Fire reveals homeless camp inside Portland bridge on-ramp

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - One person has been taken to the hospital after a fire broke out at an encampment inside a hollowed-out portion of the Steel Bridge on-ramp.

Officials say eastbound access to the bridge from Northwest Everett Street was closed for hours Wednesday.

People said the big scene near Northwest Naito Parkway on Wednesday afternoon caught their attention.

“It’s a quick walk, had to get re-routed to avoid some of the tape, the warnings,” Shannon Chasteen, who was riding the MAX nearby, said.

And said after making their way around the fire crews, the smell hit them the hardest.

“It seemed like I was smelling kind of plastic to me. It was really kind of toxic to me,” Chasteen said.

Portland Fire said crews received reports of a fire near the Steel Bridge Wednesday afternoon just before 4 p.m. and said 20 firefighters responded.

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Once firefighters arrived on the scene, they said they saw smoke coming out from under the on-ramp and used a modified sledgehammer to create holes to access the flames coming from inside those walls.

Crews said once inside, they found some personal belongings had been burned. Officials said they also found areas modified with tunneled-out zones to create “individual-type living spaces” by digging tunnels.

Portland Fire says adding challenge was the enclosure of the space, made up of materials brought under the roadway and into the bridge.

People riding the MAX nearby said it’s sad to hear about another fire near an encampment.

“It’s a homeless camp. It’s a fire. It goes on all the time in downtown,” Cameron, who was riding the MAX nearby, said. “No warming shelters. It’s cold out. They start fires when they can.”

Officials said ODOT was also at the scene to evaluate structural integrity in this area.

Investigators said one person was taken to the hospital to be treated for serious burns and smoke inhalation.

“I think one person maybe might have gotten taken away,” Chasteen said.

Fire officials said the cause is still under investigation.

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