A fire burned down multiple tent sites in a homeless encampment Friday afternoon between the Schnitzer Steel recycling plant and the railroad tracks in west Eugene, displacing more than a dozen people. 

The fire was reported a little after 4:30 p.m., with firefighters responding to 111 Highway 99, the main address for Schnitzer. It was reported under control at around 4:57 p.m., according to dispatch logs. It took two hours to fully extinguish the fire, Eugene Springfield Battalion Chief Robert Grand said Friday night.

One of the camp residents was David Smithhart, 47, who said he left to get ice cream at Dairy Queen before returning to find billowing black smoke coming from his canopy tent. 

“I rushed over to see my camp, and a couple others – three of the four – just got destroyed,” said Smithhart, who lived at the camp for close to a year. 

The encampment and fire were up against the fence on the north side of Schnitzer Steel, an industrial area.  Around 20 people were living at the encampment, and 14 were displaced by the fire, Grand said. He noted the fire could have become much harder to stop if it spread into the Schnitzer Steel facility.

"It was burning really big and hot, and if it got into that yard we would probably still be there tonight dealing with all the different piles there," Grand said.

Four fire engines, one truck, a water tender vehicle, two chief vehicles, a supply refill truck and one ambulance responded to the fire, Grand said. The American Red Cross was called in to offer temporary housing for the people affected, he said.

There were no injuries in the fire, Eugene Springfield Fire Chief Mike Caven said. 

A fire marshal is still working to determine the cause of the fire, Grand said.

Smithhart said he did not see how the fire started, and that he was unable to find his cat after the fire. Asked where he and others would move to, Smithhart said "I have no clue."

Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.