Riverside City Council bans homeless encampments in fire-prone areas
Following the lead of the City of Los Angeles, the city council of Riverside is banning homeless encampments in certain areas, including the Santa Ana Riverbed.
There have been more than 60 fires in the Santa Ana Riverbed area in 2022, according to officials. Neighbors in the area are on board with the ban, saying they are afraid of losing their homes in a fire.
"The ground is all scorched in this area," said Don Morris, who lives in Riverside.
He added that three of the fires have burned dangerously close to his home just in the last six weeks.
"It's been just an ongoing battle. I've lived here 34 years," added Morris. "For the past 12 years, we've had a few incidents of having to be evacuated. It's serious."
The city council is also banning camping in similar fire-prone areas. Firefighters said fires from cooking and camping are frequent.
At Path of Life Ministries, Leonard Jarman is concerned about the new rules. He said they have one of the largest homeless shelters in Riverside and beds are always full.
"Some of the people camping down there don't consider themselves homeless," said Jarman on Thursday. "There are challenges there. It's not your traditional homeless population. So those people will have to move into another village or housing situation if it is going to be effective."
There is currently a $5.8 million effort to move the people there into a different housing or shelter situation, officials added.
