Problem Solvers: Homeless in the Pines, encampments growing in the woods of La Pine
LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ)-- Just outside the city limits of La Pine, in the dense forest that surrounds the community, you won’t find wild animals enjoying their habitat. Instead, homeless camps.
Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office showed the Problem Solvers first-hand the camps set up right outside of town.
“This is a camp where the guy's been in jail for some time. All this was left out here. We have firewood. We have structures that have been built, all these forest products," Lieutenant Joshua Spano said while driving through a camp.
But during our interview, he arrived at a new trailer, "This is a brand-new trailer addition here. It wasn't here a week ago. This isn’t supposed to be happening.”
Lieutenant Spano patrols this part of the county and says he’s counted six new camps set up within three days.
All six arrived from Bend's largest encampment off China Hat Road. That land belongs to the federal government, and the U.S. Forest Service closed the area Thursday for wildfire mitigation, a problem La Pine residents know all too well.
“It’s a struggle, for real,” said David, who moved from Colorado to La Pine and now lives in the forest.
He tells the Problem Solvers that the small community of La Pine just doesn’t have the services to help the growing population, and with people being forced out of camps along China Hat Road, the challenge is going to grow.
“The only resource that I necessarily use is St. Vincent de Paul, and that's just for food,” he said.
The camps are just a short walk from new housing developments where people, young and old, are looking to call home. A dream that many people in the camps feel is far out of reach.
As the deputies continue their patrol, they are reminded that wildfire season is quickly approaching. Evacuation tape could be seen in camps following the Jack Pine Fire.
Viral video KTVZ News shared last June shows what appears to be an encampment on fire, the same day the nearly 4,000-acre Darlene 3 Fire ignited, forcing hundreds to evacuate, including those living in the city of La Pine.
The fire was human-caused, officials said, but the specific cause of that fire still hasn’t been determined.
Solutions are continuing to be discussed as wildfire season quickly approaches and the city of La Pine braces.
A cleanup with Deschutes County jail inmates is scheduled for May 10, part of the efforts of the Newberry Regional Partnership aimed at providing solutions to homelessness and wildfire risk.
