Most Protesters Gone, Park Cleanup Underway; Fences Up Soon (Updated)

Parks Bureau Commissioner Nick Fish surveys the damage to Chapman and Lownsdale Squares Sunday morning.

Wearing face masks and latex gloves, Portland police and parks bureau employees after daylight began cleaning up the remnants of the Occupy Portland camps at Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. Most protesters had left by 9:30 am. ---

Parks & Recreation Bureau Commissioner Nick Fish says he has no estimates yet as to what it will cost to repair turf damage at the parks, which weeks of camping have left a garbage-strewn mud pit.

"This started on a very high note," Fish says of the Occupy protest. The large rally downtown last night "was a community gathering to mark that."

"I had conversations with some of the original occupiers. There's a lot of grieving going on. Seeing the damage to the park, they apologized," Fish says.

Fish says a fence will go up around the squares once city workers finish clearing out the debris. 

Update 1:43 pm: City employees have erected a fence around Lownsdale Square, while around 30 riot police surround the last protesters at Chapman Square.

Follow @wweek for live updates on Twitter. See the latest and catch up on past live coverage at our live blog. Streaming video from the occupiers is available here

 

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