Berkeley Fire Department and California Highway Patrol responded to a fire at a homeless encampment on Gilman Street near Interstate 80 on Sunday morning.
As reported by Berkeleyside, a call reporting a “large fire” in the encampment came in about 9:20 a.m. The fire was extinguished by BFD.
No one was injured during the fire and no arrests were made, according to Berkeleyside.
The homeless encampment under the Gilman overpass has been in place since 2014. The city of Berkeley has cleared the encampment multiple times.
The city installed a fence around the encampment in July to restrict access to the area. City officials, along with Caltrans and CHP, then cleared the encampment several days later. At the time, there were approximately 30 residents living in more than a dozen tents.
Local residents have complained about garbage and needles at the camp. But some have said clearing the camp is not an effective way to rid the city of homelessness, as the people displaced still do not have a shelter.
