Lake Desire Home

July News

July 18, 2009

photos by Tom Stafford

Thanks to all the neighbors who called 911 right away, and sent reports and photos to me.  Here is what I compiled. Sorry for the delay.

• Firefighters Battled Blaze in Renton near Lake Desire - By DENNIS BOX Covington Reporter Editor  Jul 17 2009, 9:37 PM · UPDATED  Wildland firefighters from Mountain View Fire and Rescue and Maple Valley firefighters fought a blaze in the Renton area near Lake Desire today according to King County Fire District No. 44 spokesman Tim Perciful. Last reports are the fire appears to be under control. The fire alarm came in about 3:30 p.m. Covington Reporter Editor Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@maplevalleyreporter.com or 425-432-1209 ext. 5050. Googled and found on this site: http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/
  cmv/news/51062057.html

Faiwood Community News Story on Fire - CLICK HERE.

• Lake Desire Fire Under Control  - Fire trucks and personnel from Renton and Maple Valley Fire Depts congregated at the entrance to our driveway (17826) yesterday afternoon for several hours into the evening.  They used our driveway and that of our neighbor, Doug Kosten, to get water and people to the hot spots.  Doug's paved driveway enabled them to bring smaller trucks up top with their own smallish built-in water supply, as well as ferry groups of firefighters back and forth from the fire to the aid station on E. Lake Desire Drive via ATV (all-terrain vehicle).  The new fire hydrants installed last year, one of which fronts our property, came in very handy, as the hose snaked all the way to the top of the mountain (and beyond).  According to Doug, who witnessed the action at the top from a lounge chair next to his garage, the fire-fighter first-impression is that the fire appears to have started at/near the top of the mountain.  Burnt areas come within ~50 feet of his place.  It was stopped from traveling west toward Lake Desire by the resources that were able to get up top.  Otherwise, potentially, it would have continued traveling down the west-side of Echo Mountain and they would have been fighting from the top of our driveway, spraying uphill.  All in all, a great job by the Fire Departments, and it's great to be able to offer them paved access to the top (thanks, Doug).  You can bet they're not going to forget about that.  In addition, we now have a bit of a fire break for the rest of the season, since the burnt areas will not be growing back this summer.  I'm curious to see the extent of the fire on the east side of the mountain.   Submitted by Karen Walker, 17826 E Lake Desire Dr. SE, thewalkers@hotmail.com.          
• Echo Mountain Hiking Report – Please pass this link along to the community. The forest fire near Echo Mountain yesterday reminded me of how fortunate we are to have the gorgeous Spring Lake/Lake Desire Park in our backyards. Here's a place to comment on our park: http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports/trip_report.2009-01-08.8054422968.  Thanks to Patti and John Wall for spotting the fire and calling 911. I haven't seen the burned area to know its size, but will investigate on this Wednesday's walk.  If anyone is interested, meet at the end of East Lake Desire Drive at 7pm on 7/22 or contact Dorothy, to.e@comcast.net for more details. Submitted by Dorothy Paun.
• Emergency Procedures – I just talked with Vi and we are trying to think of a way to pass the word on emergencies. I am going to call Sandy Hadock at FD 40, and someone at FD 43 this coming week and see if there is a way we can develop some type of alert, and notice, to keep us informed.  Anyone that wants to help me with this effort is more than welcome.  They can e-mail me. I will be going in with KC Parks staff on Monday to see damage and try to get their help for us.  Submitted by Kathy Shertz, katshertz@q.com.
• Lake Desire Fire Witness - From your home you probably couldn't see the fire or smoke on Echo Mountain yesterday.  The fire doesn't look all that scary but knowing how dry the forest is it was obvious it could have gotten ugly in a hurry.  We saw the smoke around 3:20, and Patti called 911. We called Dorothy Paun on the opposite side of the lake and she hiked to where the action was and called later to give us an update.  It was a bit of a heart-thumper there for a while.  I was very happy to see our King Co. Fire Department get things under control.  If I understood correctly Dorothy said the firemen had to hand-drag nearly a half mile of hose up the hill to battle the blaze.  Wow what an effort by the emergency crew!  Submitted by John Wall, john@johnwall.com. (He sent a photo of a helicopter and the smoke.)

Lake Desire Clubhouse Rental – Contact Vi Anderson at 425-226-7005 or woods_inn@msn.com  for details.  The clubhouse features a full kitchen, tables and chairs to seat up to 40 people (max 60), new carpet and restrooms. Members receive a discount on renting the community clubhouse.  The normal rate is $75 to rent the clubhouse for the whole day or ($15 per hour- min. of 3 hours.) Members can rent the clubhouse at a discount for only $60 per day. Membership is $15 for the calendar year for individuals/families or $10 for senior citizens.

Heather Smith
Lake Desire Secretary
425-917-9533
Heather@smith.net or HeatherSmithNet@comcast.net