The Centralia Police Department responded to two illegal fires and a dispute at the Blakeslee Junction encampment between Interstate 5 and a three-way railroad crossing at the end of Eckerson Road in Centralia on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
State and local agencies began sweeping the encampment Tuesday morning as the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) prepares to transfer ownership of the land to Rainier Rail.
The first fire was reported just after 9:05 a.m., which resulted in a 45-year-old Centralia man receiving a citation for second-degree reckless burning and knowingly possessing meth.
While an officer was en route to the fire, he reportedly saw two men — one holding “a crowbar raised over his head” while the other man “was holding a metal dolly over his head” — threatening each other at the encampment, according to the Centralia Police Department’s call log. Both men complied with the officer’s order to put down their weapons and no assault occurred.
“Although both males placed blame on each other, neither wanted to be the victim,” the officer noted in his report.
No arrests were made, and officers left the scene after dealing with the fire.
About half an hour later, at 9:35 a.m., officers returned to the encampment for a report of an illegal fire inside a plywood structure surrounded by other flammable materials.
A 57-year-old Centralia man was issued a citation for second-degree reckless burning, according to the Centralia Police Department.
