Ellington

The lights went out in the U-District and then couches went up in flames. That was the story north of 45th last night, where hundreds of students migrated toward a gasoline-induced bonfire fueled by mattresses, bed frames, multiple couches, a desk and traffic cones.

The fire began after a Monday-night power outage when students started to burn debris at about 11:45 p.m. The flames grew when a couch doused in lighter fluid was lit aflame on the median of Northeast 47th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast.

“I first smelled the weed when they started burning the couch but I don’t think they’re correlated,” said Aaron Lombarozo, a graduate student who arrived at the scene early.

Hundreds of cheering students reveled in the streets near the flames for more than an hour as neighbors in Greek houses pumped music into the streets and others shot fireworks nearby.

Some in the crowd fed the flames with their belongings, eventually hauling mattresses and couches onto the median and into the fire.

Russ Sattarov, a University of Washington police officer, said the UW Police Department (UWPD) started receiving many calls about fireworks shortly after the power went out.

Officers from the UWPD were near the scene, but they couldn’t break up the crowd without reinforcements from the Seattle Police Department, Sattarov said.

As the power returned after midnight, a special squad of more than 40 Seattle Police Department officers arrived in riot gear to disperse the crowd, which they estimated to have grown to at least 400 by that time.

Many in the crowd chanted “go Huskies” and “one more couch” as the officers assembled.

When the officers began to advance, the crowd retreated, retiring the desire to burn another couch as the line of helmeted police marched forward.

A Seattle Fire Department truck then rolled up to the median and extinguished the flames in seconds, drawing boos from the crowd.

The fire was extinguished at 12:43 a.m., after which the police ordered the crowd to leave the scene within 10 minutes. By 1 a.m. only police officers and firefighters remained.

Mike Fann, on-scene as duty commander for the Seattle Police Department, said that the department does not plan to pursue any charges because no major crime occurred and no one was hurt.

He said, however, that the department’s North Precinct officers would likely be having a talk with members of the UW Interfraternity Council.

Seattle City Light officials reported that a tree that had fallen on power lines prompted the outage, which spanned much of the U-District.

With streetlights out and explosions from fireworks audible throughout the U-District, many were drawn to the noise and the flames.

A University Park resident, Byron Bishoff, arrived at the scene as the bonfire was in full force. He said he heard the fireworks and got curious.

“I’ve never seen a giant bonfire with couches here,” he said, watching the flames. “It’s usually a bit more tame.”

Daily staff members Christian Caple, Joanna Nolasco, Casey Smith and Lexie Krell contributed reporting to this story. Reach The Daily staff at news@dailyuw.com.