Monday, December 08, 2025
37.0°F

Second building burns down at Moses Lake homeless camp

EMRY DINMAN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 10 months AGO
by EMRY DINMAN
Staff Writer | January 28, 2020 5:46 PM

MOSES LAKE — A second outbuilding burned to the ground early Tuesday morning in a homeless camp established on a property owned by local landowner Mick Hansen.

There were no reported injuries.

Shortly before 4 a.m., a man sleeping in the building woke to the sound of a fire raging, he told the Herald on Tuesday. Unable to put out the fire, he walked toward the larger building where the majority of the homeless stay on the property, when a loud explosion shook the ground, he said.

The explosion was caused by propane tanks as the fire reached them, according to the campers. Individuals staying on the property said that the camp’s entire propane supply had been stored in a single location, all of which ignited in the ensuing fire. Campers are asking for donations of propane and fire extinguishers.

The property has become a makeshift shelter for, at one point or another, the majority of Moses Lake’s homeless population. With no warming shelter open this year, Police Chief Kevin Fuhr said Tuesday that he hopes the current situation can last until warmer weather arrives in April, and that city officials are in talks about possible alternatives for next winter.

ARTICLES BY EMRY DINMAN

August 19, 2018 1 a.m.

Mattawa Police Department to use new emergency alert system

The Mattawa Police Department will be using a new emergency alert system to better and more quickly inform residents of fires, traffic hazards and other incidents.

December 12, 2018 midnight

Royal City seeking new councilmember

The Royal City Council is going to enter the new year short one councilmember, and is currently soliciting applications from individuals interested in filling the position.

December 5, 2018 midnight

Mattawa looks to the legislature to make filling agency easier

To combat the difficulties Mattawa has had filling its Civil Service Commission, the town is deploying municipal lawyer Katherine Kenison to lobby the legislature to simplify the process during the upcoming legislative session.