UPDATE: Brush fire southwest of 1st Avenue South Bridge

1:35 PM: Thanks for the tips. Some traffic interruptions continue on southbound 99 just south of the 1st Avenue South Bridge, and near Highland Park Way/2nd SW, because of what’s logged as a brush-fire response. Avoid the area for a while.

2:33 PM: Officers have just told dispatch that they’re reopening northbound West Marginal at the scene.

2:43 PM: And now they’re reopening everything else that was closed.

ADDED FRIDAY AFTERNOON: Readers wondered if this was related to an encampment, as some other nearby fires have been. According to SFD spokesperson David Cuerpo, who spoke with crews who were on scene, “There was not sufficient evidence that this brush fire was related to an encampment. The brush fire involved an area approx. half an acre in size. No injuries were reported.”

KayK August 24, 2023 (1:40 pm)

Presumably why the helicopter is circling?!

WSB August 24, 2023 (1:49 pm)

Yeah, just the helicopter the TV stations share. Tracker shows it moving on now.

Actually Mike August 24, 2023 (2:25 pm)

Another encampment neighborhood. Coincidence?

WSB August 24, 2023 (2:34 pm)

Don’t know. Will be asking SFD after they close out the call.
Derek August 24, 2023 (3:22 pm)

Why go straight to the anti-homeless takes before at least even knowing for sure?
- Alki resident August 24, 2023 (4:21 pm)
  
  Anti homeless? It’s way too often encampments are burning as are the surrounding land caused by the homeless. A lot of us have been effected by it, great for you if you haven’t. Some of us like to come home and find our houses still intact
- Spooled August 24, 2023 (4:31 pm)
  
  Because there’s a lot of encampments down there and they frequently catch fire.
- WestSeattleBadTakes August 24, 2023 (4:51 pm)
  
  The homeless have set up camp in their head apparently.
- AMD August 24, 2023 (5:06 pm)
  
  Because only homeless people flick cigarette butts out their car window or light off fireworks, and nobody with housing has ever done anything stupid or destructive or criminal ever. Duh.
- Jeff August 24, 2023 (5:32 pm)
  
  It’s the simplest explanation. Fires don’t start from nowhere, and lacking things like non-code electrical installations and lightning storms at that location, why would anyone assume anything else until shown otherwise?
- Rick August 25, 2023 (7:32 am)
  
  I believe that was a question.

TJ August 24, 2023 (6:03 pm)

Because there is a real strong correlation of fires starting in homeless encampments in this city. Obviously

Amd August 24, 2023 (7:32 pm)

There were more fires in houses last year than encampments. By your logic that means people with houses should be assumed responsible for their own house fires, because there are a lot of house fires so it must be so.
- Alki resident August 24, 2023 (8:52 pm)
  
  Those that own homes have insurance and the damage normally doesn’t spread to other properties or state land or green spaces. Encampments are illegal, owning your home isn’t. Blowing up propane tanks is illegal, so is setting fires that get out of control.
- Peter S. August 25, 2023 (9:27 am)
  
  @AMD: False comparison. What you say MAY (??) be true, but there are A LOT more houses than encampments.
  - HBJ August 25, 2023 (1:00 pm)
    
    Expanding on Peter S.’s comment, Seattle Fire Department statistics indicate they responded to 1538 encampment fires in 2022, out of a total of 18,094 fire responses. So, encampment fires represent 8.5% of all fire responses. In light of the size of our homeless population (0.59% of King County residents are homeless based on the 2022 Point in Time Count and census estimates, which are the best figures I can find), encampment fires occur surprisingly often.

Lola August 25, 2023 (8:53 am)

Do we know how the fire was started?

Actually Mike August 25, 2023 (5:56 pm)

Thanks for following up RE: possible encampment connections. Not actually out to get those folks or anything, just want to make it to October without going up in smoke–and I see some not-exactly-to-code stuff when driving through that area…

Sorry, comment time is over.