News

Battle over Lewis County junk house could get dirty

CENTRALIA, Wash. — Protesters and city officials may clash Monday at the home of a Lewis County man who refuses to clean up massive piles of junk from his front yard.

In March, Vic Bonagofski told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News reporter Richard Thompson that he was "very angry" that the county has tried to force him to remove the junk from his yard.

Bonagofski’s yard is littered with cardboard stacked 20-feet-high, cars, cans and mountains of metal.

Now, Bonagofski called KIRO saying that city officials are coming to his home near Centralia Monday, along with people he said are on his side.

City officials said his yard is a health hazard, and Lewis County has cleaned up his property in the past, but Bonagofski never paid the bill.

Officials said they'll come back to forcibly clean it up at a cost of $100,000 and then may foreclose on the property.