UPDATE FRI. 3/19 2pm: Just got word from Sgt John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff’s Department, who says that the suspect vehicle, “probably a white Honda Civic,” was found parked at a Burien apartment complex; no arrests have yet been made:

“Suspect vehicle (probably a white Honda Civic) struck a parked car(s), mailbox, wall etc. in the 3300 block of S. 172nd.

Car kept going.

We did find the unoccupied suspect car at a Burien apartment complex, but so far have made no arrests.”

PREVIOUSLY: A hit and run accident around dusk Thursday night (March 18) on SW 172nd in Burien’s Three Tree Point neighborhood caused extensive damage to a parked Toyota Corolla as well as destroying a protective wall outside a house.

“We were eating dinner and we heard this incredibly loud noise,” said Rachel, who lives in the house where the wall was damaged. “I was honestly afraid that someone was driving through the wall of our home.”

In addition to damaging the parked car and retaining wall, the suspect vehicle struck a mailbox before driving off. Witnesses reportedly took down a license plate number, and the police were called. Rachel said that it took Burien Police at least two hours to respond to the scene.

“I thought our neighbors were putting their garbage out,” said Terry Haigh, another neighbor. “But then I thought ‘man, they’ve sure got a lot of garbage’ because it was really loud.”

Debris was scattered throughout the street, and a trail could be seen where the suspect car, which was allegedly driving south, struck the parked Toyota, bounced off, hit a mailbox across the street, then drove off.

This isn’t the first accident for this neighborhood, according to Rachel. About a year and a half ago, a protective wall on the other side of their property was hit and destroyed in a similar accident. The street (SW 172nd) is narrower than most, as it is an historic beachfront road that dates back to the very early days of the neighborhood.

“We’ve lived here a couple of years, and cars frequently speed down this street,” Rachel added. “And there are usually kids, joggers, pets, families and people walking around. I’m concerned for the safety of the residents here.”

Here are some pics of the scene as shot by Scott Schaefer Friday morning:

Previously we reported on vandalism at the new Town Square, and before that at Seahurst Park Beach’s new picnic area, and now BTB Contributor Jim Branson sent us these photos of some recent vandalism in Olde Burien, including graffiti and broken tree limbs:

Click to View Jim Branson’s Photo Slideshow

What’s the deal B-Town peeps? Why are you being so destructive this summer?

Michael Lafreniere, Director of Burien Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services reported Tuesday (July 14th) that three out of four of the “plinth” sculptures installed in Burien’s new Town Square Park just last month were vandalized and damaged over this past weekend.

These are the smaller, more whimsical metallic sculptures that are scattered around the park and mounted on cement pedestals.

Below are before and after photos:

BEFORE (“Hikers“):

AFTER:

BEFORE (“Bike“):

AFTER:

Elements of the sculptures appear to have been broken or sawed off.

The design, fabrication and installation of the sculptures had cost $30,000.

Burien Parks is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the persons responsible for this crime, and cash rewards of up to $1,000 are paid for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers immediately at (206) 343-2020 or toll free at 1-800-CRIME-13 and give the tip to police without giving his/her name.

This is the second act of vandalism in a Burien park within the last two weeks – as we reported previously, on June 28th vandals tagged the brand new picnic shelter at Seahurst Park.

Michael Lafreniere, Director of Burien Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services, reports that Seahurst Park’s brand new picnic shelter and other areas were severely vandalized by alleged gang members Sunday night, June 28th.

“Staff tell me this is the worst they have ever seen in all their years with the city,” he adds. “And it will cost us several thousand dollars to clean it up. We are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the persons responsible for this crime.”

Here’s a slideshow of the damage, which includes closeups of graffiti tags and assorted words that may help identify the vandals:

Click to View Slideshow of Damages to Seahurst Park’s New Picnic Shelter

Cash rewards of up to $1,000 are paid for information leading to the arrest. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers immediately at (206) 343-2020 or toll free at 1 (800) CRIME-13 and give the tip to police without giving his/her name.

King County announced today that they’re offering assistance for property and business owners who suffered damages due to our recent winter weather.

Here’s the announcement in its entirety:

Property and business owners who had losses due to the recent winter weather may be eligible for assistance getting their property back in order. Eligibility is determined through a damage assessment process which takes into account total reported losses within King County.

Impacts of winter weather, such as snow load and flooding, may have resulted in individual property damages or business losses. King County homeowners and small business owners who have suffered damages from recent weather related conditions should file a damage report with King County Office of Emergency Management within the next two weeks.

A hotline number (800-523-5044) has been established for reporting damages within King County and is open during the following dates and times:

Dec. 29 – Dec. 31, 2008 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Jan. 5 – Jan. 9, 2008 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Before filing a damage report with OEM, citizens should contact their insurance company about existing coverage. They are also urged to document damages with photographs and keep records of all clean-up and repair costs.

In addition, business owners who have incurred weather-related economic losses should submit an Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program form to the Office of Emergency Management (fax# 206-205-4056). The form can be downloaded from the Washington Emergency Management Division’s website (http://emd.wa.gov/disaster/documents/EconomicInjuryWorksheetnew9-2007.pdf).

For more information, contact the Office of Emergency Management or visit the office website (http://www.kingcounty.gov/safety/prepare.aspx).

Several BTB Readers have emailed/called us about this, and we’ve noticed them ourselves firsthand – what appear to be dangerously sharp, potentially tire-piercing spikes sticking up out of the newly re-paved roads in the First Ave corridor between SW 148th and 160th Streets:

We’ve actually swerved many times to avoid these sharp-looking spikes, then we began to wonder:

Why the heck would anyone purposely place dangerous
metal spikes in newly re-paved asphalt?

So we did what any B-Town Blogger would do – we found one, parked our Blogmobile, got out and risked our lives taking the above photo in the middle of traffic (this one was found west of First Ave South on SW 148th heading east, between Ivar’s and that shop that sells sexy stuff).

We also tempted losing our ability to speak again (let alone the fear of having to get a tetanus shot) by stepping down on the deadly-looking thingy with our Chuck Taylors:

Aha!

They’re actually NOT metal spikes lurking like hungry six-gilled shark predators below the newly-laid asphalt oceans of B-Town – they’re just weird rubber thingies!

Here’s a quote from Valerie Stuart, of the City of Burien Public Works Dept. about said rubber thingies:

The “spikes” that are still visible on 1st Avenue South and some of its intersecting streets are depth markers.

They are, as you noted Scott, just rubber thingies.

They will be gone within the next two to three weeks after the utilities have all raised their lids to the right height and paving is completed around them.

So, fear not dear Readers (and associated worried tires) – these “spikes” will NOT damage your tires, or even your precious Chuck Taylors!

Whew.

Be sure to mark your calendars for Wed. July 16th, as there will be a major Burien Fire Victim fundraiser with live music, silent and live auctions and much more at Mick Kelly’s Irish Pub at 435 SW 152nd in downtown Burien.

Further info will be coming soon, so stay tuned to the B-Town Blog for exclusive information.

In the meantime, if you’d like to donate, look at the right sidebar of this page and you’ll see what appears to be a new “Ad,” but is actually a call to action for all our faithful and generous B-Town Blog Readers to donate to the American Red Cross’ “Burien Apartment Fire Fund.”

All donations will go directly to the victims of last weekend’s tragic fire that killed three, injured six and left dozens homeless.

Latest news developments:

• On Monday, the King County Sheriff’s Office declared that the fire that destroyed the eight-unit Tara Apartments and heavily damaged the identical Jenny Marie Apartments in the 400 block of Southwest 155th Street was arson. Investigators aren’t releasing what specifically led them to conclude it was arson, said sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart.
• The fire is being investigated by King County Fire Investigators and the Major Crimes Unit of the Sheriff’s Office.
• A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible. Anyone with information about the arson should call the Sheriff’s Office immediately at (206) 296-3311.
• According to the Sheriff’s Office, the fire caused about $1.75 million in damage. But for many of those left homeless, the fire consumed belongings that will be difficult to calculate in dollar amounts.

If you’re interested in helping out (either with donations to the upcoming auction event or your assistance in helping get the word out), please email us ASAP.

Teams from the King County Fire Investigation Unit are scheduled to return this morning to the site of Sunday morning’s fatal fire that killed three, injured six and left over 30 homeless.

Fire investigators have not determined a cause for the fire which destroyed the Tara Apartments at 455 SW 155th, and badly damaged the neighboring Jenny Maria Apartments at 429 SW 155th shortly after 12:30am Sunday.

Officials with the King County Sheriff’s Office have said the fire appears suspicious.

The Red Cross has set up a shelter at the Burien Presbyterian Church, where they are assisting dozens of tenants displaced by the fire .

The B-Town Blog is planning on doing both a physical and an online fundraising campaign to help the victims, so stay tuned.

If you’re a local business or resident interested in helping out, please send us an email.

After manning our booth at today’s beautiful, hot final day of the Strawberry Festival, we took a very deep breath, then drove solemnly by the remnants of last night’s tragic, fatal fire (Burien’s worst in two decades) that left three people dead, six injured and 31 homeless:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

We then went over to Lake Burien Presbyterian Church, where the Red Cross has set up a shelter for the 31 displaced people and talked with volunteers there. Out of respect for the families, we opted not to take photos, as the survivors gathered had just been informed of the three deaths (and several were related or very close to the victims).

It’s sad whenever a tragedy like this hits a community, and this one hit hard, as the following comment by an eyewitness posted on Craigslist attests to:

We were woken by sirens about 12:45 am. This is so incredibly sad. The entire complex was engulfed before fire fighters arrived. Three confirmed dead now (Go to KIRO’s website for pictures and story). One of whom is an 8 year old boy whom was a former classmate and friend of my daughter. His Grandfather also died and one other person. It also moved to the apartments next door and damaged 3/4 of that building as well. We could stand in our front parking lot..see and feel the flames….that close to us.

No one knows what happened yet. Fireworks? Electrical? (Loud bang could have even been the water tanks exploding. Even if it was due to someone being stupid, the loss of lives is horrendous. I saw a woman sobbing, and I was told by a man who knows them, that she is the mother of the young boy. So she lost 2 loved ones.

Please be kind no matter what the outcome is, and hold the familys close. Good thoughts, prayers, chanting, lighting candles….what ever you do.

Thank YOU “B-Town Blog” for the story I know you’ll do with excellence. I’m only sorry your stories aren’t all full of ’strawberry festival’ happiness.

Thank you.

A very saddened neighbor who knew the child personally. (Telling my child she lost her friend was so damned hard to do.)

Rest assured that the B-Town Blog plans on doing whatever it can to help those in need, so stay tuned for some positive, uplifting events soon…

Video taken at Eagle Landing Park on 12/3/07.

According to the submitter:

The storm drain is running about half as fast in this video, as it was during the heaviest rains. Over 4.5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period.