Anacortes news on Anacortes Now

After 6 months of work by a team of boatbuilders, the Old Anacortes Rowing Society (OARS) Thursday launched their new wooden 27-foot gig, the Island Star, then showed the boat off to a small crowd at the north end of Cap Sante Marina.

A new survey by the Chamber of Commerce suggests that Anacortes residents want to see more shops in town, including clothing and shoe stores and a large retail store. The survey also polled non-residents, who reported they like the shops, restaurants and the small town feel of Anacortes.

Deception Pass State Park has started offering rare public tours of Kiket Island, which is now in the newly-named Kukutali Preserve. Deception Pass Park director Jack Hartt says the tours started just last Saturday and will be available every Saturday.

Tesoro says a fireball that caused the deaths of 7 workers last April was caused by a chemical reaction involving hydrogen molecules that worked their way into imperfections in the steel casing of the heat exchanger where the crew was working.

Fire crews from several fire departments battled a small fire in the Whistle Lake area late Sunday night. The Islands chapter of the Red Cross provided support for fire crews. Here, Dan Whittle, Fidalgo island Disaster Action Team member, sets up a Red Cross rehab center for firefighters.