By DAN RICHMAN

drichman@whidbeynewstimes.com

Two Whidbey Island lakes are experiencing dangerously toxic blue-green algae blooms, the Washington State Deptartment of Ecology said in a prepared release this week.

Lone Lake, southwest of Langley, and Cranberry Lake, in Deception Pass State Park, are both currently suffering blooms.

The blooms can make people sick, especially the young and elderly, officials warned. And pets should be kept out of affected waters, as the bloom can kill them.

“If you see scum on the water, don’t swim in it, and don’t let pets swim in or drink the water,” said Lizbeth Seebacher, an environmental scientist overseeing the state’s freshwater algae-control system, in prepared remarks.

Cranberry Lake was closed to the public on Friday, Aug. 14, and will remain closed “until we get tests back showing it’s safe,” Park Manager Jack Hartt said Wednesday. “We are trying to make sure our visitors are safe. We hope to get some good test results soon.”

Cranberry Lake was closed for three weeks last summer for the same reason.

It is an especially popular lake for swimming during the summers. Goose poop and E. Coli have caused problems at the lake in the past, but the algae bloom is an unrelated problem.

Nine of the lakes tested in Washington currently have toxic blooms, the officials said. Scientists think warm water caused by the state’s drought is partly to blame, they said. But not all algae are toxic.

For more information, visit www.nwtoxicalgae.org/Default.aspx