Bellingham Encampment Grows as City Promises Summer Action

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — New footage captured Monday by PNW Daily shows individuals actively hauling furniture, dressers, chairs and couches, into the King Mountain encampment in north Bellingham, even as city officials say they are on track to take action on the site this summer.

City of Bellingham officials say summer action is coming. Residents say they have heard that before.

The encampment spans dozens of acres of private, forested land east of Meridian Street and north of East Kellogg Road. The video, filmed June 1, documents its continued expansion. It raises a question King Mountain neighbors have asked for years: Is the city doing enough to end the cycle?

The city has cleaned up sites before, but are we doing enough or just moving the problems to a new neighborhood?

A Promise of Summer Action

Bellingham city officials told the Bellingham Herald last week they are on track to act on the King Mountain encampment this summer. Nearby residents, property managers and developers say the situation cannot wait.

A property manager of a nearby apartment complex told the Herald she has spent more than $100,000 on security, fencing and lighting. She has been threatened and chased with a knife. Developer Scott Rorvig estimates thieves stole $25,000 in materials from his nearby Tull Road townhomes during construction. His 34-unit complex sits at only 60% occupancy. He blames encampment activity.

Mayor Kim Lund called the encampment a “very legitimate public safety concern” at a March 4 community meeting co-hosted by the King Mountain Neighborhood Association at Bellingham Covenant Church.

A Legal Battle Years in the Making

The city’s primary legal action targets Li-Ching Fang of Taiwan, whose land holds much of the encampment. In 2024, the city sued Fang after the encampment grew unchecked across her property. Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Lee Grochmal declared it a nuisance in September 2025. He ordered Fang to abate the land immediately.

Courts have since ordered Fang to pay $126,744 for first-phase cleanup costs. In February, a judge added another $115,810, bringing the total to more than $242,000. The city estimates full cleanup of the 20-acre Fang parcel will cost $2 million for solid waste removal. Environmental remediation could add another $2 million to $4 million. Officials say the work could take several more years.

The encampment covers at least seven public and private parcels. The city lacks authority to clear other private properties without owner cooperation. It has been working to coordinate a joint cleanup effort among those owners.

What the Data Shows

In previous PNW Daily reporting in April, Bellingham crime data found a small number of individuals account for a disproportionate share of repeat arrests. These are people already in the system. They cycle through a structure that struggles to hold them.

Disorderly behavior, behavioral health calls and theft have topped Bellingham Police Department call categories every month from January through April 2026, according to BPD public data. Behavioral health calls ran between 109 and 127 per month. Disorderly behavior ranged from 129 to 191.

Whatcom County’s unsheltered homeless population grew from 243 in 2024 to 337 in 2025. The total counted population held roughly steady at 815, according to the county’s annual Point-in-Time count. Advocates say fewer shelter beds, not more people, drove the increase in unsheltered numbers.

The Gap

The Bellingham Housing Authority plans to build 110 units of affordable housing near the King Mountain area. Construction starts around 2030.

The furniture arrived Monday morning.

The city says summer action is coming. Residents say they have heard that before.