A few days ago we reported that the grass at Trolley Hill Park had been damaged, presumably by a Bobcat tractor that appeared to have left tracks all over the park. One of our readers, Stephanie, tipped us off to the situation and expressed concern over who was responsible.

“There are tire tracks all over the lawn up there. There is a Bobcat sitting next to what looks like a residential rockery job adjacent to the park but it doesn’t look like simply collateral damage. Maybe someone came and took the Bobcat for a joyride?  If it’s Park Dept. or some landscaping employee, they need a map,” she wrote.

Parks and Recreation Public Information representative Joelle Hammerstad did a little digging for us, and found that the Bobcat was not commissioned by the Parks department, and in fact belongs to a private company, Total Grounds Management, who was hired to do some work on a private residence near the park, at 515 Howe St. Joelle wrote,

It appears that there was some miscommunication between the homeowner and the on-site project manager for TGM.

Seattle Parks and Recreation did not give TGM permission to use the park for access to the private residence for their construction project. Nor did we give them permission to use the park as a staging area. We have spoken with TGM and asked them to remove a pile of gravel, as well as the bobcat from the park.

According to Joelle, TMG apologized for the incident and has agreed to work with Parks and Rec to repair the damage to the park. Parks and Rec and TMG will be meeting this coming Monday, April 12 to review the restoration plan.

Trolley Hill Park, located at 5th Ave N and Blaine St on the east slope of Queen Anne, appears to have received some unintentional landscaping over the weekend. Reader Stephanie sent in these photos yesterday.

Tire tracks that appear to have come from a Bobcat tractor have dug ditches in the grass throughout the park. Though some of the tracks may have been caused by the recent landscaping work done next to the park, Stephanie finds the fact that the tracks are all over the park grounds a bit suspicious.

“There are tire tracks all over the lawn up there. There is a Bobcat sitting next to what looks like a residential rockery job adjacent to the park but it doesn’t look like simply collateral damage. Maybe someone came and took the Bobcat for a joyride?  If it’s Park Dept. or some landscaping employee, they need a map,” she wrote. “I can’t see any reason for the cat to have been up around the sign and there are also some tracks out in the middle of the lower lawn that are not to or from the project. Just makes ya wonder…Bobcat joyride on a Saturday night?’

I’m waiting to hear back from Parks and Recreation to see if they know anything about landscaping at Trolley Hill Park or the tracks. In the meantime, if anyone has any further information, please post in the comments below.

(Thanks to Stephanie for the tip!)

Seattle Fire Department officials were at The Fairview apartments this afternoon, located at 1000 Queen Anne Avenue North, evaluating the damage of this morning’s fire.

The fire, which originated on the second floor that officials say was an accident caused by “improper disposal of smoking materials,” did an estimated $125,000 worth of damage to the unit as well as the outside of the building and the units above.

Still, the real story is in the fact that everyone got out safely. When the fire broke out at around 2:30 a.m. this morning everyone in the building was able to evacuate in time, owed in large part to the two occupants of the unit where the fire started, who made sure every unit in the building was alerted. A reader, the_brown_recluse, who lives in The Fairview commented on our earlier story. They wrote,

My girlfriend and I live in this building, The Fairview. We were awakened by one of the two occupants of the burning apt, who ran from floor to floor alerting tenants. We live on the first floor, opposite end of the building, but to look out the patio door and see this bright orange flame blowing out windows I was sure the whole building would be engulfed (it’s my first big fire). Fortunately, the Good Ol’ SFD was here within moments, and that big nasty fire was extinguished rather easily with some blasts from the hose. Cheers to the SFD, and to the kid who woke everyone up. I never got to ask the two tenants how they were, where they would stay, etc. I hope they are feeling ok, and aren’t feeling too guilty.

If anyone has any more information on the fire or thoughts to share, comment on this story or email us at tips@queenanneview.com.