It certainly has been a strange summer. After weeks of of waiting for summer to arrive, it finally warmed up and gave us some sun, only to take it away and slap us with 60-degree weather and 75 percent humidity. And then today Queen Anne woke up to blue skies and an almost opaque bank of fog covering Elliott Bay. When I walked to my car this morning, this is what I saw:

The Space Needle buried in fog. Quite a beautiful sight, and one more reason to love living in Queen Anne. Even still, let’s hope the foggy mornings dissipate and the sunshine stays a while.

Yesterday morning, Friday, April 23, a Shred-it truck spilled hydraulic fluid at 401 Elliott Ave. W. near Myrtle Edwards Park, some of which made it into a nearby storm drain and the bay itself. According to a report by the Washington Department of Ecology, the truck, which held up to 160 gallons of hydraulic fluid, called NRC Environmental Services (a cleanup contractor) at 10:50 a.m. on Frida when a broken hydraulic line spilled fluid all over the ground. From the Washington Department of Ecology:

NRC was able to collect some of the fluid from the ground, but the majority of the spill apparently had already made it to the storm drain.

Ecology wasn’t notified until about 2 p.m. By then, a 300-foot-long patchy, silvery sheen was seen on the water along the shoreline at Myrtle Edwards Park near the grain terminal.

Ecology and NRC put oil containment and absorbent boom around the outfall and a nearby fish pen. NRC monitored the area and maintained the boom overnight.

The Suquamish tribe and Muckleshoot Indian tribe operate the fish pen, and according to Ecology, checked the pens Friday and reported that they appeared to be unharmed by the spill.

Ecology ran dye tests to time the flow from two storm drains in the area to the outfall. The dye took 20 to 40 minutes to reach the water.

All oil spills cause environmental damage, regardless of size. Oil is toxic to the environment and the damage starts as soon as the oil hits water. A single quart of oil has the potential to foul more than 100,000 gallons of water.

Hydraulic fluid spreads out and evaporates more slowly than diesel fuel or gasoline, and it remains in the environment longer.

Ecology believes that some of the hydraulic oil from the spill could still be in a nearby building’s stormwater detention system and plans to talk to engineers about this. However, they believes that most of the fluid from the spill drained directly into the bay, dissipating before responders were notified.

When I moved back to Seattle last year after a four-year stint in L.A., I was ecstatic to be moving to Queen Anne hill–near downtown, the waterfront, and Lake Union! A month after I moved in to my apartment and before I began my work at QueenAnneView, I climbed up to Kerry Park to watch for 4th of July fireworks show over Elliott Bay. I, and evidently some 200 other people, had not received the memo that the show had been canceled.

After waiting around for 30 minutes, I decided to do a little Googling on my phone. A few minutes later we heard a loud cracking noise coming from the north east. We turned and saw the very top of the fireworks show from Lake Union just peaking over the top of Queen Anne hill.

Up until this point we’ve been lucky in Seattle–having our choice of two gorgeous fireworks shows on Independence Day. When the Elliott Bay fireworks show folded last year, Seattleites piled into Gasworks Park, a prime spot to catch the Lake Union show. However yesterday, Wednesday, March 31, One Reel, the company that produces the event, announced that there would be no Family 4th at Lake Union this year, citing the lack of a corporate sponsor to fund the non-profit for the event. Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno, president of the One Reel Board of Directors wrote this letter on ChaseFamily4th.org.

Dear Community,

Since 1988, One Reel, the Seattle not-for-profit arts organization of which I am Board President, has been proud to produce the cherished Independence Day celebration and fireworks show, the Family 4th at Lake Union. This day of free family entertainment and a dazzling fireworks display has been, for more than two decades, an important time for us to come together as a community and celebrate this great country.

As a non-profit organization, One Reel’s core mission is to produce arts and cultural events that engage and enrich our community, but we cannot do it alone. You may not realize this free civic celebration has been an annual gift to Seattle made possible only through the generosity of a corporate sponsor who underwrites the cost of the event. One Reel wishes to extend a very special thank you to the sponsors we’ve been fortunate to work with over the years, including Fratelli’s, Cellular One, AT&T, WaMu and Chase.

For the past 15 months, One Reel has worked tirelessly to secure a title sponsor for the 2010 Family 4th at Lake Union but, regrettably, we were not able to secure one in time to proceed with this year’s event. For that reason, it is with a heavy heart we announce there will be no fireworks or festivities at Gas Works Park this year.

We understand the disappointment you must feel; we feel it too. However, I can assure you that One Reel is already hard at work searching for a new title sponsor who shares our commitment to presenting this beloved community event in Seattle next year, and long into the future. As always, One Reel remains dedicated to providing you with premier events—from the Family 4th at Lake Union, to Bumbershoot: Seattle’s Music & Arts Festival, to Teatro ZinZanni—that showcase the talent, artistic diversity and integrity of our great city.

Thank you, Seattle, for your ongoing support. We’d like to thank everyone—from our generous past title sponsors, to the City of Seattle, to event suppliers and on-site vendors, to more than 5 million patriotic revelers over the last 20 years—all of whom have made this event such an iconic holiday tradition.

We look forward to seeing you next year at Gas Works Park for the Family 4th at Lake Union.

Sincerely,
Tomoko Moriguchi Matsuno
President and CEO Uwajimaya Inc.
President, One Reel Board of Directors

Us in Queen Anne have been able to see both firework shows from our high perch on the hill. But with the canceling of the Lake Union and Elliott Bay shows, this year will be the first time in 46 years that Seattle will not have a fireworks on the 4th. What do you think of a 4th without fireworks in Seattle? Do you think the lack of corporate shows will result in an increase in illegal fireworks?

From 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. last night, Saturday, March 27, lights were doused all around the city for Earth Hour. Even the Seattle Center and Pacific Science Center arches turned off all non-essential lighting for the event.

Reader Dana sent in these photos, taken from Kerry Park on the south side of Queen Anne hill during Earth Hour.

She even caught a few pictures of the fireworks show over Elliott Bay, which were supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., but incidentally ended up coinciding with Earth Hour.

We saw the fireworks tonight at 8:30 pm from Kerry Park. Great view and the Space Needle and other downtown buildings went dark just before they started!!!

Many Quee Anne-ers caught a surprise fireworks show on Saturday night. For those of you who, like me, missed out on the action, we hear there’s another show planned over Elliott Bay on Saturday, March 27.

The West Seattle Blog is reporting that General Construction Company will be celebrating its centennial with some big lights at around 7:30 p.m. on the 27th. From the West Seattle Blog,

Coincidentally, that night is also this year’s date for “Earth Hour”– 8:30 pm, an hour after the calendar says the fireworks will be happening.

So there you have it. At 7:30 p.m., climb up to Kerry Park to catch the fireworks show, then go home and turn your lights off for the environment at 8:30. I’ll definitely be there!

(Thanks to the West Seattle Blog for digging this up!)

Apparently there were some pretty stunning fireworks over Elliott Bay at around 8 p.m. this evening. Reader Peggy Fitzgerald wrote,

Really nice fireworks show tonight over Elliott Bay! There’s some news on it from the West Seattle blog (since I had no idea why there was an amazing show tonight – they were really excellent)

According to the West Seattle Blog, Farmers Insurance celebrated its 100th anniversary with a party at the Space Needle and fireworks show off the waterfront tonight. Details here.

I missed the show myself. Did anyone else see it, or happen to catch a picture?

(Thanks to Peggy for the tip! Photo courtesy of Farmers. See more pictures of the fireworks at the Farmers Life Centennial Flickr page).

According to our friends over at Magnolia Voice, this weekend some Queen Anne-ers may be in for some festive fireworks. A wedding party on Saturday, August 22, is having a big grand finale over Elliott Bay according to the wedding planner.

The fireworks show is scheduled for around 10:10 p.m. on Saturday, and will last around 15 minutes. According to the party planner, the shindig is happening at the SW corner of Discovery Park, and should be visible over Elliott Bay.

We’ll keep an eye out for the show tomorrow night and put up some pictures.