Tumwater Tragedy

An investigation into how failed homelessness policies and unchecked encampments turned Tumwater Creek into a growing public safety crisis

After a teenage driver nearly killed a pedestrian near the Tumwater encampment, County Commissioner candidate Jake Seegers confronts the hard questions local leaders have avoided for years: How did Port Angeles allow dangerous encampments, rampant drug activity, and environmental destruction to flourish beside public roadways and salmon streams — and who will finally stop it? This in-depth article connects the crash, the policies, the funding system, and the leadership failures that critics say turned compassion into chaos.