West Seattle, Washington
13 Sunday
8:04 PM: Multiple texters are reporting another fire at Westcrest Park, again off 8th SW, again with fireworks blamed by neighbors, and one sent the photo above. Highland Park’s Engine 11 is logged to the call – this time categorized as “rubbish fire” – right now.
9:44 PM: Checking the log again, the call finally closed around 9 pm, after an hour and a quarter.
(WSB photos unless otherwise credited)
7:06 PM: Firefighters are at 8th SW/SW Trenton right now, working to put out a “brush fire” on the west edge of Westcrest Park. The smoke was visible for miles as we headed there to check it out. Flames charred the slope at the Trenton street end too, west of a park retaining wall, close to apartment buildings.
Fireworks? 911 callers were reporting “booms.” Police are there investigating, too.
8:02 PM: An hour and a half after the first SFD crew arrived, the last one just left. Thanks to D for photo we’ve added above, showing why the smoke was visible from afar -leaping flames at one point.
With the holiday weekend ending, we checked the log for the big picture on fire calls to which SFD responded. The log doesn’t have a call category for “fireworks fires,” so we can’t say for sure how many of these were caused by people setting off fireworks. But these are the calls in our area that were categorized as “fire”:
FRIDAY, FOURTH OF JULY
If you noticed that burned, foamed (and obscenely graffitied) car parked on the west side of the 4500 block of California SW in The Junction, it caught fire just after 11:30 pm Friday. It was still there during this morning’s Farmers’ Market, and still there as of late this afternoon (when we researched the call after a tip). Other Fourth of July fires from the log:
1:23 am: “Brush fire” 28th/Trenton
10:16 am: “Bark fire” 7000 block Beach Drive
4:18 pm: “Brush fire” Puget Blvd./Delridge Way
9:39 pm: “Illegal burn” 61st/Alki
SATURDAY, JULY 5
That photo sent today by David shows the area charred Saturday night in what was categorized as a “brush fire” at 28th/Thistle (Nino Cantu Southwest Athletic Complex), dispatched at 8:25 pm. Overall, a more fiery day/night in West Seattle, according to the SFD log. Other calls labeled “fire” on Saturday:
1:14 am: “Brush fire” 34th/Admiral
4:15 am: “Rubbish fire” 59th/Lander
7:02 pm: “Bark fire” 4400 block California SW
8:59 pm: “Brush fire” 6400 block 31st SW
9:43 pm: “4 Red” (midsize non-medical dispatch) 5900 block 31st SW
10:26 pm: “Brush fire” at 3429 45th SW (Madison Middle School’s address)
10:48 pm: “Brush fire” 9000 block 8th SW
11:28 pm: “Brush fire” 28th/Barton
SUNDAY, JULY 6
And here’s what’s on the log through a short time ago (the “brush fire” call just closed out):
2:41 pm: “Shed fire” 5300 block 47th SW
6:33 pm: “Brush fire” West Marginal/Highland Park Way
We have no way to break out the many medical calls to which SFD responded (always a far busier call category for firefighters than actual fires), so we don’t know whether any local calls were fireworks-related, but Harborview Medical Center did send us and other regional media a general total of fireworks injuries HMC had seen (as the regional trauma center):
As of 9 a.m. today, clinicians at Harborview Medical Center had treated 47 people with fireworks-related injuries during the July Fourth holiday weekend.
The injuries are characterized as:
18 involving hands
13 involving eyes
8 involving other body areas
8 involving multiple areas (such as hands and eyes)
No structure fires were reported in our area over the holiday weekend, aside from the “shed fire” listed for Sunday.
The scanner is hopping with “explosion” calls all around the peninsula. In this dry time of year, this is what can result, as just reported by Rose in Admiral:
Some jerks drove up to our traffic circle at the corner of 39th and Lander and deliberately threw a loud firework into the dry grasses, which caught fire. The flames consumed about a1/4 of the vegetation before my neighbors and I managed to put it out carrying bowls of water and a watering can because no one’s hose could reach that far. We had it out by the time the firefighters arrived (bless them). The police also arrived.
1:24 AM: Mid-size callout this past half-hour for a fire in the 5000 block of 26th SW. They’ve just declared it “tapped” – out – and assessed it as an “exterior” fire. No injuries reported. We’ll follow up on the cause later this morning.
ADDED: SFD tells us, “Crews were dispatched to 5000 block of 26th Ave SW for a report of a possible electrical fire. They arrived and extinguished a small fire on the exterior of a home. No injuries were reported.”
3:43 PM: Avoid the Highland Park Way hill for a while. SFD has arrived to deal with a very smoky car vehicle fire that’s in the southbound lanes just north of Holden.
3:47 PM: Now that the smoke has cleared, the vehicle with the fire appears to be a food truck. Both sides of the street are blocked right now. No word of any injuries.
3:54 PM: The live camera shows uphill traffic still waiting north of the crash scene; firefighters have asked that police be dispatched to help sort out the traffic situation.
3:56 PM: And now traffic is getting by, one lane each way.
5:43 PM: The burned truck (we couldn’t see its name) has been towed, but city crews have remained to deal with the foamy mess in the outside uphill lane, but they may be clear soon.
Worth noting as dry weather continues, with hotter temperatures on the way – Seattle Fire dispatched four units to Westcrest Park for a brush fire that’s just been extinguished. They identified 8th/Cloverdale and a field with a weight limit, so sounds like it might have been on the reservoir lid. How it started is under investigation.
4:55 AM: Seattle Fire has sent a sizable response to what they’re describing as a “residential fire” in the 4500 block of 36th SW [vicinity map]. Updates to come.
5:15 AM: Some responders are being dismissed, so this is winding down.
5:30 AM: SFD says the fire was in “a detached shed” and quickly controlled; no injuries reported.
MONDAY UPDATE: SFD says the fire was ruled of “undetermined” origin.
9:25 PM: What started as a small response in the 8100 block of 17th SW has been upgraded to a full “fire in building” response. Updates to come.
9:27 PM: Firefighters told dispatch the fire is in the one-story house’s basement. … It’s extended through a window and caught the exterior on fire.
9:41 PM: Not out yet. But now one firefighter just radioed that the fire may have started in the “vinyl siding.” Another reiterated the earlier observation that flames came through a window and caught the siding on fire, adding that the basement electrical panel might have factored into it.
9:48 PM: City Light has arrived. The fire is reported to be under control.
10 PM: And now it’s been declared out.
3:55 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a midsize response to the 9600 block of 50th SW in the Brace Point area [vicinity map] for a garage fire. The initial dispatch described it as a “small gasoline fire in a motor” that spread and caught the structure on fire.
3:58 PM: The first arriving units declared it a “working fire” so they’re sending more units, increasing this to a full “fire in building” response.
4:00 PM: The fire is now declared “under control” so they’re canceling the plan for a larger response. … Firefighters tell dispatch the fire is fully confined to a detached 20 x 20 garage.
4:17 PM: Firefighters just told dispatch the fire’s out (“tapped”).
In case you wondered about the sirens – Seattle Fire sent a midsize callout to a reported garage fire at Delridge/20th, near the South Delridge 7-11, but firefighters just told dispatch it turned out to be a “rubbish fire” so they’re dismissing all but one crew.
6:22 PM: What started as a fire-alarm call has been upgraded to a “fire in building” response in The Junction, south of California/Edmunds. The address checks to the Blake Apartments mixed-use building. SFD says the fire is on the 4th floor and is already out. Avoid the area. Updates to come.
6:25 PM: SFD is already reducing the response since the fire was extinguished quickly.
6:32 PM: No reported injuries. Police say that since SFD is clearing most units, the area should reopen to traffic before too long.
10:26 PM: A big SFD response is headed for the 3800 block of 20th SW [vicinity map] for a reported house fire. Updates to come.
10:32 PM: Firefighters are focusing efforts on the house’s second floor and attic.
10:40 PM: SFD says the fire is under control and no injuries are involved. “Looks like it was a wall fire,” firefighters also have told dispatch.
10:42 PM: And now the fire’s been declared “tapped” (out).
We weren’t able to mention this in real time but for those who’ve since asked about a big SFD response on Harbor Island earlier this afternoon, it was in the 1600 block of SW Lander [map] shortly after 3 pm, and SFD ultimately discovered it was a vehicle on fire inside what they described as a “warehouse building.” Firefighters extinguished it and no injuries were reported.
7:17 PM: Seattle Fire is sending a big callout to the 5200 block of 45th SW, where “a caller reports seeing flames in the living room.” Updates to come.
7:20 PM: They’re reducing the response, saying it’s possibly “a TV” that caught fire (or sparked) but nothing major, and no smoke.
7:23 PM: And now they’ve further discerned that “flames on the TV” actually was “video of flames” … so they’re canceling the whole thing.
Two cases of deliberately set fires:
SOUTH DELRIDGE FIRE: As noted in an update earlier on our coverage of Monday afternoon’s fire at a vacant house near 16th/Barton, SFD ruled it was deliberately set, and said they had referred the case to police. We subsequently followed up with SPD; they had not yet assigned the case to a detective. If you have any information, the case number is 25-64894.
STUDENT SUSPECTED OF FIRE-SETTING: SPD released this incident summary tonight:
At 1324 hours, a group of high-school students were on a tour of a community college when unidentified students dared another student to set fire to something in an auditorium. The suspect waited until the auditorium was empty and then proceeded to set fire to a flag/pole. Campus staff smelled the smoke and responded. Security extinguished the fire with no further property damage beyond the lingering smell of smoke and fire extinguisher chemical. The suspect was identified and later released to a parent. ABS was advised of the incident.
According to archived emergency-radio audio, two SFD units were dispatched at 1:20 pm to Olympic Hall on the south end of the South Seattle College campus, and the fire was out before their arrival, so they left quickly.
(Added: WSB photos by Torin Record-Sand)
12:51 PM: Seattle Fire is at the scene of a house fire in the 9000 block of 17th SW. Two people are reported to have gotten out safely. Traffic is blocked in the area, on 16th too. Updates to come.
1:01 PM: An extra hazard in the area reported by SFD – downed power lines at the fire site. They also have just corrected the actual fire location’s address to 9000 block of 16th, though the originally logged address was in that block of 17th.
1:10 PM: The fire has been declared under control. SFD plans to start demobilizing some of the units.
1:22 PM: Though some units are being dismissed, dispatch has just been told that the 16th SW closure at that spot will last for a while, because of not only SFD but also City Light. That means bus detours too.
1:33 PM: The revised address actually checks to this future-development, former-fire site that’s adjacent, at 16th/Barton. (Added – as shown in this photo, with that site in foreground, today’s fire site in the background, looking northwest:)
1:42 PM: They’re reopening 16th now. The fire’s cause is under investigation.
TUESDAY MORNING: SFD says its investigation determined the fire was deliberately set. We’re following up further with SPD.
(Added: Photo of fire’s aftermath)
A fire just before 5 am displaced six people from their home in a High Point duplex. SFD got the fire in the 6500 block of 30th SW [vicinity map] under control within a few minutes, and no one was hurt, but the Red Cross had to be called in to help the fire victims. No word yet how the top-floor fire started; SFD is keeping a crew there on “fire watch” for a while in case of flare-ups.
(Image from SDOT camera via @SDOTtraffic)
Thanks for the tips. A briefly large Seattle Fire response was sent to The Junction this past hour for a small fire in a unit at 4730 California SW. The seventh-floor fire was extinguished quickly and most of the responding units were dismissed. This started with a small dispatch to investigate “water flow” (turned out to be the sprinklers) and then was upgraded.
4:36 PM: Seattle Fire has a big response at Nucor. SFD radio says some workers are evacuating and more to follow. Updates to come.
4:39 PM: Incident command says it “appears to be a small fire” but they are working to get power cut to the area where it’s happening.
4:42 PM: Firefighters have just reported that the fire is “under control.” No injuries reported so far.
4:45 PM: The fire is now reported “tapped” (out). SFD will start demobilizing some of the responders.
5:35 PM: Going back to listen to the initial incident audio, we note the original dispatch was for “an oil fire under a roller in the rolling mill.”
(WSB photos/video unless otherwise credited)
9:26 AM: Seattle Fire crews are at a residential fire in the 8100 block of 16th SW and are calling for more backup. Two people are reported to need medical treatment. Avoid the area.
9:32 AM: Firefighters report the fire is under control, but one person “might be unaccounted for” inside the house.
9:37 AM: At least one person will be taken to Harborview by SFD medics.
9:41 AM: Police have been asked to extend the blocking of traffic on 16th SW northward to SW Kenyon.
10 AM: We’re at the scene. Fire out. 2 people taken to hospital. Response winding down.
10:16 AM: Just talked to SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo. The people taken to the hospital are a wife and husband, both 60; he is in critical condition. Their son is the person possibly unaccounted for but may have just shown up nearby (in need of medical attention.)
10:51 AM: Added above, video of the 2-minute media briefing. We have not yet confirmed whether that third person has been found or not. … As noted in comments, Metro has rerouted the 125 and 128 while 16th remains closed at the fire scene.
ADDED: No word yet on the cause, but SFD has detailed the response in this post on its blog-format Fireline site.
ADDED: The cause was officially ruled “undetermined,” SFD tells us.
8:35 AM: Thanks for the tip. Seattle Fire has a “full response” at the scene of a house fire in the 6500 block of 24th SW [map].
8:38 AM: Firefighters just told dispatch they have the fire under control.
8:43 AM: And they’ve now called the fire “tapped” (out). They’re dismissing some of the responding units. No report of injuries so far.
9:31 AM: SFD’s investigator is at the scene to try to deduce what caused the fire. As the first tip reminded us, this is on city-owned property (records show the sale in 2022), in an area near Longfellow Creek that’s drawn attention for drainage issues and development controversies over the years.
ADDED MONDAY: SFD tells us their investigation ruled the fire’s cause “undetermined.”
1:07 PM: Five weeks after fire ravaged Camp Long‘s historic lodge, we checked in again today with Seattle Parks for an update on the status of decisionmaking regarding its future. This time, spokesperson Rachel Schulkin had a major update for us:
We are optimistic that we will be able to restore and retain the lodge building. However, the full extent of the damage is still unknown. Because the stairs were destroyed, for example, we haven’t been able to access and assess the second floor. As we gain more access to the building and begin the stabilization work, we will learn more about the damage and restoration needs. Our team will assess the damage and develop options with cost estimates for restoration or other alternatives. We plan to have a preliminary scope and estimate by the end of Quarter 1, 2025. Given the time associated with design, permitting and public works, construction would likely take place in 2027 or 2028.
The stabilization work is focused on maintaining the lodge structure and preventing any further damage until a long-term project can be scoped, designed, and completed. The scope of the stabilization work will include selective demolition of the damaged parts of roof, assessment and shoring of walls that need support, carting-out of debris, and ventilating the building to dry it out. The stabilization work will also provide an opportunity for our team to better understand the extent of the damage caused by the fire.
We aim to begin stabilization work as soon as possible. It will likely begin before the end of 2024 and go well into the first half of 2025.
To date we have:
• Hired a contractor to board up windows and tarp over open holes in the roof of the lodge and damaged cabins;
• Documented the damage to structures, met with insurance representatives and initiated an insurance claim;
• Replaced the windows to one of the damaged cabins;
• Began working with an architect to outline a scope of stabilization work to the lodge; and
• Initiated an Emergency Public Works process to hire a contractor to perform stabilization work.The park is currently open for use, and there are port-a-potties on site. We are working on a plan to see if we can still offer environmental education programs without the use of the building. Start date on programs is still TBD.
Investigators ruled the November 11 fire arson; we’re checking with SPD for updates on the investigation.
6:10 PM: While interviewing District 1 City Councilmember Rob Saka on a variety of topics late today as his first year in office comes to a close (story to come), we asked about this. He told us he “look(s) forward to supporting” the restoration/rebuild.
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