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Department of Ecology News Release - September 10, 2004
04-174
YAKIMA - Winds and choppy waters on Lake Chelan created perfect conditions for a 19-foot powerboat to sink on Thursday evening in front of Campbell's Resort in Chelan.
Rushing to the rescue were emergency responders from the Chelan County Sheriff's Department, Lake Chelan Fire District 7, the Chelan County Emergency Management Department and Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology).
This was Tacoma boat owner Derek Eyring's maiden voyage. Docking the boat with its stern to the wind caused the boat to take on water and begin sinking.
Coincidentally, Ecology had coordinated a training session on Wednesday, Sept. 8, for local responders at Don Morse City Park and Marina. The training focused on safety, emergency response coordination, and the use of special equipment designed for oil and gas spills.
Ecology responders were relaxing by the lakeside after a full day of training Thursday when they observed the boat taking on water. In preparation for an expected practice spill, the responders had booms and pads handy to use to absorb the oil and fuel from the sinking boat.
"We were surprised to have an incident happen right in front of us, but we quickly went into emergency response mode and working with local sheriff and fire district personnel jumped right into the response operation," said Mark Layman, Ecology regional response manager. "We had an excellent combined team response."
Chelan County Sheriff's office towed the boat to the Don Morse boat launch, and the responding agencies pulled the boat out of the water, drained it, and loaded it onto the owner's trailer.
"We put our heads together and were able to salvage the boat and minimize the contamination to the lake," said Mike Simmons of the Chelan County Sheriff's office. "It was a good coordinated effort by all parties involved."
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Contact: Mary-Ellen Voss, Public Information Officer, Cell 360-790-7491, Pager 360-956-8296
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
