Man badly burned when propane tanks explode at Monroe homeless camp

At least one person was injured in a propane tank explosion and fire in Monroe Wednesday morning.

It happened at a homeless camp in the woods near the 28000 block of 176th Place Southeast.

Snohomish Fire District 5 firefighters arrived to find vegetation burning and numerous propane tanks exploding at the camp with tents, RVs and various debris.

Fire Chief Merlin Halverson said because there was so much debris at the camp, it was very dangerous for firefighters because they couldn’t see where propane tanks were, and tanks were exploding as they tried to fight the fire.

Crews had to take a defensive stance to knock down the flames.

A man, who has burns over half of his body, went to a neighbor’s house to seek help. He was then driven to a firehouse, where he was airlifted to a hospital.

Halverson said it is not known how many people live in the camp and that more than one person could have been hurt.

One large motorhome was destroyed and a second was damaged