At 5:19 pm Thursday, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District firefighters responded to a report of a vegetation fire started by homeless in the area of E 6th Street at McElhenry Road in the City of Antioch.
Piles of garbage on McElhenry Road.
The fire sent a large column of black smoke into the air along with a propane tank that exploded and shot all the way to A Street.
The fire burned at least one camp of the dozens of homeless tents that have been set up at the location which the City cleaned in April at the tune of around $30,000 after an Abatement Warrant was issued.
The effort resulted in more than 5 dump trucks of garbage to be removed from the property and 30-homeless tents were removed.
The City has attempted for years to reach the property owner, but efforts have been unsuccessful.
In total, the fire burned about a quarter-acre of vegetation at the camp and Antioch police were requested as a precaution.
12 comments
Hm, $30,000 and more to clean. Thst was not the first time it was needed. if the owner won’t respond to the city’s efforts, and the homeless persist in piling garbage and human waste here, wouldn’t this be a case for “Eminant Domain” acquisition?
I don’t understand how they can’t reach the owner. Someone must be paying property taxes, right? There must be someplace they send the bill. With this kind of problem on their property I don’t understand how they could not find them. Isn’t there a point there the property is taken from them? I don’t mean this as unkind but something doesn’t make sense to me here.
The city needs to take the lead on this. There are several other homes in the area. With the winds that kick up down there being right on the delta, this could have went way sideways. Resulting in the loss of homes or lives. That propane tank could have killed someone or caused an accident. This just goes right back to what I have said before, when the clean up crews come through and clean up after the homeless and then they make their way back in, they just got their homes cleaned for 30K… The homeless have their own housekeeping services. The fires are only gonna get worse with the cold weather rolling in soon.
Damn, his tri tip went up in smoke. Antioch leaders, when do you get it. Your city continues to fail and more crime and homeless are coming as the east bay gets more expensive. Turn APD and Code Enforcement loose and let them get the job done. Gotta love Sacramento pols gutting the penal code, jury instructions and penalties.
Is this the area the City has set aside for the Marijuana dispensaries to go in?
The City fathers saying they’ve tried to get ahold of the property owner for years, but have not been successful is A BUNCH OF BULL! The homeless have been setting fire a lot this year! Why don’t I see any homeless in Concord or Clayton? Because those cities and their PD are on-the-job. The majority of these “homeless” have been dumped here by their own states! I’ve talked with quite a few Arizona and Texas people who said, “Well, now they California’s problem” …. “we sent them to you via BUS (Greyhound) THERAPY!”
The police knew the homeless were back on the property. I feel the police don’t do anything to anybody on that street.(E.6th st). The city Of Antioch has a major crisis with the homeless problem. I lived on that street for a few months. Now the homeless are moving in on Deer valley in the field next to Kentucky fried chicken.When is the City going to do something about this.? It’s a FU@#$&% joke.
These people are trespassing, fining the owner for people breaking the law is like punishing the United States for trying to uphold their own laws at the borders,,,,,oh never mind that is happening as I type this .
Laws are made and expected to be upheld, kick the homeless our but don’t wait months until it is an issue, patrol every day and make them move along every day. Uphold the laws put in place to keep citizens safe, please.
I read an article where the people from this encampment, while it was being cleared out, were offered temporary housing and help . . . but many said they were “not ready for such an offer” … WTF does that mean? They’re NOT READY? So, they want to continue to soil our streets, spread diseases? The problem is their so-called “homeless advocates” who are nothing but enablers. Why don’t they taken 2 or 3 of them into their own homes and take care of them?
Why don’t you. Sit behind you PC and do nothing!
No wonder Antioch has gone to sheet. Poor management.
It’s getting worse and worse. Looking the roster of past and present City Council members and what they did or didn’t do, no wonder the place is going to hell in a hand basket. The stench is overwhelming
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