West Seattle, Washington
29 Friday
Thanks for the tip: Summit Atlas, the charter middle/high school at 35th/Roxbury, has told families it will be closed tomorrow because of a water problem. The email sent to families says the city had to shut off the school’s water supply because of “a major breakage in the water main.” We haven’t heard of a break in the area but the school email also mentions plumbers trying to fix it, so it might be just a campus problem; we’ll check with Seattle Public Utilities tomorrow.
(Added: WSB photos)
6:56 PM: The thunderstorms that moved through this past hour have done some damage. Seattle Fire is on scene in the ~10700 block of Marine View Drive SW, where residents report lightning hit multiple houses; no fire, but some damage is reported. In that area, more than 200 homes are without power, according to the City Light map.
7:56 PM: We’ve been to two of the homes with lightning damage.
In both cases, glass was broken, but no one was hurt.
Some tree damage too. At one home, the damage was focused on a detached dwelling unit which had no one inside at the time.
9 PM: Photos added. The residents report the lightning strike was colorful – they saw red at one point – as well as powerful.
12:33 AM: Could be more overnight, says @WestSeaWx.
Just announced: A change in what you can put in curbside recycling bins: Plastic bags and film are out as of the start of next year. Here’s the announcement:
Changes are coming next year to how materials are collected for recycling in Seattle and King County.
Beginning Jan. 1, garbage and recycling collection programs will no longer accept plastic bags and plastic wrap in curbside recycling carts and bins. Instead, customers will be asked to take those separated materials to a drop-off location for remanufacturing or place them in the garbage for disposal.
Plastic bags and wrap are often wet or have food waste on them when placed in the curbside recycling and contaminate other materials. Additionally, at recycling facilities, these plastics can jam sorting and processing equipment, leading to frequent shutdowns so workers can remove the tangled materials.
Bringing plastic bags and wrap to a drop-off location keeps the bundled recyclables cleaner and easier to manufacture into new products.
“Recycling is one of the best ways to protect the environment and fight climate change, but to make it work we have to do it right,” said King County Solid Waste Division Director Pat McLaughlin. “Keeping problem items out of our bins at home will save money because we won’t have to throw out good recyclable materials that get contaminated from dirty plastic bags.”
“Our goal is to ensure what goes into the recycling cart gets recycled at its highest value. We want everyone to Recycle Right,” noted Jeff Fowler, Seattle Public Utilities Solid Waste Deputy Director. “Removing plastic bags and wrap from our curbside recycling mix will have a positive impact on the quality of our other recyclable materials and the efficiency of the facilities that process those materials.”
The changes were recommended by a task force of city, county and solid waste industry representatives that was established to research improvements that could be made to the recycling system following China’s change in allowable levels of contamination in bundled recyclables.
Find plastic bag and wrap drop-off locations at plasticfilmrecycling.org. King County and Seattle Public Utilities are working to expand drop-off locations that accept plastic bags and plastic wrap for recycling.
While throwing plastic bags and wrap in the garbage is the least desirable action, it’s better to toss them out rather than contaminate other recyclables.
The lookup shows dropoff spots in this area include the Admiral and Roxbury Safeways and Westwood Village Target. P.S. For a refresher course on “recycling right” – covering other items too – go here.
SFD is out on a “wires down” incident at 61st/Spokane. A reader just texted these details:
City utilities conducting water work on 61st and SW. Spokane St. knocked out major powerline. Wire is live! Street is blocked off. Powerline worker trapped in truck as the wire is touching the vehicle. In front of my house. Police and firefighters present, currently waiting on city light to address the issue.
Avoid the area.
3:05 AM: Thanks for the tips. The Seattle City Light map shows more than 4,200 customers without power on this blustery early morning. More to come …
3:10 AM: Multiple readers point out a short-lived fire call at Myrtle/28th (only one engine still assigned to it per incident log) and suspect a transformer fire in the area because of flashes/booms.
3:24 AM: Map added. Meantime, Engine 11, the only engine still on the 28th SW call, reports via radio, “We’ve got City Light here.”
3:38 AM: SFD has now closed out of that call. While the SCL “restoration estimate” for the outage is 9 am, PLEASE remember that those estimates are only guesses and (as noted in our decade-plus of outage coverage) it could be sooner … or later. Please let us know when you get your power back (SCL’s map does not show when outages end – they just eventually drop off the map).
5:12 AM: Map shows the outage down to 938 customers.
7:11 AM: And now just 33.
10:18 AM: The official cause, per SCL spokesperson Julie Moore, fallen tree taking out wires.
From Seattle Public Utilities:
Seattle Public Utilities crews will conduct routine hydrant flow testing near 3084 SW Avalon Way starting at 11:30 pm on Tuesday, September 24, and lasting until 5:30 am on Wednesday, September 25. During and after testing, some customers in the area may experience temporary discolored water. If this happens, the water should clear on its own- or try running the cold tap for a few minutes. If the problem persists, contact SPU’s 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206-386-1800.
That’s the number to use any time you get unexplained brown water, as we’ve reported many times.
Announced this morning by Seattle Public Utilities: “Public Health-Seattle and King County (Public Health) reopened the Duwamish River on Sunday morning to water activities like fishing after test results confirmed acceptable levels.” This comes two days after the announcement that an estimated 320,000 gallons of sewage had spilled into the river because of a blockage blamed on a piece of plywood. The river had been posted as closed to activities from Harbor Island to the Turning Basin.
(Saturday night photo by Roy Wilkie)
3:45 PM: 18 hours after that incredible thunderstorm moved through (WSB as-it-happened coverage here), some damage has yet to be repaired. The Seattle City Light map shows the biggest outage in Fauntleroy is finally over, but other pockets east of The Junction and in the Beach Drive area. Some have also noted cable/internet outages too; Dustin emailed to say he’s been out of Comcast service most of the day and their outage map shows stretches of the Fauntleroy and Roxhill areas are out. And at least one traffic signal was still affected – 35th and Henderson – when we went through around 1:30 pm:
Please remember that a malfunctioning traffic signal means the intersection is an all-way stop. Meantime, be aware that the forecast says there’s a chance of thunderstorms again tonight and/or tomorrow. For now, though, some sunshine, and a rainbow just photographed by Melissa Kegler:
And if you’re interested in a little more scientific detail about what happened last night, weather analyst Cliff Mass updated his storm post.
9:28 PM: Thanks for the updates in comments. Surveying the pockets still on the City Light map, looks like 150 or so customers are still out in West Seattle, after 24 hours; the biggest pocket is near 35th/Alaska. SCL tweeted earlier, “Due to the large number of scattered outages throughout our service territory and the amount of equipment that needs to be replaced, restoration time may take longer than usual.” Though fewer than 1,000 customers remain out in their service area, that’s distributed among 134 separate outages.
(Lightning over Elliott Bay, photographed by Mark McAndrews)
8:08 PM: Lightning, thunder, downpour. Power flickers too but nothing on the City Light map so far. In a short-term forecast alert, the National Weather Service says this could go on another hour or so.
8:18 PM: Two spots now mapped with outages – 35th/Barton (Upper Fauntleroy to the west of there) and The Arroyos. … Lots of tweets capturing the sights and sounds, like this one:
West Seattle skies awakening @westseattleblog #wawx pic.twitter.com/1OXF6aFEi1
— Casey Agena (@AgenaCasey) September 8, 2019
And this:
definitely close!! pic.twitter.com/flBMdBT4fh
— Megan (@megancontagion) September 8, 2019
8:34 PM: Thunder and lightning continue. More scattered outages on the City Light map in several West Seattle spots, with at least 200 out.
8:48 PM: Adding more visuals – thanks to everyone who’s emailed, texted, tweeted. (First clip below is from Paul Nicholson:)
@westseattleblog @NWSSeattle High Point West Seattle looking west pic.twitter.com/tn72B7FHx8
— Brad McDonald (@GrizzliUK) September 8, 2019
Per scanner, signal now out at 35th/Alaska.
9:04 PM: The NWS says the area had 200+ lightning strikes between 8 and 8:45 pm.
9:22 PM: Here, screengrabbed from the SCL map for posterity, are all the spots with outages – adding up to 200-ish customers (residences/businesses) best as we can tell:
Region-wide, SCL has 101 outages mapped right now affecting 1,100+ customers. And the thunder continues!
9:33 PM: Commenter Michelle says her flight into Sea-Tac was diverted to Bellingham because of the storm. And via Twitter, Tony says his flight from Billings was diverted to Spokane.
9:52 PM: Sounds like (from the lack of thunder) the storm might finally have moved on. Meantime, a few pets have been lost/found during the storm – we’re adding listings to the WSB Lost/Found Pets page as they come in.
10:54 PM: SCL says it’s working to get to all the outages – the number of which has increased since the storm moved north. Meantime, more photos – first, from Marc Milrod:
And from Kersti Muul:
The NWS now counts the number of lightning strikes in Western Washington at ~1,250 over 3 1/2 hours.
2:35 AM: Adding up the numbers on the many mapped pocket outages around West Seattle, looks like about 400 customers are still without electricity.
12:26 PM SUNDAY: And they’re still out. SCL’s map now shows 174 individual outages around its service area, totaling more than 1,400 customers.
9:34 PM SUNDAY: We’re tracking continuing outages here.
In case you’re experiencing it too: Jason noticed brown water in the 9400 block of 13th SW. Seattle Public Utilities told him there’s hydrant testing in the area. (Any time brown water happens to you, the SPU number to call is 206-386-1800.)
1:32 AM: Police are being summoned to help direct traffic near Avalon/Genesee because of a water break. You’ll want to avoid that area for a while. No details on the cause or extent of the break; if you’re experiencing water trouble, be sure to notify SPU at 206-386-1800.
1:54 AM: Thanks for the video – above, emailed by Michael; below, from a texter, showing water flowing down Genesee from Avalon:
Michael says the break appears to have originated right in front of the Marq Apartments at 3261 SW Avalon Way.
9:04 AM: As noted by commenters, this isn’t fixed yet. Thanks for the photos – this one is from Anthony:
We just talked with Seattle Public Utilities spokesperson Sabrina Register. She says they don’t have an estimate yet for how much longer it will take to fix; 43 customers are affected (but that counts an entire apartment building as one “customer”). The broken line is an 8″ pipe; cause, not yet officially known – though that entire stretch is part of the big SDOT project, overnight work was not scheduled.
2:20 PM: After 13 hours, some in the area are reporting their water’s back on.
(From SDOT bridge camera)
As previewed on Friday, the inside lanes of the high bridge are blocked off for hydrant testing, scheduled to reopen by midafternoon. Seattle Public Utilities spokesperson Sabrina Register wants to be sure you know there’s one other possible effect of the hydrant testing: Discolored water (sediment such as rust gets stirred up with the lines opened). If it happens at your residence, she says, “The water is safe and should clear on its own or after running the cold water for a few minutes.” But if it doesn’t, or if you have questions, you can call SPU at 206-386-1800.
(Map added 8:57 pm)
8:43 PM: Thanks for the tips – power outage in north West Seattle. A police dispatch indicates a downed tree in the 2300 block of Harbor Ave SW is to blame. More…
8:51 PM: Don’t know the extent of the outage yet – it has yet to appear on the City Light map. So thanks for your comments with location reports.
8:53 PM: Finally appeared on SCL’s map. More than 3,000 homes/businesses.
9:13 PM: Thanks to Paul for that photo of the fallen tree, pre-dusk; Pep posted the one below in a comment, with crews on scene:
Avoid that area for a while as they work to clear the tree and fix the lines. ALSO IMPORTANT: Though City Light has added an “estimated restoration” time of 2:58 am, please remember those times are just guesses and it could be much earlier – more often before the estimated time than after.
9:37 PM: Some if not all are back on, about one hour after the outage began.
9:44 PM: SCL map has updated, showing 333 customers (homes/businesses/buildings) still out, mostly near the tree-down site.
1:02 AM: Map shows those 333 are still out after 4 1/2 hours.
6:34 AM: Commenter Kalo says the power returned around 4:40 am.
The photo is courtesy of Deb Barker, who reports that crew is on scene fixing a water break:
Just talked with supervisor Oscar, who said that the main broke because it’s old. His emergency repair crew will have to shut off the water to repair the pipe tonight. He’s notifying businesses between Graham and Holly to find out when they close to be least disruptive. The crew will backfill and temp patch the hole tonight. They know it’s a bus route.
(Deb is president of the Morgan Community Association, which incidentally has its quarterly meeting tomorrow night – info and agenda here.)
SDOT has announced what’s next for the Avalon/35th repaving-and-more project. Two more water shutoffs are part of the plan. Here’s the update:
We are scheduled to pave the west side of SW Avalon Way from SW Charlestown St to south of SW Andover St as soon as July 12, weather permitting.
Zone A: We are continuing work on the west side of SW Avalon Way between SW Charlestown St and SW Andover St, including:
*Water utility work at SW Charlestown St
*Paving the west side of SW Avalon Way south of SW Charlestown St to south of SW Andover St as soon as July 12. This work is weather dependent and subject to change.
*As early as next week, crews will begin working in the center lane of SW Avalon Way between SW Yancy St and SW Bradford St to build a new bus pad
*SW Bradford St and SW Andover St are closed to SW Avalon Way to excavate and rebuild the road base. *If paving takes place, SW Bradford St and SW Andover St will be open as early as next week.Zone E: We are continuing work on the new water main and drainage utilities on 35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Alaska St, including:
*Excavating for a new water service pipe on the westside of 35th Ave SW from SW Avalon Way to SW Snoqualmie St
*Connecting the new water main at SW Avalon Way and SW Snoqualmie St
*Demolishing the west side of 35th Ave SW
*Storm drainage work at SW Oregon St and SW Snoqualmie StSeattle Public Utilities (SPU) has two upcoming water shutoffs scheduled for next week:
*July 16 for customers on 35th Ave SW from SW Alaska St to SW Avalon Way from 9 PM to 6 AM
*July 17 for customers on SW Avalon Way from SW Orleans St to south of SW Andover St; SW Andover, SW Bradford, and SW Charlestown streets; and SW Andover St to mid block on 32nd Ave SW from 9 PM to 6 AM
Crews will use a temporary noise permit to complete this work and you can expect this work to be noisy as SPU crews cut and install pipes throughout the course of the evening and backfill the charged main. SPU is doing this work at night to minimize the impacts of the water shut off. If you are impacted by one of these shut offs, SPU will notify you.
If you have questions about, or experience problems with, your water service, contact SPU’s 24/7 Operations Response Center at 206-386-1800.
The entire project is to be complete sometime by mid-2020.
Back in 2012, the city did a test run of every-other-week garbage pickup in a few neighborhoods including 200 households in Highland Park. Then in 2013-2014, it floated the idea of making the change citywide – but eventually scrapped the idea. Now the concept is up for discussion again. Seattle Public Utilities is on the agenda of the City Council’s Civil Rights, Utilities, Economic Development, Arts Committee – chaired by District 1 Councilmember Lisa Herbold – tomorrow to revisit the idea. No formal proposal, just a briefing and discussion looking back at the pilot, including this slide deck:
Though some things have changed in the years since the pilot – required food-scrap composting, for example, has reduced odor-producing trash – the presentation still concludes it’s not time, yet, for a new proposal to change trash pickup to every other week. However, the city “could consider providing
voluntary, subscription EOW garbage collection,” SPU suggests. The meeting featuring the discussion is set for 9:30 am tomorrow (Tuesday, July 9th) at City Hall, streamed via Seattle Channel.
From West Seattle YMCA (WSB sponsor) executive director Shalimar Gonzales:
Due to continued construction in the area, the city will be shutting off the water supply to businesses in the Fauntleroy Triangle, including the Y. We will be closing the West Seattle branch at 8:00 PM on 7/8 (2 hours early than normal), and we will reopen at 6:00 AM on 7/9 (30 minutes later than normal). Fauntleroy is not impacted and will operate as normal.
This is the same water shutdown mentioned in the most-recent Avalon/35th project update.
9 PM: Thanks for the tips. What was described as a boom and a flash is apparently the result of another bird/power line conflict, this time north of Lincoln Park. The Seattle City Light map shows one customer out – though it’s not clear whether that’s a single residence or an entire multifamily building – along Lincoln Park Way.
9:08 PM: The map just updated to 22 customers affected.
10:24 PM: Thanks to Diana for the tip. She says a loud boom preceded a power outage that the Seattle City Light map says is affecting 43 customers just southwest of California/Fauntleroy. The utility blames the outage on “bird/animal” – we’ve had several of those lately.
2:15 AM: The map shows the outage is over.
The photo shows a bathtub full of the brown water that at least one Gatewood household has been dealing with today. They’ve reported it but didn’t get an explanation. Anyone else? Any time this happens, be sure to report it via the Seattle Public Utilities 24/7 line, 206-386-1800.
(WSB photo from Monday)
Heads up if you’ll be traveling through the Avalon Way work zone tonight, and/or if you live in the area: Following up on Monday’s water break, blamed on crews hitting “an unmarked water-service,” they’ll be working tonight to make sure nothing else in the area is “unmarked.” SDOT’s announcement:
Emergency night work tonight:
In an effort to identify all existing water service lines in the vicinity of our utility work, crews will be completing excavation at the water main at SW Avalon Way tonight starting at 7 PM and will continue through the night. Excavation around the water main is needed to identify unmarked waterlines and prevent future water utility interruptions to our progress. Work must be performed at night to be least impactful to traffic. No water shut offs are expected. If you have problems with your water tonight, please contact Seattle Public Utilities at 206-386-1800.
Please expect:
*At 7 PM, SW Avalon Way will be restricted to a single lane of traffic at SW Charlestown St
*Flaggers will be in place tonight to help alternative traffic through the work zone
*Please expect delays if you are traveling along SW Avalon Way after 7 PM
*Work will be noisy and will take place for several hours
9:15 PM: Thanks to Robert for the tip: 119 customers are out of electricity in Upper Alki. Robert says a “loud bang” preceded the outage. No cause listed yet. Checking the SCL outage map, we also note a 19-customer outage in The Junction blamed on “equipment failure.”
11:23 PM: Map indicates the Alki-area outage has been resolved.
(Photo courtesy Seattle City Light)
Hundreds more local high-school seniors will celebrate their graduation tomorrow, with Chief Sealth International HS‘s ceremony at 5 pm, West Seattle HS‘s ceremony at 8 pm, both at Southwest Athletic Complex. They will be cheered by family and friends, who often bring all sorts of celebratory items. One such item has drawn the attention of Seattle City Light: Mylar balloons. The utility has launched an awareness campaign to warn people that these balloons carry a unique risk, if they go astray, of causing power outages. If you want to use them anyway, SCL has some advice and requests – explained here.
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