Crews step up cleaning operation at Oakland homeless camp

OAKLAND – After a day of confrontations and resistance, the clearing out is now moving ahead full speed. Dozens of Caltrans workers poured into Oakland’s Wood Street encampment today as some were making their way out.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Matt said as he moved belongings. “Because we didn’t know exactly when they were going to bulldoze the place. But we found out about an hour and a half ago.”

With limited time, and the help of a few volunteers, these were Matt’s final hours to get out of this RV, or find a way to move it.

“I’m trying to empty everything out of there before they crush it,” he said. “Two hours’ notice is not enough to get a camper.”

Not far away the Caltrans had descended in force with a swarm of workers and heavy equipment, hauling out what took years to accumulate. 

“We are going to get this RV going, though,” Matt said hopefully. “So most of the stuff will be saved.”

“It’s completely different from the other side,” said Monte at the other end of the camp, nearly a quarter of a mile away. “People have actually homesteaded around here. Their areas are pretty much kept clean. My brother John created this clothing closet. You can see there’s female clothes in here. The males close here

When asked if there are people who have filtered this way as Caltrans moved in, Monte said it was clear.

“There are,” he answered. “That’s why you can see people filtering around now. Before, you wouldn’t see anybody.”

Monte, who has been here for 8 years, says the clearing out of the north end is already scattering people all over, but he’s not certain about his future. 

“I’m not going to go anywhere,” he said. “Places like this need to exist. This is my family here, so I wouldn’t take anything that any of us would take,” he said, suggesting housing options for longtime camp residents. 

“None exactly,” Matt answered when asked if he knew his next destination. “But I’m not worried about it.”

The clearing out will be done in phases, approximately every two weeks. Caltrans says they hope to have tire job completed by November.