For the past 16 years, local photographer Dean Wenick has lived on a houseboat on the south side of the Ship Canal. In that time, he’s taken a lot of photographs of Fremont. I mean, A LOT of photographs of Fremont. Of its people, its buildings, its events and much more.

Throughout October, you’ll be able to see Dean’s artwork at Fremont Coffee Company. There will also be a reception as part of the First Friday Art Walk on October 7.

In the meantime, Dean is hoping to raise funds on Kickstarter for a special project called ‘My Side of the Canal.’ I’ll let Doug explain…

Support from Kickstarter will help with printing and framing photographs for the show. It will also allow me to scan more of the older film work. By making everything digital I will later be able to make a book and share this collection with more people.

This phase of my project will help with the print show and produce 75 small books of 12 pictures each. These are 3″x3″ hardcover books I print and make myself. I will make a prototype of a larger book and major contributors will receive a copy of this. Everyone who contributes at least $1 will receive a hand-made photo postcard.

To find out more about the project and make a donation, click here.  And next time you’re hanging out by the canal, keep an eye out for Dean and his camera and look in the direction he’s shooting. It’s probably something cool.

Seattle City Lights crews plan to install new lines on the towers that are on either side of the Ship Canal at Warren Avenue, completing last year’s project to provide more electrical capacity and reliability from their Canal and Broad Street substations.

The work will take place between May and July and will take place on both sides of the canal simultaneously. Portions of the Burke-Gilman Trail and Ship Canal Trail will be closed intermittently.

Two public meetings are planned to discuss the project. The topics will be the same at both meetings. The first is on Tuesday, March 29, from 7:30-8:30 a.m. at Seattle Pacific University’s Bertona Hall, 103 W. Bertona St., Room 2. Parking is free in the lot west of the Bertona building. The second meeting is on Tuesday, March 29 from 1-2 p.m. at Theo Chocolate, 3400 Phinney Ave. N.

For more information, visit the project information page.

Sister site Queen Anne View has the details on a request for Fremont volunteers from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking for volunteers to help plant hundreds of plants along the Fremont Cut of Lake Washington Ship Canal this week. Volunteers are needed on both Friday, November 19 and Saturday, November 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m..

Those interested in volunteering may sign up by contacting Anna Welland, from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, at anna.e.welland@usace.army.mil or 206-789-2622 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 206-789-2622 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, extension 216.

Check out the rest of the details, including where to meet and what you’ll need to bring here.

A 100-foot vessel from the early seasons of the TV show Deadliest Catch burned for more than an hour along the Ship Canal early this morning.

Nearly 100 firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze at a dock along the Queen Anne side, both from the dock and on the water. When fire crews arrived, they discovered the Arctic Dawn engulfed in flames, sending a huge column of smoke across the water into Ballard. The only person on the boat, an engineer, escaped the flames unharmed. There were no reported injuries.

My Ballard, which covered the fire, has more on the story here.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began planting 40 poplar trees along the Ship Canal today, Friday, April 23 as part of the Fremont Cut rehabilitation plan.

According to Corps Public Affairs Specialist Andrea Takash, the garden staff from the Ballard Locks will be planting 20 poplar tress next to the Burke-Gilman Trail in Fremont, and another 20 by the South Ship Canal Trail bordering Queen Anne and Magnolia. There will be no closures and minor impact to the Burke-Gilman trail during the planting.

“We are excited to enter into the planting portion of phase two of the
Fremont Cut rehabilitation plan,” said Dru Butterfield, Natural Resources
manager for the Lake Washington Ship Canal. “The poplar trees are 12-feet
tall and typically grow 2-3 feet per year.”

This is only the first part of planting the Corps will be doing along the Ship Canal this year. In the fall the team will return to plant an additional 400 understory plants and shrubs. The entire Fremont Cut rehabilitation plan has four phases, spread out through 2030. (Phase three isn’t set to begin until 2018). From a Corps press release published this week:

The Corps’ plan is to restore the aging poplar colonnade in a historically appropriate manner and to replant shrubs and ground covers that have been lost over time. The plan is a comprehensive, practical and environmentally sensitive plan to guide the Corps’ management activities.

Follow the progress at the Army Corps Ship Canal project page.

Beginning this fall, the Army Corps of Engineers plans to cut down 32 poplar trees and plant 40 more along both sides of the Ship Canal.

The Ship Canal, which is operated by the Corps, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and must adhere to federal preservation standards. “The Corps’ plan is to restore the aging poplar colonnade in a historically appropriate matter and to replant shrubs and ground cover that have been lost over time,” the Corps explains in a press release to the neighborhood, underscoring the work will be “environmentally sensitive.” This is the second phase of the replanting — the first took place in 2001, when 22 trees were removed and 53 were planted. (Thanks Michael for the tip!)

A boat docked at Morrison’s North Star Marine’s refueling station along Westlake Ave. exploded just before noon, sending one person to the hospital and creating a dramatic chain of events that averted a much larger fire.

Fremont resident Warren captured the sequence on camera. Witnesses say the burning boat was cut loose from the refueling dock under the Aurora Bridge, and then it drifted southeast alongside Diamond Marina next door.

It charred the front of a large boat (above) as it drifted by, and the flames threatened to ignite the boathouse.

That’s when witnesses say Harbor Patrol pulled it into the middle of the Ship Canal and extinguished the flames.

Craig Edwards, whose boat is moored at the Diamond Marina, praised the Harbor Patrol for their quick response, averting what may have been a devastating marina fire. One person was taken to Harborview Medical Center and another sustained minor injuries.

TV crews videotaping Morrison’s North Star Marine’s refueling dock. Westlake Ave. was closed for a half hour or so during the fire response, diverting traffic to Dexter Ave. and delaying traffic over the Fremont Bridge.

(Thanks Warren for sending us the photos!)