A 13.67 high “King Tide” brought in boatloads of driftwood to beaches along Burien’s Three Tree Point neighborhood – but luckily not much damage – on Tuesday morning, Dec. 27, 2022.

According to the WA State Department of Ecology, “King Tides” are defined as the highest tides of the year, and they usually occur in December and January. The next one will be +12.78 feet at around 9:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 28 (more tide info from NOAA is here).

Not much (if any) saltwater was seen over the road on SW 172nd Street, but the seemingly-angry and extremely high Puget Sound was lapping at the edge and smashing large pieces of driftwood against bulkheads between around 8:40-9:15 a.m.

Some residents were seen with long gaffer’s poles, trying to push large floating logs out from their private beaches to drift in somewhere else. It was a tough battle though, as once pushed out, many would just end up being pushed right back in.

Luckily this didn’t happen during a big windstorm, as that could’ve really made a big mess and caused more damage.

The next “King Tides” will be: