West Seattle, Washington
14 Saturday
SDOT was scheduled to resume guardrail repair on the Alaskan Way Viaduct tomorrow, related to a recent crash. Now you can expect to see repair crews soon in a different spot, after two crashes that closed The Viaduct southbound for a while early today. In the first one, police say a woman was speeding when she smashed into the wall, sending a chunk of its concrete down onto 2 parked cars below. Then one of the fire trucks on the scene – with no one inside at the time – got rear-ended by an allegedly under-the-influence driver. Police tell the tangled two-crash tale on SPD Blotter.
3:44 PM: Various citywide news sources are going into the details of this more deeply than we will. Suffice it to say if you haven’t already heard: Public-safety personnel have closed off (this is changing rapidly) parts of 3rd, 4th, and 5th near the county courthouse and jail on the south end of downtown; they have been trying to rescue a woman who at least at one point was threatening to jump, and has walked atop the skybridge between the two buildings. The street closures are affecting bus routes as well. We will add information here if anything changes.
(For anyone needing help – 206-461-3222 is the 24-hour Crisis Clinic hotline.)
4:43 PM: Onscene reports via Twitter say the woman has been rescued. Metro alerts say streets are open again and buses returning to normal.
This afternoon, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed four charges of vehicular assault against 43-year-old Juanita Wright, an Admiral resident who also uses the surnames Mars and Carpenter, in connection with a crash outside Showbox SODO last Thursday night. Prosecutors allege Wright had a blood-alcohol level of .29 as measured two hours after the crash – more than three times the legal-drunkenness level – and hit seven people who were crossing 1st Avenue South after a concert at the venue. Four of them were seriously hurt, with multiple broken bones, including a 28-year-old woman with a head injury that required removal of part of her skull. Wright’s car is described in court documents as having been full of empty or partly empty 24-ounce cans of 8.2% beer at the time of the crash. has been in jail since early last Friday morning, with bail set at a quarter-million dollars, and is scheduled for arraignment on November 15th. According to the charging documents, her record includes an unresolved drunk-driving charge from Pierce County 20 years ago, and more recent violations including speeding and driving without a license.
Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
It’s been a busy week of environmentally-related meetings for West Seattle and its neighbors. The night after Sustainable West Seattle‘s forum on the Duwamish River (WSB coverage here), a “Community Forum on the Public Health Issues of Neighborhood Trucking” was convened, primarily for the Georgetown and South Park communities, but potentially of interest to other local areas with notable truck traffic.
Held at the Georgetown campus of West Seattle-headquartered South Seattle Community College, the forum consisted of three separate panels offering information regarding diesel pollution in the Georgetown and South Park neighborhoods. Listening to the panels were Seattle City Councilmembers Mike O’Brien, Tom Rasmussen and Nick Licata as well as Port Commissioner Rob Holland, as well as an audience of approximately 40 people.
According to an SDOT traffic alert, the ‘heavy rescue’ call at East Marginal/South Spokane is a train-vehicle crash – avoid that area – SDOT says all lanes of East Marginal are blocked. 1:52 PM UPDATE: SDOT just tweeted that traffic has cleared.
Didn’t know till a few minutes ago that the Seafair Pirates – who have many ties to West Seattle – have someplace called “Pirate Central” in North Seattle. Tomorrow afternoon, that’s where they’ll talk to the media about “their goals and plans for the rebuilding of their ship, the Moby Duck,” according to a just-in media advisory. As reported here last weekend, the engine of the landborne Moby Duck caught fire along a freeway in Bothell, and spokespirate Mark “Keelhaul” Jensen told WSB that repairs might tally as high as $25,000 (while sharing photos including the one at left). Moby Duck, by the way, really did start out as an amphibious landing craft (DUKW), 1942 vintage, before being given to the Seafair Pirates in 1954. They promise that tomorrow they “will outline what their immediate plans are and answer the many inquiries from people who wish to help restore the Moby Duck.” Stay tuned!
(Photos courtesy Seafair Pirates)
Kids and adults alike shriek at its cannon blasts during parades, and wave as it carries the Seafair Pirates along city streets at other times of the year (with some of the pirates living in West Seattle, it’s a semi-common sight here between parade seasons too). But tonight, the Moby Duck is docked, so to speak, by the damage done in an engine fire. Our partners at the Seattle Times reported this morning on the fire, which happened late last night in Bothell. The group’s spokespirate Mark “Keelhaul” Jensen told the Times the damage could total $25,000. We e-mailed him to ask if they’d photographed the damage, and he sent photos including the two we’re using here:
The Pirates plan an emergency meeting to figure out what to do and whether they’ll need a donation drive to get Moby Duck sailing our area’s asphalt/concrete passageways again.
(Scroll down for updates, plus more photos added Monday night)
ORIGINAL 2:18 PM REPORT: Thanks to the WSB’ers who e-mailed to ask what we know about a big fire in the South Seattle industrial district, with smoke visible from eastern West Seattle (and downtown). It’s at South Airport/Industrial (map). Thanks to Jim for the photo; checking further. There’s live video on a stream from KING5 (thanks to Tina for that tip). 2:29 PM: The initial media update from Seattle Fire says this is a three-alarm fire at “the old Sunny Jim plant” – a vacant building – archives remind us Sunny Jim (which made peanut butter) was the site of a big fire in 1997. No injuries reported so far. (However, there are side issues – problems with looky-loos on the freeway and trees/power poles burning between the fire site and the freeway, according to the scanner.) 3:05 PM: 2 lanes are closed on southbound I-5 because of the fire. West Seattle crews are involved in fighting the fire – we’re hearing scanner traffic, for example, from Ladder 11, which was just training over at the Admiral Safeway site this morning (as shown here). We also just got this photo from Christopher Boffoli:
Our partners at the Seattle Times are covering the fire here. 3:33 PM UPDATE: Reporters at the scene say a firefighter’s been hurt – KING5’s Meg Coyle tweeted a photo of firefighters surrounding him/her to help.
4:43 PM UPDATE: Per Twitter, firefighters will not go in the structure today.
6:43 PM UPDATE: Adding more photos and info, now that our much-smaller West Seattle fire incident is wrapping up. Sue B sent this photo taken from I-5:
Christopher Boffoli caught some West Seattle crews in action at the scene – you’ll see a couple in his video clip, first:
Next, from Ladder 11, Junction-based:
Crew from The Junction’s Station 32:
And Engine 36, based by The Bridge:
Per the scanner, we heard 36 being returned to service just a few minutes ago, five hours after the fire started.
When the Aurora Bridge Fence Project affected traffic on northbound 99 last Sunday, we heard from West Seattleites who got stuck in backups – so we’re passing along the advisory that just came in for THIS Sunday, in case you were planning to use 99 – which will have closures in both directions that day – read on:Read More
David DeSiga just shared that photo of Air Force One taxiing at Boeing Field (and spectators – they don’t just turn out for those six blue F/A-18s!) – and we got a phone tip with the reminder that motorcade shutdowns of I-5 can lead to West Seattle Bridge backups too (as is apparently the case right now). Per KING5, President Obama‘s quick visit is scheduled to end some time after 3 pm today.
As of very early this morning, the downtown transit tunnel was still closed because of a “malfunction” — affecting buses, light rail, and drivers/bike riders on the streets that carry more buses when needed. To get the latest on its status, go here. 8:59 AM: As you probably know by now, all’s well again, and has been for most of the commute. The link, however, is a good resource for all Metro riders – it’s a blog-format website where they track the commute status daily, even when nothing extraordinary’s happening.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli, after Blue Angels’ arrival Tuesday)
The city’s weekend traffic alert expands to four days this week – today through Sunday – since the I-90 bridge closures for Seafair Blue Angels practices and shows are about to begin. (Today’s practices – with two I-90 closures – are not the official show maneuvers, but rather the “get acclimated to the area” flights.) Also in the alert – though no roads will be closed or blocked – is an Alki event, the Festival of India on Saturday and Sunday. Read on for SDOT’s full alert list:Read More
You’ve seen the city’s new traffic-messaging signs in action recently – with the alert about the Spokane Street Viaduct lane closure, for example – and now the state is sending a reminder that its “Smarter Highways” signs are about to be activated on highways including the stretch of northbound I-5 used by drivers leaving the West Seattle Bridge. So what are these signs going to do that the current “trouble ahead” signs don’t, you ask? Read on for the official news release:Read More
ORIGINAL 4:38 PM REPORT: This is on the South Park section of West Marginal Way (map), by Northwest Center and other large industrial buildings – a rollover crash has blocked the northbound lanes of West Marginal. This is in the South Park area but in case you take that route to get back to West Seattle, here’s the traffic alert. No details on the crash cause or injuries, but tow crews are there so it shouldn’t be blocked too much longer. 4:46 PM UPDATE: A little further down the road, the Marginal/Holden intersection is still under police control and overall, says our reporter, “it’s a mess” – so avoid the area for a while.
This weekend’s big events in West Seattle – the Alki Car Show on Saturday, the West Seattle Outdoor Movies debut Saturday night (“Mamma Mia!”), the West Seattle Garden Tour on Sunday (latter two co-sponsored by WSB – aren’t blocking streets. But elsewhere around the city, this weekend’s big events might land you in the middle of some changes. Read on for the latest list from SDOT:Read More
Just in case you absolutely have to leave the peninsula this weekend – despite the lure of West Seattle Summer Fest, the Seafair Pirates’ Landing, and other events – here’s the SDOT Weekend Traffic Advisory listing where else in Seattle you’ll find crowds and closed streets – read on:Read More
(Saturday night Twitpic by @davidgjames)
The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency tells WSB the agency received two complaints over the holiday weekend about the Saturday night emission from Ash Grove Cement that drew attention from West Seattle, and elsewhere (WSB coverage here), as well as an initial “fire in building” response from the Seattle Fire Department. PSCAA spokesperson Amy Warren says the complaints will be reviewed before the agency decides what, if any, action to take. Meantime, Ash Grove has issued a statement saying “finished cement was discharged” from the plant, “as a result of the affected silo being overfilled,” though the amount of “finished cement” was not mentioned. The statement sent by corporate PR rep Jackie Clark also says Ash Grove has “contacted affected neighbors to offer cleanup assistance.”
(photo added 9:04 pm, see explanation below)
ORIGINAL 8:35 PM REPORT: Just mentioning this because so many have e-mailed and texted about it. We also saw the apparent smoke that, according to the 911 log, came from the Ash Grove Cement facility on East Marginal Way (map). It was originally a “fire in building” call; however, the call was already “closed” less than half an hour after it started. So what was it? No info yet but we’ll try to find out. That may be tough – we just reached someone who answered “control room” at the plant, and as we started to identify ourselves as news media, they said “You’ll have to call back Tuesday morning” and hung up.
ADDED 9:04 PM: From Dan Berger, the photo above and this note:
Driving south on E. Marginal on my way back to W. Seattle @ 8:05 pm. I observed a large plume of ash pouring out of the top of a silo at the Ash Grove Cement plant. The plume completely obscured visibility down E. Marginal past the plant. Attached is a photo taken about 15 min. later, with the cloud subsiding. At this point there is now just a wispy haze south of the plant. No idea how much dust coated the neighborhood.
We have just driven past the plant on East Marginal – we could see, from a distance, at least one fire truck getting hosed off near the plant’s entrance road. There’s definitely some dust being kicked up as we drive along East Marginal, but not enough to show on a photo.
ADDED 11:33 PM: We’ve received video from Michelle, shot while what looked like smoke was pouring from one side of the plant. Focus on the left side of one of the silos in the center of the frame:
If no information emerges sooner, we will be checking back on Tuesday, as suggested.
If you hadn’t already seen this via Facebook, Twitter or e-mail, wanted to mention it before the commute home: The 1st Avenue South water-main repairs first mentioned yesterday are now scheduled to take until “late evening,” so the detour on Southbound 1st, between King and Railroad, is still in place – you’ll be detoured over to Alaskan Way. 4:18 PM: The city has sent another update:
Today crews have been able to keep one lane open for each direction of traffic on First Avenue South at South King Street. The estimated time to reopen the entire street is now approximately 11 a.m. tomorrow, June 18.
From SDOT:
Due to a water main break at First Avenue South and South King Street, southbound traffic on First Avenue South is being detoured at South Jackson Street to Alaskan Way, returning to First at Railroad Way [map]. First Avenue South remains open to northbound traffic. Seattle Public Utilities staff expects the repair work to continue beyond this afternoon’s peak commute period, into the evening.
5 PM UPDATE: This may not be reopened until noon tomorrow, according to an update from SDOT.
Monday night, the Seattle-area businesses (and others) who chipped in to save Seattle’s last remaining 4th of July fireworks show were invited to a thank-you party. We were working, so no-go for us, but one of the other West Seattle businesses that also donated – Ventana Construction (WSB sponsor) – dropped in, and Ventana co-proprietor Anne shared photos. Above, that’s Tom Douglas, celebrity chef who helped hatch the idea of a donation challenge, signing a banner that will be displayed for the holiday; below, a slice of the crowd at the secret location:
Anne says more than 75 people were there; Douglas’s co-conspirator, radio host Dave Ross, attended too. What about next year? you might be wondering. Maybe a similar campaign, Douglas suggested. (Other donors with West Seattle ties included another WSB sponsor, Merrill Gardens, as well as CitiLights Electric.)
Editor’s note: West Seattle writer Jen Boyer covered the “Deadliest Catch“ fan convention in Seattle this weekend; we’re publishing her coverage for interested fans.
Story and photos by Jen Boyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
They wanted their crab captains and they wanted them now.
More than 1,000 superfans of Discovery Channel’s crab-fishing reality show “Deadliest Catch” attended the sold-out-in-advance second annual CatchCon on Saturday at Pier 66, some coming as far as Scotland and the Netherlands to get up close and personal with everything Deadliest Catch.
Editor’s note: West Seattle writer Jen Boyer, who publishes Heligirl.com (one of the 100+ sites whose latest links are on the WSB Blogs page), is covering today’s “Deadliest Catch“ fan convention; we’re publishing her coverage for interested fans. First: The Friday night memorial for “Captain Phil” Harris, who died last February (and had visited West Seattle to promote his coffee brand back in 2008).
(Captain Phil’s son Jake, preparing to throw a flower into the water in memory of his dad)
Story and photos by Jen Boyer
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Hundreds of fans, fellow fishermen, friends and family of “Deadliest Catch” Captain Phil Harris came together Friday night at Pier 91 to pay tribute to the salty crab captain that Discovery Producer Paul Gasek called “a teddy bear with that ink thing going on.”
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