Inferno at Olympia Encampment While Homeless Wait for Hotel

Encampment Needs to Close

Wednesday’s fire took out multiple tents in the Hobby Lobby (@HobbyLobby) homeless encampment near Sleater-Kinney Road in #Olympia on @wsdot property. No reports of any serious injuries. I’ve been tracking this place for months and visited just a few days.

Before this most recent fire, dozens of homeless people started moving in just in the past few weeks, hoping to get “tagged” and in line for one of the rooms at the former #Lacey Days Inn. It’s being converted into a homeless hotel for more than 100 people. But there were delays with this project after crews found meth in the walls. Either way, city and state leaders hope this is a solution to one of the most problematic camps in the region, blamed for fires, crime, and rampant open air drug use.

Wednesday Inferno

Flames erupted in Hobby Lobby homeless encampment in #Olympia near Martin Way and Sleater Kinney Rd. #Lacey#ThurstonCounty

Courtesy: Thurston County Scanner, News, and Weather Blog

Unclear What Started It

Unclear what started it. But here is an on the ground update Wednesday from Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders ( @ThurstonSheriff): “I drove over and found some WSP Troopers in the lot with a pretty large sized blaze running through the camp. We asked individuals to evacuate the area so that the fire department could do their job, but a number of them flat out declined and did whatever they wanted to do.”

Back in March

This is what the camp looked like a few months ago. I took a deep dive into #Olympia‘s homeless crisis spiraling out of control on @WSDOT properties.

Broad Spectrum

This is not just a housing issue as CERTAIN POLITICIANS want you to believe. Some people clearly want to live on the streets this way. Some are entitled and won’t leave without the perfect situation. #Olympia