Eastside Fire dept. sets burn ban

Eastside Fire and Rescue has placed a seasonal ban on outdoor burning.

The moratorium began June 15 and runs through Sept. 30.

Cooking and recreation fires can be no lager than three feet in diameter and two feet in height. Wood fires must use only seasoned wood. Propane, natural gas and charcoal fires do not require a burn permit.

Fire should be contained in a fire pit or ring, or approved appliance.

Land clearing fires have been permanently banned in King County.

Improvements gear up at Tolt park

Upgrades for improved river access and better amenities are rolling forward in the Lower Valley, affecting Tolt-MacDonald Park.

The upgrades are part of the second and final phase of one of the most important salmon-habitat restoration projects in King County, which gets under way soon at the confluence of the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers near Carnation.

When completed, the Tolt River Restoration Project will offer significant public recreation and flood control benefits, in addition to improved spawning and rearing habitat for endangered chinook salmon and other fish.

Crews completed the project’s first phase last summer. The second and final phase began in early June and is expected to be completed by this December.

Initial work will include constructing a new setback levee and six engineered wood structures to help protect the park’s campground, Mariner ballfield, and other developed areas from river erosion.

Construction activity includes earthwork and driving wood piles into the floodplain soils to support these constructed floodplain features. Pile driving, which also occurred last year, began in late June and conclude in early August.

Other work this year will include removing the existing degraded levee, which runs directly adjacent the Tolt River, and replacing it with a new levee that will be constructed to modern standards.

Some portions of the park will be closed to public access while project materials are staged and work is under way.

However, most of the park will remain open and available for public use during project construction, including access to the Boy Scout Bridge and the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers.

While the road that ran atop the old Tolt River levee along the northern shore is closed and will no longer provide access and parking, there will be river access along Tolt Hill Road, plus additional parking within the park.