West Seattle, Washington
11 Monday
More pix and a little more information on the aftermath of the 4132 Cali fire: First photo below, looked like investigators were wrapping up at the scene a little while ago. Slog reports the Seattle Fire Department told them that the ATF involvement is routine for “large fires” like this and that so far there is no reason to suspect anything criminal, though the official cause has yet to be announced. Second photo below is from Christopher Boffoli, who talked with firefighters when he visited the site and reports the ones who were hurt are doing OK; in addition, he was told the firefighter who reportedly had a broken leg, actually just has a dislocated shoulder.
Thanks to a WSB reader tip, which we just confirmed with an in-person check, we know that ATF, the federal agency that investigates arson among other things, is now at the 4132 Cali fire scene. (This is what the project was supposed to look like, by the way.) From our understanding, ATF presence does not necessarily mean they know it was deliberately set, but there is some reason they want these specialists to be there taking a look. Also at the scene, the following photos (taken from the north side of First Mutual Bank, as 2nd photo shows); one firefighter was atop the ladder as another one joined him/her — what a perspective on the scene they must have:
New photos from the fire scene: Investigators are there, looking around the nearby buildings as well as the burned condo project itself. Several people who lived in apartments to the south are still staying somewhere else because it’s too dangerous. No updates yet on how this started. This will have interesting ramifications for the block in general, since besides the project that burned, several other nearby sites are slated for construction.
This morning the Seattle Times says three firefighters were taken to the hospital, one with a possible broken arm. This is the scene this morning and the smoke odor hits you from a block away. 8:12 AM UPDATE: Fire Department quote here, new construction goes up “like a campfire” (as Garrett’s photos show) … By the way, Cali IS open past the fire scene; watch out for looky-loo slowing.
The southwest corner of the building had the most damage.
These amazing photos are courtesy of Garrett Burke, who posted them on his blog with his harrowing fire story, which you also can read in comments on our earlier posts.
We are just back from going down to check out the big fire near Cali/Genesee; Cali is blocked between Oregon and Dakota because of the huge response. The burned building is out of view but a neighbor who says he made the 911 call told us at the scene that it’s the under-construction condo building on the east side of Cali and at least one of its floors collapsed as it burned (comments on our first post below would seem to confirm that). He says there were huge flames for a while. The entire blocked-off zone is full of fire units (more than two dozen called out, according to the city 911 site); it appears at least one person got hurt — we saw someone on a stretcher wheeled into an aid car. You can expect the street to stay blocked off for quite some time while this is investigated; we will check back after the sun comes up to see how much damage was done.
Anybody up late, we are hearing the sirens here – two miles away – and seeing the online 911 for a big fire callout at Cali/Genesee. If you’re closer, let us know what you see. We’re not sure how close we’ll be able to get.
You heard about it here first last month, after the Alki Community Council got briefed on it … tonight, supporters have just made their official announcement, press release and all, about the proposal to move the Water Taxi to Port of Seattle land next to Jack Block Park, with lots more room than its current Seacrest home …
… The idea will have to make it past a lot of governmental entities, to say the least. Ultimately, the people behind the proposal think it would be part of the newly created King County Ferry District. Click ahead to read the full text of tonight’s press release, hot out of our inbox …Read More
As of minutes ago, Delridge is still blocked off between Holden and Thistle, more than five hours after a police car collided with a Volvo station wagon. The P-I has posted some details of what led to the crash. We watched the Volvo get towed from Delridge/Thistle at 9:15 (night-visionish photo below), but the wrecked police car was still in the street further north down Delridge. 10:30 UPDATE: Still closed. That’s our last in-person check for the night; if anyone discovers it open in the hours to come, please post that in the comments here.
An e-mail tip tells us Delridge is blocked off at Thistle because of an accident — city 911 site shows a big response – we will check out shortly, more info to come. 4:47 PM UPDATE: First photo from the scene. 5:00 UPDATE: Channel 7 tv says an officer is injured in this wreck, but will be ok. 5:45 UPDATE: The closure now extends westbound on Thistle to 22nd, in addition to closing off Delridge. 7:05 UPDATE: Checked again, and this time officers were closing Delridge at Holden on the north; it’s still closed till just before Cloverdale on the south.
Lots of notes about the fire this morning at Longfellow Creek Apartments (5915 Delridge, same area as one of the recent shootings). 11:30 AM UPDATE: This photo just in from WSB reader Joel (thank you!); more info beneath it. 2:56 PM UPDATE: Some video here.
ORIGINAL 10:26 AM POST: Here’s WSB reader Sage K’s eyewitness account from the inbox (thank you to everyone who wrote!):
A fire started around 4 am in the Longfellow Creek Apartments @ 5915 Delridge Way SW. The fire was contained to D building where it started and no one was seriously hurt. Apparently the fire started when someone on the ground level was smoking in bed and set an oxygen tank on fire. The fire-starter got some minor burns to their feet from trying to stomp the fire out and was taken to the hospital for treatment. But no one else had injuries. The fire spread up the back side of the building through the balconies and to the roof. The roof was vented over the fire and damage was mostly contained to those 2 apartments right above the flash point. Several people will be displaced; the Red Cross was on hand to help them with accommodations. A Metro bus was brought in for the displaced people to wait in out of the cold until everything was sorted out and they were able to be escorted in to gather some belongings. I saw around 8 fire trucks, 2 command vehicles and a command post along with a few aid cars. By about 8am most of the scene was cleared and vehicle access was returned to Delridge. I live in (a different) building of that complex as was lucky enough to be as far as possible from the fire. People here were really good about helping out their neighbors in their time of need.
Alki Community Council president and city Parks Board vice chair Jackie Ramels tells WSB that acting Deputy Parks Superintendent Christopher Williams announced at tonight’s Parks Board meeting that the recast Statue of Liberty will be moved to the Alki Bathhouse next month, on an extremely meaningful date for the statue’s history … 9/11.
Just back from three hours at the Southwest Design Review Board meeting on two WS projects — the headliner was the reworked design for the Petco store proposed to take over the Charlestown Cafe site — board members still have major concerns and are basically sending the new architects back to the drawing board for a third “Early Design Guidance” meeting (some projects only need one). Detailed report to come.
At the computer briefly between Blue Angels and the rest of Saturday afternoon fun — we want to make sure everyone saw the “breaking news” posted by Paul Carr this morning in the comments on this thread (and comments from the leader of the Bring Miss Liberty Home Now group as well): Paul says the city will move the recast statue to the Alki Bathhouse “shortly.” No further info on what “shortly” means, he says; we won’t be able to check with city sources till Monday (unless any of our city-affiliated lurkers care to e-mail us with details).
Just got home from Seafair Free Friday etc. (more on that later) and thanks to MargL out there in WSBland, didn’t even have to surf the news sites to find out the guy accused of kidnapping and attacking an Arbor Heights woman is now under arrest, caught in Cle Elum, where the victim was found yesterday. P-I article here. 8 PM UPDATE: This story says the suspect’s name is Alfred Layton (although the same story misspells the victim’s name, so take that into consideration). 10:55 PM UPDATE: According to the online King County Jail Inmate Lookup, Layton was booked into the county jail at 9:40 tonight for investigation of kidnapping and burglary.
Seattle Police just told us the WS woman reported missing (previous post) has now been found, and officers are going to talk to her to find out what happened. This all unfolded in the Westwood area. At least, that’s where police say the victim lives; this update quotes family members as saying the victim was found in Cle Elum. We have asked Seattle Police to let us know if it turns out later there is a suspect we all need to be watching for.
So said channel 7 tv news, briefly. Rescue apparently happening now. We’ll see what else we can find out. 12:35 PM UPDATE: channel 5 says the diver has died. 12:59 PM UPDATE: Here’s an update from the P-I. 1:50 PM UPDATE: Medical Examiner and Police vehicles still at Seacrest when we went by. Also, a short article from the Times.
We saw the fire call online for “assault with weapons” at 5626 Delridge; the P-I’s Big Blog has a few details (near the bottom of this post) — one man shot, taken to Harborview Medical Center. FRIDAY 9 AM UPDATE: P-I has a few more details; so does KIRO tv, with a pic.
We went to hear the latest developments in the Statue of Liberty situation, and came away with information on much more. Full reports to come, but for now, the headlines:
-A big new “workforce housing” (we’re guessing that’s the new buzzphrase for “affordable housing”) project is under consideration for Port of Seattle property along Harbor Ave (south of Florida).
-A little further west along Harbor Ave, there’s a new proposal for a Water Taxi terminal at a site adjacent to Jack Block Park known as Pier 1/2. With 500 parking spaces!
-New Liberty developments, too, including the Parks Department announcing an official public meeting about its future, 7 pm Sept. 13. (Location TBA.)
Stand by for more on all of the above and then some …
We don’t have details but we do know from the city fire site that the big Fire Department response downslope from Admiral was at 31st & City View. Couldn’t get any closer than the view you see below. One WSB reader says smoke could be seen from downtown for a while.
Thanks to the WSB readers who sent word of an overnight apartment fire @ 6314 42nd SW that woke up a lot of folks north of Morgan Junction (here’s a bit more on that building). Special thanks to Christopher Boffoli for sending photos of the fire and police activity (which he says blocked off Graham for a while; he also reports it was apparently an electrical fire):
E-mail just forwarded to us. Working to confirm (8:30 PM UPDATE: it’s now posted on the Ovio website).
Dear Friends & Fans of Ovio Bistro,
They say all good things must come to an end, and so it is with sadness that we must tell you that after nearly 5 years in West Seattle, Ovio Bistro will be closing at the end of June.
It was a very difficult decision to make, but one that we feel will be best for our family at this time.
As you know, we have worked very hard and put a lot into this restaurant…we have no managers and one of us is here all the time, but our sons are older and involved in school and sports, and it is heartbreaking to not be there for them.
We have been fortunate to work with amazing people – our staff has been incredible from the beginning. The original Ovio would never have been so successful without Chef Eddie Montoya, Tony LaVelle, Michael Tinsley, Janae Hawkins, EBO Ottens and Lisa Lovering.
Others joined us at the old location – Darcey Wijsenbeek, Emily Garner, Ben Adlin, Rickey Story, Mike Bond, Bubba Schultz – and quickly became part of the Ovio family. When we decided to expand and relocate, our old staff found our new staff by inviting their friends to join the party – and Dennis McMahon, Will Green, Julie Johnson, Evan Beilke, Michael Nelson, and Will Waterstraat came to stay. The new Ovio was built on the hard work of everyone, literally! We demolished, we rebuilt and we opened with a bang! It was an incredible experience to be a part of. We have been lucky to add talented people along the way – Chef Brenda Rodriguez has been invaluable in putting Ovio back on the culinary map. Alongside her in the kitchen, we have been fortunate to have Angela Emery and Ben Pickett, and Michelle Manning. They have all done amazing things for Ovio.
We were also blessed to have so many wonderful regular customers – and you know who you are! You have been through the highs and lows of Ovio and you still come back, week after week. You have gotten to know all of us and introduced us to your families and friends. You have shared special occasions and private moments with us. You dealt with the devastation of Eddie’s death alongside us. We can never thank you enough.
We know that this is sad and shocking news to everyone, but hope that you will be supportive of us through the end. We would love to see EVERYONE in the next two weeks, and we especially look forward to a big party on Saturday, June 30th. Please join us. We will miss you all very much and can never thank you enough for being part of our Ovio family these past 5 years.
Much love,
Shing and Ellie Chin
We recently mentioned the Riviera West building at 7100 Cali, south of Morgan Junction and kitty-corner from Caffe Ladro, was up for sale, and described as a potential condo conversion. Then in the past half-day or so, we received a couple tips/comments that it’s been bought — by the Seattle Housing Authority. This afternoon, SHA communications director Virginia Felton confirmed the purchase. She tells WSB it will be part of the Housing Authority’s “scattered sites” portfolio, explaining, “The Riviera is a good addition to this portfolio because it has six two bedroom and two three bedroom apartments, along with four 1 bedroom apartments. There is more need for these larger apartments.” As for the people who live at Riviera West now, she says they will be evaluated to see if they qualify for subsidized housing; if they don’t, she says they will have one year to “transition,” and she promises that current residents will be getting a letter about all this soon.
| Comments Off on Fire investigation update, Friday night