West Seattle, Washington
30 Friday
(WSB photo, July 2020)
The fire rings at Alki will be back by Memorial Day weekend, Seattle Parks announced via Twitter today. The rings’ absence hasn’t stopped people from having beach fires; SFD is dispatched often to “illegal burn” reports there. The rings were removed last July, months after Parks locked them, resulting in people building fires on or by them instead.
Thanks to James for the tip. The University of Washington beach-volleyball team is playing at Alki today, Saturday, and Sunday. From the announcement:
Washington Beach Volleyball gets to compete in the sands of Seattle for the first time in over two years this weekend, making up for lost time with a total of seven matches over three days at Alki Beach this Friday through Sunday, April 16-18. The first two days will make up one tournament, the Husky Invitational, featuring UW, 15th-ranked Hawaii, Oregon, and Portland. Then Sunday will be three more dual matches separate from the tourney, with UW, Hawaii and 9th-ranked Arizona all playing each other once.
It’s the first home matches for UW since March of 2019. It’s also the last week of the regular season as the Pac-12 Championships are next up for the Dawgs starting on April 29.
Though past visits have drawn crowds, this time they’re asking you to stay away:
Fans are respectfully requested not to attend the weekend’s matches at Alki Beach. Due to Covid-19 protocols and the openness of the area, crowds cannot be controlled nor can seats be assigned.
Going into the weekend, the Huskies are 1-7. Their appearances at Alki date back to 2016.
(September 2020 photo from Shelly)
Also from the “you asked, so we checked” file — we have a status report on the Lincoln Park restroom renovations toward the south end of the beach. Janet emailed this week, wondering how much longer before the comfort station reopened. The work started more than six months ago. We asked Seattle Parks project manager Kelly Goold for an update – here’s his reply:
We are using an epoxy floor for Lincoln Park Comfort Station – similar to what is used in commercial kitchens and many other Parks Comfort Station buildings. The flooring requires that the existing concrete slab meet moisture level requirements before we can install. That is proving to be a challenge given the existing building is built into a hill near water. The contractor thinks with recent good weather we will be able to meet moisture level requirements by next week. Approximately 3 weeks left to install flooring, partitions, and accessories and have final inspection with our maintenance staff. Roughly that would be the week of April 19th when the building could potentially reopen.
JEM Contractors is handling this project and the 57th SW restroom rebuild on Alki Beach.
SIDE NOTE: When we last mentioned this project in September, we also noted the long-awaited South Play Area project was supposed to get going this winter. Checking that project website – now construction isn’t expected before fall.
(Seattle Parks photo)
If you walk, run, or ride along the Lincoln Park beach, you might have seen this cleanup operation – removing a damaged floating dock and the Styrofoam beads with which it was contaminating the water and shore. A post by Seattle Parks today explains how volunteers and city crews teamed up to get rid of it after an initial report came in from a park visitor. Friends of Lincoln Park, Puget Soundkeeper, Green Seattle Partnership all had a hand in it. The cleanup started last Thursday with Parks’ Heavy Equipment crew removing the dock, and continued Friday with work to remove the bits of Styrofoam. That involved a variety of tactics – from vacuuming up dry bits of foam to filling buckets with scooped-up beach stones, sand, and shells, adding water so the foam pieces would float up for removal. (See more photos here.) If you ever see a problem like this, you can report it via the Find It Fix It app or the Parks maintenance line, 206-684-7250.
Thanks to Keri for the photo, taken Wednesday evening: “Out rollerblading with my 13-year-old and was so lucky to see this at the viewpoint on Alki Ave. Had I not been on rollerblades, I would have climbed down to try to include the living city with the sand drawing. Love the fleeting works of art in our community. Bravo to the artist.” (If you’re reading on desktop/laptop, click the pic for a larger view.)
Peter sent the photo (thank you!), reporting that the “aluminum fencing is finally coming down today” at the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall-replacement project site, near Beach Drive/Jaoobsen Road. We reported four weeks ago that contractor Redside Construction was almost done with the 465-foot seawall and pedestrian/landscaping features atop it. The work has taken about half a year, as had been estimated.
We’ve already mentioned two West Seattle events of note for tomorrow’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day – here’s another, thanks to a tip from Marlo: Join other community volunteers in a cleanup at Alki Beach, starting at 10:30 am Monday. Details are here. (Anything else? westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!)
(January 5th photo by @i8ipod – Jack Block Park)
If you’re up early – Wednesday through Friday, the pre-dawn high tides will be the last “king tides” of this winter – 12.8 feet at 6:03 am Wednesday and 6:40 am Thursday, 12.7 feet at 7:15 am Friday. (Here’s the chart.) Too soon to tell if the weather will be stormy enough to push the tides past predicted levels, as happened last Monday.
10:17 AM: Thanks to @i8ipod for tweeting that photo from Alki about an hour ago, as high tide topped the seawall on the promenade. We noted back on Friday that today would bring one of the month’s highest tides, 12.6 feet, but as a texter points out with the screengrab below, atmospheric conditions pushed the actual peak even higher, close to 14 feet:
The highest predicted tides of the month are pre-dawn January 13 and 14, in the 6 am hour, at 12.8 feet.
10:35 AM: Just received Don Armeni Boat Ramp photos from Stewart L.
Note how high the floating dock rose, almost swamping the signage:
We went to Alki around 10 am to check on two polar bear-themed events:
That’s Polar Bear Swim organizer Mark Ufkes, relaxing between countdown requests. As announced earlier this week, no all-at-once plunge this year but he encouraged people to come down in small groups. He said the early going – starting around 9 am – totaled around 100 people, some requesting a countdown, some not. Nobody while we were there but via Twitter, Bill Schrier caught a few:
Polar Bear swim at Alki Beach on Puget Sound isn’t quite the same this year but hardy souls are still doing it. @westseattleblog pic.twitter.com/9yfxe13g4h
— Bill Schrier (@billschrier) January 1, 2021
Further west, by Alki Bathhouse, the (unrelated) West Seattle Polar Bear Challenge drop-off food drive was going well:
If you missed the dropoff, check the WSPBC map for a display with a food bin near you – today’s the official last day – or go here to see how to support the West Seattle Food Bank year-round.
Earlier this year, we introduced you to Jessica, who was organizing a monthly volunteer cleanup at Alki. She’s renewing her call for volunteers as 2021 starts, with the first cleanup set for this Saturday (January 2nd):
ALKI BEACH AND NEIGHBORHOOD CLEANUP
1st Saturday of every month, 10 AM to 2 PMPick sticks and buckets provided – RSVP to reserve one. Feel free to bring your own. Supervised kids welcome. Behaved dogs welcome off beach. We spread out to cover most surface. Stay as long as you desire; go as far as you would like. The goal is to collect the garbage before it enters the beach and ocean. We can gather after for a distancing coffee if time allows. We meet at 10 am outside, between Blue Moon Burgers and 56th on Alki Ave SW
If you can’t make it Saturdays, consider starting your own group that meets another day. Looking forward to meeting you.
To RSVP or ask a question, text Jessica at 206.769.6330.
When late-night work was announced last week for the Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook seawall-replacement project on Beach Drive, some asked about the project’s status. Short answer: Almost done! Longer version, from project spokesperson Andrew Muñoz of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:
The contractor is finishing up final construction items and we expect major construction to be complete in the next two weeks. The site will be handed over to Seattle Parks to finish the project with landscaping. This means construction equipment will be removed but fencing will remain up for the time being.
Contractor Redside Construction started major work on the long-planned project about five months ago. The new $3 million, 465-foot seawall had to be built in front of the failing old one because demolition work would have been a risk to a sewer line running beneath it.
4:48 PM: First, two scenes from West Seattle’s shore:
Thanks to Andrew Murray for that scene from just before sunset. Below, a texter sent this photo from the “king tide” this morning as water slopped over the Alki Beach seawall:
High tide was charted for 12.9 feet just before sunrise; tomorrow morning, it’ll be a little lower, 12.7 feet at 8:22 am.
Meantime, though there’s no official alert, be aware that Friday has more wind in the forecast – similar to last night – with gusts up to 35 mph day time, up to 40 mph Friday night.
ADDED 6:21 PM: More photos of those amazing sunset-reflection colors in the east – first, from David Hutchinson, through the Luna Girls on Alki sculpture:
And from Robert Peckyno:
Thanks to Mike Burns for the photo from Alki Beach this morning, when high tide was a “king tide,” charted at 12.9 feet, which will be repeated tomorrow morning at 7:37 am, shortly before dawn. That’ll be a big swing from another late-night low-low tide, -2.9 feet at midnight tonight. The weather likely won’t be terribly conducive to beachgoing, but we wanted to let you know anyway. P.S. If you photograph king tides too, here’s our November story about how your photos can help scientists and planners.
If you travel Beach Drive late tonight and/or tomorrow night, don’t be startled to notice work at Emma Schmitz Memorial Overlook. The contractor on the seawall-replacement project, Redside Construction, has a “small crew” scheduled to work at the site during low tide tonight and tomorrow night, according to a project bulletin. It says they will “conduct some minor finishing work on the lower portion of the seawall,” no heavy equipment involved, until 2 am tonight and until 3 am tomorrow night. It’s been five months since major work began. P.S. Low tide tonight is VERY low – -3.4 feet at 11:16 pm.
(November photo by Kersti Muul)
Quite a show two weeks ago when the first round of “king tides” arrived. Next wave is due in mid-December, and scientists would like your help reporting on them:
King tides, the annual extreme-high tides that occur whenever the moon is closest to Earth, are a dramatic feature of Washington winters – and offer a glimpse of what our future in Western Washington may look like as sea levels rise. This holiday season provides a great opportunity for people to capture these extreme tides and help scientists assemble a preview of shorelines to come. You can find the date and time of the next king tide nearest you by visiting the Washington Sea Great king tides calendar.
It’s simple to get involved during the 2020-2021 Washington king tides season and raise awareness about rising seas, particularly through the MyCoast app that was developed for statewide use: Download the MyCoast app on your smartphone and upload your king tide photographs from any king tide events around the state.
Your photos will help scientists, managers, planners and your own community visualize the changes coming to coastal regions around Western Washington. To find out how much sea levels could rise in your community, check the most current sea level rise projections.
The next king tides are coming in mid-December and January. Keep your phone or camera ready. Please just remember to stay safe by watching out for waves and slippery surfaces!
The King Tides program is a partnership between Washington Sea Grant and Washington Department of Ecology.
(Send us some of your pics too!)
3:23 PM: Just in – video and photos from Alki, where this afternoon’s high tide has swamped the seawall. The video above is from Kersti Muul of Salish Wildlife Watch; below, photos from Stewart L. further east:
That’s Don Armeni Boat Ramp, and here’s Luna/Anchor Park:
Also, another angle of the Alki promenade from Kersti:
Today’s high tide was 12.3 feet at 2:43 pm; tomorrow will be 12.4 at 3:18 pm. Next week the highest high tides will be in the morning; the chart shows 12.6 at 6:52 am Tuesday and 7:48 am Wednesday. These are the so-called “king tides”; they’ll be even higher in a month, with 12.9 high tides in mid-December.
ADDED 7:19 PM: Aimee pointed out via Twitter that atmospheric conditions caused a high tide well above what was predicted:
And we have one more photo – this one from David Hutchinson at Alki:
(Photo by Jon McAllister)
Thanks to Terri for the report. On this after-the-storm Friday night, she says, this washed-up floating dock was spotted on the beach at Weather Watch Park. If you know of somebody missing one, you might consider pointing them there.
The photo is from Mandi, who announced two weeks ago that she was organizing weekly post-weekend community cleanups at Alki Beach, and welcoming assistance. Today was the second cleanup, she reports. “We are getting lots of support and interest. My goal is to start with cleanup and see what else we can do to keep Alki Beach beautiful.” Interested in helping? You can join Mandi at 9 am Mondays – email her at mandikhall@gmail.com.
Mandi is organizing weekly post-weekend community cleanups at Alki Beach and invites you to join her if you can: 9 am every Monday morning. Anyone interested in helping can meet her at Alki Beach Bathhouse (60th/Alki). Questions? Email Mandi at mandikhall@gmail.com.
P.S. Bring your own supplies (bag, grabber) if you can!
10:54 PM: Closing time at Alki tonight looked a lot like last night in one way – quiet, no fires, not-so-summery weather. But in another way, it was different: No police. As reported here this morning, red tape strangled the plan for three officers on overtime to help Seattle Parks at closing time Thursdays-Fridays-Saturdays, with Parks covering the cost, after just one night (here’s our Thursday night coverage). Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman said today, “I learned yesterday that any movement of funds from one city agency (e.g., Parks) to another (e.g., SPD) requires city council approval. So until that issue is resolved, the dedicated Alki emphasis patrols will be paused. This is a disappointing development — both for my officers and for the neighborhood.” So what happens now? We immediately inquired with both Councilmember Lisa Herbold‘s office and Parks. Herbold legislative assistant Newell Aldrich told us in the morning they were “looking into it” and then at day’s end sent this update: “We haven’t got answers from Parks to our questions; they’ve indicated the answers are more complicated than they anticipated. They are working on getting us answers.” So it appears the ball is in Parks’ court right now (we haven’t heard back from them yet at all). Meantime, Capt. Grossman added that he has “directed that our available on-duty resources conduct patrols on Alki when not otherwise committed”; no officers were in sight as we drove the length of Alki, including Don Armeni, before and after the 9:30 pm closing time tonight. There was a Parks vehicle on the promenade, headed west right at 9:30, but it then headed out of the park; by then, light rain was falling.
2:24 AM: Commenters say the fires started later in the night tonight. Here’s a photo sent by a reader:
10:55 PM: We went to Alki to check on the extra police announced for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, starting tonight. They had a quiet, chilly night for their first run backing up Parks crews at the 9:30 pm closing time. We got there around 9:10, when the officers and Parks crews made a sweep to warn the few beachgoers on hand that closing time was approaching.
Though illegal beach fires have been a huge problem for weeks, none were in evidence when we got there. When 9:30 closing time arrived, the two vehicles headed eastbound:
Alki is officially closed. Almost no one here anyway. Sgt. tells us a couple fires were extinguished earlier. pic.twitter.com/wb45u0Oo1V
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) August 7, 2020
We also checked Don Armeni around 9:45, and officers were there too, with a congregation of cars that looked to be gearing up to leave. The extra officers are only slated to be on duty until 11; we’ll be listening to see what happens after that.
ADDED FRIDAY MORNING: Southwest Precinct commander Capt. Kevin Grossman says they’ve run into complications – interagency funding transfers apparently require City Council approval – and will “pause” the new patrol until that’s worked out. We’re following up on this with both council and Parks to see what’s being done about this and how soon.
11:38 AM: Councilmember Herbold’s office tells WSB they’re “looking into it.”
If you see a seal on the beach – keep your distance, for their sake. David Hutchinson of Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network sent this report and photos after another rescue:
Seal Sitters MMSN responded Wednesday to the second orphaned harbor seal pup in the last 2 weeks. This thin pup was first reported in the morning on private property along Beach Drive SW. He returned to the water early in the afternoon and just after 5 PM, Seal Sitters’ Hotline received a call about a pup on Alki Beach at 55th Ave SW. Spot comparison photos confirmed that this was the same animal.
A perimeter was set up to keep people back and First Responders monitored the tiny pup while answering the many questions from folks out enjoying the sunny day. The pup stayed ashore only briefly, but returned to the beach around 7 PM. He was observed at that time to be very lethargic with tremors. Phone calls were placed to NOAA’s regional stranding coordinator to see what options were available to rescue the pup from this dangerous location and stabilize overnight. When the incoming tide began to roll the weakened pup in the surf, he was removed from the water by the Seal Sitters’ First Responder and placed above the high tide line. NOTE: Only authorized members of NOAA’s Marine Mammal Stranding Network are allowed to handle seal pups.
Casey Mclean, SR3 Executive Director and Veterinary Nurse, agreed to come for an evaluation and removal from the beach. The pup weighed 8 kg (17.6 lbs). His glucose level was very low, he was dehydrated and was suffering from hypothermia. A small umbilical stump was noted and age estimated at a week or so. Casey began some preliminary treatment including starting fluids. If this pup survives, it is hoped that he can be transferred to one of the scarce rehabilitation spots that are available.
Harbor seal birthing season is from late June through September in our area of Puget Sound. These pups would normally spend from 4-6 weeks nursing before having to face life on their own. About 50% don’t make it through their first year.
Seal Sitters would like to thank the individuals who reported this struggling animal to our Hotline. We have had to adjust some of our normal procedures because of the COVID-19 restrictions, but will be doing our best to respond to your calls.
Based on the urban location, it is highly likely this newborn seal was abandoned due to human activity. Always stay back when you see a seal pup on the beach and call Seal Sitters’ Hotline at 206-905-7325 (SEAL).
Here’s the report on last month’s rescue.
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