West Seattle, Washington
31 Saturday
(NO POWER? BE SURE CITY LIGHT KNOWS: 206-684-7400, OUTAGE HOTLINE)
(One of several photos @Naurthon tweeted showing tree blocking part of Delridge near Home Depot)
7:55 PM: Minutes before the National Weather Service‘s “high wind warning” for our area was originally to officially take effect, the wind is already gusting big time, at least where we are, and lights have flickered numerous times. We’re already seeing the first West Seattle power outage – about 120 people along Beach Drive. We’ll be covering this throughout the night – please let us know of any problems where you are – editor@westseattleblog.com, text or voice at 206-293-6302.
8:10 PM: Tree reported to have fallen on a house in the 5600 block of SW Admiral Way – no one hurt. We’re en route. (Update: Couldn’t find it.) Also, a power outage is reported in Gatewood, but not on the map yet – the map grab above still just shows the one on Beach Drive, which is blamed on a tree (not sure where that one is).
8:30 PM: Thanks to everyone who’s commented/messaged with information on other spot outages – from Bonair to Puget Ridge to Highland Park. Remember that if you have to be out driving and happen onto a non-working signal – that’s a 4-way stop intersection. (added) Annie sends this photo of a tree down on 24th between Barton and Cambridge:
8:44 PM: Just heard a scanner report of a tree down on Delridge at 21st SW, blocking southbound lanes. And we have this photo via Twitter:
@westseattleblog Big maple tree down across Delridge at 21st Ave SW by Southwest Precinct/Home Depot. Light pole too. pic.twitter.com/zFxLrNcQyq
— Naurthon (@naurthon) October 26, 2014
Jeff tweets that a tree is down on Roxbury at 34th. Thanks again to everyone sharing info and photos.
9 PM: 55 outages are now reported around the city, affecting more than 22,000 homes and businesses. Several are now mapped in West Seattle – see here for the latest. If you lose/find a pet during the storm – or any other time – remember that for six years, WSB has had the only West Seattle-specific lost/found pets page – westseattleblog.com/pets; just added a dog found tonight. Meantime, in comments, flynlo has noted 48 mph gusts on Gatewood Hill.
(Added: SFD at wires-down site on SW Ida – WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
9:20 PM: Now, add outages in Arbor Heights – we saw the 35th/Roxbury signal go out as that happened – and Morgan Junction; Arroyos, too, per comments. The tree down on Roxbury, meantime, is at 32nd – we’ll have a photo shortly (update: tree photo courtesy Dustin Smith).
If you have to go out, slow down – our photographer said people were coming up on the tree way too fast for safety. Meantime, every gust seems to take more people out – some now out in Fauntleroy. Also, trees down in two spots in Highland Park, Andrea e-mails: “One heading down Highland Park (Way) just after Holden and the other on 9th right side northbound.”
9:45 PM: Power outage finally hit us in Upper Fauntleroy. We’re continuing to report with backup power and Internet. Wind still strong. Re: Roxbury tree, Joe Szilagyi shows us via Instagram that the Roxbury tree is being towed. Meantime, you’re probably wondering how long the power will be out. Even the “guesstimates” you might see on the City Light map are not reliable (and SCL acknowledges that). 52,000 homes and businesses are now out citywide, according to the map. *Or it could be sooner rather than later – commenter Petertut says power’s BACK in the 5900 block of Beach Drive.
@westseattleblog SFD has arrived and is clearing the tree from Delridge pic.twitter.com/qwL6OObZNq
— Naurthon (@naurthon) October 26, 2014
10:21 PM: Minutes after @naurthon tweeted that photo, he reported that the tree is clear and Delridge is open again in the SW Orchard vicinity. The weather *sounds* as if it’s calming a bit – we’re looking around to see if forecasters have any insight. This was only supposed to last until the early-morning hours, and we’re still counting on “all systems go” for the Harvest Festival in The Junction 10-2 tomorrow.
10:48 PM: Chet says a tree and wires are down on Fauntleroy Way north of Lincoln Park. Also a new report from Sharryn of a tree down by 35th/Roxbury. And Shane sent photos of two trees down along the street in the 2100 block of California SW.
We’re also adding the newest screengrab from the City Light map, showing the many outages on the peninsula – looks like more than 10,000 homes/businesses. Far more of the former than the latter – it appears The Junction has kept power, for example (“live” traffic cam image added, to prove it):
So if you need food/beverages, there’s one direction to head in.
(Added: Fauntleroy ferry dock – WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
11:15 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli has been roving to see what’s happening where. He reports, “Pitch black from Morgan Junction all the way down past Lincoln Park. Ferry dock is still without power and is waiting for generators to arrive. They somehow still have one terminal open and they’re able to check people in (right side ticket booth). Ferry traffic is very light.” SCL has done some restoring – the total citywide is now down to 50,000. Meantime, trees aren’t just out in roads – Dianne in Admiral e-mailed, “My neighbor’s tree fell in 3 or 4 spots, and they are on top of my house, and hanging next to it. My Willow tree is badly damaged and I think my Maple is down. I’ll know more tomorrow morning. Very frightening.” Then a bit later:
Huge backyard Maple uproots, lands on corner of our house, minor damage W. Seattle 40th Ave SW @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/EYnPomVzHY
— Ilona Berzups (@ilopix) October 26, 2014
Likely going to be much to clean up – branches and leaves in the streets and on the sidewalks … in the morning.
1:26 AM: City Light is making progress – the outage map now shows 38,000 customers (homes/businesses) without power around its coverage area, down from a peak past 52,000. We’re still out in Upper Fauntleroy after almost four hours.
Adding several photos from Christopher Boffoli’s travels checking out storm damage, including the one above, a fence knocked down on 37th SW.
5:10 AM UPDATE: Many are back on. Not us, yet.
7:07 AM: Same as above. We will launch a new story shortly. Meantime, the Harvest Festival is ON – The Junction didn’t even lose power last night.
7:32 AM: That new story is here.
(SUNDAY NIGHT UPDATE FROM NEW MANAGER IN COMMENTS)
7:52 PM: The fitness club at 2629 SW Andover – closed since Thursday – has a new name: West Seattle Health Club.
And we’ve just found out a lot more from the man who says property owner John Pietromonaco has hired him to run it, Dan Lehr.
He expects it to remain closed at least until the end of the week.
(added) First, from an e-mail Lehr sent just before our conversation, this is what he says has happened, and what he says is being planned:
As you are well aware Sam vacated the premises Friday night and left the club in a state of disarray. Even stooping so low as to sabotage many of the clubs systems and equipment – most seriously of which is the pool, threw employee shirts and toilet paper into the pool filters and drained the pool of water.
He removed most of the cardio equipment and anything that was left was either in a state of disrepair or already out of order. Most of the free weights have been removed as well as most anything else that wasn’t nailed down, including computers, phones, sound systems and all membership records. Fortunately most of the selectorized weight machines (have weight stacks & pins) were left behind and are in good working order. In short most anything that could be easily removed was taken.
HRP Properties has a vested interest in the property which was designed solely to be an Athletic Club. We fully intend to continue to operate the property as a full service athletic facility and are committed to restoring the club to its former “fully operational state”.
Some of the items that will be addressed immediately will include the following:
Club HVAC systems will be repaired – this is to begin Monday of this coming week.
The entire club will be deep cleaned from top to bottom – locker rooms, carpets, shower areas – everything.
Cardio equipment will be either repaired or replaced with new
Free Weights will be replaced with new
Stereos and TV’S – replaced with new
Numerous other miscellaneous fitness and operations items replaced with new
Grounds will be cleaned
Pool areas will be renovated as needed
Our phone conversation went a lot further, including where West Seattle (Athletic) Club memberships stand, and more, including Lehr’s background. Adding that shortly.
ADDED 9:31 PM: Lehr says he’s “been in the health and fitness industry for 25 years as a club owner,” including “Redmond Athletic Club, which I designed and built from the ground up.” Again, he says property owner Pietromonaco is now the owner – and that, he says, is rare, for a club operator to own the land and building – and he has been hired to manage and basically rebuild it. He says he generally operates with a “relaxed culture” and wants to “build up morale, get a new culture in there, that starts to emanate to the members – the past two operators have left the members high and dry.”
About the members: Where do they stand?
Lehr says they are “trying to get the membership information, it’s hosted on a cloud site, we’re working to obtain all that. If we can get that, we can start crediting people, extending (their) information because of downtime, but without that, we can’t take care of those folks. But what we will do is start up another club they can come and join for no startup fees. We’re going to try to come up with a dues structure. We’re still gathering information on what (the previous operation) had been selling. We’re going to come up with one that is competitive and still viable to make the club profitable.”
Lehr says he is not entirely sure what the status was as Adams left – was he formally evicted? did he officially hand over the business? Just one thing: “(Adams’ club) is no longer operational. State law requires him to find a comparable facility (to keep members) within 10 miles and he has not done that, so he cannot bill members again.” He says Adams is using “nearby” storage for what he removed from the club.
“We’re going to do the right thing. I’m not sure what that is yet. My past experience, I’ve taken over clubs before. We want everyone to stay. We want the chance to show them (what we can do). … If I can get membership and dues information, then I’m in a seamless situation. If I don’t have that, I can’t.”
He said they hope “to be operational sometime near the end of next week.” (The pool could take up to 4 weeks, since he says they will take the opportunity for some HVAC improvements, repainting, etc., in that part of the club.) “But we have to have a lot in place – a point of sale system, new member contracts,” and they will be meeting with staff. He says they want to be completely “transparent” as they move through the process of opening the “new” club and promises daily updates.
SUNDAY NIGHT: Since it’s been a busy day with windstorm aftermath, Harvest Festival, etc., we don’t have a new standalone story, but did note that the new manager has posted this in comments tonight.
Despite tonight’s storminess, the forecast is still looking relatively promising for the third annual West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival, 10 am-2 pm tomorrow. It’s on, rain or shine – activity booths are covered, so are Farmers’ Market stands, and of course local businesses are happy to welcome you for shopping/dining – so we hope it’s on your schedule already. As a co-sponsor and activity host, we’ll be reporting live starting around 9 am, so check in here in the morning. (And remember that California will be closed to traffic between Edmunds and Oregon, with Alaska closed between 42nd and 44th)
Meantime, one last roundup of festival info! The basics, again, are:
*10 am-2 pm, activities
*10 am-2 pm, Farmers’ Market in the street
*11 am-1 pm, chili competition on southwest corner of California/Alaska
*11:30 am, costume parade from Junction Plaza Park at 42nd/Alaska, led by the West Seattle High School Marching Band
*Noon-2 pm, trick-or-treating at participating storefronts
We’ve already previewed several of the activities (including ours!) and here’s a more comprehensive list (apologies if we’ve missed yours – this is a compilation of info provided by the Junction Association and sent by those answering a call for info) – read ahead!
(Seen at the Fauntleroy Creek overlook late today)
4:53 PM: One dayhttps://westseattleblog.com/ after Judy Pickens sent a reminder of tomorrow’s drumming-the-salmon-home event, with a promise that she’d let us know as soon as there was a Fauntleroy Creek coho sighting, she has an update: “Elizabeth Butler and Chris Kim win the prize for spotting the season’s first spawners near the beach. All this rain, plus 11-foot tides, have brought them in ahead of tomorrow evening’s drumming!”
If you are on the volunteer salmon-watch roster, that means it’s time to sign up for specific shifts. Otherwise, they should be in view soon from the overlook at Fauntleroy and Director (map), across the street from the ferry dock (and up the embankment), where the drumming/singing is set for 5 pm Sunday.
6:32 PM: We stopped by the overlook before dark. It’s not a good viewing spot – lots of overgrowth – but when watchers are on duty, you can walk to the creek from Director St. just east of there. Judy was just there with Dennis Hinton and says that while coho #1 was eaten by a river otter, #2 and #3 were spotted under a bridge on the creek. She adds, “I’ll be spending most of my afternoon tomorrow down at the creek for any folk who wish to visit.”
11:57 PM: Dennis sent photos! Added the one you see above.
Two and a half years ago, we noted local fitness instructor Loni McIntosh‘s cancer battle, as friends organized a fundraiser. Today, we have word that Ms. McIntosh’s long fight is over, and that everyone who knew her is invited to gather for a memorial walk next Saturday:
Beloved fitness instructor and longtime member of the West Seattle community, Loni McIntosh, passed away from brain cancer Wednesday 10/15. Please join us to celebrate Loni as we do a walk and gathering in her memory on Alki Beach next Saturday, November 1st at 10 am. We will meet outside the Alki Bathhouse for a few words and walk as a group. Rain or shine. Let’s remember Loni with fun stories and memories of the tough, kind, loving person she was. Please wear blue/teal if you can.
Ms. McIntosh was 57 years old.
Rain or shine, it was time for the West Seattle Monster Dash this morning – and as our video shows, off they went, despite breezy, showery conditions. The Lincoln Park run/walk is a benefit for Cooperative Preschools. Organizer Milyssa Daigle (below) cheered on the (mostly) costumed participants:
…including ones young enough to be currently using the aforementioned preschools!
The littlest participants had their own “monster dashes” right after the main race.
Some spooky sights in the throng:
By the way, race results are online – see them here.
Coming to the West Seattle Junction Harvest Festival tomorrow? First, take a quick detour, if you can, to help make Halloween happier for others. From West Seattle Girl Scout Troop 45172:
On Halloween night from 6-8 pm, Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission hosts an annual festival in the Youth Reach Out Center for kids and teens. They earn candy and other treats through fun games and competitions. To help make this fun and safe event a success, West Seattle Girl Scout Troop #45172 is holding a candy drive at The Junction QFC this Sunday from 9:30-11:30 during the Harvest Festival. Bring or buy a bag of wrapped candy to donate.
The store is at 42nd/Alaska, right across from Junction Plaza Park, where the costume parade will start at 11:30 during tomorrow’s festival.
(Osprey, photographed by Mark Wangerin)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar and Halloween Guide:
WEST SEATTLE MONSTER DASH: 9 am in south Lincoln Park, near the zipline, it’s the annual 5K – costumes encouraged (but not mandatory) – benefiting Co-Op Preschools. Followed by the Little Monster dashes at 10 am, preceded by last-minute signups ($40) at 8:30 am, full race-day schedule here. (Fauntleroy/Cloverdale)
DECORATE A PUMPKIN: Kids’ pumpkin-decorating at PCC Natural Markets-West Seattle (WSB sponsor), 9-noon. “Come decorate your very own pumpkin to take home. PCC will supply free pumpkins and decorating supplies. There also will be healthy snacks to stir those scary, creative juices. Free for kids 12 and younger.” (California/Stevens)
BEAUTIFY NORTH DELRIDGE: 10 am-noon, just two hours of your time can make a major difference. Join North Delridge Neighborhood Council‘s beautification chair Lisa Taylor Whitley and neighborhood volunteers, starting at Delridge Community Center and fanning out to pick up trash and clear storm drains along Delridge Way SW. Bags/pickers provided! (4501 Delridge Way SW)
GEAR SWAP: 10 am-6 pm, it’s the annual Mountain to Sound Outfitters-presented gear swap at VFW Hall across the street. Details in our calendar listing. (3601 SW Alaska)
THRIFTWAY HALLOWEEN PARTY: Annual kids’ Halloween party at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor), 11 am-1 pm. (Fauntleroy/Morgan/California)
DUWAMISH LONGHOUSE HALLOWEEN PARTY: 1-3 pm, with games, prizes, refreshments. Details in our calendar listing. (4705 W. Marginal Way SW)
HIGH-SCHOOL FOOTBALL: 1 pm, Chief Sealth International High School plays Cleveland HS at Memorial Stadium downtown.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS @ THE LIBRARY: Dia de los Muertos event for ages 5-up at Southwest Branch Library, 2-3:30 pm. Details here. (35th/Henderson)
ORGAN BENEFIT: 3 pm at Admiral Church, an all-star musical lineup to help raise money to renovate the church’s 52-year-old pipe organ – read about it here. (California/Hill)
HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL: 4-8 pm, Halloween Carnival at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. Details on the school website. (34th/Myrtle)
OKTOBERFEST: The West Seattle Lions Club‘s Oktoberfest celebration starts at 5:30 pm, Senior Center of West Seattle – details in our calendar listing. (Oregon/California)
‘DOGFIGHT’: 7:30 pm at ArtsWest (WSB sponsor), it’s your next chance to see the musical “Dogfight,” described as “the romantic and heartbreaking story of three young marines in 1963 on the eve of the deployment to the small but growing conflict in Vietnam.” Directed by AW’s new artistic director Mathew Wright. (4711 California SW)
LOTS OF NIGHTLIFE: Live music and more – see the venues/listings on the calendar.
FIRST REPORT, 6:58 AM: First, the National Weather Service canceled the “special weather statement” that had been up for our area. But now, early this morning, a new weather alert was announced, a “wind advisory” from 3 pm today until 6 am Sunday. See it here. The NWS says the strongest winds are expected this evening, out of the southwest, with gusts possibly up to 45-50 mph.
10 AM UPDATE: The time frame is moved back a bit: 6 pm tonight to 6 am tomorrow. Charge everything now, just in case!
1:13 PM UPDATE: Thanks to the commenters who point out that this is now a “high wind warning,” in effect for 8 pm tonight until 2 am tomorrow. Gusts could be as high as 60 mph. As longtime readers know, weather coverage is a specialty here, so you can count on updates here, whatever happens; please let us know what happens where you are, too. (Get our hotline in your phone for texting/calling – 206-293-6302 – thank you.)
(WSB photos by Katie Meyer)
More early Halloween fun in West Seattle on Friday night, this time in The Junction, as the Halloween edition of Rainbow Bingo filled the big hall upstairs at the Senior Center of West Seattle. Hostess Sylvia O’Stayformore had more than a few costumed guests to admire:
Calendar shows she’ll be back at the West Seattle center with the Holidazzle edition of Rainbow Bingo on December 5th – and tickets are already on sale online.
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