Okanogan County’s 12th Street Bridge crosses the Similkameen River connecting Oroville with County Hwy. 7. In recent months, an illegal homeless encampment was established there. The county sheriff’s office and public works cleaned it up while they could still gain access to it before the snow falls. The county wanted it removed so that when spring run off comes the encampment isn’t washed away down river. Gary DeVon/staff photo

OROVILLE – Prior to the county cleaning up the homeless encampment under Oroville’s 12th Street bridge, the Okanogan County Commissioners discussed the situation at their Oct. 29 meeting.

“We are planning on cleaning up under the Oroville bridge tomorrow. It will be Solid Waste and the Sheriff’s Office,” said Josh Thomson, an engineer with public works.

“I didn’t know there was an accumulation there,” said Commissioner Chris Branch.

Thomas replied, “Oh yeah, about two dump truck loads worth.”

“I guess I’ve never been under that bridge,” said Branch.

Thomas said he was under the bridge last fall for the bridge inspection.

“There was a lawn chair and a bike or two and that was it,” said the engineer.

Branch said it appears the spot “became really popular really quick.”

“What drove that?” Branch asked.

Thomas said it was just a homeless encampment.

“I guess it’s under protection,” said Branch, referring to the cover the bridge provides.

“So, Amy said that when she was looking at the Similkameen Trail, the section from the trail to the bridge, there were quite a few camps along the trail,” said Thomas. “I’m not sure what’s driving that. I don’t know if they were somewhere else and pushed out.”

Commissioner Jon Neal shared a photo of what it looked like under the bridge with Branch.

“That’s quite a homestead. I never would have imagined that under that bridge. It looks like there’s more than one or two people hanging out there. It looks like an establishment, a small city,” said Branch.

“There’s quite a sandy bench under there, it’s a nice place,” said Thomas.

“Nine years ago, we’d have an occasional one that would be there a month or so and just leave,” said Neal, who was Oroville’s mayor before being elected to the County Board of Commissioners. “I was talking to someone the other day and they said someone actually has a car they park over on Gayes Point Road and then would go through the field to sleep under the bridge.”

Looking at the photos, Branch said he didn’t know how someone could sleep in a tent that was angled like that.

“That’s not exactly the clientele we’d serve in our new housing development, but you never know,” said Branch.

Thompson said he had a meeting scheduled with the sheriff later that afternoon to work through some details on the policy for clean-ups.

“We will keep working on that. We want to make sure we get this cleaned up before winter hits. If we lose access because of snow, we wouldn’t have it cleaned up before high water has it cleaned up for us,” said Thompson.

He added that this was the sheriff’s main concern and that they were the first to bring it to the attention of public works.

“They felt it would be an issue when the spring run-off hits,” said Thompson.

Branch asked if they were getting the same sort of issues under any of the other county bridges.

“Nope, I’m not seeing it anywhere else. Typically, we don’t have other bridges that are in towns or cities or really close to one, other than Tonasket; they have that bridge there. There’s some activity, people go under it quite a bit, but there’s not an encampment,” he replied.

“Riverside?” asked Branch.

“That’s incorporated. That’s their bridge and I don’t see that one.,” replied Thomas.

“There not much room, the banks are pretty steep on that one,” said Neal.

The clean-up under the 12th Street Bridge took place on Wednesday, Oct. 29. A sign has been posted by the sheriff’s office on the west end of the bridge notifying the public that some medications were found during the clean-up and that the owner of the prescriptions had 60 days to contact the sheriff’s office to collect them.

One of thephotos of the homeless camp under the 12th Street Bridge that were shared with the Okanogan County Commissioners prior to the camp and garbage being cleaned up by the Okanogan County Public Works Department and the Sheriff’s Office. Submitted photo/Okanogan County