Last week, a quick response by Vashon Island Fire & Rescue extinguished an explosive fire that destroyed an RV parked in an encampment of unhoused islanders on 103rd Street near an entrance to Island Center Forest.

After an investigation, arson was determined to be the cause of the fire.

The RV was the residence of islander Tanya Takaki. Another nearby RV, the residence of islander Davin Highley, is still intact.

As of Tuesday morning, the remains of Takaki’s RV — filled with blackened debris and surrounded by charred remnants of her salvaged belongings — was still on the site.

Fire Chief Matt Vinci, calling the burned-out hulk a toxic hazard, said he was working with King County Local Services and islander Morgan Brown, who owns the property next to 103rd Street where the RV was partially parked, to remove it.

The fire on Wednesday, July 10, followed four days of temperatures topping 90 degrees on Vashon, creating extremely dry and hazardous conditions.

Immediately before the RV fire, local firefighters had battled a large brush fire off Wax Orchard Road, and had just returned to the fire station when the call came in for the fire on 103rd Street, said Vinci.

A speedy response time from VIFR’s Bank Road station and an aggressive attack by firefighters kept the RV fire from spreading into the woods and a dry field adjacent to the forest, he said.

The shift of firefighters on duty that day had responded to 26 calls in 48 hours, Vinci said, including 10 fires and 16 emergency medical calls.

“One of the guys was saying it was one of the busiest shifts he had had in months,” Vinci said.

At the scene of the fire on Wednesday afternoon, Takaki, who established the encampment with Highley on 103rd Street more than a year ago, said that she had lost almost all of her belongings but saved the lives of three of her pets — a dog, a cat, and a chicken — from the fire.

Two other cats, she said, may have died inside the trailer during the blaze — though she was hoping against hope that they had somehow found their way outside.

Takaki said that she believed the fire had been started by fireworks which someone had thrown at the RV from a drive-by vehicle while she was sleeping outside the trailer.

A firework had hit her leg and burned it, she said — one of several minor burns and injuries she had sustained in the chaos of trying to save her pets and belongings from the fire.

On Vashon, Takaki is known by some as an activist who speaks directly about the issues affecting those who are without housing.

Takaki, who grew up on the island and returned to live here four years ago, recently formed an organization, Integrity Collective of Compassionate Islanders (ICCI) which she hopes to establish as a nonprofit.

Advocating for herself and others experiencing a lack of stable housing, she spoke at a meeting of the Vashon-Maury Island Community Council in August of 2023.

ICCI’s focus, according to Takaki, is on addressing a severe shortage of affordable housing as well as mental and behavioral health issues affecting unhoused or displaced islanders. A written description the the organization, provided by Takaki, said that among other goals, ICCI wants to build shelter housing and a supply warehouse for displaced and other persons needing assistance.

In a brief interview on Monday, Takaki said that the fire that had destroyed her RV could have easily spread to the adjacent field and forest, causing a wildfire that could have spread into town — and cited that as proof that more urgent action should be taken to address of the plight of the unhoused on Vashon.

The fire would not have happened, she said, “if we had better protection and places to be.”

Takaki said she was currently staying with a friend. Highley, outside his still-intact RV at the encampment, said that he and Takaki had been “almost ready” to move from 103rd Street at the time of the fire.

But now, he said, he did not know where they would go next.

Community reaction

In the wake of the fire, numerous islanders voiced sympathy and support for Takaki on social media, lamenting the loss of her residence and the likely death of her cats.

But other islanders who live nearby the encampment told The Beachcomber that the fire — which produced explosions and clouds of thick smoke near their homes — was something they had long feared would happen on the site.

Requesting anonymity, they cited concerns about sanitation issues, fire hazards, environmental damage to nearby wetlands, and what they said was evidence of drug activity near the site — saying they had called 9-1-1 and other authorities and county offices on numerous occasions to report these concerns. Some said they had been subject to verbal abuse when they walked by the encampment and had instructed their children not to go near it or walk through Island Center Forest.

Both before and after the Fourth of July holiday, they said, they had repeatedly heard fireworks being set off near the encampment and reported that illegal activity as well.

These islanders all said they understood the need for compassion and action to address homelessness on Vashon and beyond. But they said that the encampment at the entrance to Island Center Forest, even before the fire, had not been a safe or healthy place.

“Our concern has always been safety,” one longtime islander said, adding that the July 10 fire — which could have easily spread to other nearby properties in the town core — had proved the validity of that concern.

Brent Champaco, a spokesperson for King County Local Services, did not respond to a request for comment about any complaints made to the county regarding the encampment.

Property owner

Morgan Brown, who owns the property adjacent to 103rd Street where the encampment vehicles were partially parked, said that he, too, cares deeply about the plight of the unhoused on Vashon.

Brown is a current member and former chair of the community council’s affordable housing committee.

He said that throughout the time Takaki and Highley have lived near his property, he has been in “constant contact” with them.

He had talked to them, he said, whenever their encampment had spilled onto his property, requesting that they clean and clear the area. He also said he had removed garbage from his property in that area many times.

The county, he said, had not taken action to remove the encampment — one of hundreds throughout the county. But he said he now believes there is a compelling case for the county to act, given that the encampment discourages public safety and use of Island Center Forest — a public park.

“I feel when it is impinging on others’ ability to use other public amenities, you have a bigger problem and you need to apply the laws that people need to use parks and sidewalks,” he said. “Another [issue] is whether the public feels safe there at all, which I don’t think is the case after some discussions I’ve recently had with islanders.”

He called the arson of Takaki’s RV “an injustice and tragedy and crime,” and said he hoped the perpetrator is caught and brought to justice.

Because the encampment has, at times, spilled over to his property, he said, he has long had a right to build a fence and call the sheriff if his land is trespassed upon, but he has not wanted to do that.

But now, he said, he believes it is time for the encampment to leave 103rd Street, and that he informed Takaki of this in his last conversation with her, which took place before the fire.

“I’m not supportive of their being there and am hoping for them to find a win-win solution somewhere else,” he said.

Editor’s note: The Beachcomber made multiple unsuccessful attempts via phone, intermediaries, and in person to reach Takaki for her response to comments made by Brown and islanders who live near the encampment.

A tip line exists for those with information about the arson on July 10, with a reward of up to $10,000 for information beneficial to the investigation. Call 1-800-55-ARSON, or email steven.crown@kingcounty.gov to provide information.