MENLO PARK -- Homeless encampments are being blamed for at least three brush fires since March near Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, including one that closed a major roadway during rush hour and caused nearby homes to be evacuated.
Menlo Park's fire chief is urging police and code enforcement officials to do something about the camps, at least three of which can be found along the railroad tracks between Willow Road and University Avenue.
"This is the third or fourth time we've been in there in the last four months, and every time it's related to homeless encampments," Harold Schapelhouman, chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, told The Daily News after a 2-acre blaze was reported near Facebook about 12:30 a.m. June 24. "Allegedly it was a cooking fire that got out of control. ... It's not like it's a camping area. The significance of these encampments potentially becoming a threat for the broader community is definitely a concern for us."
Since arresting Sergio Anguianolopez, 35, a transient, for allegedly setting a 13-acre fire near Facebook in March, police have been patrolling the Kavanaugh Tract, a marshy area between University, Bayfront Expressway, Willow and Adams Way at the city's border with East Palo Alto.
According to Sgt. Eric Cowans, that fire was sparked during an argument between Anguianolopez and another transient who were "fighting over drugs and other issues." Anguianolopez previously was arrested by Menlo Park police, in 2010 and 2014, both times for narcotics-related warrants.
"There are definitely health concerns and hazards out there with the garbage and syringes. It is eventually going to be problematic," Cowans said in April. "We've taken an active role in regularly making visits out there and trying to make sure everyone's staying on the up and up. ... Sometimes we'll go out there and we'll contact 15 people and the next day, there'll be three people out there. The one common thing we find is they're all into narcotics."
According to Cmdr. William Dixon, officers haven't run across any homeless people in the camps in recent weeks.
"There are easily two or three specific areas people have definitely been in, based on debris present," Dixon said.
A problem for police is the area is so remote it's only when a fire breaks out that people realize anyone is using the marshland as a residence. The camps are a 10-minute walk from any roads.
"Would I consider them active camps? That I don't know," Dixon said. "Is it something that we get calls for service out there? No. ... For lack of a better term, I can honestly say we are not going to employ a scorched-earth policy. It's ineffective; it doesn't work."
According to Schapelhouman, the fire threat in the tract is much greater now than just a few years ago, as the extended drought has dried out vegetation.
In the March fire, flames reached 25 feet high, and with wind gusting as high as 25 mph, they jumped to the center median of University Avenue and threatened to cross over to East Palo Alto residences.
"Smoke was blowing horizontal, which is never a good thing," Schapelhouman said at the time.
Dixon said if police were able to identify a specific group of people in the camps, something could be done.
"It's certainly something that's more in the conversation than a year ago," he said. "If I had something definitely identified ... I'd say, let's go do something about this."
But, as Dixon and Schapelhouman both agree, a big complication is that individuals living there want to stay removed from the rest of society.
"Not everybody is going to want to be moved into a shelter, and there are people who have a criminal history, alcohol and drug abuse," Schapelhouman said. "From a fire and medical standpoint, we're in the camps quite a bit."
Dixon said the police department actively tries to connect homeless people with county agencies that provide assistance, something which he said has seen a 100 percent success rate in downtown Menlo Park, aside from one longtime transient who shuns assistance.
"I'd like to be able to lend support to anybody who's out there," he said. "I really hate to call it a problem."
Source: San Jose Mercury News, Kevin Kelly
http://www.mercurynews.com/real-estate-news/ci_30099252/menlo-park-homeless-camps-near-facebook-growing-safety
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