A memorial service for the five victims of an apartment fire in Fremont Saturday will be held at the KeyArena this Friday, June 18 at 11 a.m. Doors will open at 9:30 a.m. (The service was originally scheduled for the Exhibition Hall at but was moved to KeyArena yesterday).

The fire, which was ruled an accident, took the lives of five family members: Eyerusalem Gebregiorgis, 22, Nisreen Shamam, 6, Nyella Smith, 7, Joseph Gebregiorgis, 13, and Yaseen Shamam, 5. Two other family members made it out alive.

An account has been set up to support the family of the victims. Donations to the Seattle Children’s Fire Fund can be made at any Bank of America. Next door neighbor Allecia Clemons is working to put together a community concert to help raise money for the family. Find more information on the event and how to get involved here.

Ten years ago today two Queen Anne families died in a plane crash returning from a vacation in Mexico together. Alaska Airlines flight 261 went down off the coast of Southern California, taking 88 lives, including those of the Clemetsons, the Pearsons, and their six children, ages six months to just eight years old. And although the tragedy happened a decade ago, the community will never forget.

In their honor, friends and neighbors dedicated Queen Anne’s Soundview Terrace Park to Carolyn Margiotta and David Clemetson and their children, Cori, Blake, Miles and Spencer, and Sarah Manning, Rod, Rachel and Gracie Pearson.

They remember the children as best friends and even renamed the park “Rachel’s Playground,” after one of the girls, who would be getting her drivers license this year.

Every year a small group gathers for a memorial service at the park, but as this year marks the 10th anniversary of the crash, friends and neighbors of the families have decided to open up the memorial to the public, in honor of all of the lives lost that day.

Anyone is welcome to join in for music and a candle lighting today, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. at Rachel’s Playground, located at 2500 11 Ave W. They will be lighting 88 candles – one for each person on flight 261.

Two friends, Mari Ingram and Stephanie Bower, are the organizers behind today’s memorial. For them, even ten years later, they cannot forget their friends.

“It’s hard to imagine an entire family just disappearing,” Bower told KING5. ”At their house you could still smell the coffee on the kitchen table.”

“It’s like they were trapped in time,” Ingram added.

Read more on the 10th anniversary of the Alaska Airlines flight 261 crash at our news partner, the Seattle Times.

Update 7:53 a.m.: WSDOT is closing the SR 520 Montlake exits and I-5/Stewart St Freeway ramps at 8:30 a.m. for the memorial procession. Remember to take surface streets to work. Seattle Metro warns that many buses will be delayed or rerouted for the event all over the city, especially in Montlake, Capitol Hill and Queen Anne. The Seattle Transit Blog has information about bus reroutes (Thanks Capitol Hill Seattle Blog!).

Just a reminder that the memorial procession and service for Officer Timothy Brenton is happening tomorrow morning. Approximately 1,000 to 1,500 vehicles will leave the University of Washington at 9 a.m. and travel to the Key Arena for a memorial service, which begins at 1 p.m.
View Memorial Procession for Timothy Brenton in a larger map

The procession alone is expected to last from 9 a.m. to noon, and SDOT has advised commuters to be prepared for severe congestion near the procession path, as traffic will not be allowed to be on or cross the route (including bicyclists and pedestrians). On Queen Anne, 1st Ave N from Denny to Mercer, and Mercer St. from 1st Ave N to 5th Ave N will be closed for the procession arrival, and other roads around Seattle Center will be closed to traffic and parking prior to the event. There will be no parking along the procession path and Seattle Police Department officers will manage all intersections. The Seattle Times has mapped out the procession so you can avoid getting caught in extra event traffic.

The memorial service at Key Arena is open to the public. Doors will open at 11 a.m. The service begins at 1 p.m. There is no formal procession planned for after the ceremony.