SEATTLE — An encampment fire caused a massive plume of smoke to rise above downtown Seattle Monday afternoon.
The fire sparked in an encampment at Mercer Street near Fairview, close to an Interstate 5 on-ramp. Eastbound lanes of Mercer Street were blocked while firefighters worked on the scene.
There were no injuries reported and firefighters did not find anyone in the encampment.
Seattle Fire Department investigators say the fire on Mercer Street was intentionally set. A 46-year-old man was arrested for an investigation of reckless burning.
According to court documents, the man accused of setting the fire told officers at the scene that he was cleaning his tent when he knocked over a lit candle. He told police he did not initially notice the candle be knocked over, but attempted to extinguish the flames once his tent caught fire.
The smoke plume from the fire could be seen from across the water on Alki Beach.
“We've never seen anything like this happen in South Lake Union so it’s pretty shocking” said Natalia Pisanski.
Tracy Baumberg saw the flames from his window across the street.
“I’m on the sixth floor of the Pete Gross House. I’m a cancer patient here,” said Baumberg.
Baumberg said he heard two loud booms come from the blaze.
“We got away from the window in case there was a five-gallon propane case or something,” Baumberg said.
The Seattle Fire Department said from Jan. 1, 2023, to Aug. 13, 2023, it has responded to 811 encampment-related fires.
The department said that total includes illegal burns, rubbish fires, and encampment fires, but does not include RV fires.
Seattle fire crews have responded to the Mercer and Fairview encampment two previous times for reports of an encampment-related fire.
The Seattle Police Department has also responded to the encampment before. In March of this year, a 66-year-old woman was found dead there. Police ruled her death a homicide.
Mayor Bruce Harrell's office said in a statement to KING 5, “This location is a priority multijurisdictional site that’s scheduled to be addressed by WSDOT and the City’s Unified Care Team.”
There are still people living at the encampment and on Tuesday, Aug. 15, officials were on-site inspecting the area.