California community alarmed by homeless camps found in underground caves: 'Huge safety hazard'
Volunteers and Modesto police officers cleared out trash and belongings from the underground encampments near the Tuolumne River
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}One California woman is sounding the alarm after her community discovered homeless people were residing in underground caves, warning the below-ground encampments are a threat to public safety.
Tracy Rojas lives in the Modesto neighborhood where the caves were discovered. She joined "Fox & Friends First" to discuss how local officials have handled the discovery amid lingering concerns surrounding the safety repercussions.
"We were told to just keep an eye on the area," Rojas told Carley Shimkus and Todd Piro on Friday. "If we saw people going over the embankment to call it in or report it on an app that they have called Modesto Go app, and that they would continue to patrol, and that just wasn't satisfactory."
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"It's a safety issue, not only for the homeless who are living in there with the rains and the water rising, but children can get in there," she continued. "A number of things. It's just a huge safety hazard."
Rojas said she was notified of the encampments, which are about 20 ft. below the street level, during a community cleanup near the Tuolumne River. While speaking to a volunteer park ranger, Rojas said she was told about the shocking discovery of encampments in underground caves.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Modesto residents and police officers cleaned out homeless camps in underground caves. They reportedly found personal belongings, drugs and weapons. (Tracy Rojas, 'Fox & Friends First' screengrab)
"In that conversation, he advised that they had discovered eight caves along the riverbank, and when I heard caves, I considered just a dugout in the dirt. Something very simple. Maybe a little bit of shelter," she said. "It wasn't until later on that afternoon when one of the volunteers shared with me and my neighbors a video of what exactly was found down along the riverbank."
"As you can see, that is more than just a single little dugout in the side of a riverbank. It is a home practically underground," she continued.
Volunteers teamed up with the Modesto Police Department over the weekend to remove 7,600 pounds of trash near the area, according to CBS News.
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Rojas said the eight caves were cleared of furnishings, personal belongings, weapons, and drugs.
"This particular area has been plagued by vagrancy and illegal camps, which have raised concerns due to the fact that these camps were actually caves dug into the riverbanks," the Modesto Police Department said in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Despite the massive cleanup effort, which reportedly wasn't the first of its kind, Rojas said she is worried the issue will persist as the state's homeless crisis continues to spiral.
"They had put up the caution tape in the afternoon," Rojas said. "By that evening, they had already gone down there. The homeless. There's already stuff in that cave. People have already started lining the riverbank there, if you will, and setting up shop again. And they come at night."
"They leave in the morning while all the news media is there, and then they come at night, and there was already stuff back in that cave," she continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.