Homeless Camp in Wenatchee Disbanded Tuesday Morning

The 1200 block of South Columbia Avenue in Wenatchee is now free of tents, debris and garbage after being removed by Police and Public Works employees Tuesday Morning.

A congregation of homeless people had been living on a city right of way near the George Sellar Bridge for more than six months after being removed from land owned by the state Department of Transportation.

Cpl. Mark Ward with Wenatchee Police says a local business often complained that customers had trouble getting through a collection of RV's that were blocking the roadway.

"At one point in time they were two to three wide out in the road, blocking half the road," said Ward. “And those have finally slowly moved on, and gone, unfortunately, to other parts of the city.”

Cpl. Ward says officers spent the last week informing people living in the area that their belongings would be removed if they did not haul them away, but most chose to leave them for the city to clean up.

An adjacent motorcycle repair shop – Jack’s Motor Sports – had been complaining about the buildup of trash, parking issues and suspected criminal activity in the area over the last several months.

Cpl. Ward said his unit, known as the A shift, took on the project of evacuating the people and their belongings.

“We haven’t had this big of a concentration on city property that resulted in that many tents and that big of a pile of garbage, I think in the recent past that I can think of,” Ward said.

The group had congregated on South Columbia Avenue where it hits a dead end south of the Sellar Bridge.