Recent rainfall, flooding pushes debris, logs onto Mercer Island shores

MERCER ISLAND. Wash. — Mercer Island's Marine Patrol is warning people to be careful when boating on Lake Washington after recent rainfall and flooding left several large piles of debris and logs.

Crews have been working for days trying to clear logs from the lake.

Workers have gathered “about a dozen so far. It’s still pretty early in the season. I’ll use three years ago as an example, we plucked over a hundred out of the lake,” Sgt. Brian Noel of Mercer Island’s Marine unit said.

Ranji Sinha talked to Jim Cameron, Mercer Island Beach Club’s facilities manager, about the logs slamming into the club’s docks.

“Just a lot of floating logs and debris that comes down the river,” Cameron said.

He said he’s fished out 10 to 15 logs in the past week.

The logs were flushed out of the Cedar River and flowed into Lake Washington.

A break in the rain has made it easier to find and tow the logs, but more rain is on the way.

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