theft cases; they did nearly 800 in 2014. In one case last month, a Texas man was charged with theft after 544 steers worth nearly $800,000 went missing. The Kansas Attorney General's Office has 20 open investigations.

Stealing livestock a felony isn't new. Records show the first person imprisoned at the still-unfinished Texas State Penitentiary in 1849 was a horse thief. The 21st-century rustler is more likely to be in a pickup truck, pulling a trailer.

Bruce Koger lost 14 head of cattle worth about $25,000 last month when someone cut a lock at his small ranching operation in Brazoria County, just south of Houston.

"It really takes the wind out of your sails," he said. "It's all I can think about. I want the rustlers more now than even the cattle back."

Hutchison investigates cases in nine central Texas counties, smartphone in hand.

"We can check statewide," he said. "But characteristically, a lot of (offenders) don't travel more than 100 miles. Those thieves are too lazy to work."

Three animals attracted his attention recently at an auction in Giddings, midway between Houston and Austin. The seller wasn't local, and one of the cows was pregnant. "That's very unusual," Hutchison said.

He sent photos of the cattle, which carried no brands or ear notches, to the association and contacted sheriffs' offices. Some states mandate branding, but Texas doesn't.

"If it (cattle) ain't marked, you can get away with it," says 44-year-old lifelong cowboy John Green, of Klondike. "That's the trick."

Green was trying to pay a bail bondsman from a previous theft case when he was nabbed last fall in northeast Texas. "I was sitting on a load of cattle on a trailer," he said from a prison where he's serving 10 years.

Hutchison says a lot of rustling is related to illegal drug use; Kansas and Nebraska investigators said the same.

"Because the price is so high, some of these think: 'If I can get four or five head, I can stay high for a long time,'" he said.

And rustling almost always involves people with an agriculture background.

"There's not a facet of the cattle business I don't know," said Carl Curry, 48, a Texas A&M University animal science graduate who has 119 years left in prison. Prosecutors said he stole more than 2,000 cattle since 2007; Curry insists he'll be vindicated on appeal.

Some rustling cases end well. According to Gray, marked or branded cattle have "about an 80 to 85 percent chance of recovery," while unbranded animals go "way, way down, maybe 35, 40 percent."

The Special Rangers returned 21 calves to Brazoria County rancher Tim Wieghat a few years ago and got him restitution. "It was awesome," Wieghat said.

But in July, someone cut locks on a pasture and stole some equipment, a crime the Special Rangers also investigate.

"We're able to live a good life because of these cow prices," he said. "You push yourself to give your family more, and then they come along and just take it. ... It gets to the point you're fed up."

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is outlining a foreign policy in which the United States would put ground troops in the fight against Islamic State militants and demand money from Middle East countries supported by the U.S.

The billionaire businessman and former reality TV star also tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that U.S. ground troops are key to reclaiming oil fields that fund the Islamic State group.

In a wide-ranging interview airing Sunday, Trump he would consider shutting down the federal government over funding for Planned Parenthood.

Trump says he would ask nominees to the Supreme Court about their views on abortion and would take their views into consideration as he makes a decision on whom to nominate.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) - The Latest from the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits (all times local):

10:38 a.m.

The final round of the final major of the year is underway.

Good scores are available.

Teeing off early Sunday, Ryan Moore made six birdies and played the front nine in 6-under 30.

Kevin Chappell is 4 under for the day through 12 holes.

Thirty of the 77 players shot rounds in the 60s on Saturday.

That included Branden Grace, who shot 64 to move into third place, three shots behind leader Jason Day, who shot 66 to head into the final round at 15 under.

Jordan Spieth shot 30 on the back nine to pull within two of Day.

Spieth and Day tee off in the last twosome this afternoon.

VILLAGE OF SOUTH ROCKWOOD

PLANNING COMMISSION

SPECIAL MEETING

The Village of South Rockwood Planning Commission regular meeting has been rescheduled for Wednesday, September 2, at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the South Rockwood Village Hall, 5676 Carleton Rockwood Rd., South Rockwood, MI.

Willene Harold

Village Administrator/Clerk

August 16, 2015

HELENA, Mont. (AP) - A retired Pittsburgh schoolteacher could do nothing but laugh after a black bear broke into her car in Montana, destroyed the interior while trying to escape, and finally busted out through the windshield.

The bear became trapped Thursday inside Ellen Stolpe's Toyota Camry at a lodge near Yellowstone National Park.

Stolpe laughed because the incident was so bizarre and she was relieved that nobody was hurt. Still, she worries that the bear's persistent search for food from humans likely will end with it being killed.

"The bear is addicted to food that will put it in danger," said Stolpe, who taught middle school English for 25 years.

Stolpe was in Montana to visit her father, who volunteers at the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association lodge a base camp for students doing geology research.

She had been warned about bears in the area so she cleaned the food and trash out of her car but didn't think to lock the doors.

The car was parked on a slope and she believes the bear climbed inside and the door closed behind it, setting off a panic. Someone heard a car horn about 5:30 a.m.

The bear pulled on the driver's door so hard the metal bent. Interior plastic and fabric also was damaged.

"There was definitely a panicked loosening of all bodily functions in the front passenger seat," Stolpe added.

People walking by two hours later apparently spooked the bear and it broke out through the windshield.

Other bear activity has been reported in the Red Lodge area. Earlier this week, two motorcycles were chewed up when bears smelled food inside the saddlebags. A bear also broke into two houses, The Billings Gazette reported.

A bear broke into another vehicle at the lodge to get beef jerky, Stolpe said, and earlier a bear got into a stash of granola bars, leaving the wrappers in a neat pile.

During the late summer and fall, bears begin adding fat reserves as they prepare for hibernation.

Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials recommend residents store garbage and animal food in a locked building, remove bird feeders from their yards and clean up apples and other potential food sources.

CHICAGO (AP) — A spokeswoman for a U.S. Army parachute team says one of two parachutists injured during the Chicago Air & Water Show remains hospitalized in critical condition.

Donna Dixon is a spokeswoman for the Army Golden Knights parachute team. She tells the Chicago Tribune (http://trib.in/1LfmuGW ) that one parachutist — a man in his late 20s — had surgery to relieve pressure in his brain caused by a head injury.

She says he was still critical condition Sunday. The man's name hasn't been released.

Authorities say the two collided while performing a stunt Saturday. Witnesses said at least one of the men clipped the top of a high-rise apartment building in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

The other man, a member of the Navy Leap Frogs, was treated for a broken leg.

DETROIT (AP) - One of the most prominent players in downtown Detroit's redevelopment says the deals and dirt-digging will continue.

Businessman Dan Gilbert tells the Detroit Free Press for a story (http://on.freep.com/1Ptescn ) Sunday he plans to add to the 78 properties he owns or controls and likely will build office and residential towers. The majority owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers adds a contemporary design for a building on the now-cleared Hudson's site should be finalized this year.

Gilbert's major investment into downtown began five years ago this month, when he moved his company, Quicken Loans, to the city from the suburbs. The company relocated 1,700 workers, and that's grown since to roughly 12,500.

Critics say Detroit's turnaround has favored corporations and professionals living and working downtown over most neighborhoods and residents.

___

Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

Winds are helping stoke wildfires sweeping across the West, posing problems for firefighters trying to contain the flames fed by drought.

Firefighters across the Pacific Northwest are working to protect property from fast-moving wildfires that destroyed multiple homes in eastern Oregon, cut off power in Washington and forced thousands of evacuations throughout the region. A 70-year-old woman in Idaho died while preparing to flee as a wildfire expanded east of Lewiston.

A look at conditions:

WASHINGTON

Fire officials are hoping calmer weather Sunday will aid fire crews using air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers to attack several large fires burning in the Chelan area in central Washington that have destroyed more than 50 structures.

Fire incident spokesman Wayne Patterson said Sunday that more fire crews, including from the Washington National Guard, are being mobilized to fight six fires burning in the area.

Together, the blazes in the area have scorched more than 155 square miles, forced about 1,500 residents to flee their homes and caused power outages.

Officials say more than 50 structures have been destroyed and the number is likely to go higher.

Patterson said air tankers have established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan, a popular central Washington resort town. Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.

"There were literally people on the beaches near that lake in their swim wear out on the lake right near it," Patterson told The Associated Press.

CALIFORNIA

Light winds helped crews increase containment of a wildfire that destroyed several cabins and charred nearly 2 -and-a-half square miles of forest near Los Angeles.

Officials revised the size of the fire downward after previous estimates put it at nearly 4 square miles.

The blaze in the Angeles National Forest above the suburbs of Glendora and Azusa was 20 percent contained and holding steady Sunday.

A half dozen campgrounds remained evacuated around the fire that burned four cabins and an outbuilding when it broke out on Friday.

Firefighters clambered along rocky ridges in triple-digit temperatures. Ten were treated for heat exhaustion, dehydration and minor injuries.

Meanwhile, crews were mopping up a 189-acre fire that erupted Friday in Simi Valley, northwest of Los Angeles. The blaze, which burned on rolling hills close to subdivisions containing 500 homes, was contained Saturday without any building damage.

In Northern California, firefighters made more gains against a wildfire 100 miles north of San Francisco that forced mountain-town dwellers to evacuate for the second time in days. Wind shifts sent smoke from the fire all the way to the San Francisco Bay Area, where residents turned to social media to report the haze. The National Weather Service said smoky conditions were likely to remain in the area throughout the weekend.

Two fires have charred dry Lower Lake, the most recent burning 39 square miles of thick brush and oak trees in Lake and Napa counties. It was 82 percent contained by Sunday.

An earlier, larger fire in the same area was fully contained Friday more than two weeks after it broke out. The blaze destroyed 43 homes.

COLORADO

Lightning storms across northwest Colorado are being blamed for several wildfires, including one north of Craig that was estimated at 450 acres. The Bureau of Land Management says no injuries have been reported and one home was evacuated.

The Northwest Colorado Fire Management Unit says nine fires were ignited Saturday.

Firefighters say the fires were pushed in multiple directions by erratic winds from passing storms.

MONTANA

Smoke of wildfires fouled the air in southwest Montana as firefighters continued battling dozens of fires in the western half of the state.

Cooler temperatures on Saturday helped some, but most fires remained active thanks to erratic winds and little moisture.

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality alert for counties in the southwest, including Missoula, because of smoke from large fires burning in western Montana forests and grasslands.

The state's biggest fire has burned nearly 21 square miles in Glacier National Park.

IDAHO

A 70-year-old woman was killed when she fell while preparing to flee from a wildfire expanding quickly east of Lewiston, the Idaho County Sheriff's Department said Saturday.

Cheryl Lee Wissler of Adams Grade died Friday from a head injury she sustained when she fell, authorities said.

An estimated 30 homes and 75 other structures were lost to the blaze, the sheriff's department said. The fire is surrounding the small town of Kamiah, about 60 miles east of Lewiston, and burned to the edge of Clearwater River, directly across the water from downtown.

More than 750 people were assigned to fight several fires that together have charred more than 50 square miles in the area near Kamiah.

The region was already struggling after severe drought damaged wheat harvests, with farmers watching as their normally plump wheat kernels grew pinched and stunted from the lack of water. Though most of the wheat had been cut before the fires started, bone-dry stubble still covers the prairie and the forests surrounding Kamiah are parched.

RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) - An 18-day manhunt in the mountainous high desert of central California ended when two deputies opened fire on a man who pulled out a handgun during a confrontation on a rural road, authorities said Sunday.

Benjamin Peter Ashley, 34, was struck by several rounds after he failed to comply with orders to drop the weapon as he walked toward foothills east of Bakersfield on Saturday, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood told The Associated Press.

Ashley may have turned the 9 mm handgun on himself after being shot by the deputies, Youngblood said. An autopsy planned for Monday will determine the cause of death.

"He either died from his injuries, or he shot himself and died. It's hard to confirm at this point," Youngblood said.

Three other weapons, including a pair of .44-caliber handguns, were found on Ashley's person and in a backpack he was carrying, the sheriff said.

The confrontation came after the owner of a rural convenience store reported that a man matching Ashley's description had come in and bought about $100 worth of junk food.

"He was dirty. He looked like he had been hiking for days," Gary Welfl, the owner of Brady's Mini-Mart in Inyokern, told KERO-TV.

Dozens of deputies and officers from various agencies had been searching in remote terrain about 30 miles east of Bakersfield for Ashley, who was described as a homeless man. He is suspected of killing a retired dentist, taking three men hostage and wounding two deputies.

The crime spree began on July 28 when a gunman took three men hostage in a cabin in the Twin Oaks area after they confronted him about squatting on their property. Authorities said the suspect held the men for more than an hour and threatened to kill them before they escaped.

The search intensified two days later when David Markiewitz, 64, was found dead in another cabin in Jawbone Canyon, about 10 miles away.

On Aug. 1, two SWAT team members were shot and wounded by a shotgun-wielding man as they searched a mobile home in Kelso Valley for Ashley. One deputy was shot in both arms, and the other was grazed.

During the manhunt, authorities warned residents to stay inside and lock their doors and windows. Two elementary schools and a middle school were shut. Authorities also closed a stretch of the famed Pacific Crest Trail in the southern Sierra Nevada during the manhunt.

The 5-square-mile search area is dotted with unoccupied homes and trailers, outbuildings, abandoned mines and caves and other hiding places.

Youngblood said detectives were searching for a motive.

"The investigation continues, but why he did what he did may never be known," he said.

HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - A small, single-engine plane crashed on to a Long Island railroad crossing Sunday, killing the pilot, injuring a passenger and shutting down service on a branch of the nation's busiest commuter rail line, officials said.

The plane crashed at a railway crossing between the Hicksville and Bethpage stations of the Long Island Rail Road around 7:45 a.m., authorities said.

Residents of a nearby senior living facility said they heard a loud noise and saw the craft on fire. Bystanders ran to the scene but had to get back because of the flames, Charles Terzano told Newsday (http://nwsdy.li/1JbGLec).

"It just melted," he said. "It was a horror, a real horror."

The name of the pilot was not immediately released. The passenger, identified as Carl Giordano, 55, of New Vernon, New Jersey, had a broken jaw, cuts and bruises, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Salvatore Arena said.

Giordano was undergoing surgery Sunday afternoon. A telephone number for him could not immediately be located.

The impact left a mess of parts on the tracks, "just a pile of metal that was burning," said Hicksville Fire Department First Assistant Chief Richard Diaz. One of the wings had been torn off, and the other mangled with the body of the plane, Diaz said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Hawker Beechcraft BE35 had departed from Francis Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach. The pilot reported an issue and was trying to get to Republic Airport in Farmingdale at the time of the crash, according to the FAA. The craft crashed about three miles northwest of Republic.

Arena said LIRR service on the Ronkonkoma branch had been suspended in both directions. He said the bulk of the plane had been removed by Sunday afternoon, and LIRR workers would be cutting away damaged track sections and replacing them. He said it was still unclear what impact the crash would have on Monday's morning commute.

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board would determine the cause of the crash.