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Homeless camp in Vancouver burns

By Scott Hewitt, Columbian staff writer
Published: February 12, 2022, 8:15pm
2 Photos
A homeless camp on and below the West Mill Plain Extension Bridge, just west of downtown Vancouver, burned on Saturday afternoon.
A homeless camp on and below the West Mill Plain Extension Bridge, just west of downtown Vancouver, burned on Saturday afternoon. (Erin Middlewood/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

A homeless camp on the edge of downtown Vancouver, near the railway station, caught fire and burned at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday.

The camp was on the ground below the east end of the West Mill Plain Extension Bridge, near Lincoln Avenue. The camp was destroyed, and some material on top of the bridge — on the south side — also burned.

On the scene, Vancouver Fire Department Battalion Chief Tige Harmon said nobody was hurt. A firefighter directed traffic, which kept flowing over the bridge.

Later in the afternoon, firefighters were heard on The Columbian’s emergency response scanner saying the safety guardrail on the bridge was damaged, and they asked city building officials to take a look. But public information officer Heidi Parr said the bridge itself was not damaged.

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