Stanley Park Drive, which circumnavigates the 405-hectare park, was closed to cars on April 8, to better accommodate physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"This has happened four times in the past and we really aren't looking for a fifth tent city," said Minister of Social Development Shane Simpson.

The Vancouver Park Board has been forced to spend an estimated $7,000 on temporary fencing to secure playgrounds and outdoor exercise areas after people ripped down yellow tape daily to access the closed areas.

When crews arrived around 6 p.m., they found flames at the centre of the park.

At least two Vancouver Park Board commissioners are pushing for runners to stay off the Seawall during the pandemic.

'It's clean ... I think by next week, it will be even cleaner. And there isn't this tension anymore,' said a member of the Buddhist temple nearby.

The Vancouver Park Board held its first meeting since the winter break Monday night, but how to deal with the entrenched homeless camp at Oppenheimer Park was not on the agenda.

The park board once again moved away from seeking an injunction, instead moving a motion that would seek housing for the campers.

On Monday, the Vancouver police said there was a "direct nexus" between the homeless camp and growing violence in the DTES.

“We do not believe that seeking an injunction through the courts with the goal of getting the people from Oppenheimer Park is a solution,” said board Chair Stuart MacKinnon.