It’s very, very sad to watch. The news is showing pictures of the Street of Dreams homes in or near Woodinville up in flames. It’s a massive fire.
Apparently none were occupied homes, so no one was hurt as far as I can tell so far.
Unbelievably it appears that the group taking credit for the arson activity is an “Eco-Terrorist” group of some kind. Not Built Green enough apparently, and the penalty is they have been destroyed.
I find this very, very hard to believe, but Kim tells me that it is not the first time he has seen this kind of activity in the Pacific Northwest. Apparently there are stories of this type of arson going back for decades and as recent as 2004 in Snohomish County.
Talk about giving “tree-huggers” a bad name…astounding.
How eco-friendly is it to send all of the toxins from the fire into our air? What a group of idiots.
Or the water. I wonder what the effect was on salmon? I assume they are either eggs or babies at this point, and toxic water probably isn’t good for either.
And the extra lumber that WILL be used when the homes are rebuilt. Insanity.
Maybe it’s insurance fraud and the ELF are convenient idiots to pin it
on.
That’s a possibility, except I think we’re dealing with multiple builders, and if so, that would be going a bit far to cover your tracks.
But it does remind me of an old joke about two builders picking up insurance checks from their insurance agent, where the punch line was: “How did you start a volcano?”
Cat –
It is kind of suspicious that the only house with a buyer lined up was not torched. The rest have been sitting idle on the market since last year.
These people also destroyed the Center for Urban Horticulture, so it is assumed, losing years worth of experiments. The alleged perpetrator for that debacle is scheduled to go on trial in the near future.
I think the jury is already empanelled on that case.
Cat, according to ARDELL’s post (above), they are taking credit for it…not just being idiots to pin this crime on.
There is more to this story than you are getting in the paper.
This development was built directly on an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of people. Including septic systems that are built right on top of permeable sand that sits on top of the aquifer.
A large wetland area was filled in to create this monstrous, un-sellable wastes of resources.
I’m not defending the ELF, if that is who it really was, but this was a horrible development, done in an area that was not in an ecosystem with the ability to absorb its impact and maintain biological and environmental diversity.
“The Earth Liberation Front, known for violent acts in the name of environmentalism, left a sign at the scene and was suspected to have set fire to the swanky, newly built neighborhood — though authorities hadn’t ruled other possible culprits out.”
Above is from FoxNews. Seems odd to leave a sign…did it have an arrow pointing to where they could be found?
I sure hope a thorough investigation is underway and that the detectives will look at all possibilities beyond just simply accepting that it was ELF.
I just saw the news and “the sign” which was actually a roughly scribbled banner, looked like a piece of a sheet. Didn’t look like the work of someone with such a carefully planned and executed plan of attack on those homes.
The authorities clearly stated that they are not making any assumptions or conclusions based on the signature piece.
This development was built directly on an aquifer that supplies drinking water to thousands of people.
Great. So all of the toxins from the fire are going right into the water supply. How utterly fantastic.
I also love how the nature group is using aerosol spray paint cans to make their sign.
Then there is the fact that all the copper piping was removed before the houses burned down (That isn’t really a fact. I just made it up).
Maybe it was just someone who hates McMansions and those who can afford them. Hard to believe an environmental group would wait so long to torch homes built on an aquifer. Seems more likely they would have caused trouble while they were being built a long time ago.
It is amazing to me that someone would think that burning down houses is effective in furthering their cause.
Terrorism in Seattle. Elect more appeasers.
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So instead of leaving the homes up, with the timber used to construct them, the eco-terrorism thought justified to return those border back to a carbon based form of nothingness, hmmm. Self defeating purpose and just plain idiotic. Good thing for blogs as the I spend watching tv is nothing and would never had heard of this.
That some news outfits have called ELF “anti-sprawl activists” or “radical environmentalists” instead of eco-terrorists is no surprise. That the neighbors would like to use the power of government and our money to protect their lifestyle by preventing new development and keeping other people from moving in is no surprise either. Where are the neighbors’ homes built if not on the top of the aquifer?
1-800-55-ARSON
I just heard this on the news. It’s the hotline to call if you have any information or tips regarding this fire.
Now I know why I don’t live in the Seatte Area, just a bunch of eco freaks………………
I hope the cops find these eco-terrorists and lock them away for a LONG time.