Judge blocks Caltrans' plans to clear Oakland homeless encampment near MacArthur Maze
OAKLAND -- A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary order blocking Caltrans from clearing a homeless encampment under the MacArthur Maze highway interchange in Oakland.
The Wood Street encampment was set to be dismantled beginning Wednesday, nine days after the latest fire at the site which prompted the closure of multiple ramps in the busy interchange connecting Interstate 80, Interstate 580 and Interstate 880. Another large fire on April 5 killed one person who was living in an RV.
U.S. District Judge William Orrick issued the restraining order against Caltrans, the city of Oakland, Alameda County, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad from clearing the encampment until the homeless individuals can appear at a hearing and contest the planned closure.
The July 11 fire took place near 34th and Wood streets where the railroad and other agencies had performed an operation removing stolen and abandoned vehicles in the area. The cause of the fire has not been determined.
A hearing on whether to maintain the temporary restraining order pending a determination about the issuance of a preliminary injunction was set for Friday.
Caltrans had announced it was closing the Wood Street encampment due to safety concerns after more than 100 fires at the site in recent years. The plan was to close the encampment in phases starting Wednesday and to shut it down completely by early August.
Neighbors say a group is operating a chop shop in the encampment. They said the encampment hurts the neighborhood and endangers the people who live there.
The Wood Street encampment stretches roughly a mile in West Oakland. Caltrans said around 200 people live there. Caltrans owns most of the property but BNSF and the city of Oakland also own a portion of the land where the encampment sits.
Caltrans said they are working with the city and county to offer shelter beds. The city of Oakland also plans to build a 100-bed cabin village for the homeless at the encampment site once it has been cleaned up.
