Letter: Homeless-encampment damage pales compared to wholesale slaughter by property developers

Posted

The Olympia Fire Department responded to a 7:45 a.m. call today at Wheeler St. encampment trash pile.

By the time the fire department arrived, one female had already started taming the fire. It had been reduced to a smoldering heap (see photo).

The responding fire personnel maintained a watch to ensure the fire was out. Water from the once pristine Moxlie Creek was used by the volunteer to extinguish the fire. Moxlie Creek is a salmon habitat and has been devastated by the encampments along Wheeler St.

Notice also in one picture the fallen tree in the foreground. A very recent addition to downed trees in the Wheeler St. corridor. The earthworks, hill damages, embankment removals and cuts performed by the campers, along with vehicle parking in the woods, has severely impacted the trees along the corridor. More will be lost; some may fall on a passing car on Wheeler or perhaps onto the I-5 side.

However, in spite of any damage done to the environment by these encampments, I believe it pales in comparison to the wholesale slaughter perpetrated by developers and cities on our vanishing green corner of the world.

          ~ Maggie O'Connor, Olympia

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