A city bench in Vernon that has been the source of numerous issues with homelss individuals and drug users will be removed by the end of the week.
The move comes after residents of Spruce Landing (next to the 25th Avenue path and bench) were alerted to a brush fire on Monday morning.
Flames and smoke as high as 30 feet were seen, but fire crews were quick to douse it.
This was not the first time a fire had been sparked in the hedges, which separate the housing complex from the walking path. It is an area frequented by drug users, according to witness, Lynette Smith.
“We have been phoning the city to get this bench removed, because this has been such a big problem.”
Smith said that just a few weeks ago there was another fire meters away. There is also a hollow set up within the bushes, littered with garbage, drug paraphernalia and other items.
Back in 2021, a fire close to the area where the blaze was on Monday prompted comments from Smith and another resident.
“I’ve worried about this for years with that hedge back there and there are street people camping there and cooking their drugs all the time,” Smith said in 2021. “It’s a constant problem at that bench.”
City spokesperson Carolyn Baldridge told The Morning Star that the bench will be removed by “end of day Friday.”
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