Western Washington tackles cleanup

SEATTLE – In the aftermath of a deadly windstorm that knocked out power to a million people in Western Washington, cleanup efforts are under way in public parks hard hit by the storm.

“No parks are closed, but we do have a lot of hanging branches and leaning trees,” said Dewey Potter, spokeswoman for Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation.

Volunteers have been using handsaws to clear paths and restore access for hikers, trail runners, dog walkers, cyclists, horseback riders and others at areas such as Bridle Trails State Park and Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park.

“We’re not park employees, so we’re only allowed to use handsaws. It’s slow work, but you can make a significant impact just getting rid of the stuff that could trip someone, bump their heads or impale them,” volunteer Scott McCoubrey said.

The Dec. 14 windstorm, record November rains and flooding caused extensive damage to national, state and local parklands, Seattle and King County officials said. They hope to have better estimates by the end of next week.

Residents and businesses have reported more than $11 million in property damage, said Sandeep Kaushik, a King County spokesman.

In Seattle, Burke-Gilman Trail is now passable despite downed branches. Most city parks are usable, including Discovery, Seward and Volunteer, as is the Washington Park Arboretum.

Mount Rainier National Park remains closed to vehicles. The extent of damage won’t be known until the snow melts in the spring, park officials said.

In coming months, more volunteers will be needed to help repair damage to city and county parklands devastated throughout Western Washington.

“There literally isn’t a linear foot of Cougar Mountain that didn’t suffer some kind of damage after the windstorm,” said Doug Williams, a spokesman for the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks.

The popular 3,000-acre, county-owned park in Issaquah has nearly 40 miles of trails and most remain blocked by downed trees, Williams said.

Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey Island lost 100 trees in the main campground, including old-growth averaging 28 inches in diameter.

“The wind came straight out of the west and hit us head on, hard. It caused the worst damage this park has ever seen,” said Jack Hartt, manager of one of the state’s most popular parks.

Yellow tape blocks public access to trails at the Bellevue Botanical Garden where trees have toppled over.

Trails in Robinswood Park in Bellevue and Weowna Park on West Lake Sammamish are also closed because of fallen trees, said Bob Schafer, park ranger for the Bellevue Parks Department.

At Bellevue’s Bridal Trails, the heavily wooded 482-acre state park lost hundreds of trees, many of which are blocking nearly 30 miles of trails.

“It’s a mess, and I’m having a hard time with this emotionally,” said Mary Welborn, a park ranger at Bridal Trails for 25 years. “These beautiful, beautiful, beautiful trees just lying there. I like my trees standing up. There is a staggering amount of work to be done.”

Welborn and other park officials use chain saws to clear the trees while volunteers are encouraged to hand-saw limbs and branches from fallen trees, making chain saw work and tree removal much faster.

“It’s not going to be a quick cleanup,” said Laurie Clinton, volunteer program coordinator for King County’s parks, who can gaze from her office at the downed limbs and branches still strewn around Marymoor Park. “We’re going to need volunteers now more than ever, and over a lot of time.”