West Seattle, Washington
30 Saturday
(iPhone photo by Christopher Boffoli from Harbor Island, added 10:53 pm)
ORIGINAL 10:21 PM REPORT: We got a call about a water-main break and have just confirmed with Seattle Public Utilities‘ Andy Ryan that a 12″ main is broken in the 3200 block of 16th SW. No other details yet, but apparently some people are without water as a result. That address is on Harbor Island, by the way (map). 11:01 PM UPDATE: From WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli at the water-main-break scene: “12 inch water main broke around 9pm. No idea what caused the break. Has caused water outages in West Seattle. Repair may take 6 hours. Some businesses on Harbor Island are flooded out.” 11:14 PM UPDATE: More from Christopher: “Estimated 60,000 gallons of water spilled until they were able to turn it off. No idea how many households are affected but calls are coming in to SPU from a number of West Seattle customers.” As Aaron points out in comments, the Fire Department has now been summoned to the water-main-break location, which is described on the 911 log as “water job minor.” 11:40 PM UPDATE: More from Christopher, who has talked with SPU spokesperson Andy Ryan at the scene: “… the pipe that broke was new. The service had recently been moved farther away from the building. Andy speculates that there may have been a problem with the installation or some of the materials may have had a failure. They will have to do a forensic examination to determine exactly what happened.” 11:54 PM UPDATE: New information from Christopher – he’s been told SFD will be pumping several feet of water out of the basement of Seattle Bulk Rail. Also, new estimate of how much water was lost – almost 850,000 gallons – which was said to have caused a pressure drop so dramatic, it was felt as far away as Beacon Hill and Capitol Hill. ADDED 1:07 AM: A few more photos from Christopher:
We’ll be checking with SPU in the morning for new information about what happened and who in all was affected.
Out of the WSB inbox, from LJ, who’s seeking suggestions about a problem she’s noticing three months after the big recycling changes:
I am wondering if any other residents are experiencing an increase in rodent and wildlife issues that appear to be related to food scraps now being placed in yard debris recycling containers. In the past I would see the occasional rat at night and crows will be crows, but as I feared, I have had a huge increase in rat sightings at night in my yard and a huge increase in crow issues. I am convinced this is related to the food scraps in the recycling. I am constantly finding food scraps dropped in my yard by the crows which in turn attracts the rats if it is not picked up immediately. I even had a crow fight to the death in my front yard over food scraps. The crow that was killed died in a large fountain in my front yard, when I tried to remove it I was attacked by the other crows and had to call Animal Control to remove it. I am sorry but this creeps me out. I am all for more recycling but not at risk of disease and pestilence because the containers are not crow-proof and people are uneducated about how to maybe guard against this with the containers that we are issued. Thoughts, suggestions????
No surprise that an electric utility would get some trucks that run partly on … electricity. Seattle City Light just unveiled two new hybrid diesel-electric trucks that are going into service starting today, and provided the photo you see above — read on for the official news release, which says they’re quieter, too:Read More
Compost bins for yard waste and food waste – plus rain barrels (it’ll rain again SOMEDAY) – are being offered at what Seattle Public Utilities calls “big discounts” – read on for details:Read More
Amy e-mailed to ask what we’d heard about a power outage on Gatewood Hill. Nothing — till her note. Checked with Seattle City Light; the boundaries (seldom precise) are listed as Fauntleroy Way north, SW Orchard south, 37th SW east, Parshall Place west. It’s affecting about 80 homes. No word on the cause; they’re estimating it’ll be fixed by 1:30 am.
(Thursday night photo by Christopher Boffoli)
As you probably know by now, even if you weren’t affected, 3,000 West Seattle homes and businesses were without power for up to five hours last night – mostly in north and northeast West Seattle. Here’s our as-it-happened coverage from last night; this morning, we checked with Seattle City Light‘s Scott Thomsen to see if a specific cause (aside from “weather”) had been nailed down, and here’s his reply:
We believe it was caused by a tree crossing two phases of a feeder, which creates a short circuit and throws the breakers. Our crews followed the full length of the line looking for damage. As they cleared each section, they brought it back to service. They did not find any damaged equipment.
(Wondering “what’s a feeder”? Thomsen’s explanation: “Feeder lines take electricity from substations into neighborhoods. They typically carry enough electricity for 3,000 to 4,000 homes and businesses.”) Again, everything’s back to normal today, including the Admiral Theater, which starts Seattle International Film Festival showings this afternoon – and is site of the free fun West Seattle SIFF celebration to which you’re invited, Seafair Pirates and treats and more, 5:30-6:45 tonight, hope to see you there!
(NOTE: As reported at the end of this story, the power was back on by 2-ish.)
(Admiral/California photo by Christopher Boffoli, added 12:46 am)
ORIGINAL 9:17 PM REPORT: Admiral District is out north of PCC, says Diane. We’re checking on it.
9:31 PM UPDATE: In addition to the reports in comments, Creighton e-mailed: “Karate class stopped, people standing outside of Circa. Traffic signals black.” Another phone caller says it started just after 9 as the wind really kicked in. Co-publisher Patrick is driving around the Admiral District to suss the boundaries – he says the southernmost point seems to be right between McDonald’s and PCC, across the street from West Seattle High School – McDonald’s is on, PCC is out.
9:41 PM UPDATE: Going west, we see the power on starting at 51st/Admiral. Seattle City Light says the outage totals almost 3,000 homes and businesses; their boundaries don’t jibe quite with what we are hearing, “cause and restoration are unknown as of this moment,” according to Scott Thomsen on the City Light media line; he’s also sent a news release that says crews are out working on the problem. This is one of three outages in the city right now.
9:48 PM UPDATE: Admiral is also out all the way down the hill to The Bridge, and Avalon is out too – till Genesee, when the lights come back on.
(photo by Christopher Boffoli, looking north from California/Admiral, added 12:53 am)
9:55 PM UPDATE: Patrick reports that parts of Harbor Ave are out, including Salty’s. Power comes on again at 1170 Alki building, he reports, and as he heads west along Alki Ave, no problems so far. (If anybody has an outage-related photo to share, please send, we’re out without a camera.)
10:10 PM UPDATE: Weather note – several people have called our attention to the fact that forecasting star Cliff Mass called the sudden storm turn, with this post headed “All Hell Is About to Break Loose.” Meantime, here’s video we happened to get right before 9 pm – we were on the ferry from Vashon to Fauntleroy, and the wind had kicked up, rain had blown in, all with a spectacular sunset as a backdrop:
No new update from the City Light media team regarding when this’ll be over. In comments, Garrett from the 1200 block of Alki says power’s on but cable’s out.
10:51 PM UPDATE: As discussed in comments, but in case you see this first and wondered, there was a very brief “fire in building” callout in The Junction, closed very fast, so no fire. No word yet of anyone getting their power back. We did get this photo from Colleen at 38th/Admiral – neighbors decided to have a backyard party:
10:58 PM UPDATE: Also among those out of power, so to speak, King County Council Chair Dow Constantine, who’s back home after his official County Executive campaign kickoff event tonight downtown. He says via Twitter re: the outage, “It’s great – for now.”
11:18 PM UPDATE: First, another great photo of the amazing sunset that arrived the same time as the wild weather – this is from Bonnie (taken around the same time as the video we added earlier in this story):
No reports yet of anybody getting their power out – it’s been two-plus hours now for many people – nor is there anything new from City Light on restoration estimate or cause.
12:35 AM UPDATE: Some reports in comments that the power’s back on in various spots. Adding some outage images by WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli (including the one below, showing Admiral Safeway). We will follow up later today with City Light re: what exactly caused the outage.
Thanks again to everyone who has shared information – particularly those who called, since this started in a rare moment when we were away from the computer (though always iPhone-equipped, which enabled a quick short initial report) – please keep the WSB # handy, 206-293-6302 – we do answer it 24/7 to make sure we never miss breaking news.
1:32 AM: More power just returned, per Tim in comments, 46th north of Admiral.
2:48 AM: City Light confirmed in a news release that the West Seattle outage was over by 2 am.
If you happened onto the new street closure along Morgan just east of California, alongside West Seattle Thriftway (where the north driveway is blocked off too, as shown in photo below), you might have assumed it’s part of the Fauntleroy Way repaving project – but it’s not. This is actually gas-line replacement work ordered by Puget Sound Energy, same type of project that tore up roads for a while in Westwood, but not nearly as extensive – they’ve timed it to coincide with the paving work, though, so the roads won’t have to be repaved twice. They’re replacing four-inch-wide “bare steel” gas line with eight-inch-wide PVC piping along about 600 feet of SW Morgan, mostly between California and 42nd. No estimate yet of how long this will last – but the road-paving work continues to stretch southward anyway, so just expect it’s going to be slow going in this stretch for a while, and know that your main entrance point to Thriftway is its west entrance (you can get to its east entrance from the south, but not from the north).
We recently got a note from Jeff wondering about progress on the Alki pump station project, which has now been under construction for almost a year and a half. So we checked with the King County Wastewater Treatment Division folks, and Heidi Sowell sent an update – note the chance to ask your questions in person during Sunday’s “Celebrate Seattle Summer Streets” event (closing Alki to most traffic 9 am-5 pm that day). Here’s what Heidi sent:
Crews are completing the construction of the pump station. Much of the current work on the project is occurring below ground and improvements may not be as noticeable to those living, working and visiting the area.
… 53rd Avenue Pump Station Upgrade
In February 2008, construction began on upgrades to King County’s 53rd Avenue Pump Station in West Seattle. This underground wastewater facility, located on the west side of Alki Avenue Southwest at 53rd Avenue Southwest, is more than 50 years old and in need of repairs, new equipment and more underground space.The 53rd Avenue Pump Station will remain underground but will be about three times as large. Current improvements to the Pump Station will bring the facility into compliance with current code and design requirements while also increasing reliability. The pump station will help manage combined stormwater and wastewater flows from nearby neighborhoods and will reduce overflows into Puget Sound.
Construction Milestones
* Utility and storm drain relocation – Spring 2008
* Force main installation – July 2008
* Sheet pile driving – August 2008
* Pump station excavation – Fall 2008
* Pump station construction – Winter 2008 through Summer 2009
* Testing of upgraded facility and property restoration – Fall 2009Learn more at http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wtd/projects/westseattle/53rdAvePS/ or visit us
at the Alki Seattle Summer Streets event this Sunday from 9 am – 2 pm (near the pump
station). Thank you for your continued patience through the 53rd Avenue Pump Station
construction!
Thanks to the tipster who called us about this; last night, after a “transformer fire” call nearby, we heard from one person who was without power for a while, but they got it back by 9:15 pm and we heard no further reports. However, this morning Starbucks is closed (expecting to open 10-ish, per a note on the door), the QFC is open under generator power, and some other businesses are closed. Checking with City Light to see what’s going on. Checking at WV, it only appears to be the building with QFC etc. – Target and McDonald’s are unaffected. 9:29 AM UPDATE: Peter Clarke from City Light tells WSB the power should be back any time now, adding:
The problem was a transformer outage. The crew worked through the night to replace the transformer which originally was reported out at 7:38 p.m. The boundaries of the initial outage were on the north: SW Trenton St; on the south SW Barton St; on the east 25 Ave SW and on the west 27 Ave SW. Initially City Light estimates there were 133 customers without power, however, 80 % were restored power by 9 p.m.
We reported earlier this year on the big backlog at Seattle City Light – report a burned-out street light, wait weeks, maybe months, for it to get fixed. The mayor says he’ll take that on – news release ahead:Read More
The first area news story to break as West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day was winding down on Saturday afternoon happened to be a power outage on Harbor Island (original WSB story here). It left us with two followup questions, both of which have just been answered by Seattle City Light: First, a WSB’er asked, how could a Harbor Island outage involve 552 “customers” (since that means individual entities, not people)? SCL’s Mike Eagan explains the outage stretched along East Marginal Way a ways, too. Second, we wondered how just one seagull could cause that kind of trouble by landing on a “transmission line,” and before we could even make a call this morning to ask that, SCL’s Scott Thomsen read our comment and e-mailed:
A bird crashing into a power line would be unlikely to damage the line by the force of the impact. Birds cause outages by creating a new circuit when they touch two different lines. When such a short circuit occurs, it’s the electricity that does the damage by overloading the system. The bird is the connection that allows it to happen. When a bird lands on a single line and doesn’t touch anything else, they’re fine. You see this every day. The reason is that the bird is not creating a new, shorter circuit for the energy. The bird has a higher level of resistance to the electricity than the wire does, so the electricity takes the path of least resistance through the wire.
By the way, City Light’s outage page – including what to do if one happens, who to call, etc. – is here.
Other news is starting to break, just as West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day wraps up. Just got word from Seattle City Light that more than 500 customers on Harbor Island are without power, because of a seagull hitting a power line. Here’s the official news release from City Light’s Mike Eagan:
About 552 City Light customers on Harbor Island and along Alaska Way South lost power about 1:15 p.m. today. Most are expected to have power restored by 4 p.m.; the remainder within another three hours.
The outage was caused by a seagull hitting a transmission line. A City Light crew has been called in from home to replace a section of the line.
The Todd Shipyard was among those who lost power, as well as portions of Stevedoring Services of America.
7:20 PM UPDATE: According to the most recent update from City Light, e-mailed just under an hour ago, everyone has their power back except the site where the gull-vs.-line actually happened, the Burlington Northern Railroad yard; about that, Eagan writes, “A City Light repair crew was called in from home to replace the section of line and City Light expects power to be restored to Burlington Northern by 8:00 p.m.”
Lots of discussion here following the city’s update on the recycling/trash transition Thursday, now there’s a sequel: The city is cracking down on the apartment/condo pickup problems – read on:Read More
Seattle Public Utilities says its first week and a half of recycling, yard/food waste, and trash pickup changes has gone relatively smoothly, with a half-percent miss rate for home customers and five percent for apartment/condo/commercial customers. It’s expanded the call-center hours so that if you’re missed or have some other problem, you can reach someone at 684-3000 7:30 am-7 pm weekdays, 9 am-1 pm Saturdays. SPU also says it has “inspectors” trailing crews to check for trouble. (Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
(WSB photo from 3/4/09)
We photographed that scene just a month ago, as Seattle City Light continued a year-plus program of stepped-up tree trimming aimed at reducing weather-related outages, since many are caused by wind-spurred conflicts between tree limbs and power lines. But today, there’s word SCL will be cutting down on tree-cutting because of spending reductions; according to this news release, it’ll also mean longer times for street-light repairs (which already are running weeks behind, according to what we discovered in February) and longer wait times when you call the utility.
THE GROUCHOS: This is at least the third year that Groucho Marx faces have appeared in the bridgeside greenery of Pigeon Point. This news comes from Mark Bourne, who chronicles the sighting here and even wrote about them for Film.com last year.
GARBAGE TRUCKS: Not only did some trash/recycling procedures and pickup dates change starting today, WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli noticed something else:
He says that’s the first time he’s noticed one of the new “powered by natural gas” trucks, and adds, “You can’t really tell from the video but they are noticeably quieter than the old ones. They are also the cleanest garbage trucks I have ever seen.” We found a little more information at the Waste Management Seattle website — actually an excerpt from an earlier city news release about the new solid-waste contracts: “Sixty percent of the (WM) trucks will run on a bio-diesel blend and 40 percent will run on compressed natural gas.” Remember, if you’re STILL confused about the changes, you can find more info here or call the city’s “customer service” line at 684-3000.
BONUS SIGHTING: Moments after we published this item, we received a note, with pix, re: yet another interesting sighting — Larry Nitkey wondered if this was a “bridge to nowhere”:
Still looking for complete verification but 99% sure it’s for the Hood Canal Bridge project, judging by what’s in this Sunday article. (Note that the bridge’s six-week construction shutdown is just a month away – it starts May 1st.)
TRASH/RECYCLING CHANGES: Today’s the day it all starts. If you’re like us and had Monday pickup before, they’re not supposed to show up till tomorrow. An online lookup tool is here (but it’s had a few reports of glitches). The recycling changes — more stuff can go in the bin, no more glass separation, etc. — are explained here. Remember that yard waste (including food scraps) is now picked up weekly. And if you’re confused, call 684-3000.
SPRING BREAK: Reminder that Seattle Public Schools (and others) are out this week for spring break, so you’ll see lots more kids around.
BAG FEE ELECTION VOTE: During the meeting that starts at 2 pm today (agenda here), the Seattle City Council is scheduled to take a final vote on putting the disposable-bag-fee referendum on the August 19 ballot. (If you’re new to this story, council members approved an ordinance that would charge shoppers 20 cents for each disposable shopping bag they use. A petition drive bankrolled by the American Chemistry Council [financial report here] was immediately launched to force a referendum vote on the proposal, so the fee hasn’t taken effect.)
After a discussion in the WSB Forums earlier today regarding the changes that kick in as of Monday, we checked with Seattle Public Utilities — and they told us that the collection-calendar lookup tool on the SPU website is now working. We tested it and indeed, it shows our new pickup day – although beware, it also suggests that day was in effect earlier this month. So ignore anything before Monday 3/30, but from thereon out, you should be able to verify your new pickup schedule here. Lots more info, from “what goes where” to how-to videos, is on the SPU site too.
Susan e-mailed from Pigeon Point to ask if anyone else is having a problem with discolored water this morning. It happens in various places at various times, so we wanted to share the Seattle Public Utilities link advising what to do if it happens to you – see it here.
(From last year, approved “schematic plan” for Myrtle Reservoir park)
Thanks to “jsrekd” for posing the question in the WSB Forums — what’s up with the park site at Myrtle Reservoir (map), where construction was supposed to be starting soon? First stop, the project’s official page on the city Parks Department website – where a new update revealed that the Myrtle park-construction schedule is “on hold” and that work may not start until this fall. That led to a call to project manager Virginia Hassinger, who says the delay is because Seattle Public Utilities work on the newly covered reservoir is taking longer than expected — the same crew that’s working on the Beacon Hill reservoir-covering project (remember this story, with underground video?) is working on Myrtle. Once park construction does start, Hassinger tells WSB, it should take about three months; she says she can’t wait to get going and get it done, but they can’t take control of the site till SPU’s work is done.
Got something you’re wondering about? We have a few other followups in the works and are always ready for more – send a note or call any time (all our various contact methods are here).
TRASH COUNTDOWN: At WSB HQ, we finally got the official notice taped to the containers, after today’s pickup … although we’d already received the notice in the mail saying our pickup day, currently Monday, is changing to Tuesday. One week from today is when the changes – including higher rates and weekly yard/food waste pickup — start kicking in. One big reminder we took away from a Seattle Public Utilities presentation at last week’s Alki Community Council meeting – which is likely to be mentioned again at tonight’s Highland Park Action Committee meeting — is that, while you used to be able to opt out of yard-waste service, you can’t any more – it’s mandatory (even if you don’t have yard waste to recycle, the city is encouraging you to recycle food waste), but you can get a small container (full options listed here).
TEAM DELRIDGE EVENT TONIGHT, LOCATION CORRECTION: We listed the wrong location in an earlier note – it’s at 6:30 pm at Southwest Community Center (map).
CAMP LONG EVENT THIS WEEKEND: Coming up next weekend, a great way to enjoy and support one of West Seattle’s greenest treasures: a coffeehouse and dessert-auction fundraiser at Camp Long, 7 pm this Saturday night, with music by Jim Page and Grant Dermody. Reservations recommended, call 206-684-7434 or 206-938-3870. $10 per adult; kids over 5 are $5, and a naturalist program will be available for them to enjoy during the event.
IT’S A REALLY BIG TREE: Over the weekend we reported on the new plan for the SW Manning/Admiral Way site that’s best known for its sequoia tree. City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, whose Parks Committee will look at the plan tomorrow morning, visited over the weekend – for a sense of the tree’s size, check out this photo of the tree, with Councilmember Rasmussen standing next to it:
Earlier today, we saw the label crews trailing the pickup crews again, taping notices to trash/recycling containers along Alki Avenue – a reminder there are two weeks to go till new city contracts kick in, upping rates, expanding what’s recyclable, changing yard/food waste pickup to weekly, and for many households, changing pickup days. (We’ve been Monday since we bought our house in ’93; as of 3/31 it’ll be Tuesday.) If you don’t see a note attached to your can(s), watch your mailbox – the collection day is mentioned above your address on a brochure about the changes. Here’s the latest city news release aimed at keeping the impending changes top-of-mind; again, they kick in the week of 3/30. (Note the recycling/disposal-station rates are rising too.)
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