Evening brush fire at Tacoma park disrupts nearby homeless encampment

A fire broke out at Tacoma’s Oak Tree Park as the sun was setting Monday evening, causing the disruption and possibly displacement of a nearby homeless camp.

Multiple callers reported the fire to the Tacoma Fire Department just after 8 p.m. In a phone call, department spokesman Joe Meinecke said the fire was in a ravine where a segment of the Water Flume Line bike path runs.

Because the area was difficult to access from the park, which is near South 74th Street and South Cedar Street, firefighters steering specialized fire rigs entered from access points east and west of Oak Tree and then drove on the path to the fire. According to Meinecke, in order to reach the fire, they had to move tenants of nearby homeless encampments.

By 9 p.m., the firefighters had fully contained the flames and were extinguishing hot spots. The battalion chief at the scene estimated that the fire seared approximately 3-4 of the park’s 25 acres. Meinecke said that no one was injured or hurt in the fire, and investigators will return to the park Tuesday to determine its cause.