Chelan Fire & Rescue had pre-emptive containment in place

by Loni Rahm, photo of accident site above taken Monday, 8/26/19

Joye Redfield-Wilder from the Department of Ecology called it an “unfortunate situation” that could have been much worse.

There were no injuries to the driver whose car plunged into Lake Chelan near Rocky Point on Friday night. The car came to a rest in about 20 feet of water, approximately 60 feet off shore. Personnel from Chelan Fire and Rescue, Washington State Patrol and Chelan County Sheriff were quickly on the scene.

The pre-emptive containment boom placed around the car by Chelan Fire & Rescue prior to extraction is visible in Trooper John Bryant’s photo above. Unfortunately the oil pan tore off the car from rocks along the shoreline as it was being pulled from the lake, resulting in an oil and fuel spill.

Redfiel-Wilder said the oil, while not completely contained, was “captured well” from the absorbent material in the initial boom deployment. The fuel, she said, will evaporate.

DOE placed additional containment equipment and did a shoreline reconnaissance. They noticed a slight oil sheen on the surface of the lake in the vicinity but reported no visible impacts on fish and wildlife.

When asked about the possibility of residual effects on water quality, Redfield-Wilder indicated that every sensitive situation has a cumulative impact on its environment. She cautioned boaters to be extremely careful about refueling on the lake.

Several years ago, Chelan Fire & Rescue obtained emergency spill response equipment through a DOE grant program, which Chief Donnell said they have used successfully several times.

Update: In a media advisory released just as this story was ready for publication, Redfield-Wilder said:

“We picked up the remaining spill response equipment on Lake Chelan and Monday and there’s no longer any sheen from the vehicle that went into the lake on Friday. Our responders pulled the absorbents and boom and found the lake “crystal clear.” Good news for the Labor Day weekend holiday.”

Related LCN Story: 8/25/19 – Car Misses Curve Near Rocky Point

The site of a vehicle extraction on Lake Chelan Monday afternoon shows no signs of an oil leak that occurred Friday evening after a vehicle crashed into the lake. (Photo by Department of Ecology)