SEATTLE (AP) — The fire that burned a storage yard and scorched the Ballard Bridge in Seattle was caused by a transient’s campfire.
Fire Department spokeswoman Dana Vander Houwen (HOW’-en) says a cooking fire spread accidentally Wednesday night and caused an estimated $100,000 damage.
The fire burned four small boats, a truck and wooden pallets. The charred bridge was closed until 2 a.m. Thursday, and Seattle Transportation Department inspectors returned with daylight for a closer look.
City bridge maintenance supervisor Greg Funk says the heat melted phone wires to the bridge tower, caused a little damage to the power lines for the drawspan and melted paint. But he says there is no structural damage and the bridge is operating normally.
