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Trailer village dreams dead for now | Photos: Andrew Goff

Large machinery could be seen clearing charred debris Thursday morning, after at least six of the 12 PG&E trailers donated to the Betty Kwan Chinn Homeless Foundation to help folks struggling to find housing were destroyed in a fire at the foot of Hilfiker Lane in Eureka early this morning.

“I feel like I broke my promise to PG&E and our community,” Chinn told the Outpost this morning. “I went over there this morning and it was really emotional. We’ve been working on this for the last four or five years and now it’s gone. I feel really bad.”

The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage remains unclear. At least six trailers were completely destroyed in the blaze, she said, but the smoke damage could render the remaining trailers useless. No one was injured and there are no suspects at this time. 

Location of the now-destroyed trailers

The housing project was proposed back in 2017 when PG&E agreed to donate 12 trailers to Chinn’s foundation to be converted into modular housing units. The trailers were placed on the Crowley site and have been sitting vacant for years while the City of Eureka worked through the necessary steps to allow for a housing development on the site.

The Eureka City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Coastal Development Permit needed for the site almost exactly one year ago but there were still a handful of improvements required for the property before the trailers could be lived in.

The Outpost reached out to the Eureka Police Department and Humboldt Bay Fire seeking additional information. We will update when we hear back.

Videos of last night’s blaze from Redheaded Blackbelt

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