Fire Breaks Out at Encampment in La Grande, One Hospitalized
By Joe Hathaway on Friday, September 8th, 2023 in Featured Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE — One person was hospitalized after a fire broke out at what appeared to be a homeless encampment in La Grande.
Fire crews were called to the scene around 12:30pm on Thursday, September 7 behind a home at 1701 Jefferson Avenue, just next to the train tracks.
A woman who witnessed the scene says she heard two people yelling when the fire broke out.
Crews were able to quickly tackle the blaze, which burned brush and damaged the back fence of that home.
Elkhorn Media Group was at the scene and saw paramedics load a man on a stretcher into an ambulance. His injuries and condition are unknown.
Elkhorn Media Group also saw tents, tarps, garbage and other possessions at the scene of the fire, most of which was burnt.
Ron Wheeler, who lives next door to where the fire occurred, says he noticed people beginning to camp behind his fence a week ago. He says he’s called police several times about a woman at the camp who’s been yelling. He says after she’s removed by police, she just reappears the next day.
“Now anytime my kids are outside, I have to be out there with them because I’m worried about the people coming on my property or my kids stepping on something like needles”, says Wheeler.
Officials say the cause of the fire is under investigation.
