West Seattle, Washington
02 Thursday
(Common loon, photographed at Lincoln Park by Mark Ahlness, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
Good morning! Some of what’s on our calendar for today:
COMMUNICATIONS ACADEMY: It’s the second day of the big annual regional emergency-communications gathering at South Seattle College (WSB sponsor), with another full slate of presentations, starting with a keynote about amateur (ham) radio’s vital role. For the public, the most noticeable aspect is a passel of communications vehicles parked toward the south end of campus. (6000 16th SW)
WEST SEATTLE ULTIMATE FAMILY FRISBEE: 11 am pickup games on Sunday mornings are now at Fairmount Playfield. (Fauntleroy/Brandon)
WEST SEATTLE SOCCER CLUB: Today’s the first day of “another record-breaking spring season” on fields all over West Seattle, WSSC’s Tim McMonigle tells us: “Over 1,400 kids and over 250 coaches will be out on the pitch today, starting at 1 pm. The theme is Champion’s League again, in which the kids don jerseys patterned after the teams that are still in the Champion’s League over in Europe. This year, we are combining with our sister recreational club, Highline Soccer Club, which serves the Burien, SeaTac and Des Moines area. We normally do that in the fall, but this is the first time we’ve done it in the spring.” Find out more about WSSC, including game schedules, at westseattlesoccer.org.
PRINCESS ANGELINE NATIVE TEA PARTY: The 5th annual event at the Duwamish Longhouse, 1-3 pm, hosted by Princess Angeline‘s great-great-grandniece, Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen – more info here. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
FREE GARDENING TALK: 1 pm at West Seattle Nursery, learn about “Cool Season Gardening” from author Bill Thorness. (California/Brandon)
CATSINO: 2 pm-6 pm at Beveridge Place Pub, bid on silent-auction items and play just-for-fun games to raise money for local animal-rescue organizations – details here. Note that BPP is 21+. (6413 California SW)
UKULELE MUSIC @ C & P: 3-5 pm, Arden Fujiwara performs at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) – read about Arden and his music here. (5612 California SW)
LADIES’ MUSICAL CLUB: 3 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, free classical-music concert with works by French composers. (2306 42nd SW)
Thanks to Scott for sending the link after noticing the West Seattle Trader Joe’s featured on today’s CBS Sunday Morning national newscast. Actually, it’s not about the store so much as one particular shopper – we’ve heard of him before, but had no idea his shopping took him this far south of the border. (For the record, the distance from his store in B.C. to TJ’s in WS is 147 miles.)
That’s 4-year-old Aaron, photographed before a fall off the Alki seawall left him badly hurt. His grandmother Teri has written an open letter both to say thanks to the strangers who helped, and to voice concerns about safety:
On Tuesday, April 7th, at approximately 5:30 pm, my husband David, my 4-year old grandson Aaron and I were riding bikes along the 1300 block of Alki Avenue. We were in the bike lane, with Aaron following David, and I was bringing up the rear so I could keep a watchful eye on Aaron. Part way through the ride, Aaron apparently decided he wanted to ride along the path on the other side of the sidewalk and veered off in that direction. Despite my calls for him to stop, Aaron continued on toward the path and the unprotected bulkhead. He managed to stop his bike before it went over the edge, but he went flying over the handlebars and over the edge of the bulkhead, landing face first on the boulders 6-8 feet below street level.
As I scrambled off my bike and ran, horrified, toward where I had just seen Aaron flying over the wall, passersby had already leapt into action. By the time I got to the edge, there were people down on the rocks lifting the very terrified Aaron up to safety. Others standing around also clamored to help, and one woman was an absolute angel. She sat with Aaron and kept him talking, focusing on calming him down while we waited for the 911 response team that was summoned by still others. I was in a state of shock at the time and can’t tell you enough how grateful I am to all of these people who stepped up to help us.
Fortunately, Aaron was properly outfitted with a Bern bike helmet at the time of his accident. Without it, he would not be with us today. This helmet literally saved his life. It was cracked and dented as a result of the fall, clearly showing us where significant brain damage was avoided. I am now a staunch bike-helmet advocate! I see so many children out riding bikes with helmets that are ill-fitting and barely more than a styrofoam hat in the shape of a shark, unicorn, or kitty and wonder whether one of these helmets would have stopped the significant damage that was avoided by wearing the well-fitting, hard-shell Bern helmet. Our children and grandchildren are irreplaceable, so only the best in protection is good enough for them.
Aaron spent just under 4 days at Harborview, and was helped by many fine, caring doctors and nurses both in the Emergency Room and PICU. Our eternal gratitude goes out to them as well.
At Harborview, we learned that Aaron had fractured his skull. He also had several fractures around both eye orbitals, multiple deep nose fractures, and his upper right jaw was fractured as well. Right now he is back home, and back to playing with his trains and cars, colors and crafts as he continues to heal. The doctors are waiting for the significant eye swelling to subside before they can determine whether he is in need of surgery to repair some of the fractures as there is the possibility that they may be impinging facial nerves and eye muscles. Right now we call him our little puffer fish!
Since the accident, we have heard that there have been several other incidents along the unprotected stretch that runs around Alki Avenue and drops off to large boulders. I walk that path several afternoons a week, and with the warmer weather I am seeing more and more children along the way either walking, running, or riding scooters and bikes. Knowing how the younger ones can rapidly dart away and put themselves in danger, I have to wonder what the City of Seattle can do to make this a safer place for us all. We came so close to losing a precious 4 year old that day. God forbid another child, or even an adult, is lost forever due to a slip or fall and lack of fencing along this area.
We don’t know who any of the people are who helped us on the beach last Tuesday, but we really want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to them for them being there and stepping up to help. I don’t know what we would have done without their help! We are blessed to live in a community with so many caring people.
Teri says they *do* know some of Aaron’s rescuers – the Seattle Fire Department personnel – and that they plan to visit those fire stations soon (the log from Tuesday shows units from 3 stations) to say thanks in person.
While West Seattle was spared power outages during this afternoon’s blustery weather (areas north and west of downtown got hit instead), we often aren’t so lucky. And this brings to mind new outage-response technology that Seattle City Light announced earlier this week. While WS isn’t part of the first round of testing, it might not be far behind if the pilot project works out. Ahead, the SCL news release, and what we found out on followup:
The countdown continues: Four weeks until West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day 2015, which is coming up on Saturday, May 9th. The newest toplines:
–We’ve set the registration deadline – sign up by Thursday night, April 23rd
–More than 120 sales are registered so far – all sizes!
–If you have no room and/or just a little bit of stuff to sell, check directly with multi-seller spots Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (4410 California SW; WSB sponsor) and C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor)
–If you’re just looking forward to browsing – the map (which we make in 2 formats, online/clickable and PDF/printable) will be ready a week in advance as usual, which means you’ll find it here and at westseattlegaragesale.com starting May 2nd
Ready to sign up and sell? Go here! Questions? garagesale@westseattleblog.com – thanks!
2:24 PM: Thanks to everyone who messaged us about this. The situation in Morgan Junction right now with police taking three people into custody at gunpoint involves a stolen car. That’s all we know so far; whenever a felony is suspected, the procedure for a “felony stop” requires guns to be drawn. More details if/when we get them.
3:12 PM UPDATE: We went down the hill to try to find out more. The owner of the vehicle, a black Mercedes SUV, was already back in it, in the parking area north of Cal-Mor Circle (on California north of Fauntleroy).
ADDED: Police weren’t able to tell us where the car was stolen from, but they say that the owner herself spotted it being driven around in West Seattle, and called 911. The driver was booked into King County Jail; two others from the car were questioned and released.
If you were planning to donate items to WestSide Baby via its main HQ in White Center – they’re asking you to wait a few days, because of a power outage caused by a small fire. From WS Baby executive director Nancy Woodland:
WestSide Baby’s White Center Main Operations Center experienced a small electrical fire in an outside meter that has caused us to lose power. We are awaiting landlord-directed repairs and must remain closed until those repairs are made. We hope this will happen quickly and we are exploring other options to continue operations in the meantime. We’ll post updates on our website and/or Facebook. Thank you to everyone for your concern, and please know we are making every effort to be up and running very soon as children are counting on us.
We will have our donation bin out during the regular hours but, if you have item donations and you are able to hold them for us during this time, we would be very grateful. We are in the dark and unable to sort things and a pile up can be difficult to address.
We are hopeful, our landlord will address this quickly but we expect to be closed at least a week at our White Center Donation and Volunteer Center. Our administrative office and our Central Branch location at 23rd and Jackson are both open for full operations!
We stopped by two of the stores where Kiwanis and Key Club volunteers are collecting food until 3 pm:
At West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan; WSB sponsor), we found, from left, Chief Sealth International High School Key Club members Ariana, Cameron, and Johnny were there with Kiwanis’s Shari Sewell and West Niver. Then at PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (California/Stevens; WSB sponsor):
In our photo, Rosemary and Hana from the Key Club at West Seattle High School (right across the street!). The Kiwanis’s third location is the Junction QFC (42nd/Alaska). Your nonperishable food donations matter more than ever right now – while there are food drives aplenty at some times of year, especially the winter holidays, the need is great year-round.
P.S. Separate from the Kiwanis food drive but toward the same goal – making sure fewer people are hungry – the West Seattle Food Bank has volunteers at Metropolitan Market (41st/42nd/Admiral; WSB sponsor) until 3 pm, too.
(Golden-crowned sparrow, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
Happy Saturday! First, a transportation note:
WATER TAXI NOW RUNNING WEEKENDS TOO: This is the first Saturday since the West Seattle Water Taxi moved to its spring/summer schedule, which includes weekends. See the schedule here.
Now, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
FOOD DRIVE: The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle will have volunteers at West Seattle Thriftway (California/Fauntleroy/Morgan; WSB sponsor), PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (California/Stevens; WSB sponsor), and Junction QFC (42nd/Alaska), 9 am-3 pm, to collect food for local food banks. Buy extra while you’re shopping, or if you already have nonperishable items ready to give, go to any location to drop it off.
MEGA-RUMMAGE SALE: 9 am-3 pm on the Oregon side of Hope Lutheran Church, a big rummage sale to raise money for missionary work in Mexico. (Oregon/California)
OPEN HOUSE & SALE: 10 am-6 pm, Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) continues its 10th anniversary open house with giveaways, refreshments, specials, and the ongoing storewide sale. (added) We stopped by for a pic of proprietors Kirk and Joni Keppler:
(Westwood Village, north of Barnes & Noble)
INTERNATIONAL TABLETOP DAY: 10 am-midnight, celebrate at Meeples Games (the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce‘s Emerging Business of the Year) with a day of FREE fun – competitions, raffles, learn-to-play sessions, and more – see the calendar listing for details. (California/Charlestown, upstairs)
SPRING OPEN HOUSE: 11 am-2 pm at West Seattle Nursery, with speakers, free espresso, and other reasons to stop by. (California/Brandon)
LOVE LEGOS? Ages 5-12 invited to the West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 3-4:30 pm – details here. (2306 42nd SW)
(added) BASEBALL BENEFIT DINNER/AUCTION: West Seattle Booster Club Spaghetti Dinner and Auction benefiting the West Seattle High School Baseball Team is tonight, 5 pm to 8 pm at West Side Presbyterian Church (WSB sponsor), $10 donation per person for a delicious meal and great time. (3601 California SW)
DIVERSE HARMONY: 7 pm at St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church, free concert by the singers whose choir made history as the first “queer/straight alliance” chorus – see our preview. (3050 California SW)
COFFEE & MUSIC: Steve Beck, Steve Peterson, and Jim Moore perform at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 7-9 pm. (5612 California SW)
FRIENDS FOR FEET: 7:30 pm benefit at Feedback Lounge, explained here. (6451 California SW)
BENEFIT FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS: 8 pm at West Seattle Eagles (all-ages until 10 pm), the annual benefit for Mukilteo Magic & All Aboard athletes – live music and more. (4426 California SW)
THAT’S ONLY PART OF WHAT’S UP TODAY/TONIGHT … full list on our calendar.
Thanks to West Seattle High School teacher Rebecka McKinney for another update on the WSHS Diversity Club, which closed out this pre-spring-break week with a workshop for classmates schoolwide:
The West Seattle High School Diversity Club taught workshops in every language arts class Friday, April 10 on racism, bias and privilege.
The workshops went through why this is important work as a part of the Diversity Club’s #embRACEtheRACE campaign to build understanding and capacity for anti-racist efforts at WSHS. They shared the history of race as a social construct and what the concept of race means in this country.
“I feel like more people are thinking about racism and that’s what matters, they’re thinking about it instead of just ignoring it,” said senior facilitator and Diversity Club member Jahine Wallace.
Next, the club used a well-known game to teach a lesson on privilege and why people need to recognize when they have it and help those who have less.
“I felt that it was great because people were actually engaging and participating,” said senior facilitator and Diversity Club member Essence Cassell. “I felt like they learned a lot and they’ve been listening all year.”
After that the workshops covered different types of racism, individual, institutional, and structural racism along with implicit bias. They talked about what each of these are as well as examples of each.
“It was a work in progress, but successful,” said junior facilitator and Diversity Club member Larenn Dixon. “I feel like a lot of people have more understanding than they did before and it opened people’s eyes to more than just individual racism, but institutional and structural.”
Next the workshop had students go through a scenario on racism in education that the City of Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative developed last year for the RACE workshops that went with the Science Center’s exhibit.
“People actually spoke about racism and didn’t feel as uncomfortable,” said junior facilitator and Diversity Club member Analisa Guerra.
The Diversity Club has done several things this year as a part of their #embRACEtheRACE campaign. They led a challenge to erase the n-word that was featured on KING 5 with a video to kick off the challenge on YouTube and time at class assemblies. They have also taught the school about police brutality against people of color through the school’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assembly.
“I hope more people are aware that racism is a real thing and not just a Diversity Club thing,” said senior facilitator and Diversity Club member Aby Riggins.
The Diversity Club meets twice a week and planned these workshops in response to the walkout that happened after the Michael Brown verdict. The workshops ended with suggestions for how to take action for racial equity.
“I hope people know the different types of racism and know that implicit bias isn’t their fault,” said junior facilitator and Diversity Club member Eryn Johnson. “I hope people at WSHS understand that racism still does exist and that it’s not just a black people’s problem.”
Last month, we featured the Diversity Dinner presented annually by the club – their biggest one yet.
Remember the truck-on-its-side incident that closed southbound Highway 99 for nine hours last month (WSB coverage here), leading to domino-effect backups around the city and trapping drivers/riders on the Alaskan Way Viaduct?
(March 24 photo courtesy Chi Krneta)
The city went public today with its first version of an “after-action report” looking at the intricacies of why it took so long and what could change before the next one:
(Note the fine print at the bottom of the cover page, saying “The City of Seattle will be utilizing an external consultant to fully investigate this incident …”)
Reading through the report, you’ll note it includes a more detailed timeline than was released shortly after the incident.
(March 24th photo, included in report)
Part of what that reveals: Nobody contacted Seattle Tunnel Partners, whose equipment-laden worksite was yards away, until 6:30 pm, four hours after the crash. Within ten minutes of that contact, STP offered equipment to help clear the wrecked truck. But no STP equipment was used until almost 9:30 pm, when the tunnel contractor’s “Sky Jacks” were used to unload part of the truck trailer’s load of fish so it could be moved. (By the way, the report identifies the fish as cod, not salmon as we were told the day it happened, worth “$450,000 to $750,000.)
The report goes into a list of what needs to happen by June 30th – as “SPD and SDOT will expeditiously develop protocols that prioritize incident response decision making on arterial streets” – and that list gives hints as to what didn’t work so well during the March 24th response, including:
… Ensure that City personnel have requisite expertise to make sophisticated on-scene assessments or have access to necessary external expertise. For example, if onscene personnel had access to on-scene engineer, more critical information and analysis could have been incorporated into the decision-making process.
…(Be aware of w)hat other resources (equipment, personnel, or private sector relationships) could be brought to bear on incident management. For example, would prior agreements and protocols have made STPs loan of Skyjacks to unload the trailer easier and quicker? If prior agreements were in place with the Port of Seattle or other private loading companies, could additional heavy equipment been utilized?
f. Ensure that current communications systems are adequate to ensure accurate and timely responses to incidents. For example, was there a delay in the arrival of heavy class tow-truck?
“Engineering problem” was in fact how SPD spokesperson Sgt. Sean Whitcomb described it in a conversation with WSB the day after the crash (included in our followup report). He also said at that time that a citation would likely be issued; the report released today says, in fact, “The operator would later be cited by SPD for exceeding reasonable speed.”
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes:
CAR PROWLS: A Gatewood resident tells us prowlers hit multiple cars overnight along SW Southern between 39th and 41st SW (map): “Thieves didn’t make off with much, but would love to know if anyone saw anything or has security camera footage.”
SCAM PHONE CALLS: You might have heard that one of the latest waves of scam phone calls is attempting to target BECU customers. These bogus calls are even being received by non-BECU customers – we got one, and so did a WSB reader who wanted to share this warning today:
Just received a scam call from 202 area code (DC) advising BECU Visa was locked, and directing entry of the 16 digit card number. Since I don’t have a BECU Visa, an obvious scam. I have heard of others referencing generic Visa, this is the first I have heard BECU mentioned.
BECU issued a fraud alert on its own website earlier this week, stressing that it has nothing to do with these calls and telling its customers what to do if they fell for it. This same type of scam has been done in the name of various banks and financial institutions – we featured one back in 2011 that fraudulently used Wells Fargo’s name. This is just another example of so-called “phishing”; here’s advice on preventing and fighting it.
Jack Meduna will be remembered with a Mass at Holy Family and reception at Forest Lawn next Thursday. Here’s the remembrance his family is sharing:
Jack Meduna, 68, of West Seattle, passed away April 2nd after fighting Lung Cancer for almost a year.
He was born in Seattle on December 18th, 1946. At a young age he attended Briscoe Boarding School for boys, then went on to graduate from O’Dea. He began pre-med at the UW but was drafted to Vietnam. Upon his return, he worked on a fishing boat in Alaska until finding his calling as a Seattle Police Officer. For 34 years, Jack absolutely loved his career with SPD and was also a Hostage Negotiator. He loved interacting with the public and all his fellow officers.
In 1986 Jack married for the second time and found the love of his life, Virgie.
They spent 23 years together, often traveling the Oregon Coast and eventually all over Europe before she passed 7 years ago. Jack is survived by his daughters Jill Casillas (husband Shane), Cami Aksdal (husband Todd) and son Clay Johnson (wife Amanda), and by his four grandchildren, Sydney Jaksich, Corbin Jaksich, Georgia Lee Aksdal, and Michael Aksdal and his sisters Vinette Tichi (husband Dennis), Roxanne Roten (partner Scott).
A mass will be held in his honor on Thursday, April 16th at 2 pm at Holy Family Church (9622 20th Ave. SW) followed by a graveside burial at Forest Lawn (6701 30th Ave. SW) with a reception to follow, also at Forest Lawn.
In honor of Jack and his love for pigs, please consider a donation to a place that meant a lot to him – Pigs Peace Sanctuary.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
An online petition was part of the community campaign to get the city to make safety improvements on 35th SW.
More than a year later, another online petition is asking the city not to reduce the speed limit or rechannelize 35th – both of which are key parts of the “design alternatives” announced in two March meetings (which begin on page 22 below):
We covered both meetings – March 10th here, and March 12th here – as well as the March 26th West Seattle Transportation Coalition briefing. It all traces back to an announcement by Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Tom Rasmussen more than a year earlier.
Neel says it goes too far. In feedback to SDOT, he wrote:
35th has been the major West Seattle arterial since West Seattle was platted! Everyone else who depends on it to help them get outta town don’t want it choked with “safety” improvements that, plain and simple, aren’t needed. Your own data shows that there isn’t much of a problem here, except for some concerns for pedestrian crosswalks toward the north end. So go fix that — don’t mess up the whole transportation system to ‘fix’ a problem that doesn’t exist. …
We like 35th just the way it is, but are also open to changes that will improve our throughput while maintaining proper regard for safety. And by this I mean the efficiency of the driver, not the road. I really don’t care how many vehicles per unit time you can accommodate (the road’s efficiency). I only care about the transportation efficiency — covering the maximum distance in the least amount of time. That’s the true measure of productivity: maximizing desired outcome(s) with the fewest resources.
The specific objections – and potential counterproposals – are all in the text of the petition, which you can see here. The city says it will present the final plan in June; in the meantime, comments are being taken by project manager Jim Curtin at jim.curtin@seattle.gov.
Two momentous West Seattle business anniversaries to note:
20 YEARS FOR WEST SEATTLE CELLARS: Last night during the West Seattle Art Walk, we stopped by West Seattle Cellars (6026 California SW) after hearing the shop is marking its 20th anniversary. Here’s how proprietors Jan Martindale and Tom DiStefano (above) announced it in the WSC newsletter:
20 years ago this month, Matt Mabus founded the shop, which at that time was housed in the little building next door. Some of you may remember that space, part of which is now our back room/office. In 2000 we partnered with Bear Silverstein to buy the shop, and in 2005 we moved into our bigger, airier new digs. And after 20 years (now sadly minus the Bear) we’re still going strong, thanks to all of our wonderful customers who continue to shop local!
WSC has also launched its annual West Seattle Helpline fundraiser, hoping to raise $1,000 for WSH by its Taste of West Seattle event on May 21st:
They’re donating 10 percent of the sales made during their regular (free) Thursday night tastings until then. And while at the shop, you can just make an outright donation to Helpline.
TEN YEARS FOR WYATT’S JEWELERS: Family-owned Wyatt’s Jewelers (longtime WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village is celebrating its 10th anniversary with an open house today until 6 pm and again tomorrow (Saturday), 10 am-6 pm – “giveaways, refreshments, store specials, more.” It’s also the only storewide sale of the year, “everything 10 percent to 60 percent off.”
That’s the slide deck the Seattle City Council‘s Public Utilities and Neighborhoods Committee will see during its meeting at 2 pm next Tuesday (April 14th), as it begins reviewing a water-rate increase proposed by Seattle Public Utilities, which just sent this preview:
In keeping with a strategic business plan approved by City Council last year, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is proposing drinking water rate increases of 1.7 percent for 2016 and 2.7 percent for 2017. The business plan aims at capping average rates for all SPU services — drinking water, sewer, drainage, garbage and recycling — to an annual average of 4.6 percent through the year 2020.
A drainage and wastewater rate proposal will be considered by Council later this year. That proposal also is expected to fit within the 4.6 percent average annual rate cap.
Because of today’s breaking news, we’re referring you directly to the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar to see what’s on the schedule today/tonight, rather than publishing a list of highlights. Please also note that it’s the last day of school for Seattle Public Schools before next week’s spring break; for faith-based schools, today is the last day of post-Easter break and they’ll be back in session next week.
(TOPLINES: Fire under investigation. 2 men in hospital. Metro back to regular routing on Fauntleroy)
(WSB photo, added 7:17 am)
6:58 AM: Seattle Fire has a house-fire response on the way to the 8000 block of Fauntleroy Way SW, which is across the street from Lincoln Park. SDOT says Fauntleroy is closed at Monroe, and a traffic cam shows black smoke from blocks away. At least one person is reported to need medical attention. More to come.
7:06 AM: SFD is sending more engines and also notifying Metro it will need to reroute lines that use Fauntleroy in the area.
(This photo and next, by Kam Junejo)
7:17 AM: One person is reported to be on the way to Harborview via SFD medic unit; another medic unit radioed that another person in need of medical attention “just walked up” to their unit at the scene and was “in the fire room.” Our crew on scene says flames are still visible from the second floor.
7:24 AM: SFD is sending a second alarm, so you’ll see/hear more emergency vehicles. Traffic-wise, there is absolutely no access to the Fauntleroy ferry dock from the north – if you have to get there, approach from the south – 35th to Barton, then west on Barton (which becomes California past the schoolhouse and then Wildwood in the Endolyne area) to Fauntleroy. Ideally, avoid the area TFN. P.S. At least one TV helicopter is now overhead.
(WSB photos from this point down)
7:31 AM: This is still a full-on firefight. The house, according to public records, is 106 years old. SFD says the person taken to the hospital is a man in critical condition, suffering from smoke inhalation.
7:50 AM: We’re adding photos from an upslope neighbor showing the extent of the flames. SFD’s Lt. Sue Stangl has just spoken to media on scene; our crew says she told them that multiple neighbors called the fire in. Five people were in the house, all got out, but as we’ve reported above, one man was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation. Fire is still not out.
(WSB photo)
One dog was rescued, one other pet’s status is not known. We’ll add video of her briefing when our crew returns to HQ.
8:12 AM: SFD reports the fire is “knocked down” – that still doesn’t mean out, but it’s progress. We also asked Lt. Stangl about whether there was a water-supply problem – one firefighter was heard via radio that they were “out of water,” and lines subsequently were rolled blocks further south, but Stangl says that they had water on the fire from the start and that might just have involved the backup line; they’ll be checking.
8:35 AM: Firefighters are now calling the fire “tapped” – another milestone toward being out – and scaling down operations a bit.
8:50 AM: Crews at the scene say they’re expecting to have one lane of Fauntleroy Way open within a few minutes. Washington State Ferries’ advisory says that “traffic is temporarily single-lane offloading and is being directed to the south when exiting the Fauntleroy terminal.”
9:13 AM: Fauntleroy Way has reopened and Metro says buses are back on their regular routing in the area.
9:52 AM: Two men are in the hospital – in addition to the one in critical condition, the other has a “minor burn to the leg,” per SFD, which still has several units at the scene. Meantime, the ferry terminal is back to normal offloading.
10:29 AM: Continuing to await word on the cause. Here’s what the front of the house looked like as of a short time ago:
As discussed in comments, neighbors say the house has a troubled past. What we’ve found so far are multiple complaints to the city regarding junk storage, inoperable cars, and a dormer built without a permit; the online file shows that case was referred to the City Attorney’s Office last year.
11:54 AM: SFD has just announced that the fire was caused by “unattended candles on the main floor.” It also says a neighbor’s house was damaged.
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
9:45 PM: Just in case you heard it too – we’re getting texts, and police are reporting multiple calls, of possible gunshots heard in the High Point/Upper Morgan area. No further details yet. As we’ve told texters, if you heard them, please let 911 know – that’ll help them zero in on a location.
9:58 PM: This apparently happened in/from an apartment building in the 6500 block of 35th SW. Police are still arriving – avoid the area. An “assault with weapons” SFD response is headed that way, too, though we don’t know whether police have confirmed any victim(s).
10:12 PM: Police have now confirmed what a neighbor told us – one person shot in the leg.
10:30 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli is at the scene. He tells us the victim is a man in his late 30s/early 40s, being taken to the hospital by private ambulance – shot in the foot, not a life-threatening injury.
11:33 PM: New information from Christopher – police are wrapping up at the scene. The suspect is not yet in custody, they told him (though we had heard via scanner earlier that they believe they know who they are looking for). They believe the shooting was deliberate, not an accident (we hadn’t been sure about that) and now clarify that the wound was in the victim’s ankle.
ADDED 8:19 AM: New information this morning via SPD Blotter – police say it was “a dispute over text messages.” Excerpt:
… Police responded to SW Morgan Street and 35th Avenue SW just before 9:45 PM after receiving reports that a man had fired shots from an apartment building, striking a man on the street. Officers evacuated the building and searched for the suspect, but were unable to find him.
The victim of the shooting also called 911 shortly after the incident and said he had been shot in the leg. Officers found the man across the street from the scene of the shooting.
The victim told officers he knew the suspect through a mutual acquaintance — an ex-girlfriend —and had received a series of harassing text messages from the man Thursday evening. When the victim went to the suspect’s apartment building to confront him over the texts, the suspect appeared on a third-floor balcony and opened fire. …
(Thanks to Amanda L for the photo)
9:29 PM: A big Seattle Fire response is headed to a reported fire at a house in the 4700 block of Delridge Way SW (map). So far, it’s being described as a kitchen fire.
9:35 PM: Units are reporting the fire’s under control. No word of any injuries. Traffic effects, though, until units leave the area.
9:42 PM: The fire’s now tapped, and firefighters don’t believe it extended into the house’s attic.
9:51 PM: Northbound Delridge is blocked for now at Edmunds.
10:02 PM: Some of the units are being dismissed now.
Another transportation note: SDOT is trying to make sure you can’t say you weren’t asked for your thoughts on the draft 9-year, $900 million Transportation Levy to Move Seattle before it’s shaped into a final November ballot measure by the mayor and council. It circulated a reminder tonight about ways you can have a say:
RIGHT NOW: Online survey – take it here
IN PERSON, IN WEST SEATTLE: SDOT director Scott Kubly will be at next Wednesday’s Delridge District Council meeting, 7 pm April 15th at Youngstown Cultural Arts Center; SDOT reps will be at the West Seattle Farmers’ Market on April 19 and 26, 10 am-2 pm at 44th/Alaska
ONLINE MEETING: Can’t get out to an in-person meeting? SDOT’s trying an online meeting at 6 pm April 20th (sign up right now, here)
Thanks to Carolyn for the heads-up on this: From Seacrest east/southeastward, a sizable stretch of parking on the water side of Harbor Avenue SW (she estimated 25 spaces) will be off-limits tomorrow, 10:30 am-7 pm. The “no parking” signs were up when we went by this afternoon to verify; they list an unnamed “production shoot.” The Water Taxi is of course served by free shuttle buses as well as Metro Route 37; get the bus schedule via a tab on this page.
(WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
This month’s West Seattle Art Walk is on until 9 pm – and at one of the stops, Twilight Gallery and Boutique (4306 SW Alaska), you’ll find Rebecca Rose and her wearable sculptures. It’s opening night for her show “The Spinster and the Carpenter.” If you can’t get there tonight, you’ll also find her giving a talk on Saturday night (April 11th), 6-8 pm. The full list of tonight’s Art Walk venues is in our daily preview published this morning; we’ll add scenes from a few more stops soon.
8:28 PM: At Emerald Water Anglers (42nd/Oregon; WSB sponsor), Little Edie‘s performing bluegrass:
At C & P Coffee Company (5612 California SW; WSB sponsor), Mary McGough‘s show has a story behind its title “True Start“:
As noted in the announcement, it’s her first solo show, decades after she showed art at Seattle Center while in kindergarten!
P.S. Missed tonight’s Art Walk? It’s on the second Thursday of the month, year-round, so make plans to explore venues and meet artists on May 14th. You can also refer to the aforementioned venue list while you’re out and about in the days ahead – many shows stay up for the rest of the month at participating locations.
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