During a homeless encampment cleanup in Seattle, volunteer groups stumbled upon a "ticking timebomb."

Over the Labor Day weekend, volunteer groups cleaning up a Seattle homeless encampment found nearly 80 propane tanks, with 20 of them still containing flammable material.

Every day, we observe camps igniting in flames within our green spaces. The cause is propane tanks exploding, posing a dangerous threat. According to Tim Emerson, program director of We Heart Seattle, this is a ticking time bomb.

Emerson stated that We Heart Seattle was one of the three groups involved in the cleanup that removed approximately 5.6 tons of debris, excluding the weight of the tanks.

"If someone does anything that creates a small amount of heat and energy near fuel, it will cause an explosion and affect the entire neighborhood," he stated, according to the report.

The discovery of flammable materials at encampment sites raises concerns about potential fires, a recurring issue mentioned in local reports.

We Heart Seattle founder and CEO, Andrea Suarez, spoke to Planet Chronicle Digital about the limiting policies that prevent city workers from addressing the decimation of greenbelts due to unsanctioned camping. These policies, known as Multi-Department Administrative Rules (MDRS), require city employees to stand back if debris is on a slope or within 20 feet of a structure. As a result, millions of pounds of trash, propane tanks, fuel tanks, weapons, human waste buckets, bottles, metals, and rotting disease-spreading garbage have accumulated in Seattle Parks and Recreation's greenbelts, which are their responsibility to maintain. SPR has stated that greenbelts are not a priority to maintain, and the two paralyzing policies have allowed the trash to build up for decades. However, volunteer-led grassroots groups like We Heart Seattle and A Cleaner Alki are taking on the clean-ups to restore green spaces and public safety.

She emphasized the significance of this work in assisting individuals living in harsh and uncompassionate environments through volunteers and our paid leads, who are social workers with case management abilities, providing access to detox and long-term recovery housing services.

Planet Chronicle Digital reached out to the Seattle city government for comment.

An encampment was destroyed by flames in March due to a reported malfunction of a cooking stove.

According to FOX 13 in Seattle, the cause of the fire was being investigated, but We Heart Seattle's Andrea Suarez stated that the encampments were "ticking timebombs" and that the risk wasn't taken seriously enough.

Propane tanks were seen among the debris.

The cleanup that exposed 80 propane tanks also revealed other hazardous items, such as firearms, machetes, and blades, according to Suarez in a recent report.

In July, a suspected encampment fire was reported by KOMO 4 News after multiple propane tanks exploded at a park near Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood.

The latest discovery is a warning of what could have happened or what could happen at another encampment in the area.

This year, between January and August, the Seattle Fire Department received 582 fire calls, but they did not provide information on the involvement of propane tanks in these incidents.