A twist has been added to California’s homeless crisis after people were found living in eight caves, some furnished, dug into the bank of the Tuolumne River.
Modesto police, a volunteer organization Operation 9-2-99, and the Tuolumne River Trust teamed up to remove 7,600 pounds of trash Saturday from the caves, KVOR-TV in Sacramento reported Wednesday.
The caves, some as wide as 10 feet, were located about 20 feet below street level and accessible through makeshift stairs built into the riverbank.
“This particular area has been plagued by vagrancy and illegal camps, which have raised concerns due to the fact that these camps were actually caves dug into the riverbanks,” the Modesto Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.
California has the largest population of homeless, with more than twice as many as any other state, according to the 2022 Annual Homeless Assessment Report issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The City of Modesto said it plans to destroy all of the caves and construct barricades preventing access to the river. The city will also post signage prohibiting residents from trespassing.