Propane tanks explode, one injured at Bellingham homeless encampment by ball fields
Multiple propane tanks exploded and at least one person was injured at a homeless tent encampment in the lower parking lot of Frank Geri Softball Fields, according to Bellingham police Lt. Claudia Murphy.
Bellingham police and the Bellingham Fire Department responded to the corner of Puget and Fraser streets shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 11.
When Bellingham firefighters arrived, a tent and some make-shift structures with tarps were on fire, according to Dustin Michaelis with Bellingham Fire.
Michaelis said small propane tanks were hissing and then exploded.
By 1:45 p.m., the fires were put out. The tent and tarped structures were destroyed, Michaelis said.
One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, Murphy said. No other injuries were reported, she said.
Fraser Street was temporarily shut down, but was reopened by 3 p.m. on Thursday, Murphy said.
The cause of the tent fire is under investigation, Murphy said.
Volunteers and community members worked to set up a warming shelter Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 9, at the homeless tent encampment near the ball fields in anticipation of the area’s expected inclement weather, according to social media statements by BOP (Bellingham Occupied Protest) Mutual Aid.
The city provided notice early last week that residents of the encampment had to move themselves and their belongings by 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5. As of Thursday afternoon, Feb. 11, several dozen tents and make-shift shelters remained set up at the encampment near the ball fields, and the city had not taken action to clear the encampment.
A homeless tent encampment, known as Camp 210, started in November on the lawns of Bellingham City Hall and the Bellingham Public Library as an occupied protest over the lack of shelter available in the area for homeless people.
The city spent nearly $75,000 on the Jan. 28 removal of the downtown tent encampment, which was cleared a day before the city’s deadline for the homeless encampment to leave. Protesters used wooden pallets to block officials from clearing the encampment, while volunteers helped the encampment move to the lower parking lot near the ball fields.
The city has also opened a warming site for people who are homeless in downtown Bellingham at the Depot Market Square.
— Warren Sterling, wsterling@bhamherald.com, contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 1:48 PM.
