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Judge allows West Oakland homeless encampment cleared

A West Oakland homeless encampment
Thomas Hawk
/
Flickr / Creative Commons
A West Oakland homeless encampment

The city currently has only 40 beds available and about 80 people will be displaced from the northern portion of the Wood Street camp when Caltrans starts clearing that portion.

Caltrans can post notices on the property starting a week from Monday, U.S. District Judge William Orrick said at a hearing that dissolved a temporary restraining order against the state agency. The residents of the encampment had filed suit against Caltrans.

The dissolution will occur in three phases, affecting a total of 200 people when Caltrans clears the whole property, which is in Oakland city limits.

Orrick's decision comes following a proposal brought to him by City of Oakland officials Thursday night that Orrick said was "thoughtful."

The northern portion is closest to oxygen tanks owned by the East Bay Municipal Utility District. The tanks, if ignited by a fire at the encampment, would cause a catastrophe, EBMUD officials have said.

Since March 2020, more than 240 fires have occurred at the encampment. A fire in July came 200 feet from the oxygen tanks, Caltrans attorney Mark Guenzi said.

Orrick said he has tried to create the possibility of relocation that is least harmful to the people of Wood Street.

He said residents of the encampment have no constitutional right to housing.

Sunni M. Khalid is a veteran of more than 40 years in journalism, having worked in print, radio, television, and web journalism.