The cause of Sunday evening’s Barkley neighborhood homeless encampment fire, which caused several small propane tanks to explode and injured one man, is still under investigation, Bellingham Fire Department Captain Dave Pethick reported.
The Bellingham Police Department issued a community alert at approximately 7:45 p.m. Feb. 17 asking people to avoid a wooded area near Brandywine Way and Barkley Boulevard after several propane tanks in the area exploded.
The Bellingham Fire Department later tweeted at 8:27 p.m. that crews had just finished cleaning up a homeless encampment fire in the area and that some small propane tanks had exploded.
The man who was transported to the hospital suffered minor injuries, Pethick told The Bellingham Herald in an email, but the camp itself was mostly destroyed.