Dennis Anderson, 53, died after a tree fell on his tent during a storm earlier this month, the Cowlitz County Coroner's Office reported Friday.
The leader of a local nonprofit says he was homeless.
Anderson was found in a wooded area north of Cowlitz Gardens Road and North Pacific Avenue Dec. 12, according to the coroner. The area is near the Cowlitz River, which was under a flood warning that week as heavy rain swept through the county.
His death was declared an accident, Coroner Dana Tucker wrote in an email. She estimated that it happened the day before he was found.
Radical Love Ministry founder Erika Quiroz said she had known Anderson, who was homeless, for about eight years through the nonprofit. The Longview-based ministry serves free food to low-income and homeless clients.
"He was always such a kind, thoughtful person who was always thinking about how he could help someone," Quiroz said.
Quiroz said Anderson's death could have been avoided if Longview's severe weather shelter was open at the time.
The shelter, which is run by Longview nonprofit Love Overwhelming through a contract with the city, is located in a city building at 951 Delaware St., just over 4 miles from the area where Anderson was found.
The shelter can open when the city declares a severe weather event, which it did Dec. 9 due to flood warnings in the area. The declaration ended the next morning, and the shelter closed again, meaning it was not open when the coroner believes Anderson was killed, Dec. 11.
By that day, an atmospheric river had just hit the region, flooding roads and homes such as at Camp Kalama RV park. Meteorologists predicted another atmospheric river would hit again the following week, but heavy rains moved further south.
Love Overwhelming Executive Director Chuck Hendrickson said the shelter housed 21 people on Dec. 9. It accepts guests from Kelso as well as Longview.
According to city code, a severe weather event can include two or more days with temperatures forecast at or below 35 degrees, snow accumulation over 3 inches or "other conditions deemed severe enough to present a substantial threat to life or health," which in the past has included wildfire smoke and flood hazards.
However, the contract with Love Overwhelming specifically sets the threshold to two degrees lower at 33 degrees or below. Those are the forecasted lows on Sunday and Monday nights, according to the National Weather Service, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, and also when Love Overwhelming plans to open.
Kelso Christian Assembly has also operated as a severe weather shelter in past years, but the city of Kelso did not announce whether it was open this month. Neither the church nor a Kelso city staff member could not be immediately reached on Friday to answer questions about the shelter this year.
Longview issued a new severe weather declaration due to low temperatures Friday. It is set to run through March 30.
Hendrickson said the longer declaration is likely an attempt to make it easier for the shelter to open more frequently. Local groups have been urging the city to open the shelter more, especially in the wake of Anderson's death, he said.
Longview City Manager Jen Wills said late Friday that the city chose to declare a longer emergency declaration period to avoid having to officially rescind the declaration later this winter. The declaration does not mean the shelter will be open every day through March 30, but that the shelter can open if weather conditions outlined in the city code and the Love Overwhelming contract are met during that time period.
Quiroz said she's seen more homeless people struggling to find safe places to stay after HOPE Village closed in October. The tiny home shelter was put on an indefinite pause after Longview was unable to find a new operator to take over from the Salvation Army.
At the same time, the city implemented a new ordinance against camping in public places. Kelso issued a similar ordinance in August.
Quiroz said the new rules may have reduced visible homelessness in the area, but have not actually solved the problem, and instead "driven people into hiding."
In September, councilmembers Erik Halvorson, Kalei LaFave, Keith Young and outgoing councilmembers Spencer Boudreau and Mary-Alice Wallis voted to pass an ordinance restricting camping in parks and public places at all hours.
The month prior, the Kelso council also unanimously passed a similar camping ban, though councilmembers Mike Karnofski and Brian Wood were absent.
Those camping bans were made possible in part due to changes in how West Coast cities were allowed to respond to homelessness and unauthorized camping after the 2024 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the case of Grants Pass, Oregon vs. Johnson.
