The pool at McMenamins Anderson School in Bothell is closed until further notice while additional ventilation is installed to reduce a thick fog that makes it difficult to see people in the water.

During a Jan. 4 inspection by the King County Public Health Department related to three cases of minor food poisoning, an inspector noticed a thick fog over the North Shore Lagoon.

McMenamins Pool Manager Debra Shelton said her department was already aware of the problem and planning on closing the pool independently. The thick fog created a situation where lifeguards were unable to clearly see the pool.

“We’re working with the Health Department to take care of the fog that sets up in our pool area,” she said. “We’re working on a very prompt solution. I know the engineer has already been in.”

The open air skylights in the pool chambers, designed to keep the room from becoming too humid, were drawing in cooler winter air, which turned to fog by hitting the pool’s 90 degree water, Shelton said.

“The water is perfect, the chemicals are perfect, it’s just the fog that’s created by our open air skylights,” she said. “We just need better ventilation to get the steam out of there.”

The pool could be reopened in a few weeks, though no specific date was available. Updates will be posted on the company’s website, at www.mcmenamins.com/AndersonSchool.

When McMenamins purchased the property, it agreed to let Bothell residents use the pool for free.

The Health Department was on site Jan. 4 after it received a food-borne illness complaint involving three of four people who ate hamburgers there Dec. 29 coming down with minor food poisoning.

An inspection report found several minor food service health code violations involving the handling of raw food and handwashing sinks, but not enough to shut down any restaurants.

A follow-up inspection is scheduled for next week to ensure the restaurant is following proper health code procedure.

Aaron Kunkler: akunkler@bothell-reporter.com; 425-318-7651.