When catastrophic disasters strike, the number of people in need of medical care can quickly overwhelm hospitals. On Tuesday, April 30, King County hospitals and first responders will practice providing critical medical support in the event of a disaster in a neighboring state.

An emergency exercise held at King County International Airport/Boeing Field will test the region’s ability to receive patients evacuated by air from other states, transport them to local hospitals and triage them for medical care.

On the day of the exercise, 42 mock patients will arrive at King County International Airport/Boeing Field, simulating a flight arrival from another state. First responders will practice disaster triage protocols for the incoming patients, transferring them to ambulances and transporting them to local hospitals. Businesses and residences near King County International Airport/Boeing Field can expect to see a large number of participating ambulances and emergency vehicles at the airport. Emergency vehicles will not use sirens or emergency lights during this exercise. The drill will last from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
9:59 PM: Call it “moving day.” Or – night. At Burien’s Seahurst Park, the partial fin-whale carcass that washed up on Saturday is to be moved tonight.

WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams was there throughout the day as it was prepared for the move.

We’ll add more of Nick’s photos later tonight, as well as an update on tonight’s planned move.

11:23 PM UPDATE: Robin Lindsey from West Seattle-based Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network tells WSB, “I just heard from NOAA and the whale is officially off the beach and the tow is underway…

“A good day today with a lot of education on the beach in a team effort. … The whale is being taken to a remote location for natural decomposition and collection of the skull at a later date for educational and research purposes.” Watch for a post on the SS site tomorrow.

10:21 AM WEDNESDAY: The city of Burien, whose park system includes Seahurst, says the removal operation cost it $3,100. Meantime, the aforementioned post by Robin is up; she writes that the whale’s remains are now at the location where they’ll decompose naturally.

With everything else that’s been happening today, the saga of the dead fin whale at Seahurst Park slid out of the spotlight, but we do have two updates tonight: First, its resting place on the beach has finally been cordoned off to end the spate of illegal touching – thanks to “Diver Laura” James for allowing us to share her photo. Second, authorities are facing extra logistical challenges in trying to remove it, including those posed by what the whale’s carcass is missing - Robin Lindsey from Seal Sitters has been talking with federal and local officials and has an update online here. If you missed the previous coverage, the whale – missing about half of its body, not all lengthwise, so it’s still more than 50 feet long – washed up at Seahurst this past Saturday morning; researchers believe it was hit by a ship, but that might have happened many miles away.

(Photos by Nick Adams for WSB)
There may be a decision today on what will, or won’t, be done with the dead fin whale (an endangered species) that has drawn hundreds to the shore of Burien’s Seahurst Park the past two days. WSB contributing photojournalist Nick Adams returned to the beach on Sunday and shows us a scene of tributes and mourning as well as curiosity. Among those bringing flowers, 7-year-old Faith Hunter:

There was also the smelly reality of a multi-ton carcass, as Lucas Brooks noticed:

Some simply stood quietly to observe, and pay respects:

Fishing buddies Kyle Thope, right, and Corey Wiggins took a closeup look:

Ruby Rose (photo below) said she was gleaning information from the whale.

She told Nick, “I can receive information through my heart and my hands, and sometimes my third eye. … Whales are living libraries downloading information to me.” Others learned from the scene in a more conventional manner – Steve Knapp was there with his 7-year-old daughter Sera:

What looked like blood might instead have been red paint from whatever ship is suspected to have hit the whale:

That is one of few clues – the “strike” could have happened in Puget Sound, or perhaps hundreds of miles away in the open ocean:

Whatever happened, so many knew only that they might never again get a chance for a look at this type of endangered whale, second-largest in the sea. Some sat in contemplation, like Nastalja, left, and Trina:

Many used phones and/or cameras for a visual souvenir:

The crowd swarmed – many touching the whale, though experts warn against doing so:

Robin Lindsey of West Seattle-headquartered Seal Sitters, whose volunteers came to the scene though it’s south of their jurisdiction, asked us to share these words of warning:

Photos of people touching dead marine mammals is always a tremendous concern. Infectious diseases among marine mammals is on the rise, many of them zoonotic (meaning people and dogs can get them). Blood and fluid oozing from an animal is obviously potentially unsafe! Please, everyone admire and pay tribute to this majestic animal FROM A SAFE DISTANCE. Once again, this stresses the importance of having stranding networks who can respond to such incidents, educating people and keeping them safely away and investigate cause of death. The elimination of Federal funding from the 2014 budget will greatly impair research into emerging disease and studies of human impact on marine mammals. We strongly encourage everyone to please contact their congressional representatives and ask that John H. Prescott Grant funding be restored to the 2014 budget.

That’s explained further in this story Robin had published on the Seal Sitters’ Blubberblog just before the Seahurst stranding happened. Without researchers, so many lessons that might be learned from the loss of this animal might be missed. Its appearance alone bore fascination, such as its baleen:

And the lines that mark it ..

From the Sunday crowd, the tributes kept coming … and the curiosity:

Even other creatures were curious (though dog owners too should heed Robin’s warning, above):

But now there is one big question about this big creature: What will happen to it?

We’re told a decision could come as soon as today; we’ll update when new information is available. Meantime, the experts investigating the whale’s death continue their work, too; here again is the preliminary report that Cascadia Research Collective published Saturday. (Our previous reports are here [Saturday afternoon] and here [Saturday night].)

(Photos courtesy Isa Sorensen)
Since we report so often about marine mammals here on WSB, we’re mentioning this even though it’s south of our coverage area, after getting a call from someone who wanted to make sure we knew about it: A fin whale has washed up on the beach at Seahurst Park in Burien; KIRO TV quotes experts as saying they believe it died after being hit by a vessel. Isa Sorensen gave us permission to share some of his photos.

Coincidentally, tomorrow will mark exactly three years to the day since a gray whale stranded and died off southwesternmost West Seattle, in The Arroyos. That’s less than four miles from Seahurst, if you were going by water. KIRO says Cascadia Research Collective will do the necropsy; it has researched other such cases in years past (including one in Tacoma in 2009). Fin whales, by the way, are rare in Puget Sound – so rare, they’re not even on The Whale Trail’s list of commonly sighted species;

3:08 AM: Knox has issued a statement, the AP reports (added to the same link as above), in which she declares this development “painful.” (added) ITV has published her statement in full.

Nine turbulent months after leaving Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards, the Shell drilling rigs Kulluk and Noble Discoverer have both been loaded onto giant Chinese ships to be taken to Asian shipyards. They both were set to head back here late last year when trouble struck in a variety of ways, including the Kulluk running aground on an Alaskan island. The video above, from Earthjustice, shows Kulluk being loaded onto the Xiang Rui Kou at Dutch Harbor, Alaska (still there as of this writing, per MarineTraffic.com). Shell is quoted as saying it’ll be heading to Singapore. Kulluk was here more than a year before departing last June; the Noble Discoverer, which spent less time here (though they left the same day), was loaded aboard an identical Chinese “dry tow” ship, the Xiang Yun Kou, earlier this month, headed for Korea (here are photos and backstory on its previous trouble). Alaskan news organizations quote Shell as saying it won’t try again to drill in the Arctic before next year.

5:06 PM: Seattle Fire units are helping North Highline with a big apartment fire in the 12300 block of Ambaum, not far south of White Center. More to come.

5:24 PM: We are in the area. TV choppers overhead. Traffic is now getting through both ways on Ambaum but slowly so avoid if you are headed this way.

6:03 PM: No injuries reported, according to our friends at KING 5. We’ve left the area after the situation seemed to ease – we saw three Seattle fire vehicles leaving, and several from other departments, including Renton and Tukwila, were waiting two blocks south just in case they were needed.

6:21 PM: While the assisting firefighters were summoned to the 12300 block of Ambaum, regional-media reports note that the building’s actual address is 1224 124th, just west of Ambaum, a 24-unit four-story building that’s 47 years old.

11:02 PM: KIRO TV reports that a baseboard-heater problem is blamed for the fire.

In case you haven’t heard – the state is thinking about charging tolls on the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington, to help pay for the new 520 bridge; the old one on 520 is already charging tolls. WSDOT is trying to get the word out about three open houses this week as part of the “environmental assessment” of the plan, and a way to have a say online, to. The meetings are tomorrow on Mercer Island, Wednesday in Bellevue, and – the closest one – Thursday at Yesler Community Center – all from 4-7 pm. They’re drop-in format; if you want to read up on the proposal, various documents and presentations are here.

If you can’t make it to a meeting, there’s an online form through which you can comment through February 22nd – find it here. (Note; WSDOT is advertising on WSB and other news publications to get the word out about this comment period.)

P.S. Opponents of I-90 tolls have set up a website – see their side of the story here.

3:27 PM: Big turnout, says SPD, though no total will be made public till a mayoral news briefing Monday.

(Bret Wiggins at Feedback Lounge El-Fest last August; photo by Nick Adams for WSB),
Love Elvis? Maybe so much that you are an ETA (Elvis Tribute Artist)? Or enough to offer your services as an ETA judge? In any or all of those categories, here’s your invitation to next Saturday’s 16th annual Seattle Invitationals, from Marlow Harris, who says West Seattleite’s Bret Wiggins (above) is expected back to defend his title. The event’s not here – it’s at the Experience Music Project‘s Sky Church, 8 pm next Saturday (January 12th) – but the invite’s gone out regionwide (and $15 advance tickets are on sale). The punk-rock Elvis band Graceland Five will start the night; El Vez “The Mexican Elvis” will MC. Here’s the call for help:

1. We are still looking for Elvi! Calling all Seattle-area Elvis Impersonators? Can you swivel and sway and belt out a song? Then contact us at marlowharris@msn.com and we’ll send you all the details.

2. We are still looking for judges! Contact us if interested.

Thank you. Thankyouverymuch!

(From Thursday: U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Painter)
Before it’s decided if Shell’s grounded drilling rig Kulluk can and will resume its tow back here for offseason maintenance, an effort is afoot not just to tow it off the Alaskan island where it’s stuck, but to move it 30 miles to a “safe harbor” for inspection. The Kulluk, which spent almost a year at Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards, got into trouble in bad weather more than a week ago, while being towed back here. Finally, after problems with tow lines and its tow vessel Aiviq – which spent time here last year too – the Kulluk went adrift and grounded New Year’s Eve on Kodiak Island (map), carrying more than 100,000 gallons of fuel, none of which is believed to have spilled. A “unified command” has since been set up to manage the salvage operation, and the Anchorage Daily News has a report on its Saturday briefing, saying that if the attempt to move the Kulluk is successful, then they’ll decide whether to resume towing it here.

SIDE NOTES: Seattle weather analyst Cliff Mass says the decision to tow it through stormy weather and seas was “misguided” and explains why; the Dutch Harbor Fisherman, meantime, has reported that the motivation for trying to move the rig out of Alaska involved taxes. One other link: The “unified command” organized for the salvage operation has its own website at kullukresponse.com, with a variety of materials and documents, including a partial transcript of the Saturday briefing.

1:55 AM: The marker on the map is for Craig in southeastern Alaska, the reference point that authorities are using for a magnitude 7.6 earthquake that hit about an hour ago, around 60 miles west-southwest of Craig. Nearby areas of Alaska and B.C. had tsunami warnings; there was a tsunami advisory stretching as far south as the British Columbia-Washington border. See the warnings/advisories here. No word of any trouble so far. P.S. If you’re wondering how our area’s been doing with quake activity – we found this Pacific Northwest 2012 wrapup online.

2:02 AM: The USGS is now calling the quake 7.5.

2:37 AM: The tsunami advisory that had run south to the BC-Washington border is now canceled. Two months ago, there was a 7.7-magnitude quake in the Haidi Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlottes) region to the south of this quake’s location – we wrote about it here.

3:10 AM: If you needed a jolt to work on preparedness – here is a link we haven’t mentioned since that last regional quake: West Seattle Be Prepared, laden with information including your nearest “emergency-communication hub.” Know it, just in case.

3:23 PM: The last warnings up in Alaska/BC are no longer in effect.

We recently signed a new 15-year lease at our original store in West Seattle, where we will carry on the Easy Street tradition of great in-stores, yummy breakfasts, tasty vinyl, and overall, an excellent selection of music.

The Easy Street Queen Anne location’s last day of operation is January 18; Vaughan writes that a Chase Bank branch is moving in. (Before Easy Street, you might remember the Queen Anne storefront as having been home to Tower once upon a time – we do.)