What a week: accidents, burglary, power outages in La Conner

A full moon didn't rise until Sunday, but a lot of crazy things happened in the La Conner area days prior.

It started with a burglary at Pioneer Market and included a pair of power outages, the sinking of a boat on the waterfront and a car slamming into a house and flipping onto its top side off Shelter Bay Drive Friday night.

The early Wednesday break-in at the Morris Street grocery store didn't net the burglars much. They got away with five cartons of cigarettes and apparently had their images captured on the store's security camera system for their troubles.

"They rifled through our cash drawers but didn't find anything there," store manager Bob Carter told the Weekly News. "We don't keep anything in those."

Carter said the front-door window broken by the burglars was replaced within a couple days. He said the Skagit County Sheriff's Office has collected all evidence in the case.

The first of the two power outages occurred Thursday afternoon when a car struck and severed a pole on La Conner-Whitney Road at the curve south of McLean Road.

"The car was wedged between the pole and the guide wires," Skagit County Fire District 13 Chief Wood Weiss, whose crews were on scene for over three hours, said afterward. "There was one driver and he was able to extricate himself and suffered no apparent injuries.

"The power lines were intact and there was no arcing or sparking," said Weiss. "PSE (Puget Sound Energy) had to shut off the power to replace the pole."

Power was out briefly for about 1,500 customers in and around La Conner, though about three dozen residents near the accident scene didn't have electrical service restored until later that evening.

The lights went out at La Conner Schools as students were preparing baked goods in teacher Peter Voorhees' classroom for the local PTSA chapter's weekend stage play performances at the Bruce Performing Arts Center.

"We were in the middle of baking chocolate chip cookies," said Voorhees, who teaches culinary arts and world history. "But the kids were able to carry on the old-school way."

Voorhees said students hand-mixed dough with spoons and used their cell phone flashlights to brighten up the kitchen.

A power outage 7:40 p.m. Friday in front of Calico Cupboard on South First Street coincided with a Skagit Community Band concert at Maple Hall. But the show did go on.

The music continued thanks to emergency wall lights and music stand lights.

"Everyone was in good humor and stayed to the end," said Ken Stern. "Selections included Apollo 13 and that was commented on."

And, the band even played an encore.

La Conner Fire Chief Aaron Reinstra said the issue was due to a bad line at the south end of First Street.

"The line had to be replaced and PSE took care of it," said Reinstra.

La Conner resident Vernon Washington, Sr., who often walks the waterfront boardwalk, called in the downed line and stood by until the fire department arrived.

The fire department was among numerous agencies that earlier Friday responded to the sinking of a 22-24-foot vessel. Swinomish Police, Fire District 13, The Port of Skagit, Skagit County Sheriff's Office, Department of Emergency Management, Washington Department of Ecology and U.S. Coast guard were all involved, Reinstra said.

DOE took charge of the boat's removal, Reinstra said.

Late Friday night residents along Shelter Bay Drive between Skagit Way and Elwha Drive heard what sounded like a loud explosion in their neighborhood.

"There was this big boom," said a neighbor, who stepped outside her house and heard someone yell to call 911.

The unsettling noise had been caused by a car crashing into the house's kitchen area after the driver lost control. Those rushing to the scene said they found the driver had exited the car and was conscious and communicative, having suffered what Weiss termed non-life threatening injuries.

"The wall, cabinets, appliances, water pipes and countertops were significantly damaged," Weiss said. "Thankfully, the occupants were unscathed but shaken in the living room."

By Sunday, when the full moon – though shrouded here by clouds – rose, a large sheet of plywood had been attached to the exterior wall struck by the car. A stretch of tire tracks leading from Shelter Bay Drive to the house was still clearly visible.