Man charged after fire at encampment under University Bridge

A 24-year-old man has been arrested after a fire at an encampment under Saskatoon’s University Bridge on Friday morning.

He has been charged with mischief under $5,000 after Saskatoon Fire Department firefighters were called to the scene of the fire on Spadina Crescent shortly after 9 a.m. When they arrived, firefighters spotted smoke coming from “an active encampment” under the bridge.

“Fire crews found an individual, unharmed, who was taken into Police custody,” the fire department explained in a statement. “The firefighters put out the small fire.”

The scene is currently being assessed for safety, the fire department noted, before being turned over to an investigator.

Both drivers and pedestrians were asked to avoid the area.

There have been a number of recent fires at homeless encampments in Saskatoon, including a similar fire at an encampment under the same bridge last year.

The Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan pavilion was also damaged by an encampment fire in December.