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As weather warms, City reminds users of beach fire rules

Guest — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:16:53 +0000

Guest (not verified) Thu, 05/09/2013 - 5:16pm

Press release from Seattle Parks and Recreation

As May weather teases us with summerlike sunny days, thoughts turn to fires on the beach.

Seattle Parks and Recreation provides fire rings at two beaches, Golden Gardens Park, 8498 Seaview Avenue NW in Ballard and Alki Beach Park, 1702 Alki Avenue SW in West Seattle.

Parks encourages users to have fun, and provides a reminder of the rules that keep the parks clean, safe, and usable for everyone:

Please light fires ONLY in designated fire pits, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Please burn only clean firewood (bare, clean, dry cordwood).
Please douse your fire completely (with water, not sand!) before you leave.
Please don’t remove anything from the park, beach, or dunes.
Please dispose of trash and ashes in the containers provided for each.
Please be considerate of others – amplified music is not allowed!
Please remember that alcohol is not allowed.

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Slideshow: A bus journey through Hailmageddon 2013

Guest — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 01:55:24 +0000

Guest (not verified) Sat, 04/13/2013 - 6:55pm

The Ballard News-Tribune had just finished covering Grynch and Budo's free concert at Hilliard's Beer (we'll have photos and story up tomorrow) and was just headed home when the clouds seemed unusually dark.

While waiting for the 44 Bus with a few other folks, a lightning flash could be seen up to the north around the North Beach area. One or two seconds passed and we heard thunder.

A young twenty something with gauged ears and his hair pulled back into a ponytail exclaimed, "I've never experienced thunder and lightning in Washington state."

A middle-aged woman with thick-framed glasses concurred. "I'm from Tennessee, we used to see it all the time. But not here."

"Thunder in Ballard ... it's rare," said an older gentleman.

As the bus pulled up, that's when the hail struck.

Driving down Market St and through East Ballard, the hail came down harder. The bus trudged up Phinney Ridge. The streets were a blanket of white -- the closest we've seen Seattle to being white so far this year -- cars were slowed and people took cover under whatever thing they happened to have in their hands. (We saw a poor sign waver hide under his sign, refusing to abandon his post on the corner.)

Somewhere around the Aurora Bridge, the hail turned into a light snow, and then into a pattering rain. As we went over I-5, cars were backed up for miles going southbound, and over Seattle could be seen thick clouds with a dense stream of hail pounding on the skyscrapers.

But up north? In classic weird Washington fashion, the weather had suddenly taken for the better. The sun was poking through holes in the clouds and the freshly wet streets reflected the blue skies.

Unfortunately, as we were crossing the University Bridge (Yes, this is getting far from Ballard) we stumbled upon a car accident -- a reminder to drive safely, especially during inclement weather.

Where were you when Hailmageddon struck? Tell us your story about today's storm or previous Ballard storms in the comments below.

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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Burn ban in effect: No indoor or outdoor fires, to protect air quality

Guest — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 17:49:10 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 01/14/2013 - 9:49am

On Sunday, Jan. 13 at noon, the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency issued a Stage 2 burn ban in King Councy, in order to protect residents from worsening air quality.

Stage 2 means no burning is allowed in any wood-burning fireplaces, wood stoves or fireplace inserts, or pellet stoves.

And no outdoor fires are allowed, including bonfires, camp fires and fire pits -- this means no fires at Golden Gardens.

Burn ban violations are subject to $1,000 fines.

Natural gas and propane stoves or inserts are OK during a Stage 2 burn ban.

Air pollution has reached "Unhealthy for sensitive groups" in many areas around Puget Sound, particularly where wood burning is common. Agency forecasters expect the current cold, dry, and stagnant weather conditions to extend well into the week.

The Clean Air Agency will continue to closely monitor the air quality and weather situation.

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Heavy rains hit Seattle

Guest — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:35:40 +0000

Guest (not verified) Mon, 11/19/2012 - 11:35am

Street drains clogged by fallen leaves is the cause for much urban flooding. It just takes a second to bend down and clear them out.

Photo by Zachariah Bryan

No surprise if you're awake (which, if you're reading this, you probably are) -- it's raining. A lot. And it will for the rest of the week.

As of 10:45 a.m., 1.29 inches of rain have fallen at NOAA facility at Sand Point on Lake Washington. 1.43 inches of rain fell at Seatac.

Lowland areas of Western Washington could see 2.5 inches of rain Monday, and Mountain areas could get up to 5 inches, according to a weather statement issued at 4 a.m. today.

According to the Seattle Times: "A brief respite from the rain is likely early on Tuesday before another system moves in, with rain continuing through Wednesday morning. Thanksgiving Day could bring another break, with showers instead of steady rain. By Thursday evening, the rain should be back, Mass said."

Commuters, if this morning has been any indication, should expect for slow, careful driving throughout the week. It's important to not take any chances when roads are slick and slippery like this, and when puddles can cause hydro-planing.

Because heavy rains such as this often brings with it urban flooding, Seattle Public Utilities is encouraging people to "adopt a drain." Storm drains can quickly become clogged with all of the fallen leaves and debris in autumn, causing much of the overflowed roads that you often see during deluges such as this.

It's as easy as just picking up the leaves and moving them away from the drain. (Ballard News-Tribune's reporter cleared a few clogged drains this morning and it takes just a couple seconds.)

In Seattle, there are about 80,000 storm drains. Unsurprisingly, there are not nearly that many people working for SPU, so it's far more than city crews can clear quickly.

SPU is also encouraging residents to maintain gutters, downspouts, rain barrels, and private culverts by keeping them clean and directing their flow away from properties and hillsides.

In Seattle, the number for reporting any flooding issues is 206-386-1800.

National Weather Service River Forecast Center has put out flood warnings at a number of locations. While Seattle isn't included, if you're driving somewhere this week (i.e., for thanksgiving), then you may want to double-check for any flooding problems. You can check here.

North Cascade Highway will be closed at 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 19, possibly for the winter.

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Seattle Public Utilities

After rainy bout of weather, burn ban lifted

Guest — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:01:45 +0000

Guest (not verified) Tue, 10/16/2012 - 10:01am

The dry season and the blue skies seemed like they would never end, but it finally did last Thursday. And now, the burn ban which had been in effect indefinitely, has finally been lifted.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 16, at 8 a.m., the King County Fire Marshal lifted the Phase 1 burn ban. It had been in effect since July 15 and applied to all outdoor burning except for small recreational fires in established fire pits at approved camp grounds or private property.

For more information on local fire restrictions, the public can call 1-800-323-BURN or visit the King County Fire Marshal Services website at:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/property/FireMarshal/BurnBanInfo.aspx

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At Large in Ballard: Home Sweet

Guest — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:11:24 +0000

Guest (not verified) Fri, 07/13/2012 - 6:11pm

Photo by Peggy Sturdivant

I have a friend who gives me a ride to yoga but almost always leave me to walk home from downtown Ballard. MJ’s Basic Yoga class ends at about 10:15 but it can take hours for me to find my way home.

I have been out of town the last two weeks, the last of which was spent driving on state roads through desiccated fields of corn in the Midwest, during one of the worst prolonged heat waves on record. I was in a black rental car with my mother, making drive-by visits to cousins who have children older than they were the last time that we met. Almost 2,000 miles logged and not a single espresso stand. Never have so many relatives or strangers expressed as much desire to visit or relocate to Seattle as during their 100 degree heat.

Since the first sight of Mt. Rainier to the left of the airplane, I have been soaking up the sights and sounds of the Pacific Northwest as though I am one of the plants trying to survive their drought. My first night home I had to touch every type of plant in my garden and breathe in the scent of the sweet peas that I thought I had planted too late. The famous blueberries are almost ripe in front of the Haftersons on Sunset Hill. Perhaps it will be a good year for tomatoes.

Fortifying myself for the walk home after yoga I tried to order a drink at the new Coffee Works, but it has been so long since I faced a choice other than size at Dunkin’ Donuts that the barista had to prompt me. “Coffee,” she coaxed. I was clutching my coconut bread sample from Great Harvest and 50 percent card for a haircut from Lisa at Haven as though the return to home and recycling bins might be a mirage, or byproduct of heat stroke somewhere between Indiana and northern Wisconsin. Relatives mocked me when I tried to order iced coffee. I saw more styrofoam containers in the last week than I’ve seen in the last year. Once home I wanted to kiss the cashier at Ballard Market to celebrate the plastic bag ban. He told me he had been counting the days.

Until the thunderstorms I returned to the first full week of glorious weather, to a landscape that still seems as lush as the tropics compared to lawns so brittle and parched you cannot walk on them barefoot. I can smell my neighbor’s coffee beans roasting in his toaster oven on the balcony. I can hear the boat horns as freighters pass through Puget Sound in the fog that burns off the top and bottom, leaving the vessels invisible but audible. There’s the thunk of a soccer ball being kicked against a hard surface and the whir of an electric mower, instead of a tractor turning over a failed crop. A slice of premium yellow nectarine is offered to me on a knife blade just one step into Top Banana.

For the last week I have been visiting my mother’s past, looking for signs of old high schools and a path through the woods. Walking my way home I clutch MJ’s Sanskrit chant sheet. Gate Gate Paragate … Gone, gone, gone beyond. Buildings gone but memories returned.

Here in Ballard, heat is not rising from the concrete sidewalks or the asphalt of a flat, flat paved land. I think about where I have chosen to live and columns I want to write: about poetry, dance lessons and 1/2 pound bags of coffee at Umpqua Bank and the mystery of the garden decorated in Barbie dolls. Working my way up the alley to my own block I stop to wish Jim and Marian Hafterson a happy 48th anniversary. They celebrated with a dinner date at Little Coney.

Jim and Marian tell me it is official. They may not be the oldest people on the alley, but they have lived on it the longest. Dating back to three decades to when their children were young and mothers seemingly interchangeable to those who climbed the trees and went from backyard to backyard. We talk about the squirrel their daughter raised, feeding him from a doll’s baby bottle and Jim’s visit to Norway where he learned that his people came from right outside of Hell. They offer me blueberry muffins made with the first pick.

Just walking up the alley is hillier than any stretch of Indiana that I’ve experienced. At the highest point I stop to look down towards Shilshole, with poplars in between and the Olympics as backdrop. Home in sight, sun almost directly overhead. Not gone. Returned. Sweet in every season.

Spring shower south of Westwood Village

patr — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 02:36:47 +0000

patr Thu, 03/24/2011 - 7:36pm

Looking like a curtain, rain falls south of Westwood Village in still air just before sunset on Thursday, March 24.

Kimberly Robinson

Photographer Kimberly Robinson saw this cloud passing by, south of Westwood Village and noticed the curtain of rain falling as it moved slowly east. The air was reasonably still.

West Seattle is known for micro-climates. Seattle is on the southeast edge of the rain shadow from the Olympic Mountains. The center of the rain shadow is about 60 miles northwest of Seattle, near Sequim, which gets 1/3 the rain of Seattle. Port Townsend and Oak Harbor for example get half the rain of Seattle.

Despite our city's reputation for rain, Seattle ranks 44th among US cities for rainfall with an average yearly rainfall of 36.2 inches.

She said, "I expected it to come my way but it never did."

She shot the photo at approximately 6:15 pm Thursday, March 24.

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Update: School activity cancelled for the afternoon

amrook — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:43:19 +0000

amrook Tue, 01/11/2011 - 1:43pm

Due to the weather predictions of snow and ice, Seattle Public Schools has released an emergency message canceling all afternoon and evening activities for January 11.

Ballard High School confirmed stating that all activities including the scheduled basketball games and team practices have been cancelled.

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Snow expected for Tuesday evening commute

amrook — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 15:30:25 +0000

amrook Tue, 01/11/2011 - 7:30am

Weather forecasters may not agree on how much snow will fall or where it will stick, but most are pretty certain about the when: just in time for the Tuesday evening commute.

Drivers across the state can plan for weather and road conditions on their route home Tuesday by keeping “plugged in” to Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Web and mobile tools and local media reports.

WSDOT crews are out treating roads for a blast of cold weather and possible snow, rain and wind, WSDOT stockpiles are full and crews are coordinating with local agencies to clear snow, ice and disabled vehicles.

Crews will apply anti-icer, salt and sand in the locations where it’s needed. Part of the WSDOT arsenal are eight mini sander that can maneuver in smaller spaces. They can reach problems spots quickly to put down sand to provide traction and get traffic flowing again.

WSDOT is preparing for a brief, but possibly intense, snowstorm expected to hit most of Western Washington Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures should increase late Tuesday and into Wednesday, with most areas seeing rain Wednesday. Winds will keep the ice around longer through the Columbia River Gorge, with cooler temperatures expected to continue into Wednesday morning.

In the mountains, those travelling over I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Tuesday should be prepared for close to 10 inches of snow. Drivers headed over US 2 Stevens Pass can expect heavy snow and then winds on the west side of the pass, with gusts to 35 mph.

Travel alerts can be found at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts

WSDOT Twitter feed: twitter.com/wsdot

Drivers can call 511 for current traffic conditions

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SLIDESHOW: High winds bring down tree at India Pentecostal Church in South Park

patr — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 00:25:36 +0000

patr Sun, 12/26/2010 - 4:25pm

Four cars damaged in the incident

Pastor Matthew Samuel of India Pentecostal Assembly of Seattle surveys the damage to the four cars damaged when a dead tree from a lot next door came down in high winds on Dec. 26.
CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

Patrick Robinson

High winds Sunday, Dec. 26 were blamed for bringing down a large dead tree on four cars in the parking lot of the India Pentecostal Assembly of Seattle church at 1443 South 99th Street in South Park. No one was injured. The tree was from an adjacent piece of land.

The Pastor Matthew Samuel said that at 12:50 pm he was finishing his sermon of the week, ironically enough about the financial trials people sometimes face, when the entire congregation heard a huge crashing sound.

"I was supposed to finish the sermon at 12:30," the Pastor said, " but I had told the church members that I would take a few more minutes. I was speaking on trials that the children of God have to face, based on Hebrews, Chapter 12, verses 10 and 11. I was speaking on the same subject. Those crises are the stepping stones in our Christian faith. God is our father and he takes care of our life. He's in control of the situation. I was sharing that message and at that moment that tree came over. We heard it as a great sound and when we looked through the windows we could see that the tree was on four cars and if I had stopped the meeting at 12:30 then almost all the kids would have been there. It would have been a fatal accident."

The insurance company will respond on Monday.

The church has been operating at the site for the past 3 and 1/2 years.

"We praise God, for it could have been much worse," the Pastor said.

To contact the church you can call 971-404-1487 or 253-883-1102.

NOTE: A newstip from Linda in South Park brought us this story. If you see a news event please email westseattle@robinsonnews.com or text 206-459-6717

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