Authorities have found a cavernous subterranean homeless encampment located 20 feet beneath one of the largest cities in the United States.
Can you guess the state?
You’d be right if you thought California. According to local media, vagabonds built the “caves” beneath Modesto (population 218,464), next to the Tuolumne River.
Homeless people and criminals used the relative seclusion provided by the riverbank to construct their huts.
The local police department and volunteers cleared out 7,600 pounds of trash, including guns and drugs.
Observers noted that erosion along the riverbank threatened the structure’s collapse into the water. According to CBS News Sacramento, others noted how the discovery was the latest reminder of California’s homeless crisis:
In November 2022, CBS13 took a tour of the cleared-out caves in Stanislaus County in the same location. They were nowhere near as elaborate as they are now.
“You can see the hooks on the wall where they had bottles and stuff hanging down,” Rojas said. “I think there needs to be more emphasis on the homeless. They are at the point where you can see they are desperate.”
CBS13 asked Modesto police and the city what was being done to prevent people from coming back to the cave camp. A spokesperson said they will continue to monitor the area and connect homeless residents to services.
Police worked with members of its HEART Team, park rangers, CHAT and abatement personnel to notify the people staying in the caves and homeless camps about the upcoming cleanup operation before they cleared everything out. They also gave them services to assist them during the transition.
“It’s already been proven that people will dig these out, so I don’t think filling them in with any material would work,” said one volunteer.
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