At approximately 2:16 p.m., Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) responded to a fire near Willamette Boulevard and Menlo Avenue. According to PF&R Public Information Officer Rick Graves, an unattended fire in a homeless encampment caused the fire to extend to the brush nearby.
The fire was extinguished 30 minutes after PF&R responded, and no injuries have been reported, according to Graves.
Campus Safety was alerted of the incident at approximately 2:18 p.m. and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) arrived at the scene shortly after at 2:33 p.m., according to Director of Campus Safety and Emergency Management Michael McNerney.
According to McNerney, the smoke from the fire did not pose any health hazard or endanger students.
Eyewitness Kobe Robinson, who lives across the scene of the fire, says the area has previously caught fire.
“I think this is the third time in the past year, maybe more, that the camps had a fire,” Robinson said. “This seems like the worst one, but hopefully no one has been harmed.”
PF&R confirmed that the area has a history of brush fires.
Samantha Zavala is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at zavala27@up.edu
Camille Kuroiwa-Lewis contributed to this story. She can be reached at kuroiwal26@up.edu.
