Roger Kerr asked for a location in uReport # 188944. It is along the Rail Trail on City owned property. The squatters / homeless are opening burning on City owned property along the Rail Trail north of Gordon Pike, west and south of Terrace Drive.
Large fire at 10:10pm on June 19, 2024, in the woods along the Rail Trail. The homeless camp on City-owned property (according to the GIS) is burning a large, open fire this evening. This is on the Rail Trail north of Gordon Pike maybe 0.3 to 0.4 miles, east and south of the Terrace Drive area. This is a significant hazard to the City property and neighboring private property. The fires need to stop and the camps need to be cleared out immediately before the homeless burn acres of woods, fences, sheds, houses, trailers -- anything in the vicinity could go up in flames soon.
Live fires nightly with noxious fumes all night every night, at least since the last weekend on May. Squatters camp seems well-established with bicycle parking, wood pile, several tents. Can fire trucks even get back there in a timely fashion? We feel unsafe. There is a difference between homeless, itinerants, and squatters. These appear to be squatters.
There is an encampment to the east of Somersbe along the access road that runs parallel to Rogers Road that is hazardous and toxic. Earlier in the summer this was reported anonymously for fear of retaliation. Apparently 3 entities own the property - the city, county, and a railroad. All that has happened so far to address this problem is a huge dumpster being moved to the access road and MORE people moving to the encampment when Switchyard Park was cleared. I am sending a plea for clean up. I am not representing specific people in the Somersbe neighborhood, but alerting your office to the issues that have been discussed. This morning open fires were burning along the access road. There is garbage, human and animal waste, unleaded dogs, along with illegal camping sites. At the beginning of June 2024 police were called because of a disturbance including threats of murder, and the fire department was called because of all the smoke. Our backyards are no longer safe, it is difficult to sleep with open windows or be in our yards or on our decks because of the smoke, screaming, and safety of being chased. This apparently happened to at least 2 residents this summer. A dumpster does not equate to crisis management. It is difficult to communicate when we have to do it anonymously for fear of retribution. I am not being redundant, I am providing documentation.