PORTLAND, Ore. — Last week, a human-caused fire damaged Elephants Delicatessen, an iconic Northwest Portland restaurant. A homeless woman is accused of starting the fire, which she said was set accidentally as she looked for food.
Since then, other business owners and property managers have come forward to call the fire emblematic of a wider problem in the city, where the damage done by homeless people — from accidental fires to purposeful vandalism — becomes yet another cost they’re made to shoulder.
“I’m just heartbroken. This is our … sorry, didn’t expect to get emotional — this is our flagship store,” Martin McClanan, CEO of Elephants Deli, said after the fire…